The wait for the release of this strategy was worth it: on July 14, 2017, the project dedicated to one of the most important conflicts of the 19th century finally left the Early Access stage. This is not the debut work in the Ultimate General series and not the first experience of the authors in the theme of the American Civil War – there was also Gettysburg, focused on a single battle and its environs.

This time, the scale is much wider: the game contains the largest battles of the war – from both battles of Bull Run to Shiloh, Fredericksburg and Cold Harbor. Each clash is reproduced with amazing historical accuracy: the location of regiments, maneuvers and even the chronology of events are recreated almost minute by minute thanks to diaries and eyewitness accounts.

And it is especially noteworthy that such a meticulous reconstruction of American history was not created by a studio from the USA, but by the Ukrainian team Game Labs, which managed to convey the atmosphere of the era as if the developers themselves had been on the battlefield.

Ultimate General: Civil War Free Steam Account

What do we usually remember about the American Civil War? A short but turbulent period of history – just four years, from 1861 to 1865. And yet, during this time, military affairs changed beyond recognition. Armies on both sides of the front learned on the fly: Gatling guns, breech-loading guns and rifled rifles were used en masse for the first time, the first elements of trench warfare appeared, and the attack in close formation began to look frankly outdated. At sea, armored ships met in battle for the first time, bottom mines and torpedoes were used, and a submarine attacked an enemy vessel for the first time. This conflict went down in history not only for the abolition of slavery, but also for its dark pages – prisoner of war camps like Andersonville, where emaciated prisoners became the first witnesses of cruelty captured on photographs, long before Auschwitz. And yet, to be honest, we know little about this in the general public: it is almost never taught in school. Can Ultimate General: Civil War fill the gap? Let’s try to figure it out.

Game Labs has created a strategy that resembles a children’s game of soldiers, but on a large, serious scale. There are two main modes: individual historical battles or a full-fledged campaign covering the entire course of the war – from the shots at Fort Sumter to the victorious marches of Sherman and Grant. You will have to start by choosing a side – the Union (North) or the Confederacy (South). The Confederates are brave and motivated, but almost always outnumbered. The Northerners have an advantage in people and resources, but are not always eager to be heroic, sometimes preferring caution to a frontal attack. This asymmetry is quite consistent with historical reality.

The type of your commander-in-chief also plays a decisive role. The tactician gets an additional unit, the strategist speeds up the training of troops, and the logistics specialist provides the army with supplies. The good news is that character development can be flexibly changed: victories bring points that allow you to pump up skills in the right direction. So, from a talented supplier you can make a scout and an inspiring leader. The same goes for officers of all ranks – from regiment commanders to corps generals. They are hired for in-game currency, trained and promoted as they gain experience. But officers are only part of the success. Between battles, you form new regiments, buy weapons for infantry, cavalry and artillery. The game offers a whole collection of firearms from the Civil War era – right down to their modifications. True, the choice of weapons is always a compromise: an expensive rifle is accurate, but useless in hand-to-hand combat, and an old musket, worth a penny, can be a menace in close combat. There is almost never enough money after battles for a full rearmament, and the best guns in the shop are a rarity. However, hand-made shelves and even entire cases do not upset the balance: two thousand bayonets against twenty thousand is more of a pleasant support than a decisive factor.

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Features of battles and strategies for winning in the game Civil War

Civil War reveals itself in all its glory when you dive into its tactical depths. There are four key types of troops under your command: infantry, riflemen, cavalry, and artillery. Each unit has its own character – morale, combat experience, and weapons directly affect its effectiveness in battle. On the battlefield, you control them like a conductor of an orchestra: with a slight movement of the cursor, you outline a maneuver, and the ranks switch from a measured step to a dashing run, rush into an attack or steadfastly hold positions. Riders can dismount to support the infantry, and then saddle their horses again for a sharp flank attack. Choosing a position here is not a trifle: forests and houses enhance protection and stealth, and hills open up space for cannon fire.

The unpredictability of the battle also adds extra drive. Ammunition tends to run out – at such moments, you will thank fate for the presence of a wagon with supplies. Units can falter under heavy fire and retreat, and deserters can simply flee the field. However, the commander’s capabilities here are limited to maneuver and exchanging soldiers’ lives for a tactical advantage. You won’t find engineering troops, digging trenches, building bridges, or laying railroads. But the risk of losing everything due to excessive losses or mission failure is quite real.

