Pacific Storm
Pacific Storm
Game
Game2011
Nuclear Dawn
Developer GameConnect, InterWave Studios
Nuclear Dawn is a hybrid first-person shooter real-time strategy multiplayer video game. It was originally announced in February 2006 as an amateur mod for the Source engine, but in April 2009 was revealed to have become Source-based project for Windows and Mac OS X. It was released on 26 September 2011. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
203 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Oct 30, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
66
Fresh
125 positive · 63 negative
95% range 59–73%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 125 | 63 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
1,187 of 1,526 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
67% recommend · 126 yes, 61 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 187 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (1,963 of 2,498 positive).
Players widely agree the game is dead, with empty servers and no player base. [1][2][3] Some players note the game can still be fun with friends or at specific times. [4][5][6]
Liked
Representative posts
- [2]
It's a brilliant game but there are literally zero people online, and there is no PvE content whatsoever. If you buy this, know that you will never play it. This is a perfect example of why multiplayer-only games are a sad investment. And I wonder how many people will buy this during the sale without realizing they are paying for a literally dead game?
- [13]
It's a pity, this game had so much potential. The core design was good, it was fun. As a friend of mine said "It felt right." The gunplay, balance aside was decent, TTK was at a nice medium. It had some problems though. Some of it was design balance, that could have been overcome, the reason why, I'll elaborate a little on after I explain the main balance issues first: For the FPS players, the NATO (Consortium) …
- [1]
Nuclear Dawn represents gaming's entropy—a once-promising hybrid reduced to digital necrophilia as Steam continues selling access to empty servers. Its continued availability in 2025 isn't service but cruelty, keeping hope alive for matches that will never materialize. The four-pack bundle isn't a discount; it's a psychological trap requiring you to become an unpaid recruiter for a game abandoned by its own …
- [9]
This is not the mindless mad dash of Halo or MW3. If you've played Team Fortress 2, this is better. The classes are all distinctly different, each having a unique advantages and disadvantages. Although there are not tons of players, in the past month there has always been a game I can jump into. This is the most fun I've ever had with a FPS, multiplayer or otherwise! Buy this game!
- [7]
Nuclear Dawn might be a forgotten gem for many, but for me it’s been one of the best gaming investments I’ve ever made. While the online servers are practically dead these days, the offline experience still shines. Playing against bots gives me that satisfying mix of FPS combat and RTS-style strategy, and it scratches an itch that few other games manage to hit. What makes it special is the hybrid gameplay: you’re …
Summarised from 34 of the 201 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 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Nuclear Dawn sits at 66% positive across 188 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Nuclear Dawn received mixed reviews on Metacritic. PC Gamer found the perks "muddled and unclear" and disliked how there is no way to practice the commander role outside a live game. However, they called it "surprisingly deep and well-designed" and praised the map design, technology tree, and first-person elements. GameSpot praised the design, game balance, and maps, but they criticized the lack of a tutorial or solo play. They said players' experiences will likely vary according to how experienced their teammates are, ranging from "a white-knuckle tactical struggle" to "a sloppy brawl". Although they felt there were still balancing issues that needed to be fixed, Rock Paper Shotgun…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 203 · most liked firstNuclear Dawn represents gaming's entropy—a once-promising hybrid reduced to digital necrophilia as Steam continues selling access to empty servers. Its continued availability in 2025 isn't service but cruelty, keeping hope alive for matches that will never materialize. The four-pack bundle isn't a discount; it's a psychological trap requiring you to become an unpaid recruiter for a game abandoned by its own developers. The true apocalypse wasn't in the game's setting but in its player…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This was the only game my grandfather got me. I was 9 years old when he got me a physical copy of this game. When he died i found the hard copy of this in his stuff and i had to buy it again and experience this game properly. I love how this game plays and i miss my grandfather so much
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a brilliant game but there are literally zero people online, and there is no PvE content whatsoever. If you buy this, know that you will never play it. This is a perfect example of why multiplayer-only games are a sad investment. And I wonder how many people will buy this during the sale without realizing they are paying for a literally dead game?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Was a good game. Still is I suppose but if no one hears you take down a base in the morning with a nuke... is there any fallout to be had?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Deadass Source Engine Battlefield, with not quite NEOTOKYO, not quite Dystopia class selection. Goes on sale for $1 USD. Has level editor and Steam Workshop support. Also has Trading Cards for easy Profile Badge leveling.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game yet i sadly cannot recommend it as the game has been dead for years. FPS/RTS games are super fun to me (this is why i love ND) but i cant recommend a game that's been dead for nearly 5 years. Great game but no player base
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a pity, this game had so much potential. The core design was good, it was fun. As a friend of mine said "It felt right." The gunplay, balance aside was decent, TTK was at a nice medium. It had some problems though. Some of it was design balance, that could have been overcome, the reason why, I'll elaborate a little on after I explain the main balance issues first: For the FPS players, the NATO (Consortium) faction basically was super OP. Faster firing, more accurate guns. This meant that…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dead and no real singleplayer.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just make this free already... I bought it long ago and if there are enough players, it's fun. But now it seems there are like 20 people playing it. Most of the time it's just bots and maybe 1-2 players. Just make this free. No one will buy it anyway...