➤ Days of War, the review 🎮

Under the sign Days of War review comes a few days after the release of the expected version 2.0 of what is a classic objective-based shooter set in the Second World War by Driven Arts, developed with the explicit aim of refreshing, without upsetting, a still popular genre. Closed maps, well-known weapons and locations to conquer and defend are the core of the gameplay, but to make it more articulated we find six classes with weapons to be unlocked by accumulating experience points, penetration of bullets based on the material, blood and matchmaking.

Maps, gameplay and arsenal of a shooter that wants to be a classic

Funded through Kickstarter, Days of War looks to titles such as Day of Defeat with the aim of giving a more evolved edge to classic fast-sprint gameplay, skill in using non-aimed fire and lethal snipers. On the other hand, it is a formula that has a large following, but is still tied to outdated graphics engines that for some are really too difficult to digest. And this is where the guys from Driven Arts take to the field who, while not aiming for a jaw-splitting graphic, still give us convincing and detailed glimpses scattered around twelve maps that take us from Europe to the Western Front between industrial ports, towns of all kinds and snow-covered neighborhoods. In some cases the spaces are decidedly narrow, but there is no lack of squares, avenues and hidden windows that open onto bridges, railway depots, river crossings and military installations. Well-known scenarios in which two teams of up to 16 players clash starting from the opposites of maps of various sizes although closed and bound by precise paths that lead us to the control points, with corridors to defend and optimal positions for snipers. And it is here that all the strengths and weaknesses of both the formula and the title emerge, improved in this new version but still in progress as is evident from the balance of weapons, between excessive recoils and exaggerated damage for some automatic weapons that are decidedly advantageous in most situations. The gunplay, it must be said, is all in all faithful to the genre, but in a title of this type the detail is important to transform frustration into a desire to improve.

Which is not always easy also due to several bugs and the sensation of stiffness of the movement, which is really unnatural. For some it is not a problem, mind you, but for many others it is a fundamental detail that together with other defects and the very long gestation of this version 2.0 is reflected in the overall number of players, limited as is all too evident from the browser server list. To concentrate the players, however, we think the matchmaking system, introduced with version 2.0, which allows us to find a game of 16 players in a few moments and at any time. But often he places us on servers far from home, forcing us to deal with a high ping that with a title based on lightning fast reflexes becomes penalizing as is evident by trying the training mode against bots, unfortunately not very intelligent, but at least effective. in letting us try the various classi which are differentiated by army and by weapons. We therefore find the Springfield in the hands of the American rifleman, the classic MP40 among the German ranks, various stationary machine guns, Garand, Oberz and so on, with the pistol acting as a secondary weapon accompanied by grenades, smoke bombs and the inevitable knife. But the highlight is undoubtedly the rocket launcher that adds spectacle even if it may not be digestible at all in a shooter with realistic ambitions where there is no trace of moving vehicles.

Graphics, sound and flaws of a richer but still incomplete version

Days of War takes on a heavy legacy, that of titles still played by a community that has long been waiting for an heir able to take the baton to take it to a more technically advanced context. And it is something that falls within the strings of the title of Driven Arts, as we have said modest but all in all successful at a glance and embellished with elements such as drilling of materials, bodies that are dismembered, textures in some cases quite good and discreet light effects, important in a game that on the one hand focuses on dry gameplay, but also owes a lot to the evocative setting. Also in this case some details out of place can be seen between effects not always of a good level, amateur animations and interpenetrations that abound, worsening the already unconvincing hand-to-hand combat and creating unpleasant graphic anomalies when the heavy machine gunner lands with his weapon. Nevertheless, conquering the points by killing the opponents or conquering the key positions, indicated with the classic flag, remains pleasant, thanks to the levels to be accumulated to unlock weapons, with theevolution of the soldiers that for many players is a not insignificant added value for a title that despite the only available mode, however functional at the arrival of the competitive ones, can be defined as rich in content with sixty weapons, six classes, four factions and twelve maps in some well thought out cases.

The port, it must be said, left us indifferent, but we had fun between the streets of Leningrad and Kaysersberg, with the latter being among the most convincing also for the graphic rendering thanks to several waterways that flow credibly in a snowy and suggestive town. And it is undoubtedly possible to do even better with theeditor, among other things, complete with integration with the Steam Workshop, thanks to a graphics engine which, although not futuristic, returns, as we have already said, a solid visual rendering. All this, however, is not enough to redeem Days of War from obvious shortcomings that also include a fluctuating audio sector to say the least. The main theme and some effects, such as that of the Garand's magazine, are spot on, but the noise of the shots is flat, the vocal samples are scarce and the actual sound quality is anything but exceptional. Also, moving on to the controls, they stand out failings as specific settings for the aiming mode and independent values to calibrate the sensitivity of the two axes of the mouse and it is something that surprised us, negatively, in a title that instead includes full support for ultrawide monitors, even for very little widespread 32: 9 panels. On the other hand we are talking about a very small development team that is struggling with a genre that at first glance might seem simple, but which thrives on details that we hope will be more and more accurate. On the other hand, the 2.0 version represents a big improvement over the alpha, even if the current version can be defined safely a beta. But a solid base is important and with the right finishing touches it can become interesting, as long as the community, which has been around for three years and increasingly small, survives.

PC System Requirements

Test Setup

Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Operating system: Windows 10 (x64)
Video card: Geforce RTX 2080 Ti
Memory: 16 GB of RAM

Minimum requirements

Processore: Intel Core i5-2500K CPU
Operating System: Windows 7 SP1 (x64)
Scheda video: Geforce GTX 560 o AMD Radeon HD 7850
Memory: 4 GB of RAM

Recommended Requirements

Processore: Intel Core i7-2600K CPU
Operating system: Windows 10 (x64)
Scheda video: Geforce GTX 970 o AMD Radeon R9 290
Memory: 8 GB of RAM

Comment

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6.5

Readers (2)

2.9

Your vote

The 2.0 version of Days of War represents a step forward that brings the title Driven Arts closer to the classics it is inspired by. There is still a long way to go and the comparison with the big hits of this genre is pitiless. If the graphic rendering has improved, the matchmaking works and the editor is well done, in fact, several animations, the balance of weapons, some bugs and the fluidity of the gameplay remain to be reviewed, all fundamental elements because a title that does not aim to innovate anything. makes sense. However, a solid base is a good starting point to reach maturity, hoping that the community and the team resist long enough to reach the finish line.