Iron Harvest

released on Sep 01, 2020

After World War 1 farmers found a plethora of unexploded ordnance, barbed wire, weapons, shrapnel and bullets while ploughing their fields. They called it the Iron Harvest. Iron Harvest is a real-time strategy game (RTS) for Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC, set in the alternate reality of 1920+.


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Fun alternative history RTS with nice visuals and much more of an effort in the story department than other strategy games. The cornerstones of the game are the mechs that tower over infantry units and smash through buildings. Various AI and UI issues prevented it from being a smooth experience, but it was still a fun multi-campaign experience in an underserved genre.

This review contains spoilers

So i had a much longer, over 10000 words long but i forgot to save it and so it is lost to time, and so i will give a overview in replacement for it and live with with this lesson.

GAMEPLAY:
Iron Harvest is a fun and somewhat simple but fun base plot RTS, on the vein of Supreme Commander, Command and Conquer, Grey Goo. With 4 main factions, Polania, a fast mobile hit and run, long range faction, Rusviet, a fast, rapid, rush down faction. Saxony, a slow long drawn slug it out faction. And Usonia a highly adaptive and versatile force. While they all share units, they all have adjustments to suit the playstyle of that faction. So Iron Harvest is a fun and long and somewhat simple but highly enjoyable RTS with factions and playstyles for everyone. The mechs are really also a joy to watch and play with.

STORY:
So Iron Harvest story is split into 5 campaigns, each with their own characters that come together and form a genuinely compelling and enjoyable overarching story.
Polania story follows Anna and Lech Kos, and this serves to a start of a mystery and the post Great War world and some nice and neat world building.
Rusviet's story starts with a flashback and follows Janet Kos and Olga Morozova and Janet Kos is an amazing character and what really made fall in love with Iron Harvest's story. Here the mystery about what's actually happening and the world and the characters begins to unfold.
Saxony's story follows Gunter Von Duisburg, my favorite character, he is an amazing character and i love him, and here we get insights into the political world of Iron Harvest and the backstory into the Great War and the the answers and story about the mysteries and story pay off so nicely here.
Usonia being DLC, it's story is after the events of the base game. Here Usonia wants to make itself is a world superpower and so starts getting themselves into world problems and they are bastards, here we follow William Mason who actually does want to do go, and actual goes against Usonia to do what is the right thing, and honestly is a very good campaign, my second favorite behind the Saxony one.
Rusviet revolution, here we follow Olga again and the Tsar, and here it's clear that the DLC money went to Usonia but here is a still a good story about the Tsar wanting to better, but does not end well, with you actually losing here, neat.
Overall very good and genuinely enjoyable story and is what really made me love the game.

WORLD:
I'M A FUCKING SLUT FOR THIS WORLD. Iron Harvest does a fucking amazing job building this world and is a joy to find and enjoy. With the dieselpunk world being such a amazing joy, and the design of each Faction is so fucking cool as well. I had a much much longer part for this, breaking down the design of each Faction and mechs but oh well, i learned my lesson.

MUSIC:
The faction themes are amazing, each faction has their own music and is all such a joy to listen too. " Pride of Saxony", "Polania Victrix", "Mother Rusviet", "Ode to the Union" are all joys to listen too, there are other bangers, but these are the main ones i think of when i think Iron Harvest music, but there is a enough music that you won't ever get bored of one track.

OVERALL:
While i wanted to finish writing my over 10000 world review for this, for now this will do. One day i might come back to my full break down of Iron Harvest perhaps i will. Well overall Iron Harvest is an amazing RTS that does many many things right and i'm so glad to have played it. It's not looking to change the RTS genre but simply just add a new great game to a genre that hasn't had many large scale games in it lately.
One day i'll come back to the full breakdown of Iron Harvest.

Cool premise, bad execution. A company of Heroes clone.