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dead game. Yes, i know that judging games (specially with bot support) because they have no people playing sucks, but the bot support sucks and is reduced to a 5v5, a far cry of the game which i think had originally 32v32 or 16v16 matches. Besides, the game costs money even if its a source mod, so anyone interested in buying it should beware that all you will do here is play with bots or convince a lot of friends to play together.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great Idea. Atmospheric setting. 4 classes (with sub-classes included) providing different gameplay. SADLY, THIS GAME IS DEAD LONG AGO. It had deserved a way better future. R.I.P. Thus, a massive chunk of achievements are impossible to obtain nowadays. And the rest of them suppose dozens of hours of grinding with bots which makes no sense in such team-based game like that. Well, I got like 30% of them back in 2013 and it's not my fault I can't finish them properly. At this point, I consider…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Positives: Game is very fun with teams of 5+. Community is small but enjoyable. Daily players. Negatives: Reload bug that only happens once every so often. Players only meet daily at a very specific time window, which ranges from 3-4 hours, 12pm-4pm EST roughly. Game feels very stale and boring if teams are less than 5 players. Bots run into their own movement bugs, which breaks them often. Verdict: Fantastic RTSFPS, has potential for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is not the mindless mad dash of Halo or MW3. If you've played Team Fortress 2, this is better. The classes are all distinctly different, each having a unique advantages and disadvantages. Although there are not tons of players, in the past month there has always been a game I can jump into. This is the most fun I've ever had with a FPS, multiplayer or otherwise! Buy this game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Best RTS+FPS game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game overall, mainly suffering from a lack of players (and possibly date graphics by >2020 standards). Still that game was the first actually trying to bring something new in the squad-based PvP FPS. And it managed it well overall. If you have a few friends, give this game a chance (just check before buying that servers are still online, not sure in 2025).
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No players playing. Would love to try this with people.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nuclear Dawn is Dead. I remember playing this game when it first came out. It was ground breaking. Unfortunately it never managed to attract the dedicated user base that similar games like Natural Selection 2 did. As of 9/14/21, ND has three active servers. RIP Nuclear Dawn.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →looked interesting, its a shame the game is pretty much dead. no players or anything unless you can be on at very specific times.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Game is great, but its also dead. Theres a Discord for it where people gather to play though and they seem to play on Sundays.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is dead, didnt really have a player base in the first place. Was fun when there were people playing but now its luck of the draw.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing game! It is sad that not many people play it. It support Local Lan. It is pretty amazing. I hope someone sees the potential!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Warning: Online Multiplayer only! I don't have (m)any friends. Otherwise, i imagine this to be a pretty decent tactical shooter.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Was fun in it's day, but never got the traction it needed to thrive. Long dead
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Trying to decide if Chase the Express/Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn (PS1) counts as a Sugar & Rockets game when checking out its credits and getting one two punched by Cookie's Bustle right above nsfw PC-98 games. (I think it is awesome & the true path of the JP game dev)
positive · AI labelView post →Nuclear Dawn might be a forgotten gem for many, but for me it’s been one of the best gaming investments I’ve ever made. While the online servers are practically dead these days, the offline experience still shines. Playing against bots gives me that satisfying mix of FPS combat and RTS-style strategy, and it scratches an itch that few other games manage to hit. What makes it special is the hybrid gameplay: you’re not just running and gunning, you’re also thinking about resource management,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →some buddies and i were going through an rts phase again, checking out niche titles only to find one of the most underrated source engine gems ive played
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pointing out the obvious, the game is dead, but it seems like it still has potential if you've got a group of friends willing to commit to it. You'll probably need 6 people total at least, both factions have slight differences in the class equipment/structures which I thought was kind of cool. This game is only $0.99 whenever it goes on sale. My biggest gripe so far is it seems that whoever is the commander will realistically, probably never see the light of day during a match. You're rewarded…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is like a combination between Battlefield and Team fortress 2 and call of duty and its very fun to play too bad it got left 4 dead
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dead game but great game for what it was at the time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game kicked ass back in the day and was really fun to play. Too bad that was almost 10 years ago. Steam Charts says there's maybe 4 people online right now as I'm writing this, definitely not worth getting and its a shame that this has no PVE elements at all.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Had potential, but was left in a far too unpolished state. You can build walls but their hitboxes are so ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up you can shoot through them 90% of the time Trying to fire/ADS/sprint "too soon" after completing a reload will not only retroactively cancel the reload but glitch your weapon into uselessness for several seconds The RTS system has one extremely serious bug that causes construction orders to sometimes end up in limbo ,blocking you from constructing anything in that area…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nuclear Dawn 2?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A great game that's unfortunately dead. No players.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The perfect game that still have an active, newcomer friendly community.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dont play this for the single player (offline), its so full of bugs and the AI is completely useless. Have not tried the multiplayer, so hopefully thats a lot better.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Was a fun game, but it's dead... shame there's no single-player for it
