Men of War: Red Tide
Men of War: Red Tide
Game
Game2012
Men of War: Condemned Heroes
Developer Fulqrum Publishing
Men of War: Condemned Heroes (Russian: Штрафбат) is a real-time tactics / strategy game set during World War II. It tells the story of Soviet penal battalions formed under Joseph Stalin's infamous Order 227. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
182 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 11, 2026 · last updated Oct 12, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
60
Fresh
98 positive · 65 negative
95% range 52–67%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 98 | 65 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
141 of 218 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
61% recommend · 102 yes, 66 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 168 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (571 of 793 positive).
Players praise the game's difficulty and historical setting of Soviet penal battalions. [1][2][3] Some reviewers find the game frustrating due to bugs and repetitive missions. [4][5][6] Fans of the series recommend it for its realism and challenging gameplay. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [16]
First of all - this game is not hard. Yup - first two or three missions might be dificult - but then you will learn whet to do and use it for whole game. Because almost all missions are the same. You are outnumbered... but that is no problem. You can simply leave all your soldiers far away and use 2 guys in stealth (f.e. one machibegunner and one rifleman). And pretty much beat whole level with this two. My best …
- [4]
love these type of games but this one is unplayable for me way to many bugs worst one is not loading the next area when you have completed a objective ive followed most of the guides to sort this problem out but still doesnt work i give up i shouldnt need to mess about with files in order to get this game to work do not buy!
- [1]
Personally one of my favourites in the series. This is the hardest of the game, packing a variety of missions that put you in the shoes of the Penal Units of the Red Army who have to earn redemption for their crimes (or braveries against the Soviet regime) through enemy blood. The missions are essentially suicide - you get a handful of people against vastly outnumbering positions of your enemies, clearing the field …
- [2]
Okay, so let me get this straight...this game has mixed reviews because it is difficult? Played through the whole campaign without experiencing any bugs, maybe others were not so fortunate. The game is at times very hard if not near impossible but this shows well the challenges penal comapany soldiers had to face in World War 2.If you like and are capable of finishing heroic missions in MOW:AS 1 or 2, then you are …
- [8]
Introduction You are the heroes of Mother Russia! You will fight a losing battle, but must still overcome and be victorious! For your actions and your actions alone, will you turn the tide of this war. +Pros+ +Realism +History on some of the smaller scale battles +Challenging -Cons- -Bugs -Not as optimized or fine-tuned compared to previous products -Challenging Note: This would be the Third installment of the Men …
Summarised from 34 of the 188 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 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Men of War: Condemned Heroes talk about realistic and immersive tactical simulation; those who didn't talk about bugs that prevent mission completion. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Men of War: Condemned Heroes received a score of 57/100 on Metacritic from 12 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. GameSpot gave the game a "mediocre" score of 5/10, criticizing the repetition of mission objectives and its overall difficulty.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 182 · most liked firstI love Men of War but this one is very frustrating. Most of the time you'll be using 2-6 soldiers to fight against the whole ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ German army, even though the map is filled with "allied" AI that doesn't even move a finger, so good luck beating the Nazi War Machine with your 4 wimpy soldiers.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Personally one of my favourites in the series. This is the hardest of the game, packing a variety of missions that put you in the shoes of the Penal Units of the Red Army who have to earn redemption for their crimes (or braveries against the Soviet regime) through enemy blood. The missions are essentially suicide - you get a handful of people against vastly outnumbering positions of your enemies, clearing the field for the main army, doing sabotage and reconaissance. The game uses well…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Okay, so let me get this straight...this game has mixed reviews because it is difficult? Played through the whole campaign without experiencing any bugs, maybe others were not so fortunate. The game is at times very hard if not near impossible but this shows well the challenges penal comapany soldiers had to face in World War 2.If you like and are capable of finishing heroic missions in MOW:AS 1 or 2, then you are well suited for this type of game.The campaign is in and around 20 hours. Here…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I very like this game, there are not so interesting missions, but you need to think about every step because this game is hard like i dont know what. 1.-There is a bit similar levels -+ 2.-This game is interesting for hardcore gamers. + 3.-I Think many people do not like graphic in game,but i think its cool, even for 2014.+ 4.- Those who like games about WW2, can try this game. 5.- All models are almost similar. - 6.- YOU CAN KILL CHICKEN!!!!111 10/10 BEST GAME EVER!!!! GREENPEACE AGREES!