Grand Tactician: The Civil War (1861-1865) (2021)

tutorial is jack, i can say it certainly is Stonwall jackson, but jack****. the tutorial is so bugged to the point you can't play. even if you go through the hell of reading what is essentially a book on the controls etc and then restart and fast forward it still glitches on you. looks like a fun game but to learn the game via tutorial is so infuriating that i might as well spend another day with my narc ex wife. going to give it another try on another day.

Grand Tactician Civil War is easily the best ACW strategy game ever made, and is one of the best strategy games of its era on sale on Steam ATM. The game's core is excellent, it generates great battles, captures the spirit, strategy, and technological challenges of the ACW, and is easily replayable. It is not without faults, the graphics at times look dated and when you zoom in the models are poor (sprites, here, would have been a much better choice). The terrain is ugly, and can sometimes be unclear as to sight lines. And the research/economics/grand strategy aspect of the strategic layer ranges from clumsy (research and general UI) to down right inscrutable (economics). But that is easy to get past. Once you understand how the game works, you realize that moving armies on the map is easy but impactful. Depriving the enemy of rail lines and strategic points actually matters. And the random battle generator is one of the best I've ever seen, it manages to give you a map that always feels fresh, feels true to the strategy map situation you found yourself in, *and yet* provides enough grounding for the AI to put you into some tricky spots. Again is it perfect, no. Like Total War you …

This game has SOOO much promise but ultimately failed to deliver - big time! It is mostly the UX element (User Experience) Let me give you one clear simpl example: You can research and build and equip new weapons. In the research interface it does not tell you what weapons can be built for a given research. Oddly, you can have some of these weapons in your weapon depot before you have researched them ??? but if you click on the weapon in the depot it doesn't tell you what you have to research to be able to produce more of them. So everything is disconnected and you are left guessing - A LOT. I got tired and quit after a bug tipped the scales.

The game isn't perfect, and yes it's abandoned at this point, but it is so unique and bold that I keep coming back. The graphics are outdated and sometimes it runs like hard tack, but what it lacks in beauty, it makes up for in depth and detail. The ability to create avatars of yourself and your friends creates a story building within your campaigns that you rarely get in games like this. For anyone interested in the ACW, this is a must have. If you love grand strategy, there is something here for you too but be warned, the learning curve is real.

Desperately wanted to like this - DLC and all. The move UX is so janky, it's unplayable.

TLDR: I highly recommend this game, but would suggest waiting for a sale. Regardless of it's flaws, this game is unparalleled when it comes to American Civil War grand strategy. At the time of this review I only have ~30 hours and I have barely scratched the surface. There was so much love that went into this game but I feel I should list the more frustrating elements first. Cons: -The UI is useful, but janky. -The economy is a bit opaque and unresponsive (though this could certainly be a skill issue on my part). -The best part of the game (Whiskey and Lemons DLC) is locked behind a paywall. -Unit placement and movement is very unintuitive at times, especially on the battlefield. -Friendly AI will tend to just blob up in battle, leading to a constant cycle of inability to hold ground or sustain an offensive (only a real issue in Whiskey and Lemons) -The morale system, even on easier difficulties, is very punishing. -Sometimes battles will commence where the enemy is attacking you on the strategic map, but for some reason you are forced into a costly assault to not rout your army on the strategic level. -Enemy AI is either braindead lobotomy patients who sit on one point and never…