It’s been almost 20 years since the release of the first Company of Heroes, a moment in time that cemented the series as one of the most prolific examples of the real-time strategy genre. In the last three years, developer and publisher Relic Entertainment has been hard at work on Company of Heroes 3, which is by far the most modern depiction of that original idea, with its singleplayer and multiplayer modes coexisting with each other, offering challenges to tackle and even daily and weekly tasks to incentivize players to keep coming back to it.
Now, Relic is adapting another modern trend into its ever-evolving ecosystem. Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand structures the real-time strategy combat through the lens of a wave-based format. This is also paired with a roguelite-style progression, both inside and outside of skirmishes. If you’re familiar with Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War 2: The Last Stand or Crucible in Age of Empires IV, Final Stand feels like an iteration of those existing ideas. Even though the experience isn’t as bold as it could be, it makes for an intriguing riff on the classic foundation.
Final Stand, according to the developers, serves as a response to the post-launch support to Company of Heroes 3 thus far. Relic has been focusing on multiplayer modes which, by and large, involve long time commitments from players. As such, the wave-based format has allowed the team to focus on shorter conflicts that get straight to the action, either played solo or with a friend in co-op.
Here’s how it works. Matches start with a headquarters that you must defend at all costs from escalating waves of enemy units, bosses, and random events. You get to pick from any of four factions: US Forces, British Forces, Afrikakorps or Wehrmacht. Each of them plays differently due to having distinct unit rosters, technology choices, and abilities across the board. Maps, too, require different considerations for each other, from the type of terrain and how you can use the environment in your favor to the number of outposts that you’ll have to defend. The latter are your line of defense on the main roads and chokepoints of a map, which can prove extremely helpful considering they not only shoot enemies on sight, but also heal any injured units nearby.
After choosing the faction you’re playing as, as well as the one against, you get to pick the map and the difficulty of that playthrough. The latter affects the strength of enemy waves, and either increases or decreases the number of random events you encounter. There are five standard difficulty levels, from casual to expert, and then three additional expert tiers on top. There’s no shortage of obstacles and challenges to overcome if you so desire.
In order to defend your headquarters, you have immediate access to the barracks to create units. Unlike your usual Company of Heroes match, you don’t need to capture territories. Resources are gained as a rate that increases with each wave you survive in a total of 12 waves. Your manpower income rate, which is used for producing infantry, remains steady, while munitions and fuel income rates increase with each wave. The latter are crucial to purchase upgrades and use most squad abilities, as well as producing vehicles, respectively.
When it comes to player abilities, these are free to activate. While this is a tremendous advantage, the downside is that there’s a long cooldown time between uses. In order to get said abilities, you must first get to the end of a wave. When this happens, you get to pick something new to add to your roster, or improve your existing squad for the rest of the match. Along with abilities, you can pick new unit types to be built from your barracks and passive technologies. The choices are randomized in each match, and depending on what you select, the subsequent rounds can play quite differently.
The escalating enemy waves can be quite noticeable even during the first few rounds of Final Stand. Company of Heroes 3, and its predecessors have always had a steep difficulty curve. Yet, the urgency is different here, as you’re literally thrown into the action with not that many resources to spare in the beginning. After a few successful rounds, you’ll get random supply drops, but by and large, it’s key to bet on a strategy and stick to it to fend off groups of enemies as promptly as possible.
Yet, even with the right preparation and a few lucky selections after a round or two, the enemy faction won’t make it easy for you, regardless of the overall difficulty of choice. The sight of a Panzer is always terrifying, especially when there is also a boss looming in the distance while you’re under attack. At first, you can get away with just moving your growing squad to different spots, but before you know it, assigning them to different places, especially near outposts, is key to preventing foes from penetrating the battlefield and storming your base, which can be left pretty exposed if you’re not careful.
Bosses showing up is basically a whole event. Whether it is a squad of snipers or a massive tank, you really need to concentrate your army in that confrontation. Sending fewer troops than needed will inevitably lead to a decrease in your numbers, which can cost you. Random events are no joke, either, with anything from smoke artillery to sporadic airdrop explosions affecting large parts of the map, which can really hinder your ongoing strategy.
In Final Stand, it’s key to have a clear knowledge of the strengths of each unit in your chosen faction and upgrade them correctly, as well as having a fast reaction when it comes to commanding them to attack specific units. The rate at which resources are generated can be a slog, but of course, you just can’t sit and wait forever, as you’ll need to create more defenses and units as fast as possible. As such, losing the few you do have can feel like defeat even before the enemy actually reaches your headquarters.
The tantalizing promise of surviving 12 waves, once fulfilled, feels like a massive achievement. However, it’s important to note that Final Stand is designed with replayability in mind, especially around its perks feature. It’s through perks that the mode itself begins to gain more traction, as these are awarded for the number of waves you endure, the metal that you’ve earned (from bronze to gold), and each allied outpost still standing at the end of a round. Then, the total points are scaled by a difficulty mode multiplier. The bigger the challenge chosen, the bigger the reward will be.
Perk trees are separated by faction, and so are the points you gain to spend in them. The upgrades can be quite significant, from unlocking officer quarter upgrades, increasing your fuel income, boosting the maximum health of your infantry squad members and other units, begin every match with more munitions, and many more. While some abilities are permanently unlocked at once, others have multiple upgrades to further enhance their effects. The problem, aside from these being faction-specific, is that you’ll need a large amount of points, with the total being in the thousands.
Final Stand is a solid addition to the Company of Heroes 3 ecosystem, but it’s also one that feels quite thin in terms of new ideas. After you complete a handful of matches trying out different maps and factions, you’ll be familiar with almost everything the mode has to offer. Replayability being tied to which difficulty you choose and the picks you get after a round ensures some incentive, but it’s not enough to really break the mold. Considering how much of a grind it can be to get perks, Final Stand ends up being poised as a long-time commitment, despite being split into bite-sized confrontations. As a mode that is presented almost as a standalone experience, it leaves much to be desired. Yet, it works best as a different approach to the Company of Heroes 3 foundation that is part of the larger ecosystem, serving as another possibility in your rotation, especially when playing with someone else.
