It’s no top secret we’ve been keeping tabs on Commandos: Origins for a while now. Kalypso Media and Claymore Game Studios’ reboot-of-sorts aims to revitalize what once was one of the biggest tactical strategy game series around. We liked what we saw last summer, and the late 2024 demo offered PC players a taste of what was coming and the chance to give the devs valuable feedback. Last week, I flew to London and played one last preview build ahead of the long-awaited April 9 launch.
Claymore’s Juergen Reusswig (studio director) and Thilo Gebhardt (art director) were there to walk us through an extensive overview of the gameplay loop, the new systems, and the adjustments that had been made based on feedback and ahead of launch. Later, we were able to go hands-on with the game alongside them, and my biggest criticism is that I wish I’d been able to spend more time with it, which could be a good sign going into the final build.
The following hands-on preview and report includes brief quotes and tidbits based on notes taken at the event. It has mild early story spoilers too.
Reusswig took the lead and quickly made it very clear we’re about to receive a real-time strategy game which tastes just like the original Pyro Studios-developed trilogy, though he noted Claymore hadn’t paid much attention to the remasters released a few years ago in order to keep the studio’s vision and its take on a reworked control scheme intact. It doesn’t come as a surprise this prequel’s Bible is the OG experience, but that doesn’t appear to have limited what they could add to the tried-and-tested formula. By the way, Gebhardt confirmed Claymore reached out to former Pyro devs to at least have a chat about their refreshed vision for the series, though many had left the industry entirely.
The story actually kicks off in media res, though no “you might be wondering how I got here” quip was spotted. We’re then thrown back to the moment when Jack O’Hara ‘the Green Beret’ and Thomas ‘the Sapper’ Hancock first met in a far warmer setting. This first mission involving the two (more of a rescue, actually) constitutes the first tutorial, which I was able to play through. But before that, we got to see more of later levels and the ‘emergent gameplay’ options that are peppered throughout the levels.
While it’d be silly to expect a Hitman-level degree of possible interactions in what’s ultimately a top-down strategy game, I was delighted to learn about possibilities like creating chain reactions of explosions with red barrels (“Everything that’s red in this game explodes,” joked Reusswig) or luring Nazi soldiers into deadly clusters of traps set around other destructible elements found across the levels. It’s less about making use of pre-set points of interest and more about inspecting the layouts and options before creating one’s own brand of chaos. “Every mission past the tutorial should take you around 2 hours to complete if you want to clear everything and explore the full map,” added Reusswig before warning us about quick-saving often.
Much of the self-contained sandbox appeal of each mission was also made possible by the underlying technology (the game runs on UE5) and a focus on making the flow of the game as seamless as possible. This means that interiors aren’t separated from the rest of the level, and you’ll often be sneaking through multi-layered levels that might hide enemies in corners you hadn’t noticed at first. A mix of patience and attention to detail is the key to success here.
Without spoiling too much about the later mission we got snippets of, I was surprised by the variety of the settings (and the colour palettes used to make them pop) for each mission too. Commandos: Origins doesn’t have a ‘same-y’ look covering it entirely, which is a common criticism when it comes to military-themed games, especially if they’re set in WWI or WWII. Thilo Gebhardt confirmed to me a lot of tinkering had taken place on that front between last year’s previews and the current iteration of the game “to make sure it feels right.” While I’m personally happy to see a game based on past wartimes sport more colours than other strategy titles in the same space or even its predecessors, some fans were adamant about the game retaining a darker visual tone where needed. So far, I’d say the art team nailed a striking balance between those styles and, more importantly, made sure the shadows and lighting aren’t washed out like in so many modern games.
We also got a brief glimpse of the local co-op multiplayer mode in action, with mixed gamepad and keyboard & mouse support on the same platform. According to Gebhardt, this split-screen mode doesn’t put much strain on the console hardware either, which is good news. Of course, an online co-op option is available too, and it seems that players across all platforms will be able to infiltrate the enemy lines together. When it comes to ways to experience the game, Kalypso and Claymore appear to have gone all out.
My hands-on time with the game confirmed much of what Reusswig had just explained: Commandos: Origins, even during its early stages, pulls no punches, and mashing quick save feels almost like an actual mechanic. Instinctively, I reached for the F5 key several times, and it worked as you’d expect. On consoles, I guess you’ll be pausing and saving a lot, which might be more immersion-breaking.
