Commandos: Origins
| Commandos: Origins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Claymore Game Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Kalypso Media |
| Series | Commandos |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | April 9, 2025 |
| Genre(s) | Real-time tactics |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Commandos: Origins is a real-time tactics video game, developed by Claymore Game Studios and published by Kalypso Media for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Microsoft Windows. Aimed as a revival of the Commandos series, acting as a prequel to Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines (1998) by telling the story about the formation of the Commandos team, and their work during the war between 1940 and 1942.
The game was updated with better graphics, much larger maps, and new features, including one allowing players to plan and execute multiple actions simultaneously, with co-operative online play included for the game's campaign mode.
Commandos: Origins was released on April 9, 2025, where it received mixed reviews from critics, receiving praise for level design and multiple ways of completing objectives, but with questions over its gameplay mechanics.
Gameplay
[edit]Commmandos: Origins is a real-time tactics game played from a third person isometric perspective, in which players control an elite squad of specialists who are tasked in each mission to complete a set of objectives focused around sabotaging or eliminating key targets. The player controls an elite squad of specialists who are tasked with infiltrating military complexes to carry out their missions. Players must rely on using stealth tactics, avoiding enemy's cone of vision or eliminating them silently to progress.[1] The game features six different classes: the Green Beret, the Sapper, the Sniper, the Driver, the Marine and the Spy, each of whom has their own unique abilities and gadgets.[2] Maps in the game are large and sprawling, and provide players with multiple entry points to approach their objectives.[3] Players can briefly pause the game, plan out the moves of several squad characters, and executing them simultaneously. Each map has multiple optional objectives for players to complete. The game features a two-player cooperative multiplayer mode.[4]
Plot
[edit]In June, 1940, sapper Thomas Hancock is placed in charge of a new unit called the Commandos, and sent out to find recruits for his team. His search leads him to bringing in several talented individuals: Sergeant Jack O'Hara, an Irish strongman initially skeptical of his plans; Francis T. Woolridge, a British sniper of few words; James Blackwood, an Australian diver with a troubled past; and Samuel Brooklyn, an American heavy weapons specialist. The team conduct several operations across the Arctic north, Africa and Europe, sabotaging German war plans and operations to provide the Allies with an advantage.
During an operation in Norway to locate a resistance group, Blackwood and Woolridge encounter Rene Duchamp, a French spy skilled in deception and fluent in German. Although impressed by his assistance on their mission, Duchamp refuses to leave the country because of a personal mission he is on. Hancock later meets with him in January, 1941, during a mission to sabotage weapons manufacturing, in which Duchamp reveals is mission involves eliminating a pair of officers from a secret German group known as Speerspitze, who are secretly advancing the German's war efforts.
After helping him eliminate his targets, Duchamp temporarily joins the team in hopes of finding the rest of the Speerspitze. Following further missions, including assisting in the Allied raid on Saint-Nazaire, Hancock receives word that O'Hara was captured by the Germans during a mission he was undertaking. Against the orders of their superiors, Hancock and the others lead a rescue operation to Zeitz, Germany. Without backup, the team rescue O'Hara, and in the process eliminate another officer of the Speerspitze.
Following the Zeitz mission, the team sabotage two major weapons projects in Norway and Germany, killing a fourth Speerspitze officer, before uncovering intel on the location of the group's leader. In January, 1942, the team travels to the Speerspitze's castle headquarters within the Alps. Overcoming the tight security, the team assassinate him and several other Speerspitze whilst they are holding a conference over their recent setbacks. In the aftermath of the mission, Duchamp makes plans to return to France, but is convinced to finally join the Commandos, after Hancock proudly calls him a friend.
Development
[edit]Commandos: Origins was developed by Claymore Game Studios, a studio founded by Kalypso Media's co-founder Simon Hellwig in 2020. The studio's primary goal was to revive the Commandos brand and modernize the franchise. The decision to avoid auto-saving in the game was intentional, as the team wanted to give the liberty for players to decide when they want to save and when to take risks.[1] The game is a prequel, with its narrative focusing on how the six soldiers meet each other and become a team. The team was inspired by a number of films and documentaries, especially stories which involve a small but elite team turning the tide of an entire campaign or war. The Guns of Navarone (1961), The Dirty Dozen (1967), and Inglorious Basterds (2009) were cited by the team as sources of inspiration.[5]
In July 2018, Kalypso Media revealed that they had acquired the rights to the Commandos franchise from Pyro Studios, which developed the first four games of the franchise.[6] The game was announced in October 2023.[4] It was released for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and Series S on April 9, 2025.[7]
Reception
[edit]| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 73/100[8] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Edge | 7/10[8] |
| Famitsu | 30/40[9] |
| IGN | 8/10[10] |
| PCGamesN | 7/10[12] |
| Shacknews | 9/10[11] |
The game received "mixed or average reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic.[8] In Japan, four critics from Famitsu gave the game a total score of 30 out of 40.[9]
Luke Reilly from IGN felt that the game managed to strike "a great balance between the classic stealth tactics games and modern streamlined ideas", and added that maps and objectives in the game provided ample opportunities for creative eliminations, and players must plan their moves carefully in order to succeed.[10] Sam Chandler from Shacknews called the game an "exceptional revival" of the franchise. He praised the levels in the game for their diversity and their sandbox-like design, adding that the game "does a tremendous job of never feeling tedious, despite how long it can take to finish a mission".[11]
Ed Smith from PCGamesN wrote that the game was "meticulous, difficult, and demanding", calling it a "high-stakes, high-intensity RTS where even the smallest action can feel meaningful". However, he felt that the game was "overdesigned", and that the "abundance of mechanics squeezes out improvisation or raw energy" of the premise.[12] Edge praised the game for reimagining the franchise with modern visuals, though they felt that the game failed to push the genre forward with any new or innovative gameplay mechanic.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Fillari, Alessandro (March 14, 2025). "Commandos: Origins Refreshingly Brings Back the Stealth-Tactics Marriage". IGN. Archived from the original on April 7, 2025. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
- ^ Wales, Matt (October 10, 2023). "Commandos: Origins revives the WW2 real-time stealth-tactics classic next year". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 6, 2025. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
- ^ Glover, Stuart (March 25, 2025). "Commandos: Origins – Everything You Need to Know". Gaming Bolt. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
- ^ a b Smith, Gramham (October 7, 2023). "Commandos: Origins looks to revive the classic stealth-tactics series in 2024". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on April 6, 2025. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
- ^ Rodrigeuz, Jason (March 26, 2025). "Commandos: Origins aims to bring back a long-dormant but legendary franchise". Epic Games Store. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
- ^ S. Good, Owen (July 15, 2018). "Kalypso picks up the Commandos tactics series, promises to bring it back with new games". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 9, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
- ^ Macgregor, Jody (February 10, 2025). "Stealth tactics game Commandos: Origins will be out in April". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Commandos: Origins review". Metacritic. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ a b Romano, Sal (May 14, 2025). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1898". Gematsu. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
- ^ a b Reilly, Luke (April 9, 2025). "Commandos: Origins Review". IGN. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
- ^ a b Chandler, Sam (April 9, 2025). "Commandos: Origins review: Courageous, dutiful, glorious basterds". Shacknews. Archived from the original on April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
- ^ a b Smith, Ed (April 9, 2025). "Commandos Origins review - RTS gaming at its most intense". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 19, 2025.