For lack of a better term for it, I am forever on the lookout for a good World War I/II first-person or over-the-shoulder shooter that doesn’t Call of Duty itself. I’m usually after a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Yes I know, I am hard to please. When I first saw Marco Amadel’s Easy Red 2, I thought I’d give it a go, and by gum have I given it a go! Since the release of the Normandy DLC, I’ve pushed Jerry back and given him a good what-for for his troubles.

Easy Red 2 is a military shooter that emphasizes the importance of the conflict being depicted, the harshness of these conditions, and (most importantly) doesn’t take itself too seriously that you as a player are left with nothing. With both DLCs, you’ll launch yourself and the squad you are tasked with into the battles of Anzio, Kwajalein, Kos, Stalingrad, and of course, Operation Overlord. On one hand, that sounds as if it isn’t very much. However, within each of those you’ll have individual missions such as Juno, Sword, and Omaha, or Roi, Nettuno, and Marmari.

Let me sell this more with something simple: Every military shooter and its secret defense contract brother is focused on multiplayer, co-op, and so on. Easy Red 2 is also adorned with the allure of running into battle only to be decapitated by a German machine gun nest with your friends. However, it also has a campaign with decent AI. You can also crank up the AI units, truly putting your PC to the test as you execute Overlord and re-enact your ideas of being Tom Hanks.

It sounds too good to be true, who made a deal with the devil? No one, the catch is the fact you don’t have cutting-edge, ray-traced, and 4K graphics for the Stahlhelms. I’m not excusing the occasional crab walking Yank as we climb up the hill with awkward terrain, the sometimes see-through brickwork of Italian villas, or murky textures blending in with another murky texture that has a gun. Though when there is that small drop of photo-realism to something befitting the setting, and it is done for fun alongside the fact it is an indie-developed title, I’m willing to look past a little bit of it.

In the Battlefront II style of selecting your squad or means of entering into battle, you also get to determine which member of the team you are. Squad leader, Radioman, Sapper, Marksman, Heavy MG, Medic(!), and Rifleman are the main options. As Squad leader, you get to dictate where your small team goes, how they get there, and if you want the Germans to be bombed like the Americans did to the Japanese. As the Radioman, you are barking orders back down the line. As anyone else, you are sucking lemons and running into battle under orders.

That doesn’t mean Easy Red 2 isn’t fun though, you’ve got a whole collection of mechanics at play. There is a whole inventory system that is based on weight, with said inventory including armor, weapons, ammo, bandages, grenades, and food. Why is the food important, you might be asking? Well, you can bandage yourself up after a bullet catches you in the thoracic bone but it won’t take you down because you are a real man (that does drag in the evening for the lads), and a hearty tin of tuna gets you back to fighting shape.

Not only are you about as fragile as a moldy digestive in army surplus tins, but so is everything around you. Maybe not to the levels of Teardown, but you can punch a hole in a wall with all this artillery laying around that is just begging to punt a hole in some French, Italian, Greek, Russian, and Marshal island houses. Have I mentioned yet that you can also jump in a tank with your squad, or fly a plane into battle over Pointe du Hoc or elsewhere? You can also parachute out with only hopes and a Webley Mk VI Revolver or M1911.

Easy Red 2 is beyond Early Access and into extra work like DLC that adds the largest allied operation of World War 2, with about 2-million troops taking part in what must have frightened the bejesus out of the first bloke that saw the boats. Despite that, there are still a couple of glitches or otherwise odd moments. In Pointe du Hoc, I jumped in the window of this house, found Potter’s gaff, walked through the underside of the staircase like Casper the Ghost, and shot the three Germans that were stunned by my magic trick. I say stunned, AI might do that if you get too close in odd ways.

The all-out scale of storming Omaha with what amounts to 800-ish troops dead or captured makes up for a few odd glances Cyberpunk 2077’s way. If there is one thing I beg of when it comes to these war simulations and fantasy battle playgrounds, it is to bring the scale of this immense force you are fighting against. The latest Battlefront allowed for 40 per side, Battlefield 2042 felt fun because it went to 128 over two sides. The almost never-ending cacophony of bullets and shells landing in Easy Red 2 is the soundtrack needed to capture the chaos that was Operation Overlord and these battles.

That’s a whole lot of commendation and not a lot of counterpoints. So I think it is worth noting that the options are a little bit “Indie developer that wanted to focus on anything else,” and I can’t blame Marco Amadel for one moment. That isn’t to say it is all bad, but the presentation is lacking in some aesthetic/user-friendly care. I adore (for the sake of accessibility) that you can change the shake intensity. Or if you want true realism you can switch off hit markers, leaving yourself clueless if your chance shot hit.

It may be an attempt to keep realism, but for the life of me (and the men I control) I can’t remember how many bullets each gun has. You don’t know how embarrassing it can be to run down the road of a French village, put a bullet in a German, then both have to rush in an effort to kill each other. It is a strange choice, especially as the tanks and other vehicles do have an ammo count on the top right, with each having a reasonable amount to push your way in. For the most part, the realism/simulation that is aimed for is the situation and atmosphere more than anything.

Gameplay is as you’d expect with any first-person (or over-the-shoulder) shooter but with a slight twist on the capture-the-flag gameplay common in the multiplayer sphere. On your arrival on the beaches of each battle, you’ll have floating markers suggesting to go there and capture said point. The thing is, this isn’t really in the slim tutorial which does exactly what it needs to: Show you the gun system, the inventory system, command with a short wargame, and that the planes are completely useless with keyboard and mouse.

In a proper battle, these markers mean “Come here and turn this bar at the top of your screen from red to blue.” AI will do that if you are not there but don’t expect to wander off and win battles willy-nilly. After you’ve captured the initial points, German reinforcements will bombard you with infantry as you move up and try to capture the next few points. If there is one thing I don’t understand, it is exactly how victory is determined. For the most part, you are left in the dark exactly if anything is being scored for or against you. A metaphor for war is encapsulated: Keep pushing, maybe you’ll win.

Ultimately, with an abundance of gameplay options from difficulty to which side of the battle you are on, Easy Red 2 is easily one of my favorite battle simulators. Admittedly, there aren’t many that do as well while also being single player, and that might be pushing it over the edge for me, but it is true. A little rough in comparison to the EA-based sweatshops that make Battlefield and the ilk, but nothing beats the distilled fun that is chaos in war.

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Easy Red 2

$8.99

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Such a large singleplayer campaign.
• Decent AI.
• Photo/observation mode.
• No where is safe, including home.

Cons

• Options could use some care.
• Slightly buggy at times.
• Flying is awful with keyboard and mouse.