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Systemic War: When HOI4 Meets Broken Arrow — A First Look at the Steam Demo

If you’ve ever wished you could fight the battles you wage in a grand strategy game — or wanted your RTS skirmishes to actually matter on the world stage — then the demo for Systemic War (Steam, October 2025) might scratch that itch. It’s rough, rough enough to make you cringe in places, but it’s also one of those rare experiments that insists you pay attention. Here’s my take on it after an hour in the trenches.

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🎯 What is Systemic War?

At its core, Systemic War aims to fuse two strategy genres:

A grand strategy layer (a la Hearts of Iron IV) where you manage nations, economies, diplomacy, and logistics.
A modern-era RTS mode (think Broken Arrow / WARNO) where frontline encounters are fought in real time.

Its Steam page describes it as a modern grand strategy game spanning 2008 to 2025, where your strategic choices are tested in RTS battles that alter the course of the war. Steam Store

The demo is available as part of Steam Next Fest, free to try for a limited time.

🧩 My Demo Experience: Rough, But Intriguing

Let me be clear: the demo is very, very rough. It’s filled with placeholders, limited functionality, UI quirks, and parts that feel more like a concept than a polished build. But despite all that, there’s something compelling about it that kept pulling me back.

Here’s how it plays out:

Grand Strategy Layer

The strategic layer is minimal in the demo. You can move divisions, manage frontlines, and deploy artillery support. That’s about it.
Infrastructure, production, and macroeconomic systems (that promise to exist) are barely functional here.
You can mostly ignore the RTS battles if you choose — the game will “auto‑resolve” them. But that feels like throwing away a teaser of what the project could be.

RTS Battles

When two opposing units collide on the strategic map, you have the option to dive into a real-time battle.
In the battles, you control modern hardware: tanks, infantry, some support units, and artillery. I didn’t see naval or air support in this build (though they might be planned).
The battlefield feels like a specialized Total War style map: certain cities get their own layouts, terrain matters, and objectives aren’t always obvious. There’s an option to not micromanage and just issue high‑level priorities instead.

So, yes — it feels like HOI4 letting you scratch that RTS itch.

🔍 Pros & Cons

What Works (Even in This State)

Ambition & Concept: The idea of marrying grand strategy and tactical RTS in modern warfare is bold and rare. That duality is the heart of why this demo stuck with me.
Setting & Stakes: A modern-day theater means the battles feel weighty. You're not moving abstract units on a map — you're dealing with places people recognize, weapon systems that feel current, and strategic decisions with lived-world implications.
Optional Depth: You can bypass the RTS entirely, which gives flexibility depending on how much micromanagement you want.

What Needs Work

Unfinished Systems: The grand strategy systems barely exist right now, making much of the experience feel hollow.
Polish & Usability: UI bugs, placeholder text, and rough balancing impede the show‑piece enough that it can break the mood.
Limited Scope: No air or naval forces (in demo), and battles lack some of the force multipliers you’d expect in a modern war game.

🧭 Why You Should Watch This Game

Even if the demo is too rough to fully recommend now, here’s why I’m watching it:

It dares to bridge two genres that often exist in isolation. If done right, success or failure in a single battle could ripple into state-level outcomes.
It’s set in modern times — a bold move. That opens up tensions, technologies (drones, EW, cyber), and conflicts that feel relevant.
The scaffold is already there: real maps, 150+ unit types, diplomacy, and infrastructure promises. The challenge now is filling in the skeleton.

✅ My Verdict (For Now)

Don’t expect a finished product. Don’t expect deep strategy systems yet. But do expect potential. If you like watching ambitious strategy experiments, this demo is worth at least one or two hours of curiosity.

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Broken Arrow Review: A Modern RTS Powerhouse With Muscle and Grit

Real-time strategy games have been making a quiet resurgence, and Broken Arrow crashes into the scene with the kind of impact that makes strategy fans sit up straight. Imagine World in Conflict spent six months in the gym, pumped on protein shakes, and yelling about flanking maneuvers—Broken Arrow is exactly that. It's big, it's bold, and it’s unrelentingly tactical. But does it have the polish and staying power to stand alongside the titans of the genre like Supreme Commander or Command & Conquer?

Let’s dive into the battlefield.

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No Base Building, No Nonsense – Just War

*Broken Arrow* has a number of nail biting singleplayer missions

Broken Arrow throws the old-school RTS playbook out the window. There’s no base building, no resource gathering, no constructing barracks or power plants. Instead, it embraces a modern, combat-focused approach: you earn battlefield points and spend them to deploy infantry, tanks, helicopters, and jets wherever the action is hot. Much like other games in the genre like Warno.

This shift places strategy and battlefield awareness at the forefront. Whether it’s deploying a recon squad to scout enemy positions or launching a precision airstrike, every decision feels weighty. One misstep, and you could lose an entire armored column to a well-placed ambush.

