War is grim, brutal chaos, and few games capture that so dramatically as the Battlefield series. But as we wait on the next instalment from EA, a new rival from Flying Squirrel Entertainment promises to deliver that old-school brand of multiplayer warfare in its own unique, explosive fashion. Featuring full environmental destruction, up to 100 players on each side, and the ability to create your own custom battles, Over The Top: WW1 is looking like a serious challenger to EA’s classic series, and you can try it right now this week, free on Steam, as a new playtest begins.
Over The Top: WW1 takes me back to the heyday of Bad Company 2 and its grandiose love of destructible buildings and structures, but at a much larger scale. With up to 200 players taking part in its battles, it certainly captures the full-on essence of World War I.
Featuring nine hand-crafted maps inspired by real-world locations, four classes to choose from, more than 50 weapons, six armored vehicles, and ten artillery pieces, Over The Top is a packed FPS game that has the chops to stand up against the best multiplayer games on PC. You can check out its new trailer, shared exclusively with PCGamesN, below.
“We are now entering the final stages of development as we build the game alongside our community and march towards release,” Flying Squirrel says. “This latest playtest will offer a host of features and updates including destructible environments, the ability to call in airstrikes, and more,” as the forces of the Central Powers take on the Triple Entente.
What role will you play in the fight ahead? Perhaps you’ll join the frontlines as an infantry unit, choosing between all manner of weapons such as SMGs, bolt-action rifles, light machine guns, or even flamethrowers. Maybe you’ll become a vehicle specialist and drive one of your army’s powerful tanks into battle, doing your best to handle the rough terrain as the very ground is blown apart around you.
Serve in the artillery corps and you’ll be in charge of creating those holes – take charge of everything from light mortars to heavy artillery and rain down devastation upon enemy troops and fortifications, or take a more defensive role and man mounted heavy machine guns to keep encroaching forces suppressed. Or become a specialist, equipped to build defenses, dig trenches, and resupply your allies. You’ll even have the option to bring down the enemy’s vehicles with anti-tank rifles and dynamite.
The Over The Top: WW1 playtest runs from Wednesday December 4 at 7am PT / 10am ET / 3pm GMT / 4pm CET to Monday December 9 at 1am PT / 4am ET / 9am GMT / 10am CET. You can join for free on Steam. Simply visit the game’s store page to get involved, or to wishlist the game if you want to stay up to date on future tests.
We’ve got all the best war games in 2024 to keep you busy once the playtest finishes, as well as the biggest and most exciting upcoming PC games for the rest of the year and beyond.
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