Military games are one of my favorite genres to play nowadays, modern military-based video games usually offer you jets, transport helicopters, combat helicopters, cars, tanks, multiple classes, and different types of weaponry!
Some of these video games also have awesome campaigns, eye-pleasing graphics, or incredible immersion - like BF1, for example.
Let’s get to it, fellers. Let’s start with our first game!
20. War Thunder
Our first game on this list has to be War Thunder, a game that was released way back in 2012, you can either drive a tank or pilot a plane and engage in awesome dogfighting, either in the air or on land!
It’s an addicting arcade game with pretty as hell graphics, you receive XP for finishing games and you can use it to unlock new planes/tanks, different parts, etc. War Thunder has some purchasable content for real-life money, but you can get the game for free - and that’s the best part!
19. Battlefield V
Welcome to BF5, a game where you can play as a WHAMEN on the front lines. This game is well known for historical inaccuracies and controversies, but it doesn’t stop this game from being fun to play. I played it a couple of times and there were times where I felt like I was in a movie, driving a jeep and almost getting blown up by artillery, getting chased by a dogfighter, getting nuked by some bazookas while hiding in a house - this game has some immersion, it’s just a shame that some of it was sacrificed for the sake of “polytycal korektnezz”.
It has classes like in previous BF games, unlockable content, plenty of vehicles to drive, and large-scale maps with plenty of destructive environments. It’s pretty much like any other BF game, the difference being this time that it takes place in WW2. I think so at least...
I suggest you to get this game, it’s EXTREMELY CHEAP on G2A, I reckon you can still get a version on origin for 2 euros - so get it now!
18. Arma 3
This game has plenty of content, you can go on missions either alone or with your buddies, pick many gamemodes, let it be King of the Hill, where you are put in a team and are supposed to survive for as long as possible - I believe that it’s also one of the most popular gamemodes out there!
The game overall has to offer realistic gameplay, a rich sandbox, spawnable vehicles(planes, helicopters, cars, etc), and big ass maps with plenty of different terrains. The game is also mod-friendly, so I’m pretty sure you won’t get bored of Arma 3 for a long time. Great game!
17. Squad
The squad offers large-scale, 50vs50 player battles that rely heavily on teamwork and communication between teammates. It offers big maps where you can set up a perimeter, build fortifications, and tactical gameplay(you can lean, go prone, crouch, give out commands, etc).
If you like to play in more dangerous, close-combat scenarios, you can play as a grunt. If you wish to play as a more sneaky type of guy, you can pick a sharpshooter and hide in a bush somewhere and wait for an insurgent to pop out. The game’s pretty sick and realistic, try it out!
16. Hell Let Loose
A tactical FPS shooter taking place in Western Europe, what else do you need to know? Well, there’s plenty of what you need to know, this game is almost on the same level graphically as BF1, it’s gorgeous and you’ll feel immersed by walking on the mud roads to a nearby city. The game also offers realism in terms of dealing damage - shooting somebody in the chest means death, it’s not like BF3 where you shoot somebody with a pistol to the chest 4 times and the guy is still running around like Super Sonic…
This is probably one of the most awesome games I have ever played, it offers intense gameplay and requires tactical thinking - try it out, pretty good!
15. Company of Heroes 2
An RTS that takes place on the Eastern Front in World War 2, probably one of the greatest RTS’s out there, a perfect game for strategy junkies and other nerds!
You get to control your units that can consist of tanks, infantry, and other military personnel - your main objective is to destroy some bad nazis that are attacking your motherland - and “liberate” some countries on the way!
14. Insurgency: Sandstorm
A tactical FPS shooter with small/medium maps. You can count on close-combat gameplay with plenty of action and gore, you rely heavily on your team and your team relies heavily on you - this game is all about teamwork and cooperation.
The community in this game is friendly for the most part, you can even throw molotovs on poor, unsuspecting GI’s walking through an alley. Lovely!
13. Hearts of Iron IV
Do you wish to play as the Soviets? Or Nazi Germany? Do you wish to commit atrocities all across the globe, while mercilessly taking over more and more territories, developing deadly weaponry, starting pacts with other nations just to not follow them after things get real? Well, welcome to HOI4! Here you can start as any nation and take over the world if you know what you’re doing!
The game has unique gameplay and plenty of complex mechanics, multiple downloadable DLC’s and plot twists - both in singleplayer and multiplayer. Pretty cool game, becomes more and more fun as you play it!
12. Foxhole
Foxhole is a third-person shooter from a bird’s view, you can either play it with your friends or alone, although I greatly suggest playing it with your friends, otherwise playing with some of your squadmates might lead to… anger issues.
The game is separated into two teams - The Colonialists and the Wardens, the game has its lore that explains why these 2 factions hate each other and are in a conflict if you find video game plots interesting.
One cool feature about this game is that it’s not scripted and it’s up to the player where you want to go, what and where you want to build - the gameplay is ALWAYS intense as the battles can last even up to weeks. There are different classes that you can pick if you don’t like close combat. Awesome strategy-driven game!
11. Pavlov VR
A first-person shooter in VR with cool immersion and realism - it offers realistic reloading animations and intense combat scenarios, and to be honest, for a VR game, pretty comfortable controls with amusing bugs here and there.
You can play on many maps, even the famous Office map from Counter-Strike. Keep in mind, this game can make you develop paranoia as you’ll have to look back every 5 seconds, If you like a game similar to CS:GO(but in VR), then get Pavlov. You won’t regret it!
