Ironclads 2: War of the Pacific

This title has no in-game instructions or tutorial whatsoever. You just pick a campaign and play it, and the game is too complex for that at least for me. If you look at their forum you'll see I'm not the only one. I tried this before a couple of years ago and had the same impression but didn't leave a review - but apparently they're intending to release a sequel to this and I want to use this review to tell them that, hey, this is the 21st century and tutorials are expected now in all but the most basic of games.

The UI and thinking behind the map interface is abysmal.

Strong strategy game but you need to read the manual. Less cheating from the AI than most games except that it seems to move ships faster than you can. Things take a long time; it's unlikely you'll get (m)any new ships. Buy with caution.

Ironclads 2: War of the Pacific is a historical naval strategy game developed by Totem Games and published by Strategy First, focusing on one of the lesser-explored military conflicts of the nineteenth century. Built around the War of the Pacific involving Chile and Peru, the game combines large-scale strategic planning with tactical naval warfare, creating an experience designed primarily for players who enjoy military simulations and historically grounded strategy systems. Rather than emphasizing cinematic action or simplified naval combat, it leans heavily into realism, fleet management, and careful operational decision-making. The historical setting becomes one of the game’s strongest defining characteristics. Taking place during the War of the Pacific, the campaign centers on control of territories and maritime dominance during a period where naval technology was rapidly evolving. Industrial advancements had begun transforming warfare, creating an era where ironclad ships, steam-powered fleets, and modern artillery systems reshaped military tactics. Ironclads 2 captures that transitional period by placing players directly into command structures where naval superiority determ…

Too much bugs. Unplayable. Do not buy, even with sales or in bundle, you will be sad and disappointed because of the false promise of entertainment. This will get you frustrated at the point you'll hope to become a game programmer and have the source code to fix this game and release it for free. I'm starting to fear this will be the same for the other titles of the Ironclad 2 saga, as with Ironclad 1 which has another campaign system but the bugs in the battle still make it unplayable (the campaign).

I have no idea what I'm doing in this game. I can't really figure out the movement for my merchant men and these seem the most important part of any turn. And the manual is not that helpful for the strategy. But it seems to me once you've played both sides and won you're probably going to be finished with the game. If its on for cheap by all means buy it. I think I paid less than 5 bucks and frankly that's all its worth