Cossacks: Art of War
Cossacks: Art of War
Game
Game2011
Cossacks: European Wars
Developer GSC Game World
Cossacks: European Wars (Ukrainian: Козаки: Європейські війни) is a real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows made by the Ukrainian developer GSC Game World. It was released on 28 November 2000. The game has an isometric view and is set in the 17th and 18th centuries of Europe. It features sixteen playable nations each with its own architectural styles, technologies and no limit on unit numbers. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
214 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Nov 1, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
72
Fresh
113 positive · 45 negative
95% range 64–78%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 113 | 45 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 9 | 0 | 46 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
176 of 234 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
71% recommend · 115 yes, 47 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 162 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (475 of 638 positive).
Players praise the game's unique building sets and historical accuracy, especially compared to Age of Empires. [1][2][3] Many reviewers report severe technical issues on modern Windows systems, including crashes and speed problems. [4][5][6][7] Some players fondly recall the game from their childhood and enjoy the large-scale battles. [8][9][10][11]
Liked
- Unique building sets for each civilization are detailed and historically accurate. [1][2]
- Large-scale battles with thousands of troops are impressive for an old engine. [8][10]
- The game offers a realistic connection to historic nations and battles. [12]
- It provides a nostalgic experience for those who played it in their youth. [9][11]
Representative posts
- [5]
There is a lot complaint how game doesn't work / has issues on Win 8 or 10. It actually doesn't work on Win 7 either. Complete ♥♥♥♥. You cannot change speed to a slower mode without having serious issues. It can be run only on fast mode - which is waaaay too fast for those new to the game. Plus, game is completely inferior to AOE2. If you are not nostalgic fan of this game, you are better off playing AoE for the …
- [1]
Cossacks: European Wars is Ukrainian Game Developer GSC Game World's foray into post-Age of Empires warfare (Aoe I was about Classical Antiquity, II ranged from the Dark Ages to the late Medieval Age and III was about the Age of Discovery, i.e. warfare taking place in the 16th and 17th century). The best thing about this game is the building set: unlike Age of Empires, EACH civilization possesses its own, unique set …
- [8]
Much like Shogun 1, there was nothing quite like Cossacks when it first came out. An RTS in the age of pike and shot (still an EXTREMELY rare setting for games) where you could have literally thousands of troops on the field. I played this one a ton because it was so much more interesting and different than anything I had played before it. I don't even think I ever got into the single-player campaigns of this games, …
- [16]
*BEFORE YOU BUY THIS GAME THERE ARE KNOWN PROBLEMS WITH PERFORMANCE, YOU SHOULD LOOK AROUND THE WEB FOR SOLUTIONS IF YOU HAVE THEM YOURSELF* Once I managed to get the game working it was great to re-live the experience of playing one of the best RTS games I know of, nice graphics and simple enough to pick it up, though with some bugs in the game that the programmers never corrected. Cossacks European Wars is great …
- [2]
Cossacks: European Wars is Ukrainian Game Developer GSC Game World's foray into post-Age of Empires warfare (Aoe I was about Classical Antiquity, II ranged from the Dark Ages to the late Medieval Age and III was about the Age of Discovery, i.e. warfare taking place in the 16th and 17th century). The best thing about this game is the building set: unlike Age of Empires, EACH civilization possesses its own, unique set …
Summarised from 34 of the 217 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Cossacks: European Wars talk about unique building sets for each civilization are detailed and historically accurate; those who didn't talk about changing settings in the options menu can cause crashes. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
John Bye of Eurogamer described Cossacks: European Wars as a "massive hit". Publisher CDV Software told investors that the game was "very successful" through the end of 2000, after its release late that year. It sold well in Russia, where consumers purchased over 300,000 units by December 2001. It was also popular in Britain, reaching #1 on the sales charts and selling roughly 100,000 copies by that date, according to GSC Game World. The United Kingdom's Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) ultimately gave Cossacks a "Silver" sales award in September 2002, for 100,000 sales in the region. Conversely, the developers were let down by the game's poor performance in…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 214 · most liked firstIntro from "WarCraft 2000: Nuclear Epidemic", a 1998 real time strategy game developed by Ukrainian company GSC Game World who eventually became known for their S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Cossacks game series. #UkrainianVideogames 🇺🇦
neutral · AI labelView post →Game designer of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Volodymyr Yezhov, was killed in action near Bakhmut in 2022 after volunteering to fight. He worked on ‘Cossacks 2’ and ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky’. His talent lives on in a game dedicated to Ukraine’s defenders. Heroes never die. 🇺🇦 #Ukraine #STALKER2
neutral · AI labelView post →I present to you this morning's BREAKFAST MAGNIFICENCE! Peter Capaldi (DR WHO!) VS Matt Berry (TOAST!) reading out a slanging match between the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and some Zaporozhian Cossacks after a battle in In 1675. I need to up my insult game!😂 www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW8O...