10. Rising Storm 2: Vietnam
I selected a server to play on, I spawn on An Lao Valley, we already capped A and B pretty fast, but our offense on C stagnated, as we simply couldn’t get through the enemy lines. The primary reason for that was because of a certain VC sniper on a hill shooting at us and inflicting great casualties on poor GI soldiers…
I couldn’t allow that, I’ve noticed a free slot for the combat engineer and selected the flamethrower as my primary weapon. I go around the hill, then to the top, go into the camp and sneak till I find that VC sunavabetch - then I hear his gunshots, he’s nearby, and here comes the best part…
I hold V and press the “taunt” option, my character proceeds to say “Hey Charles, how come you ain’t friendly like the girls back in Saigon?”, after a short moment of confusion, he turns around only for me to set him on fire with my flamethrower.
You’re not putting that out, Charlie!
9. Holdfast: Nations At War
Large scale battles back in the good old days when Napoleon was still around. Each server can consist of 150 players with weaponry from the beginning of the 19th century(aka cannons, muskets, etc).
Just imagine 75 players from both teams charging at each other and whooping each other’s asses with bayonets. This game does a great job of presenting immersion and ridiculousness at the same time, for example, players solo charging through an empty field and dying 3 seconds later, mic-spamming, and other bullshittery. The game is amusing and awesome at the same time!
8. War of Rights
Yankees started a civil war back in 1861 and that’s the point of this game, you’ll either play as the southerners or the northerners and engage in massive battles that consist of 150 players per server.
Graphics are gorgeous, the gameplay is immersive and chilling at times, especially when your trench is being overrun by angry southerners - expect to get stabbed, shot, and trampled by either of the teams, trench yourself up and create a perimeter that you’ll defend with what you’ve got - try it out, one of the coolest games I’ve seen so far!
7. Post Scriptum
- Historical accuracy - checked!
- Large-scale battles - checked!
- Teamwork - checked!
- Graphics - gorgeous!
- Hotel? - Trivago!
What else can be said about Post Scriptum - this game is simply amazing, you’ll be amazed by how grim and dead the atmosphere is, the silence will make you feel unsettled and feel like a storm is coming... or just the germans!
Don’t expect an arcade shooter though, this game demands patience and teamwork, you might have to wait a couple of minutes somewhere in a trench without any action.
It’s rare for developers to put heart into their games nowadays, and this game is a nice breeze of fresh air. Give it a try!
6. RUNNING WITH RIFLES
Welcome to RWR, also known as Running With Rifles, as the name of the game suggests, you run around with rifles! It’s a tactical game that you play from top-down, you don’t start as anybody special, just a regular grunt who’s probably going to die somewhere in a cold ditch.
This game is about massive battles and capping 13 points, combat takes place between the USA, Germany, and the Russians. Sounds familiar…
Anyways, it’s a fun indie game that’s worth a try!
5. Day of Infamy
Some might call this game CS:GO, but in World War 2. One thing that I’ve found fascinating about this game are the gore effects, each limb has 3 points of amputation and very detailed dismembered limbs. Most of the time you’ll be engaging in close-quarter combat, staying indoors, and annihilating people!
You can call in fire support and even set others on flames with the flamethrower. You’ll encounter multiple gamemodes combined with many, well-designed maps. Give this game a try if you like WW2-themed CS:GO!
4. Spec Ops: The Line
I gotta say this is quite an underrated game, it’s a 3rd person shooter and you’re put in literal hell on earth, where you’ll be forced to go on suicidal missions, you’ll do things that will make you question your morals - this game has plenty of disturbing cutscenes and probably one of the most interesting singleplayer campaigns I have ever played.
It doesn’t have multiplayer, but a golden campaign - and that’s enough to make this game fascinating to play. Try this game out, it has fun gameplay and plenty of plot twists that will fill you with a variety of emotions. Great game!
3. Freeman: Guerrilla Warfare
Is that you, Doctor Freeman? No, it’s Freeman: Guerilla Warfare, a first-person tactical shooter, with RPG elements that also requires some strategy and planning. The world plunged into chaos, people divided themselves into factions and are fighting each other with a variety of weapons(assault rifles, snipers, pistols, shotguns, etc) on massive maps.
You’ll have access to a map where you can relocate your troops, you can also improve them by giving them better weaponry/armor. I don’t recommend going solo in this game as you’ll make an easy target to kill. This game reminds me of the political situation in Ukraine. Interesting!
2. Ravenfield
A quite simple game with basic graphics, might remind you of Roblox or Minecraft, the point of this game is to engage in massive battles between Reds and Blues on servers with high amounts of people. You’ll have access to land vehicles, helicopters, and planes that you can even land on carriers. Don’t expect too much lore from a game like this, just mindless warfare on big maps!
This game is also awesome because of its low requirements, you can play this game on a PC from 1958 without too many issues. It’s Battlefield for poor people in the end, get it if you have a POS PC!
1. Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War
Some might disagree with me placing this game on the first spot and for good reasons, but I personally found the campaign different from other previous CoD games - you’re given dialogue options and you can sometimes interact with objects in this game(you can even poison someone OR yourself, lol).
The game has its campaign with funny, unique cutscenes, the game is overall arcade-ish, both in singleplayer and multiplayer and you’re not forced to fiddle around with military mambo jumbo, which makes this game a nice run and shoot sort of game, with simple interactions and a semi-decent plot.
Although it has some PC garbage in it, you’ll love it for its simplicity and classic CoD gameplay(small maps, action-packed skirmishes). GET IT!