The game's structure leans into dynamic warfare with combined arms tactics. It’s all about movement, positioning, and flexibility. In one mission, taking a town seemed straightforward—until the player flanked a beach and triggered an unexpected firefight, splitting the battle in two. These unpredictable moments give the gameplay a heartbeat and force players to adapt on the fly. Most importantly, no one unit can dominate the battle alone. Different unit types have to be used together in order to achieve victory.

Combat That Commands Respect

*Broken Arrow* might not always look the best, but the vehicles look fantastic

The combat in Broken Arrow is nothing short of exhilarating. The rock-paper-scissors mechanics—tanks beat infantry, infantry beats air, air beats tanks—are just the foundation. What makes it shine is the depth added through unit interactions, line of sight, terrain advantages, and the importance of range.

Engagements feel grounded in real military logic. Spotting an enemy first often means the difference between victory and a fiery death. Tanks are terrifying, but even they can be neutralized by hidden Javelin squads tucked in a tree line. Vehicles can lose mobility, optics, and firepower. Infantry gets suppressed, panics, and retreats. This isn't arcade combat—this is tactical chess at 100 miles per hour.

Supply lines also play a subtle but crucial role. Units run out of ammo over time, and supply trucks or airdrops must be used to keep them operational. Thankfully, it's streamlined—support arrives, and units resupply within a defined radius. It never becomes a micromanagement chore but still teaches the importance of planning and logistics.

If there's one word to define Broken Arrow's combat, it’s “range.” The entire gameplay loop is built around visibility, line of sight, and engagement distances. From recon units spotting ahead to jets bombing targets with laser guidance, the game makes every engagement feel intentional and strategic.

Campaign Weaknesses, But Explosive Fun

Singleplayer missions have fantastic detailed briefings, though the characters do fall a little flat

Let’s not mince words—the story is forgettable. It’s the usual America vs. Russia, Cold War goes hot, cliché-filled affair. Voice acting tends to be kind of melodramatic. This isn’t where Broken Arrow flexes.

But that’s okay—nobody is playing this for Oscar-worthy drama or unique storytelling. Missions themselves are where the campaign redeems its weak narrative. Objectives often reflect realistic military goals—secure a beachhead, hold a crossroads, repel an armored assault. These are grounded scenarios that reward tactical thinking.

Additionally, the game doesn't punish failure harshly. If you lose a control point, you're given the opportunity to retake it. That forgiving structure ensures each mission feels like a prolonged, engaging battle rather than a frustrating trial-and-error slog.

Visuals, Performance, and Sound: A Mixed Bag

*Broken Arrow* excels at complex missions that force you to think tactically. In single and multiplayer

Let’s talk graphics. Unit models look great—clean, crisp, and impressively detailed. Particle effects and explosions are especially satisfying, with missiles trailing smoke and debris flying in every direction. When the battlefield lights up, it’s a sight to behold.

However, terrain and environmental assets are a letdown. Trees look muddy and low-res until you zoom in, and buildings are clearly copy-pasted across maps. The overall aesthetic lacks organic variation, with sharp angles and repetitive geometry that feel at odds with the otherwise realistic combat. The maps look very different, but often have large sections that feel very samey.

Even more concerning is performance. On a top-tier GPU like the RTX 5090, the game still stutters and struggles to maintain consistent frame rates. The GPU gets hammered while the CPU barely breaks a sweat, pointing to optimization issues. No DLSS support at launch only makes things worse for players with mid-range rigs.

Thankfully, Broken Arrow redeems itself with exceptional sound design. Artillery shells scream overhead, jets roar past, and infantry shout orders under fire. Directional sound cues and layered effects create a deeply immersive soundscape that genuinely elevates every battle. Though like in any RTS you will quickly start to recognize the same unit barks being repeated over and over again.

Multiplayer Depth and Tactical Deck Building

Outside the campaign, Broken Arrow introduces deck-building mechanics that allow players to create their own custom force compositions. With 10,000 points to spend and caps to prevent overstacking one unit type, you can build balanced, specialized, or outright ridiculous decks. Want a sky full of bombers? Go for it—just know you’ll pay the price in versatility.

The main thing that makes Broken Arrow stand out from every other RTS I’ve played is just how fully fleshed out its combined arms gameplay is. A lot of games like WARNO have decent combined arms mechanics, but artillery and backline micro never feel quite as impactful there as they do here.

In Broken Arrow, every part of your force has to work together seamlessly for you to succeed. Your artillery, air power, anti-air, armor, and infantry all play critical roles in every match. That’s the magic of the tactics in this game – it’s not about spamming one unit type. It’s about coordinating your entire military force like an actual commander.

Final Verdict

Broken Arrow doesn’t just borrow from past RTS greats—it builds on their legacy. It respects the player’s intelligence, rewards smart decisions, and offers a sandbox of modern warfare that feels alive and dangerous. Yes, the story is flat, the visuals uneven, and the optimization needs serious work. But when it comes to gameplay—the heart and soul of any RTS—it absolutely delivers.

If you're a strategy fan who’s missed the glory days of World in Conflict and Supreme Commander, Broken Arrow is a triumphant return to form. It’s not perfect, but it’s powerful, promising, and—most importantly—fun.

Score: 8/10 – RTS is back, and it means business.

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