I wasn't expecting to like this as much as i did, having a friend grind me from game start to my first level 30 really helped, but this game is consistently high quality for a free game, genuinely would say give it a go.

Honestly if you're on the fence, this is the BASELINE for turn based games, from content to community added content to DLC.

Play xcom2, it is a standard of game so perfect it impossible to find anything to fill the xcom3 shaped hole in our hearts

i cannot believe this isn't more of a popular game, introducing this to variety youtubers would be as big a hit as S3E2 of breaking bad.

I want to say this review is not touching on the gacha elements at ALL.

I love mechs, i love turn based games (xcom 3 when?) i really wish i could say i like this, it has cool elements, cool mech parts.

but every time you try and get through the story, try and go for the mechs you saw in the game trailer, you are arrested by just how UNFUN this game is to play.

god that's the worst part, it's just not fun, all elements of the game and progression are NOT tied to just fully playing the game, and even if it was, playing the game isn't enough to make you want to play the game

also the anime women being drawn like minors or pure sex objectification IS the red flag you think it is.

this is so fun ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, genuinely with the 40min mark im so happy

more like the piss-vision

seven years of waiting, twelve hours in and i'm still as excited as i was watching that 2013 trailer for the first time

Insurgency Sandstorm is a game i'd recommend, full price; here's why, listed in pros, cons and ehs;

PROS:

Engaging gunplay in this game is nothing short of amazing, every shot feels like it should, every round that passes you by is a small reminder that even one of those can put you down, learning to manage recoil for most guns is something that takes time, but pays off in the long run, managing your weight as well helps install a little meta game of what guns to take in contest of how fast you want to be.

The map design is honestly a thing of beauty, anyone who's played the 2014 standalone can easily notice some map areas brought over, the newest map, power plant, a completely new map is something that feels so insurgency, a testament to the development team, while not all maps are created equal (i'll get into this later), what's on offer here compliments the gameplay of sandstorm so well.

The sound design in this game is, i don't know how to describe it, honestly THE best sound i've ever heard, period, gun reports, sound staging, footsteps, ambience, fire support (That BRRRRT man) honestly some of the best in this category, they are, nothing sort of sublime. The best sound design obviously goes towards the guns, and the character voices, i've already talked about guns, but in short they scare the absolute hell out of me when i'm not expecting it, but he character voices?

The characters in this game sound scared, and alive, they react to what's happening around them (especially the advisor class, the more you know) they make call outs, the AI verablly react to what you say, they scream when shot, point out grenades, deaths and kills, and every single time they install this fear of "I really can't die right now." in every firefight your in, they honestly give the feeling to your character that i mostly attribute to characters in permadeath games like xcom. amazing, honestly.

The polish, the team radios having proxy chat, the little details on the guns, door hinges, two different set of reloads for how many bullets are left in the magazine, different set of reloads for deployed bipods, having actual character models on the fire support, being able to take out pilots of both helicopters (it's as satisfying as you think it is) there is so much i can say here, it all comes together.

The community is either very racist or helpful, take that as you will but i've met some lovely dudes on this game, like honestly most people will help you out, even if it's a little back handed (just please god don't take commander or observer if you don't know what you're doing)

The classes add variety to the game, making each player important in their role, if they know how to use it right, some of the most useful slots are often overlooked however (the gunner class, literally a god class on insurgents)

The animations, god tier, literally some of the best, reloads to melee, everything conveys weight, (the LMGs could do with a touch up though, kinda just, take your time reloading that one eh?)

The cons;

Customization bias, on a whole, being able to make a unique character is a plus, that's true, but come on, security's range of options far outscope the insurgents, which have like five different model of shirt in like, twenty different patterns and colour variations, security are far more favoured in this regard, I won't go on because it's such a small part and they didn't have to include it, i'm glad they did, but man they really did the insurgents dirty.

The optimization ( you all knew it was coming, and that says more than i ever could) honestly so many other people have said it better than i ever could, for reference I'm playing on a three year old gaming laptop (HP OMEN, I7 for all you nerds out there) and it only lags somewhat, yes it shouldn't lag at all, but in the cirumstances of my hardware i'm willing to settle (I have like 20 games installed on this free falling piece of hardware, i'll take what i can get)

the updates, yeah NWI if you happen to read this, i commend you on sticking with the game, honestly some of the updates have been amazing and the continued support keeps the game fresh, asking for more regular updates feels immoral and wrong, idk the personal lives of the developers and what they deal with, but in a perfect world, the game would be updated more.

The bugs, ha, there's a lot of these, you can find all of them in other reviews but invisible chemical and smoke gas, bad hit reg and spawn camping spots (not a bug but i'll chuck it in here) are some of the things that need to be prioritized.

The hackers (Hacker man, but like, his evil twin) honestly there are so many hackers in this game, NWI is doing a job good of getting rid of them, but there's still so many, like jesus christ find summat better to do.

The maps, both a positive and a negative, what dumbassery eh? The new scope and scale of the maps is impressive and help liven up your gunfights, but some of the polish has been lost, being able to get spawntrapped on nearly every map is something I have to note, due to how often it occurs, and i do mean spawntrapped, twenty steps out of spawn isn't spawn anymore, i get that, but immediately loading in, and getting a rocket to the face isn't cash money.

Also the naming system is just really bad; push hillside (security or insurgents) is such a bad way of conveying the information that the layout changes, please god NWI find a better way, the maps themselves have been limited (SANDSTORM) but pls jesus

The ehs;

removal of a single player campaign, i understand insurgency is a PVP game first, but with game mechanics like this, it could tell a really interesting and compelling story, idk how they'd take it, imagine a spec ops the line type thing, idk if NWI could go anti imperalist without alienating their fans or if they'd even want to, but it would be hella cool. (A campaign is a good tutorial for multiplayer anyway)

the freedom fighters, literally the insurgents, like, i'm still going on about this, they were done so dirty, more options pls.

the lack of voices, like i said, the voices are some of the best part of this ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ game, and there's like, six? two for male security, one for female, three for insurgents, (they added russians the mad lads!) (also lil note pls more tattoos)

the current attachements, the attachements are refined and pretty well rounded, a complaint i hear a lot is the lack of being able to use gutter sights and not being able to switch the magnifer off on the 2x, which would be pretty coolio, i have no idea how to balance a game so any opinion i could give on this would be horribly bad, but outside of the sights there is like not much else.

the barrel attachments consist of a compensator, for side to side recoil, a flash hider, and a better flash hider, the underbarrel is always a foregrip, unless you're a gunner, sniper or experimenting, there's no bullet choice, from the first game, something sorely needed. And the laser sight is kinda just there, boy it sure does exist.

the mod support is finally there but could've been implemented better (steam workshop, like the first one)

the gun choice is really eh, like you've got 20 different rifles, TWO shotguns, and a few DMRS, the LMGs are either high caliber or worthless, and the sniper class is, well i can't comment on it, i've got like maybe 40 minutes of sniper class gameplay total?

all in all i'd deffo reccomend the game, most of the issues i have will be addressed in the next few updates and the content for the game is only going to get better, NWI, while not the best at community feedback (I am looking away, I cannot see) are trying to communicate with their playerbase, and be increasingly transparent with their development plans, the introductions of small microtransactions is something to keep your eye on however, I trust them not to mess it up and get why they have to do it but :/

ALSO PLEASE GOD GIVE THE INSURGENTS SOME LOVE

Got this from a steam key of a friend, This is fast becoming an addiction, an immersive story. (Seriously the loading screens are amazingly well written.) And random yet adaptable gameplay i'll be wasting hours on this.