…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Men of War: Condemned Heroes - Rating: 8.2/10 General Impression Men of War: Condemned Heroes is a pretty nice strategy game. The graphics and the textures are pretty nice. The atmosphere mostly happens in open fields, villages, cities, forests, and even other environments. The audio is pretty nice. The music is nice. In this game, the music is are stunning and dynamic. Also, the voice acting it probably the best one from the Men of War series. It’s just perfect. When the commander tells you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not sure why there are so many bad reviews for this game. Ok its not a step up for the series more of a step backwards but it's still a decent title if you like Men of War. I haven't found any errors or bad progrmming yet and Ive nearly completed the game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First of all - this game is not hard. Yup - first two or three missions might be dificult - but then you will learn whet to do and use it for whole game. Because almost all missions are the same. You are outnumbered... but that is no problem. You can simply leave all your soldiers far away and use 2 guys in stealth (f.e. one machibegunner and one rifleman). And pretty much beat whole level with this two. My best tactic - sneak to artilery unit. Kill one soldier with melee attack... Then sneak…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game tells the story of the penal battalions during World War II. Game is really difficult, but fun and deep. A good game for all lovers of good strategy! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3051152710 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3076958753 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3697179947 Unlocked all achievements!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It really took me a while to get into it, but the Men of War series is a highly complex and realistic tactical RTS, at times even frustratingly so. But you can pick up every single piece of equipment, you can try to repair and steal enemy tanks if they aren't damaged beyond repair, every single soldier has their own inventory and can pick up weapons of fallen friends and foes alike, every single RPG and grenade must be picked up etc. etc. One of the best and most deadly war simulations out…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a stress test for future military historians. If you can survive these missions, you can survive a thesis on Soviet tactical doctrine.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →love these type of games but this one is unplayable for me way to many bugs worst one is not loading the next area when you have completed a objective ive followed most of the guides to sort this problem out but still doesnt work i give up i shouldnt need to mess about with files in order to get this game to work do not buy!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →is fun, but after a certain point it becomes repetitive.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played this game of MOW series after a while(playing Assualt Squad 2 mostly). It has a good campaign. i enjoyed it. i suggest that you buy it if you like MOW.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Men of War: Condemned Heroes is a 2012 World War II game in the critically acclaimed historical real-time tactics series Men of War developed by Best Way and published by 1C. The game aims to be a highly realistic immersive simulation. Infantry can be killed by two or three hits and even tanks could be completely obliterated with a single, well-placed armour-piercing shell or anti-tank grenade. By leveraging the highly robust GEM physics engine to model projectiles, armour thickness, armour…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Your gun won't hit an enemy right in front of you, enemy's gun can hit you 100m away.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Introduction You are the heroes of Mother Russia! You will fight a losing battle, but must still overcome and be victorious! For your actions and your actions alone, will you turn the tide of this war. +Pros+ +Realism +History on some of the smaller scale battles +Challenging -Cons- -Bugs -Not as optimized or fine-tuned compared to previous products -Challenging Note: This would be the Third installment of the Men of War games that is separate from the Assault Squad variants. Realism…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Has bugs that don't let you finish a mission you just spent the past hour playing, im too old for this ♥♥♥♥
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a female gamer I'm quite into hardcore and strategic games. I've played men of war assault squad, and Vietnam wars. This was my first purchase on steam. The game ran smoothly on the first few missions. Unfortunately the game just didn't seem to work as smoothly as soon as I started the first mission ( air thick to death) despite completing all objective including the last objective (capture HQ) I'm unable to proceed to the next mission. And there's also seem to be bugs in the game the moment…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I Love Men Of War games but this game so far just seems too buggy and difficult. I have only played it a handful of times now and maybe something could change but so far impressions of it just aren't good.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The hardest one in the franchise.Despite all the bugs and repeating single player levels I really loved this game.I would never suggest starting with this game if you're new but if you can beat MOW red tide you can beat this one.This is a game just for the veterans that are willing to push through some horrible game design.The lore is a lot more grounded and brutal in this entry as well another thing unique to this one.This MOW is neck to neck with MOW Vietnam as the most "different"
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I absolutely love all the Men of War games I've played so far, and I just downloaded Condemned Heroes. The first mission is driving me nuts. It's much easier to get your soldiers killed in this game, and that's OK, but how do you turn the darn snow off? There are millions of snowflakes whizzing across my screen, which makes it darn near impossible to see the cursor. I keep losing soldiers because I have no idea where my mouse is pointing. Reality is a good thing up to the point where it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A good game with an actual campaign unlike the newer Assualt Squad games that just have the generic missions on different maps. That being said don't buy this game if you like having tanks, there are few that you actually get to use/control. Furthermore this game seems to have the worst AI of any of the Men of War Games, infantry often times derp out and end up getting themselves killed. Again an overall good game, just not for someone who is new to this type of RTS .
