Battle Fleet 2

[h3]RANKING:[/h3] [table] [tr] [td] [h3][strike]AVOID | FLAWED[/strike] | [b]MAYBE[/b] | [strike]WORTHWHILE | COMPELLING | UNMISSABLE [/strike] [/h3] [/td] [/tr] [/table] [h3]SYNOPSIS:[/h3] [table] [tr] [th][b]ASSESSMENT:[/b][/th] [/tr] [tr] [td] Battlefleet 2 is a semi-convincing naval wargame with an emphasis on turn-based encounters comprised of arcade style manual targeting & movement. While the experience delivers tactically, the strategy layer suffers a real lack of sophistication, with many elements not deeply modelled. Something that suggests it could be an after-thought, these need to be flushed out. As a consequence the gameloop is lean. Customisation allows ships to have an anti-ship, sub or air role or mix thereof. No research component means there is never a need to upgrade these. Audiovisuals provide fair immersion, but are crude in places. At least content unlocks from its mobile origins can be bypassed in the settings. While very repetitive it is quite fun & addictive at times. [b]MAYBE[/b] one to consider if mobile ports are your thing. [/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td][b]STATUS:[/b][/td] [td]A mature product, with its first dlc. Numerous features are in need of QoL & some bug fixing [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]APPEAL:[/b][/td] [td]For fans of turn-based naval combat requiring some skill. That don't mind the heavy repetition of movement & aiming, who prefer their strategy lite [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]VALUE:[/b][/td] [td]For what it offers would only consider at around 50% sale [/td] [/tr] [/table] [quote=]Key supplied by developer through curator [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/tbtactics/][b]TURN-BASED TACTICS[/b] [/url] | Click to follow & get updates[/quote] [i]More info below....[/i] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3626272774 [h3]HIGHLIGHTS:[/h3] 🟡 NAVAL COMBAT is a lot more fun than it should be. Mainly due to the cathartic mix of targeting, hitting & sinking ships. The turn sequence of individual ships gives it a chess-like feel. Yet due to its simple nature & the constant need to fiddle around to move ships, it is incredibly repetitive. Ship vs ship fights are the best part of the game. AA screens are effective. Submarines add a little depth. 🟡 AIM SYSTEM works off facing, line-of-sight & range. It can be fun, but does not incorporate enough modifiers to affect targeting much. Its too easy to get a ship's bearing & hit it multiple times in a turn. Minor telemetry adjustments do allow players to tailor which ship section to hit. The process proves inefficient as previous attempts disappear forcing fresh guesswork in hitting the mark. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3626316239 [h3]OFF TARGET:[/h3] ⚪ GAME MODES are built around the same core gameplay with a mixture of historical quick battles & campaigns. Clean slate modes are essentially sandbox variants allowing starting fleets to be purchased with points. Custom engagements come defined by map, factions, fleet purchase points & time limit. ⚪ ENCOUNTERS are the cornerstone of gameplay, occurring in large numbers during a campaign. Are fought on the same maps for scenarios or in a campaign map zone. Covered with a fog of war & sometimes airfields & coastal defences. Distribute ships randomly across x3 pre-defined zones per side during deployment, causing tactical problems of a positional nature to immediately rectify. ⚪ AIR COMBAT is restricted to engagements when attacking air squadrons meet defending ones &/or ships with anti-air turrets. They operate from airfields, some ships & carriers. Up to x4 units available to send on recon, air defence or to attack specific targets. Rotated on a cooldown. ⚪ DAMAGE MODEL works on arbitrary hit point damage that varies depending on the armaments & precision. Good enough for ship combat with the ability to cripple components such as the engine, bridge, rudder, ammo or weapons. Limiting their use or capability. A shame that holing below the water line is not modelled. Coastal defences are too easy to destroy. ⚪ SHIPS are differentiated across x6 specific classes, greatly reducing the nuance in ship building. Only cruisers having a light variant. Limited customisation defines particular roles: Anti-ship, anti-sub or anti-air, by outfitting a number of slots with specific weapons. Only destroyers can be fitted with depth charges & smoke generators to extend tactical options. Carriers house bomber or torpedo bombers when unlocked. Player defined classes cannot be saved for quick builds. ⚪ AI behaviour is inconsistent, but better at the tactical than the strategic level. Has a some idea where to recon & send fleets. Makes fair use of the ships it has at hand. Prioritises land defences. Keeps a decent screen near capital ships sometimes. Picks up & plays tactical cards. Knows which zones to seize & naval bases to occupy. Can easily be led into ambushes due to its use of smaller fleets. Repeatedly attempts to grab unoccupied zones. Doesn't disengage early enough when losing. ⚪ UNLOCKS for new game modes & variants, harder difficulty, additional ship classes &, aircraft & strategic cards are the remnant of its original mobile gaming design. Thankfully all of these can be instantly unlocked in the settings menu. Though this will somewhat impact the game's longevity. ⚪ STAYING POWER is good, with REPLAY VALUE coming mainly from the enjoyable combat mechanics, but also the different make-up of encounters. Otherwise it would be a lot more repetitive than it already is. Some LONGEVITY comes from levelling up the player level to unlock content. Steam Achievements are easy. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3626007599 [h3]SHORTCOMINGS:[/h3] 🟤 STRATEGY feels limited with campaign options restricted to fleet movement, zone recon, ship construction, refits & automatic repairs. Mostly a little cat & mouse between engagements. Defence installations are generic & fixed to predetermined zones. New ones can't be built or upgraded. Solo ships or subs can wrest control of sea zones without a fight. At least transports are needed for those with bases. 🟤 LACKS SOPHISTICATION such as: randomised deployments. Minefields are abstracted through cards. There is no real concept of logistics, fleet patrols or even a need to resupply. No weather or day & night. Nor submarine nets or convoy war. No radar too. Only a lite implementation of sonar for subs. No research for equipment upgrades. Ship commanders experience provides an abstracted benefit only. Repairs require a single turn & have no bearing on damage. Torpedoes can target submerged submarines at depth. Friendly fire is possible where air units shooting down their own aircraft in return. Replacing lost aircraft requires no cost in industry points. 🟤 RETREATING from engagements is a drawn out affair as ships inch their way out of bounds while trying to avoid being seen & attacked. The lack of quick retreat option to hasten this pedantic endeavour is a real hassle. 🟤 PRODUCTION needs to be better. It does have a decent amount of polish, but numerous bugs have been reported which sadly impact the experience. OPTIMISATION is fine at 60FPS. STABILITY is without issue. QoL is needed across many features to bring them up to standard for a PC strategy game. BUGS in the * FULL REVIEW * [table][tr] [td]Click for:[/td] [td][h1][url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/TheIrregularGamer/discussions/0/687492779657612160/]Full Review[/url][/h1][/td] [/tr][/table] [table] [tr] [td][b]REVIEWED WITH:[/b][/td] [td]Build v 1.700. No VR. INTEL i5 6600 3.3GHz, 8GB RAM, GTX970 4GB @ 1920x1080 fullscreen, EVO850 SSD [/td] [/tr] [/table] [quote=]Thank you for reading | Click to follow my curator[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40556040-The-Irregular-Gamer/] THE IRREGULAR GAMER[/url][/quote]