neutral · AI labelView post →Working on some more models for 'Retreat From Moscow' rules that I'm looking forward to running at the club. An interesting co-op skirmish game. Russian Cossacks and Fusiliers. 28mm Front Rank.
neutral · AI labelView post →Every country has its own unique touch in video game development. And in Ukraine's case? It's all about dreaming big. Ukrainian developers can't just make a Deus Ex rip-off. No, sir. They must turn it into an open world game with cars and undivided 625 km² map (just to compare, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion had the world with only 57 km² map). In 2005, long before games like Dead Island started to become pretty common, Ukraine already had its own game called Boiling Point: Road to Hell. Sure,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Here I will leave this cat, Friends who pass by can pet it and give it a thumbs up (i need steam points). ／＞ フ | _ _ l ／` ミ＿xノ / | / ヽ ﾉ │ | | | ／￣| | | | | (￣ヽ＿_ヽ_)__) ＼二つ
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hi Bluesky 👋 I’m Den, a solo dev making Sich: Cossacks Tale, a low-poly city-builder where you grow a Cossack colony on the 1748 Ukrainian steppe. Devlogs, clips and early builds ahead! #gamedev #indiedev #godot #citybuilder #strategy #games
neutral · AI labelView post →December 1812, Cossacks pick off French stragglers as the remains of the Grand Armeé retreat through the snow. 4 player game using a bespoke D12 system devised by one of my friends.
neutral · AI labelView post →Does not work on Win10
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got the Perry Cossacks based up, really like how they look with the snow. They’ll be used in the Pazoot skirmish game 1812 the retreat from Moscow.
neutral · AI labelView post →Some Trench Cossacks promo models from the game Trench Crusade!
neutral · AI labelView post →Releasing new content for the Witcher 3 out of context truly is a statement I respect. I had a lot of issues with story tropes in the game, as I have with the book and also Cyberpunk. Still I found parts of W3 revolutionary back then, and played 400 hours being my favorite part the Cossacks DLC.
neutral · AI labelView post →protect personnel and prevent the enemy from imposing their game through drones. 🇺🇦Long live the Cossacks! 🇺🇦Muchnoy Jugend | #UkraineNews
neutral · AI labelView post →points. The situation is dynamic: both sides are playing a game of nerves, waiting to see who will first succumb to the pressure. 🇺🇦 Our Cossacks are holding their ground and working from position to position, without making a fuss, but with cold calculation. 🇺🇦 Muchnoy Jugend | #UkraineNews
neutral · AI labelView post →And we really ask for help in the fundraising for 6 Schmidt & Bender scopes, so Ukrainian nationalism, which so outrages some game commentators, remains not only in the form of matches, but above all in our people, our Cossacks, who carry the Ukrainian spirit and culture of our people. 3/5
neutral · AI labelView post →Big target, so not a mini raffle. What's to win? - One jar of Maslotom peanuts spread, taste black chocolate & salt 🤤 - One Kraken 🐙 coin - One set of UA stickers - One box of Cossacks matches, seen in the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 But also... 🧵2/6
neutral · AI labelView post →The developers of Stalker, GSC Game World, will tell you their first game was the #RTS Cossacks They don't want you to know they first made WARCRAFT 2000: NUCLEAR EPIDEMIC youtu.be/bEvE-oo2MxY
neutral · AI labelView post →I am trying to improve graphics. Check out my discord to get early access to the game! discord.gg/KwshUMb8n7 #gamedev #cossacks #poles #graphic #UnrealEngine
neutral · AI labelView post →The challenge is to choose 20 games that greatly influenced you. One game per day, for 20 days. No explanations, no reviews, no particular order. Day 8 Cossacks: The Art of War #GameChallenge #Games #GameDev #PromoSky #IndieDev
neutral · AI labelView post →Playing Cossacks Art of War and European War every couple of hours they crash and I have to start again. Should be fit for purpose and not rely on web searches for fixes.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A game of Napoleon's Battles (Avalon Hill) with French, Baden, Austrians, Cossacks and British?! against Prussians. All we've got is a fast play sheet and the French statistics to go from - the game box is lost somewhere in the loft maybe.
