Relic Entertainment changed everything in 2006. Before then, real-time strategy was mostly about clicking your mouse a thousand times a minute to build a farm or mine gold. Then Company of Heroes dropped. Suddenly, it wasn't about the economy; it was about the dirt. It was about whether a stone wall could stop a MG42 burst or if your Tiger tank’s rear armor was exposed to a cheeky flanking maneuver.
I've spent way too many hours hearing the rhythmic thump-thump-thump of a quad-mount .50 cal. If you're like me, you’re constantly looking for that same hit. You want games like Company of Heroes that actually respect your intelligence. You don't want "StarCraft in a forest." You want tactical positioning, meaningful cover, and the feeling that losing one squad actually hurts.
The problem is that "RTS" is a broad label. Most modern strategy games are either too fast or too abstract. Finding something that captures the specific DNA of CoH—the directional armor, the territory control, and the "retreat" button that saves your skin—is actually pretty tough.
The DNA of Tactical Real-Time Strategy
What are we actually looking for? It's not just "tanks."
Basically, Company of Heroes is built on three pillars: squad-based micro, environmental interactivity, and localized resource management. If a game doesn't have at least two of these, it's probably not what you're after. You want to see the craters. You want to see the buildings crumble under 105mm shells.
Most people point toward the Men of War series, and they're right, but with a massive asterisk. Men of War: Assault Squad 2 is probably the closest you’ll ever get to the mechanical depth of CoH, but it’s way more punishing. Like, "every individual soldier has their own inventory and you have to manually loot ammo from dead bodies" punishing. It lacks the polish of a Relic title, yet it offers a level of granular control that makes CoH look like a mobile game. You can literally take direct control of a single tank and aim the barrel yourself. It’s wild.
Then there’s the whole "World War II fatigue" thing. Some of the best games like Company of Heroes aren't even set in the 1940s.
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Why Iron Harvest is the Weird Cousin
Iron Harvest is basically Company of Heroes with giant, diesel-powered mechs. It’s set in the 1920+ universe by artist Jakub Różalski. Honestly, the gameplay loop is almost an exact mirror. You capture flags to get iron and oil. You hide infantry behind brick walls. You retreat when things get hairy.
However, it feels heavier. The mechs don't move like light vehicles; they lumber. If you loved the early-game infantry skirmishes of CoH, Iron Harvest nails that. But be warned: the pathfinding can be a bit of a nightmare sometimes. It lacks that buttery-smooth "Relic feel," but for the campaign and the atmosphere alone, it’s worth the install.
Breaking the WW2 Mold with Modern Warfare
If you want the tactical vibe but you’re tired of the M1 Garand ping, you need to look at Broken Arrow or WARNO. These are different beasts, though.
WARNO, developed by Eugen Systems, focuses on a "Cold War gone hot" scenario. It’s much larger in scale. You aren't managing five squads; you're managing a brigade. But the DNA is there—line of sight matters, morale matters, and if you send your tanks into a forest without infantry support, they are going to die. Fast.
It's a "simulation-lite." It doesn't have the "hero" units or the flashy abilities of Company of Heroes 3, but it captures the terror of an ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missile) flying across the map and deleting your most expensive unit.
Ancestors Legacy: CoH in the Middle Ages
This is one of the most underrated games like Company of Heroes on the market. Ancestors Legacy is basically Viking CoH.
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It’s squad-based. It uses a cover system. It has a heavy emphasis on flanking. Instead of suppression from a heavy machine gun, you deal with morale and shield walls. When your Vikings charge a group of archers from the side, the cinematic kills are genuinely brutal to watch. Destructive Creative (the devs) clearly looked at the Relic playbook and said, "Let's do this, but with axes."
The scale is tight. You only manage a handful of squads, which keeps the focus on the tactical "dance." It’s a great palate cleanser if you’re burnt out on tanks and artillery.
The Brutal Realism of Gates of Hell: Ostfront
If Company of Heroes is a Hollywood blockbuster like Saving Private Ryan, then Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront is a gritty, 10-hour documentary.
This game is built on the Men of War engine but refined to a point of obsession. The ballistics are real. The armor thickness is calculated based on historical blueprints. If a shell hits a tank at an angle, it will bounce.
It’s not "balanced" in the way a competitive RTS is. A Tiger tank is a nightmare to face if you don't have the right tools. You can’t just "click" on it until its health bar goes down, because there are no health bars. You have to disable the tracks, knock out the engine, or pray your shell penetrates the turret ring. It's stressful. It's slow. It's incredibly rewarding.
Misconceptions About the Genre
A lot of people think Age of Empires IV is like Company of Heroes just because Relic made it.
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Nope. Not even close.
AoE IV is a traditional RTS. It’s about villager counts and build orders. It doesn't have the "moment-to-moment" tactical cover system that defines the CoH experience. Don't go into it expecting a tactical shooter from a bird's-eye view. You'll be disappointed.
Similarly, Steel Division 2 is often recommended. While it's a brilliant game, the scale is so massive that individual "tactics" often get lost in the sea of icons. In CoH, you care about the one guy with the flamethrower. In Steel Division, you care about the three battalions of infantry moving across a 10-kilometer front.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Tactical Session
If you are itching for that specific tactical itch, here is how you should approach your next purchase.
First, decide on your "Scale Tolerance." Do you want to manage 5-10 squads or 50? If it's 5-10, go with Iron Harvest or Ancestors Legacy. If you want more meat on the bone, go with Gates of Hell.
Second, check the "Direct Control" itch. One of the best parts of Company of Heroes is the "theatre." If you want to dive deeper into that, Men of War: Assault Squad 2 or Gates of Hell allows you to literally play the game like a third-person shooter for brief moments.
Finally, don't sleep on the mods. The Company of Heroes 2 "Eastern Front" mod or the "Blitzkrieg" mod for the original game can often provide a "new game" feeling without you having to spend a dime.
Start with Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront if you want the most realistic evolution of the formula. If you want something more relaxed and atmospheric, grab Iron Harvest during a Steam sale. Both will remind you why the tactical RTS genre is the best corner of gaming.