The enemy’s artificial intelligence doesn’t let you relax for a minute. It can suddenly strike on the flank, or it can go into deep defense and wait for an opportune moment. Leave the guns uncovered – they will be immediately destroyed. Leave the convoy unguarded – expect an attack. Dashing cavalry attacks without support will also end in disaster. And sometimes the enemy behaves cautiously, almost like a human. For example, in the mission about the Union troops crossing the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg: having numerical superiority, they act slowly, preferring artillery shelling, because they do not know how many Confederate soldiers are hiding in the city. This balance between historical accuracy and AI algorithms is respectable.

Separately, it is worth praising the developers for the convenience of the interface. There are no complex training missions here – and they are simply not needed. Even small nuances of control quickly become clear during the game. The goals of each chapter of the campaign are clear: hold the position until a certain time, capture the fortification, block the supply route to the enemy fort. And even the largest battles, divided into several episodes, do not allow you to get lost – everything is so intuitive that it is easier to navigate than at home in your own kitchen. And this, perhaps, is both the main advantage and a slight understatement of the project.

Pros and Cons of Ultimate General: Civil War

Ultimate General: Civil War stands out among strategies not only because it carefully takes us to the middle of the 19th century, but also because it brings to life figures familiar from history books. General Robert Edward Lee, who might have loved war if it had not been so merciless, and the master of tactical flanking Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, who believed that it was better to lose a hundred people in a difficult march than a thousand in an open battle, appear on the screen. Details are carefully recreated here – from the layout of streets and the location of houses to the smallest details in the landscape.

But along with attention to the archives, the game is completely subordinated to the historical canvas. The tasks are written in such a way that it will not be possible to change the outcome of the war – no matter how much you want to lead the Confederate army to a victorious march through the streets of Washington or Philadelphia, the outcome will be unchanged: the North will gain the upper hand. Yes, this is a kind of “spoiler”, but in the genre of historical reconstruction, such things are inevitable.

Sometimes it is even annoying. You carefully fortify your positions, find a clever maneuver to outflank the enemy, knock them out of key points, and already feel the taste of victory – but then the order comes to retreat. The enemy is numerically superior, and the command has decided to wind up the operation. Logical? Yes. Exciting? Less so. If you are familiar with the events of the Civil War, then the predictability of the plot takes away some of the excitement.

At the same time, despite the historical meticulousness, the atmosphere of the era is not conveyed as much as it could have been. For comparison, in Martin Scorsese’s film Gangs of New York there is a scene where Irish immigrants who arrive at the port are immediately recruited into the army, given a meager salary, a gun, and sent to a ship. The same ship unloads coffins with already dead Irishmen. This minute of the film gives a much better understanding of the spirit of the times than the entire plot of Game Labs.

Ultimate General: Civil War is far from a failure, but it is also not a hardcore challenge for seasoned players of Europa Universalis or Hearts of Iron. The simplicity of the mechanics and strict adherence to chronology make it more accessible to a mass audience interested in US history than to strategists who crave complete freedom of action. However, it is still worth getting to know the project – even if only during the Steam sale.

Pros:

• Authentic historical basis and large-scale battles.
• An excellent option for those who want to understand the course of the key battles of the Civil War in an accessible form.
• Easier to master than most military strategies.

Cons:

• Lack of multiplayer.
• No naval battles and engineering capabilities in tactics.
• Strict fixation of the scenario on real events.

Ultimate General: Civil War System Requirements

How to play Ultimate General: Civil War for free on Steam via VpeSports

Ultimate General: Civil War is not just a game, but a living time machine that will take you to the most intense days of the American Civil War. Forget about fairy tales and fictional heroes – everything here is painfully real. The sound of hooves on a road soggy from the rain, gunpowder smoke obscuring the horizon, the cries of the wounded and the roar of cannons that makes the earth tremble. You are the commander, and it is your decisions that will lead the army to glory or throw it into the abyss of defeat. Every order, every troop movement can become a turning point in this bloody chess game.

We did everything to make the path to the battlefield as simple as possible. Just a couple of clicks – and you are already at headquarters, giving orders to your regiments. Register on our website, log in to your account, and Ultimate General: Civil War will be waiting for you with detailed instructions on how to launch. If you wish, you can start playing with a free steam account — everything is already set up, all you have to do is choose a side in the conflict and go out to meet history.

After each campaign, we are waiting for your stories — tell us how you achieved victory, or what went wrong. We read each review carefully, and even if it does not appear immediately, it is enough to slightly correct it — and it will be published. After approval, we will send you all the necessary access data by email.

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