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got on sale for €1 but it's a multiplayer game and there were no players online when I played. Old multiplayer games really need to be permanently priced low to have any chance of maintaining a player base, €10 is overpriced.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played it mostly for the FPS portions, which were mostly alright. I think it is hard to get the right mix of FPS/RTS combos and the game doesn't do it perfectly, but does a decent enough job to make it worth it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game would be better if it was on the xbox 360
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While I usually wouldn’t recommend a multiplayer-focused game with such a low player count, Nuclear Dawn still offers some enjoyment in its Practice Mode against bots. It’s a hybrid FPS/strategy game with a simple leveling system and straightforward gameplay loop. While not groundbreaking, it’s entertaining in its own right. That said, the AI is basic and sometimes unpredictable, frequently getting stuck in odd places. Since multiplayer is essentially dead, playing with friends is necessary…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game, but no players. I bet this game would be insanely fun if the lobbies were full. I love the way the RTS and FPS elements are intertwined, necessary for each other.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →5 Hours of Hating Valorant
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overview Play as an FPS soldier or RTS commander. Capture and defend resource points scattered across the map, upgrade equipment and build advanced structures, and ultimately conquer the enemy base. There's a TDM mode without commander. Gameplay ★★★★☆ The FPS component is pretty standard, with 4 typical classes of Exo (Heavy), Assault (Normal), Stealth (Light) and Support. Heavy loadouts consist of anti-personnel gatling gun or anti-structure mortar. Normal loadouts are the usual…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not the game I thought it would be. I'd give a neutral rating if I could. It is entirely a pvp game with no pve elements. My fault for not researching the game enough before buying it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Back when this game first came out it was fun, but the servers are 100% dead with 0 active players.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Shame these FPS/RTS hybrids never really blow up that much, because they are definitely a lot of fun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Genuinely an amazing looking game, all I wish was for there to be more players, who are active.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There is no Nuka Cola.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →every now and then i get heartache for this game... i never really got into it during my teenage years but looking back on them, this really was a revolutionary game that stood out from the rest. asymmetric game design combining a classic RTS with the classic shooter, where each class has their own semi-customizable gimmicks to suit your playstyle as best it could... i miss the complexities of it. I want a nuclear dawn 2 so desperately, i want devs to quit dumbing games down to appeal to games…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I absolutely LOVED this game! It was so much fun but unfortunately it takes a lot of players consistently playing to keep it going and that has been an issue. Steam should add a new scheduled game nights feature where people can sign up for certain games so there are enough players. Just like DemiGod which was an awesome game with amazing graphics, even today. This game is just so much fun to play! So dynamic and just so many ways to counter and win. Love stuff like this.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really cool game Has aged super well, done a game versus bots as commander and it was really enjoyable Hope I'll be able to see full server PVP matches some day Edit after a few hours in multiplayer: The game really reaches a stagnant and boring stalemate about 20- 25 mins into a round, this is down to some very poor design choices, it's a shame as I think with continued support or even a sequel, these are the kinda things you see fixed. FPS aspect is really good and the RTS is very decent
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is completely dead, don't buy unless you have a large dedicated friend group that can host your own private server somehow.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Writing this review to tell you that YES there is a singleplayer bot mode. Not sure why people are saying there is no singleplayer. However I didn't try commander mode, only FPS mode. They are correct in saying the multiplayer is completely dead though. I will admit the bots are very hard to play against, perfectly accurate and will always see you. You can host bots on your own server or play on a server with bots enabled. When you host you can have like 30 bots (15 v 15) but on servers there's…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's been good 8-9 years since i last played it, when players base was still high, and still no one made fps/rts game as good as ND
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of my all time favorite games! Buy this if you have a big strong Discord or online community with which you can organize a Nuclear Dawn night. There are zero players online unless YOU take the time and effort to get people online. When you do, I guarantee you will love this game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its one of these games that had a great idea back in the days. But it had not enough players. So the devs dropped it quickly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This was a great game. But it's been dead for a long, long time.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, BUT lacks critical mass of online players to make it worthwhile, and pretty much abandoned by the developers. Not worth the current price tag... Maybe add it to your collection if you can get it for $2 or less :/
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An underappreciated game that mixes your birds eye view, strategy game that require resources and buildings, with a first person shooter. If you are familiar with Warzone 2100, imagine that with less vehicles, and more foot soldiers. Also, rather than giant maps where vehicles take time to travel through, you're in maps more suited for shooters. Cities and valued point of interests. As a player you can choose to try and be the tactician who is responsible for building essential structures to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i really want this game to succeed. its a fun combination of RTS and FPS that is extremely rare to find. there are, however, two problems that make this not recommended. first and foremost, dead game. has been dead for a while, and games like this tend to need players to unlock its best gameplay. but the most important thing that holds this back is the bots. i've played countless RTS games against AI and the likes. there are plenty of RTS games where there also is little to no players, but i…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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