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →dont buy the game unless you want it just for the singleplayer online does not work anymore
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great addition to the Men of War franchise. Definitely recommend to fans of the series, or for anyone looking for good RTS fun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →great game i love the editor also it has amazaing gameplay.the game is very pretty graphics.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I thought it would be a first or tird-person shooter, NOT a statitic game. It's not my type of games!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Condemned Heroes is one of the quieter entries in the Men of War series, often overlooked but with some interesting touches. The story frames doomed squads in desperate situations, giving a slightly more personal and narrative-driven feel than the usual WWII campaigns, though it never strays far from the series’ main focus: tough, methodical gameplay. That said, compared to the previous titles, I find it to have the most solid and well-structured gameplay. The missions are challenging, but not…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've still got a printout of a bit of feedback you gave me 16 years ago. A breakdown of sentences I had written in a preview of a Men Of War game, so surgically precise it was worth carrying into everything I wrote afterwards.
neutral · AI labelView post →So I have completed this game and all of the bonus missions as well as all others in the Men of War series, so I think I can give a pretty good overall summary. This game appears to have been rushed. It really lacks the polish of other entries in the series (especially the later Assault Squad games but even the original Men of War was a vastly better product). There are a number of bugs in almost every mission, many of which are not actually very difficult fixes within the GEM editor. For…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"My name is Sergei Petrov and I serve in a penal battalion. For weeks, I have led my troops against impossible odds - eight against hundreds of Krauts. I know this sounds ridiculous. Perhaps this entire game - I mean, campaign - is ridiculous. Our latest mission had us invade a town held by the Krauts. We had allies there, my men and I. But they weren't that helpful. Most of them stood in place like idiots, never took cover, and got gunned down. Instead of helping clear the town, our allies…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played all Men of War games and finished this on hardest mode. I have to say this is the worst of the lot. PROS: -The idea (penal battalions) is cool. -It's still Men of War CONS: -Missions are really uninspired, most of them is trench capturing followed by an enemy counter-assault. -Some missions are trivially easy, other ridiculously hard. However, enemy AI is so dumb that I can finish most of them with a single man at the hardest mode. Others just require some save-scumming and abusing…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Game is really Great,but why it doesn't have ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ coop multiplayer.In Men of War,you can play coop multiplayer.By this way you can pass some hard missions such as the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ second mission of USSR.This game ist really harder than Men of War,and I really like it even i can't pass the second mission lol
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a tough tough tough men of war game! Easy is not even easy!! This game gives you a 6 troops fighting against 100 germans! Its tough Pros well-designed graphics and textures achievements Fun and challenging gameplay Infantry, heavy guns, batteries, cannons, vehicles, tanks, airplanes, and many other units available 3 difficulties availablee Cons Random crashes
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →okay here's one squad now go and take the enemy position that has 200 men and multiple tanks
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do you like men of war? It is all same. Tactical strategy - no need to explain. I miss building troops but that is a different genre, so Men of war got it right. Every single game. + : gameplay, which strategy needs - : maybe graphics, but it's an old game 6/10 but just because I dont like the genre otherwise recommended.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played this game series since "soldiers heroes of wwii". Then play faces of war, men of war etc (some of them i already own a retail copy and buy from steam recently to support them) I mostly play story line mission and It's a quite bad game when u compare the past. Most of time, you are both out-gun and out-number, you have to get everything on battefield to complete your mission. Some of them, like AT gun, mortar, are esstential to complete mission. If you are unlucky, it will be destroy…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THE GAME IS BAD I CANT GET THRUOGH THE FIRST MISSION AND IT WONT LET ME SIGN IN TO MULTIPLAYER overall i think its a waste of money
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's almost exclusively for MoW series fans and even those could have a hard time. If youre new to the series dont even bother to play
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolute garbage. 1/10 An example of the marvelous A.I in this sad mess of a game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKZFcg_cGSA
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Men of War II - On Sale for $15.29 (66% Off) Now Through September 29, 2025 on Steam store.steampowered.com/app/1128860/... #steamsale #steam #videogames #gaming
