According to the critics, sending soldiers into battle without weapons and shooting retreating soldiers to discourage the practice are offensive. Relic states that these practices were historically accurate, such as Stalin’s Order #227.
Critics respond in that Relic’s game is ”too selective”, and doesn’t praise the Russians enough for their attempts to stop the Nazi invesion.
According to Polish tax officer Lukasz Markiewicz, who owns a degree in ancient history, ”The campaign is basically one giant, offensive stereotype. The events on the Eastern Front were likely the most grim four years in the history of mankind. There is nothing wrong with trying to recreate that. It is wrong however to essentially reduce it to the lazy stereotype of German Ubermensch Wehrmacht and SS against the Soviet Horde.
“The Eastern Front was a confrontation of two murderous, totalitarian regimes. The problem is, this brutality gets turned up to eleven and ends up being a parody.”
Game director Quinn Duffy noted that much of the main campaign’s story was inspired by the writings of embedded journalist Vasily Grossman. He went on to say that the story is ”not about cruelty or incompetence, it’s about desperation and bravery.”
Company of Heroes 2 was released on the 25th June 2013 and earned a 9.0/10 score in Strategy Informer’s review.