neutral · AI labelView post →Cossacks: European Wars is Ukrainian Game Developer GSC Game World's foray into post-Age of Empires warfare (Aoe I was about Classical Antiquity, II ranged from the Dark Ages to the late Medieval Age and III was about the Age of Discovery, i.e. warfare taking place in the 16th and 17th century). The best thing about this game is the building set: unlike Age of Empires, EACH civilization possesses its own, unique set of buildings, all of them very detailed and true to their real-life…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →How much do you know about the conflict between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Zaporozhian Cossacks? Look no further — this is your game, featuring one of the largest battles in 17th-century Europe. Original theme+original system = what more could you ask for? Author: Krzysztof Dytczak
neutral · AI labelView post →Cossacks: European Wars is Ukrainian Game Developer GSC Game World's foray into post-Age of Empires warfare (Aoe I was about Classical Antiquity, II ranged from the Dark Ages to the late Medieval Age and III was about the Age of Discovery, i.e. warfare taking place in the 16th and 17th century). The best thing about this game is the building set: unlike Age of Empires, EACH civilization possesses its own, unique set of buildings, all of them very detailed and true to their real-life…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I will leave the cat here, so that everybody who passes by can pet it and give it a thumbs up and awards ／＞ フ | _ _ l ／` ミ＿xノ / | / ヽ ﾉ │ | | | ／￣| | | | | (￣ヽ＿_ヽ_)__) ＼二つ
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A smattering of photos from Monday's game of 'War in our Homeland' - 17th century Cossacks (and tartars!) versus poles! Not a period I know anything about but an exciting game all the same! #nerdlings #wargaming
neutral · AI labelView post →We've been working hard (okay, with a few breaks here and there) to bring you the first public build of the game! Most of the new features have already been showcased in our shorts, but today, we’re excited to give you a sneak peek at our new inventory screen concept. #gamedev #cossacks #art
neutral · AI labelView post →Us again, with more screenshoots, now our new main menu. Hope you like it! If you're not on our Discord yet, here’s the link: discord.com/invite/zxu3bHp… Check it out to access a VERY limited game build! Just ask the devs! #gamedev #multiplayer #indie #cossacks
neutral · AI labelView post →Modern day Cossacks game where you sack the remaining safe spaces of billionaires.
neutral · AI labelView post →steam recording me as playing and the reality is the game stop starts non stop, tried everything and gave up, and the worse part Steam is refusing to refund because i spent hours trying to make it work!!!!! The best thing to do is try just once if it doesnt load and run then ask for a refund. Well done Steam for punishing the customer for your faulty software!!!! PEOPLE BE AWARE
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →game gets bugged from option menue changes and then crashes constantly, now crashes when starts a new game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Currently playing "Napoleon at the Berezina". A bit fiddely and with two pages of errata, but the challenge is quite neat. How often do you get to conduct horrible river crossings in a tactical Napoleonics game, while being harassed by swarms of Cossacks? #wargaming #napoleonics
neutral · AI labelView post →For everyone saying this doesn't work on W10, go into your installation folder, find DMCR.exe. Right click and set compatibility to Windows XP SP3. Launch it from steam. Then you will be able to change resolution etc. Still a great game all these years later, played countless hours during my youth:D
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There is a lot complaint how game doesn't work / has issues on Win 8 or 10. It actually doesn't work on Win 7 either. Complete ♥♥♥♥. You cannot change speed to a slower mode without having serious issues. It can be run only on fast mode - which is waaaay too fast for those new to the game. Plus, game is completely inferior to AOE2. If you are not nostalgic fan of this game, you are better off playing AoE for the thousand and fiftieth time, than wasting any of your time on this. I'm puzzled…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The best strategy game to face the Earth... Everything is so perfect with so much to do and chose from.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →my dad play this game :D
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Much like Shogun 1, there was nothing quite like Cossacks when it first came out. An RTS in the age of pike and shot (still an EXTREMELY rare setting for games) where you could have literally thousands of troops on the field. I played this one a ton because it was so much more interesting and different than anything I had played before it. I don't even think I ever got into the single-player campaigns of this games, too wrapped up as I was in setting up random matches with the AI and engaging…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →my dad begged me to buy this game with his card and i did now he wont let me use my pc
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →thing. Fighting, crafty, adaptable and commited Ukrainian Cossacks is a completely other ball game. In a way, the soul of the Cossacks should be our main war aim. 3. The redemption arc The history of the Cossacks has dark pages indeed. Few darker than those written in the 20th century. But
neutral · AI labelView post →If you're thinking of voting for the Nebulas/Hugos & want to play my Jewish historical fantasy interactive fiction game "The Ghost and the Golem" (demons, mystical journeys, kugel, Cossacks, Talmudic debates, arranged marriages, bandits, sexy anarchist klezmers...) lemme know & I'll get you a key!
