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. A revival of the Commandos series, it was released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Microsoft Windows on April 9, 2025. It serves as a prequel to Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines (1998), which tells the story of the formation of the Commando team.
Gameplay
[edit]Commmandos: Origins is a real-time tactics game played from an isometric perspective. 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, Thomas Hancock, a skilled sapper, is sent to a British outpost within a village in Egypt, in order to find and recruit Jack O'Hara as part of a plan to form a new battle unit known as the Commandoes. Learning O'Hara was arrested for punching a senior officer, Hancock facilitates his escape, despite their skepticism to his action. Shortly after they reunite outside the outpost, German troops assault the village, leading the pair to use stealth tactics to escape the village. The following month, O'Hara works with Hancock to sabotage an Arctic weather station, and then with Francis T. Woolridge, a skilled sniper, in assisting British forces with recapturing a fort on the Egyptian-Libyan border.
In September, 1940, the three men destroy a bridge in Poland on the Eastern Front, effectively proving their worth to their superiors. Later that month, Woolridge is teamed up with Australian marine diver James Blackwood and sent to Norway to uncover what happened to a Norwegian resistance group helping evacuate refugees from the country. The two men manage to rescue the resistance after learning they were captured, with the aid of Rene Duchamp, a French spy operating undercover in Norway tracking down a group of German officers. Duchamp refuses an offer to join the Commandoes following their mission, stating he won't leave the country as he is seeking German officers from a group known as Speerspitze. Blackwood later joins O'Hara and Hancock for a mission in Guernsey to sabotage a German radar outpost and secure intel on the device. In November, 1940, O'Hara and Woolridge are joined by Amercian vehicle specialist Samuel Brooklyn, as their group is sent to a mine in south-west Africa to prepare it for an Allied assault.
In January, 1941, Hancock, Blackwood and Brooklyn return to Norway, in order to destroy fish oil tanks used for weapons manufacturing. Their mission is aided by Duchamp, who in turn receives their assistance in eliminating two officers of the Speerspitze and escapes with them. In March, Hancock, Blackwood and Duchamp infiltrate the port of Saint-Nazaire, France and disable coastal defences prior to the arrival of the HMS Campbeltown. Their efforts ensure the Allied raid is a success, with the team escaping aboard a captured German U-boat. In May, Hancock, Brooklyn and Blackwood are sent to a hidden German airstrip in the Sahara, where they sabotage defenses in advance of a raid by the RAF. Although their mission is a success, Hancock receives word from his superiors that O'Hara was captured by the Germans on a mission.
In August, 1941, Against the orders of headquarters, Hancock leads a raid on a German military base in Zeitz, Germany to rescue O'Hara, aided by Duchamp, Woolridge, Blackwood and Brooklyn. Infiltrating the base, Duchamp convinces the others to let him use a disguise to order O'Hara's execution, with the others taking up positions to ambush the Germans assigned to the task. Despite the risk, the team rescue O'Hara before he is shot, whereupon he leads them to kill the base's commander before they escape.
In October, 1941, O'Hara, Hancock and Woolridge travel to a hydryoelectric dam in Vemork, Norway, where they sabotage a heavy water production facility uncovered from intelligence acquired during the Zeitz mission. The team successfully destroy the facility, but recover documents revealing the Germans are working on a mobile artillery piece conveyed by railway. Woolridge later returns to Germany, accompanied by Duchamp to investigate the project, whereupon they are joined by Hancock and Brooklyn to destroy the weapon. In January, 1942, the entire team is sent to a fortified castle within the Alps, after Duchamp recover intelligence showing his last target from the Speerspitze has taken refuge at the site. Against the odds, the team succeed in their mission, with Hancock proudly calling Duchamp a friend and convincing him to finally join the Commandoes.
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 an 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.