GroundInFlames Review Summary

Promising and visually striking with an overwhelmingly positive reception, but horrendous pathfinding and poor AI movement ruin the gameplay, especially with no tutorial for new players.

Overwhelmingly positive general reception: Clusters 1, 4, 5, and 8 all express strong overall satisfaction with the game. Many reviewers call it excellent, fun, or addictive, indicating broad appeal.

High potential and promising foundation: Clusters 3, 26, 46, 47, 49, 69, 70, and 78 express strong belief that the game has great potential and a solid foundation. Reviewers expect significant improvement by full release.

Visually interesting and beautiful structure: Clusters 2, 18, 30, 54, 81, and 82 discuss the game's visuals. While some find graphics ordinary, many praise the beautiful structure, photo textures, models, and special effects.

Interesting concept and originality: Clusters 2, 13, 19, 62, 75, and 85 highlight the game's unique concept and fresh ideas. Reviewers find it interesting, diverse, and a modern take on classic RTS/RTT.

Strong strategic depth and tactical mechanics: Clusters 12, 33, 34, 36, 38, 39, and 50 highlight well-developed mechanics such as supply management, prisoner capture, honest fog of war, and drone operations. Reviewers appreciate the planning and tactical choices these systems require.

Horrendous pathfinding: Pathfinding is repeatedly criticized as terrible, borderline unusable, and horrendous. This affects both player and AI units, making movement frustrating.

Poor AI behavior: The AI is widely described as trash, very bad, and needing significant work. It is not fleshed out and exhibits many issues across all aspects.

No tutorial: There is a complete lack of any tutorial, leaving players confused about how to play and what to do on the map. This is a common complaint.

Unfinished and raw state: Players frequently describe the game as raw, unpolished, and half-baked, indicating it feels incomplete overall. Multiple reviews highlight a general lack of finishing touches.

Janky AI movement: AI movement is quirky and janky, with units getting stuck on walls, trees, or standing still. Many bugs are related to AI movement.

Supply lines and logistics system: The game features supply lines, squad ammunition loadouts, and a logistics system dividing supplies into ammo, food, and building resources. Heavy ammunition is limited.

Diverse unit and vehicle types: The game includes infantry, vehicles, aircraft, and drones, offering a wide range of units to command. This variety is frequently highlighted by players.

Direct unit control: Players can directly control individual soldiers, squads, and heavy vehicles, providing a hands-on tactical experience. This direct control is a core aspect of gameplay.

Trench building and artillery support: Players can construct trenches and utilize artillery, including setting up ATGM or ZU-23 positions. These defensive and support options are emphasized in feedback.

Strategy and real-time tactics: The game is a strategy title with real-time tactical combat and unit control, often compared to RTS games like Company of Heroes or Men of War.

Smooth performance praised: Reviewers report that the game runs very well and even achieves 120 FPS while recording. Performance is consistently highlighted as a positive aspect.

EU server disconnection issues: A player experienced disconnections from EU servers, indicating potential stability problems in that region. This is a specific connectivity concern.

Worth buying at low price: Many reviewers recommend the game due to its low price tag, stating it offers solid value for little money. They consider it a good purchase in its current Early Access state.

Refund and wait for improvements: Some reviewers are considering refunds and suggest returning later when the game is more polished. They believe it may become great with updates but is not ready now.

Good RTT game recommendation: The game is highly recommended for those looking for a well-made RTT game. Reviewers find it interesting and worth trying despite technical roughness.

Positive overall recommendation: Several reviewers definitely recommend the game and consider it a must-buy. They express strong positive sentiment.

Potential to be best RTT: Reviewers see the game as shaping up to be one of the best war sims/RTT games ever if core issues are fixed and new content is added. They express hope for official updates or mods.

The game is often described as fun or loved early, but one explicit report says it becomes repetitive and boring after 2 or 3 matches. Missing tutorial, poor AI, and poor movement are recurring friction points, with some players saying these issues kill the experience.

Friction: Missing in-game tutorial; Unclear mechanics for new players; Poor or quirky AI; Poor unit movement; Early access rough or broken state.

Unlock drivers: External YouTube tutorials such as SkyInFlamesWiki; Self-directed learning for players who find the mechanics straightforward.

Singleplayer Tactical Commander: Issues orders, manages routes and logistics, and watches AI units execute tactical plans. Motivation: Immersive singleplayer tactical command with reliable AI. Stance: no buy.

RTS Systems Veteran: Analyzes capture logic, build options, and AI behavior from a genre-expectation perspective. Motivation: A competent RTS with meaningful map control, base building, and challenging AI. Stance: no buy.

Early-Access Optimist: Experiments with current content, tolerates bugs, and asks for more vehicles and solo options. Motivation: Supporting a promising low-cost early-access game and enjoying its evolving sandbox. Stance: buy.

The Windows cohort with less than 8GB VRAM reports strong performance, with one user noting 120 FPS even while recording.

Windows <8GB VRAM: positive. Users report the game running well, including 120 FPS while recording.

Early Access status noted: Multiple reviewers acknowledge the game is in Early Access or alpha and consider the low price fair for this stage. They see it as an acceptable entry point given the current development state.

Hope for continued development: Reviewers express optimism that the developers will keep improving the game and wish them success in reaching a polished state. This reflects a supportive but cautious attitude.

Roadmap focuses on AI and controls: A Steam roadmap states the developers will focus on improving AI and simplifying controls. Reviewers mention this as a positive direction for future updates.

Comparisons to Firefight and CtA: Reviewers compare the game to Firefight and CtA: GoH for its limited battalion mode, with one stating it is 500 times better on PC. These comparisons suggest the game fills a similar niche but with superior execution.

Small file size and normal specs: Reviewers note the file size is 1-5GB and configuration requirements are normal, making it accessible. The small download can even fit on a flash drive, which is convenient.