In any case, the difficulty comes down to the tightly designed enemy encounters and sticky puzzle-like situations that must be navigated and/or solved. At no point was I confused by the user interface or controls; we were told Claymore had spent a lot of time making sure the players didn’t have to “use a hundred different keys” on their keyboards, which would’ve also made the console ports much harder to figure out. At first glance, I’d say they succeeded on that front, and the UI is equally intuitive, though some veterans might think it’s been slightly stripped down to better accommodate the console experience. You’ll have to keep in mind it’s all about hitting the right balance with a proper multiplatform strategy game.
The starting in-game cutscene surprisingly didn’t resort to still pictures of the characters and dialogue boxes to keep costs and dev time down, and instead showcased animations that accompanied the chatter between Jack and Thomas. It’s all on the simpler side, but I greatly appreciate having old-school, fully animated dialogue sequences between the characters over the ‘cardboard cutouts’ that you can find all over small and mid-sized games. That’s a nice touch RTS veterans will appreciate.
As I progressed through the initial mission, I faced several situations that already had me slowing down for a moment and thinking carefully about my next possible moves. Between the strategic positioning of enemy groups, noise detection being a thing, and the commandos being fragile and merely human despite their awesomeness, you can’t just waltz through most sections, at least not at first and before fully understanding the systems at play. Moreover, the enemy AI is quite ruthless and doesn’t forget to check every corner and suspicious bush when the Nazis are alerted.
These moments of chaos can be intended and used to your advantage, however. On top of sound decoys and other items that allow the characters to draw the attention of goons, triggering some explosions or simply letting the Nazis catch a glimpse of the soldiers to have them move from their post is a recommended strategy if you’re not convinced you can take them all out without someone noticing. In fact, Reusswig stated “the complete game can be beaten without killing anyone.” I’m guessing there may be sections that force your hand, but I’d love to be proven wrong and have a full experience that can be played from beginning to end without murdering anyone, Dishonored style. Non-lethal takedowns support this idea, and I’m sure the smartest, most dedicated players will be able to sneak through the entire thing using as little tools and abilities as possible.
Another highlight that should ‘fix’ some of the previous entries’ shortcomings is the Command Mode, which can be used to queue actions across your squad to execute more complicated or timing-sensitive manoeuvres. This removes the need to be agile with micromanaging and switching between characters in quick succession. Mind you, players still need to time the simultaneous orders with what the enemy is doing, but it’s an excellent way to replicate the real-life coordination of soldiers behind the enemy lines and the sort of innovation that can give Origins an identity of its own.
Even if the first mission was shorter than the rest, I wasn’t able to complete it before my time was up, let alone explore a second one set in a colder location, so I returned to the bar to grab Commando-themed drinks and get some extra info from Gebhardt, who was able to answer a few more of our burning questions ahead of launch.
First, it’s with a heavy heart I must confirm Steam Deck support isn’t locked, at least not with the ‘verified’ badge, at launch. That said, considering the PC version totally supports controllers and the requirements aren’t super high, there’s a good chance we might be able to play the game just fine on Valve’s little machine with little tinkering required. The developers aren’t shy about post-launch talk either: Their focus has been on getting the game right and delivering a fully featured experience. If the reception is good enough, they’ll start looking into potential DLC plans.
When it comes to the final resolution and performance targets on consoles, I was told to wait closer to launch. However, Gebhardt stated they hadn’t run into major issues with the current-gen hardware. On the other hand, the PS4/One version (undated) is still up in the air, mainly due to “tricky” bits of design that heavily rely on UE5 and the extra power of recent hardware. Commandos: Origins might not be a cutting-edge looker, but the complete simulation and map layout in each mission is nothing to sneeze at.
Last but not least, I asked about the soundtrack, which I’m told will be available in the Deluxe Edition of the game as a digital goodie. Dynamedion has taken over from Mateo Pascual, and while Gebhardt insists they’re not losing sight of the original games’ vibes, the creatives actively sought an all-new musical style for Origins too.
I walked away from this press event happy with what I’d seen and dying to play more. Claymore has clearly put a lot of care into this laser-focused relaunch of the legendary tactical strategy series born in Spain. This one lands close to home, and while I haven’t experienced the full thing yet, carefully slicing through Nazi-infested streets from a top-down view brought back some childhood memories. That said, Commandos: Origins seems to be packing more than just nostalgia and respect for the old traditions.
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