Developed by Dutch studio BlackMill Games and published by M2H of Marooners and Crashdrive 3 fame, Isonzo is the third installment in a series of tactical online multiplayer first-person shooters set in the backdrop of World War I. It was announced for all major platforms last March, with the developers providing a closer look at its gameplay during last month’s Gamescom 2022 livestream event ahead of its launch on Steam and other platforms on September 13.
Isonzo’s setting is inspired by the real-life two-year struggle for control of the Isonzo river valley and Alps mountains during World War I, comprising 12 battles that mainly took place across what is now known as Slovenia. Players can choose to fight on the side of the Kingdom of Italy or the Austrian-Hungary Empire as they wage war in large-scale multiplayer battles - with each side either charging the enemy’s base or defending their territory from the opposing army. Each pre-match loading screen features text describing the historical events of the area that the map is based on, adding to Isonzo’s devotion to capturing the feel of the real battles that took place.
There are six different character classes in Isonzo: Officers, who can call in support from command stations; Riflemen, who serve as the basic infantry; Engineers, who excel at building weapons and obstacles; Assault troopers, who carry high-impact weaponry; reconnaissance and infiltration-oriented Montaineers; and long-distance Marksmen. Once they are ready to battle, players select a spawn point from the territory their side controls on the overworld map.
Once the battle begins, movement and combat play out like a typical FPS, with the player able to move, jump, crouch, shoot their weapons, and perform other actions using the mouse and keyboard. Moving while shooting reduces accuracy, but standing still to line up a shot can leave a player vulnerable to attack. By holding down the Right Mouse Button, the player can line up their shot, and holding down the Left Shift Key lets them hold their breath for even greater accuracy. Gunplay is much slower than typical shooters like Call Of Duty due to the weapons of the time and the game’s realistic approach to warfare, and a single shot can kill. Unfortunately, most of the in-game weapons are bolt-action rifles or other similar firearms and feel the same to shoot - even designated sniper weapons.
Each mission has two different kinds of objectives for the attacking side, with players trying to take control of bases by fighting their way through enemy forces or to destroy them by planting an explosive and preventing the opponent’s army from disarming it before the timer goes off. Progress for each side is shown by a meter at the top of the screen, with a draining section on the left representing the attacking force and the rest of the bar indicating the territory still controlled by the defending party. Throughout each battlefield, players can build outposts, mortar launchers, Gatling guns, and other useful equipment by selecting the shovel tool and picking the desired item from the Build Wheel.
Isonzo’s presentation highlights the grim nature of war with the constant screams of dying soldiers and the corpses of dead infantry and animals littering the battlefield. Players can customize their character with various uniforms, face types, hats/helmets, and even accessories like eye patches or pipes. However, most of the options are either locked in the beginning or being held back for future DLC, meaning that the choices available are limited. The graphical style is also quite basic despite capturing the look of World War I, and it isn’t uncommon to see other players clipping into the environment. The music feels like it has been pulled from a classic war film, with uplifting orchestral tracks and Italian singing adding to the atmosphere.
Isonzo’s gameplay mechanics are simple and easy to pick up, despite the game lacking any real tutorial other than a quick and very easy-to-miss instruction video that plays before the player’s first match. On the other hand, the combat itself is brutal and unrelenting, meaning that would-be soldiers looking to dive into Isonzo’s historical battlefield will have to face constant deaths and reloads while touring through BlackMill Games’ latest history-based shooter.
Isonzo will be available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 on September 13. A digital Steam code was provided to Screen Rant for the purpose of this review.