neutral · AI labelView post →Men of War: Constant Crashes is a game that is fun, in spite of itself. This piece of ♥♥♥♥ has crashed more than fifty times across the 13 missions that comprise the main campaign. I would not recommend it to anyone, until such a time as you can actually spend more time playing the game than replaying the same sections you've already completed because the game crashed while autosaving, or transitioning to a new area, or just for the sheer thrill of it. Which is honestly a shame because it does…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly... I enjoyed the game but sometimes it felt impossible. You have 6 guys now take out the entire Nazi army. I would sit and launch every mortar praying it would take out the enemy trench line... but super fun playing as a tank
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cool Real Time Strategy game. Not much of a play-again game, because no matter what you do you have the same outcome usually.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →good old game + story
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What upcoming game are you looking forward to the most? For me it’s: * Starfield, * Men of War 2 * Total War: Pharaoh * Dune Awakening * Star Wars Outlaws
neutral · AI labelView post →I don't know why people complain about this game. It is no harder than other games in the series and any hardship comes from the context of the game. If you haven't played other MOW games then i understand but if you are a fan of the series this game is a welcome addition to the collection.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Stalin: Not a step back. Russian AI: Watch!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is not that it is hard, as it should be hard, it riddled with bugs and almost unplayable.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good: -Easy 100% achievements for Steam Bad: -Terrible Artificial Intelligence makes the game annoying sometimes. Specially in some maps. Well overall what happens with this game is that the devs just got the game editor of the previous game and made some new maps. The previous games of the saga were focused mainly on massive battles with lots of units. But in this case the game is focused on battles where you only have a few units and have to kill key enemy units or positions so that…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →“The game I joined Steam for”
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Are you looking for a Men of War title to purchase? Because this one is the second hardest entry in the series, right behind Vietnam. This game has a few bugs in it, making it a bit more difficult to play. But if you want a challenge and you're fairly experienced with the Men of War series, go ahead and give it a try. I think you'd get the most of your enjoyment value if you bought it on sale though.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Warning: I strongly reccomend you to play Men of War 1 before this, Condemned Heroes is the second most difficult game in the saga. You will find it too confuse and difficult if you dont have previous experience in MoW. A total of 19 missions, only with the soviets. Half of the missions are not particularly difficult, however the other half can be very difficult long and tedious. General description of the saga. You control soldiers with a limited inventory, the soldiers can take items and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I liked the part where my one remaining infantry unit ran infront of a quad barreled 20mm AA gun to say hi to all the enemy.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →All lies posted on the official description for the game as a story about the Penal batallions. The way it is described it is made to sound like it will be on par with Men of War or Red Tide but instead the "campaigns" are just disjointed loosely linked skirmishes. Oh and its the buggest of all MoW's by far. No voice acting,briefings, no cutscenes, no story arc. I was expecting an epic story of a criminal batallion trying to redeem their ways in the service of their nation complete with…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the hardest game i have ever played
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game that I highly recommend for the CoH lovers that wants a little more military simulation. Graphics are not as good as CoH but hey the game is fun. Make sure to download the co-op MOD! They could have used a Russian narrator :-)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Men of War: Condemned Heroes had one of the most promising concepts in the series. Playing as a Soviet penal battalion through some of the harshest battles of the Eastern Front based on real historical events offered a refreshing perspective and had the potential to tell a much darker, more personal story than previous entries. Unfortunately, the execution falls short. The core Men of War gameplay is still enjoyable, and the Direct Control mechanic remains as satisfying as ever. However, the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Definitely one of the more challenging entries in the Men of War series. Condemned Heroes follows in the footsteps of Red Tide, with several campaigns set on the eastern front, based around the Soviet penal batallions. From the get go missions are solid, and require well thought out and executed strategies. A slight mistake can result in disaster requiring either a restart or reloading of a save. It could be argued the game is in fact too challenging. For someone inexperienced with Men of War,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A punishing, grim yet satisfying tactical crawl.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Men of War: Condemned Heroes, developed and published by Fulqrum Publishing, stands as one of the grittiest and most unforgiving entries in the long-running Men of War tactical series. Set on the Eastern Front of World War II, the game takes a daring narrative direction by placing players in command of the Soviet Union’s penal battalions—units composed of disgraced soldiers, political prisoners, and supposed traitors who are sent into the most dangerous missions as expendable assets. This…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
