There are two separate aspects that one should talk about in this game.
Its gameplay is very decent for the genre. The eco is quite balanced, battles are diverse and become increasingly interesting as the game progresses (although stealth combat becomes a bit repetitive once you figure out the npc behavior). In other words -- a very solid and fun gameplay, little-to-no complaints there.
Set in some fantasy universe with orcs and whatnot, or post-apocalyptic setting (a-la Wasteland) -- this game would have my full love, support and 4.5/5. But it's not; it attempts to tell a very complex story of a very complicated time-frame in both Czechoslovak and Russian history. And this is where it completely falls apart, as it's not just oversimplifying the history, but actively turning it upside down at its core, which makes people who know at least a miniscule fraction of history of that time suffer in cringe.
To put it simply: it's not just propaganda; this is really next level bullshitting, and they're not even trying. And, look, you can criticize and even demonize the military communism in Russia of that time, highlight the atrocities they did, etc. -- I get it. There are different views on the same events in history, and taking one perspective and amplifying it, however unjust, is what dramatic oversimplification is, and one could make a solid story out of this subjectivity.
But what the game does takes that to the next level; to the modern-Russia level of propaganda and borderline xenophobia. Just to highlight how bad the scriptwriting is, and how low the propaganda in this game works. The Czech Legion visits a village, where locals complain how their men have been recruited into Red Army. The Legion then proceeds to kill the locally stationed Reds with the local recruits, after which they are met as heroes by the women of the village saying that their stupid husbands paid for their decision for joining the evil Red Army.
This is so low, and so obviously fake and complete bullshit. Like I wrote, they're not even trying. One can probably justify not mentioning how in actuality the Legions had no trouble going back to Vladivostok, until they started having shootouts with the Hungarian being transported to the west for repatriation, after which they disobeyed their own gov't and refused to disarm, started helping the Whites in a Civil War, and even occupied chunks of the Trans-Siberian railroad. Sure... you want to focus on one perspective -- be my guest. But having such a blatant propaganda threading the entire storyline is just... too much. I wish they hadn't gone this far with this absolutely bullshit propaganda. It could have been a great game.
Its gameplay is very decent for the genre. The eco is quite balanced, battles are diverse and become increasingly interesting as the game progresses (although stealth combat becomes a bit repetitive once you figure out the npc behavior). In other words -- a very solid and fun gameplay, little-to-no complaints there.
Set in some fantasy universe with orcs and whatnot, or post-apocalyptic setting (a-la Wasteland) -- this game would have my full love, support and 4.5/5. But it's not; it attempts to tell a very complex story of a very complicated time-frame in both Czechoslovak and Russian history. And this is where it completely falls apart, as it's not just oversimplifying the history, but actively turning it upside down at its core, which makes people who know at least a miniscule fraction of history of that time suffer in cringe.
To put it simply: it's not just propaganda; this is really next level bullshitting, and they're not even trying. And, look, you can criticize and even demonize the military communism in Russia of that time, highlight the atrocities they did, etc. -- I get it. There are different views on the same events in history, and taking one perspective and amplifying it, however unjust, is what dramatic oversimplification is, and one could make a solid story out of this subjectivity.
But what the game does takes that to the next level; to the modern-Russia level of propaganda and borderline xenophobia. Just to highlight how bad the scriptwriting is, and how low the propaganda in this game works. The Czech Legion visits a village, where locals complain how their men have been recruited into Red Army. The Legion then proceeds to kill the locally stationed Reds with the local recruits, after which they are met as heroes by the women of the village saying that their stupid husbands paid for their decision for joining the evil Red Army.
This is so low, and so obviously fake and complete bullshit. Like I wrote, they're not even trying. One can probably justify not mentioning how in actuality the Legions had no trouble going back to Vladivostok, until they started having shootouts with the Hungarian being transported to the west for repatriation, after which they disobeyed their own gov't and refused to disarm, started helping the Whites in a Civil War, and even occupied chunks of the Trans-Siberian railroad. Sure... you want to focus on one perspective -- be my guest. But having such a blatant propaganda threading the entire storyline is just... too much. I wish they hadn't gone this far with this absolutely bullshit propaganda. It could have been a great game.