neutral · AI labelView post →I cant PLAY WITH MY DAD CUZ YOUR GAME CRASHED ALL THE TIME SO PLEASE FIX IT PLEASE
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Monday’s Eagles game starting right at break fast on Yom Kippur is the greatest win my family’s had since escaping the Cossacks
neutral · AI labelView post →Classic strategy game with a realistic connection to historic nations and the battles they fought. A Review by [url=store.steampowered.com/curator/29892929]The Casually Addicted Gamer Story This game is completely underestimated. You may have heared of Civilization, being hyped without being very unique. In Cossacks you get to play fictional missions besides the free mode, that fact doesn't make it special yet. Though the missions give you a very unique impression of the epochal circumstances…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →*BEFORE YOU BUY THIS GAME THERE ARE KNOWN PROBLEMS WITH PERFORMANCE, YOU SHOULD LOOK AROUND THE WEB FOR SOLUTIONS IF YOU HAVE THEM YOURSELF* Once I managed to get the game working it was great to re-live the experience of playing one of the best RTS games I know of, nice graphics and simple enough to pick it up, though with some bugs in the game that the programmers never corrected. Cossacks European Wars is great for 1-2 hour sessions, the campaign is pretty tedious and unforgiving however, a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Never played any Cossacks game actually! Kinda missed them in my being bad at RTSes phase. Love the concept of zones of danger for early modern infantry tho.
neutral · AI labelView post →🖥️ Cossacks: European Wars (2000) This is a must play for any classic RTS fan. Fondly remembered game in Europe, probably less so in the US. At the time, it was groundbreaking due to the sheer number of possible units on the map - you started small, but longer games would end up with huge armies.
positive · AI labelView post →SlavJank in RTS form First attempt of GSC at legal game distributing - tried to appeal to Europe - got fans in CIS countries - GG Another Old game that barely works on modern systems Full 2D, needs render patches or else it barely works. After patches - take your time while calibrating game speed. Then save and quit. Or else you gotta do that every time. Anyway, buildings look nice, props too, units alright - for its time I mean. This game definetely has its charm if you give it a chance.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Reviewing games I played a long time ago: This was my go to strategy war game before I discovered the Total War series. it's pretty much a XVII/XVIII century version of Age of Empires, but with more focus on tactical militar warfare and, in my opinion, a lot harder. It's obviously outdated now, but it's still very impressive to see hundreds and hundreds of units fighting in realistic formations in such an old engine. This Steam version works straight out of the box, it even accepts ultrawide…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game works not on Windows 10
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There is an issue with this particular game. It was working perfectly fine the first time. However when i attempted to play it a second time there was a DMCR notification. It stated that there was a problem with the file. I found this to be extremely annoying as there was no clarification as to what the problem was so that it could be resolved. Additionally whenever the game launched and i went on to play, everytime i changed the in-game settings the game would stop following the DMCR message.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ukrainian children begin their performance of a patriotic military game which originated in the 16th century culture of the Cossacks, #OTD October 26, 2018 in Luhansk, Ukraine.
neutral · AI labelView post →Cossacks 3 is the only game I've seen successfully manage the 2D-but-in-3D look. Simply amazing! Stronghold Crusaders 2 was pretty close tho.
positive · AI labelView post →#retrogaming game of the day is Ukrainian Cossacks: European Wars (2001) by GSC Game World www.uvlist.net/game-45120 in 2001, Ukrainian Studio GSC was talking about wars in Europe, especially with Cossacks. RTS games were a hype and it was a good one.
neutral · AI labelView post →GOG remembers Empire Earth, and has run it through their Preservation Program www.gog.com/en/game/empi... (They also sell all the sequels. And all the Cossacks games too)
neutral · AI labelView post →This is our world. They'll employ a million unidentified Cossacks to say "no" rather than just do the right thing, all because some fucking MBA game-theoried that it will shave 1.5% off the bottom line. 👇
neutral · AI labelView post →my friend once came up with a game concept that was "Tetris, but your figures starve to death without proper nourishment (like in Cossacks)"
neutral · AI labelView post →Let me play a game about the Netherlands where you are one of the Cossacks who came to the Netherlands to fight Napoleon. That's still cool even though there are maybe 1.5 games about the historical Netherlands.
neutral · AI labelView post →Other late-in-the-game punts, leading to disappointment: 01. You see, my parents were actually Cossacks, it's all retribution for some historical blather (...nonsense!) 02. A long lost twin, never revealed until the story got stuck. 03. I was adopted (...bloodline destiny) 03. A dream (...No!).
neutral · AI labelView post →One of my fav!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic classic game with an ultra hardcore campaign! I have had a lot of fun even in 2023.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
