17 Best WW2 Games

No single conflict is seared in the public imagination more than the Second World War. It is a conflict that has inspired thousands of films, books, tv series, and of course, games. The immense six year war touched nearly every corner of the world, the last true total war of our time.

We have collected here for you a list of the best WW2 games on offer. They represent a multitude of genres, such as first-person shooters, real-time strategy, stealth games, simulations, and sandbox games. We can safely say that there is something on this list for everyone.

Company of Heroes Series

These fast paced games offer a thrilling tactical experience as you lead company sized formations against the enemy. Fast paced and realistic combat is the name of the game, resources are gained by controlling strategic points of importance on the map.

Manpower, munitions, and fuel all play their respective part, determining how many units the player can control, what upgrades they can make, and what vehicles and structures they can build, respectively.

The different factions all have their own unique playstyle as befitting their historical record. Players can also build their company with upgrades to suit their own personal style, favoring defensive or offensive upgrades. It remains one of the best WW2 strategy games on the market.

Sniper Elite Series

A third person shooter series, Sniper Elite marries elements of stealth and first person shooter games together in a seamless package. Set amidst WW2, the game actively encourages the player to discover the different paths through levels.

For fans of realism, the difficulty can be notched up to take real-world ballistics into account. Wind speed and strength, as well as bullet drop, is factored into the eventual success or failure of a shot. For those favoring a pulpier experience, the series has a series of zombie set games, similar to Call of Duty’s famous zombies mode.

The game is also famous for its X-ray killcam which plays skillful killshots in slow motion from shot to point of impact. It takes gruesome joy in showing the excruciating damage that the bullet does to bones and organs.

Call of Duty: WW2

This award winning series returns the series to its roots in an action packed cinematic campaign. It follows the actions of an American platoon from the landings at Normandy through battles such as Aachen, Hurtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge.

A return to form in style as well as setting, the game dispenses with the unrealistic movement options of earlier games, seeing itself as more ‘boots on the ground’. It also supports closer cooperation with your AI squadmates, making you less of a one-man army. The game also sees a return of the popular Nazi zombies mode,

Men of War Series

Often feted as a competitor to Company of Heroes, the Men of War series offers a much more in-depth simulation as each individual soldier and unit has their own unique inventory. Play through campaigns as any of the major powers in the war, using their unique strengths and weaknesses to your advantage.

The games are noted for their complex detail with cover, armor, and weapon caliber all meticulously detailed. It has a thriving modding community that has added units, maps, nations, as well as complete conversion mods that use the game engine to represent

Hearts of Iron IV

A grand strategy game from the creators of Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron IV is the latest in the series, putting you in charge of a nation in the years leading up to the Second World War. Control democracies, communist countries, or fascist states through some of the most turbulent years of the 20th century.

Commandos 2: Men of Courage

This isometric stealth classic puts you in charge of a unique team of Allied commandos behind enemy lines in Europe and Asia. Your team of nine include a Russian temptress, an Irish brawler, a French spy, and Whiskey the dog!

Each member of your team has unique skills and they must be used collaboratively to accomplish the objectives on vast sprawling maps. The enemy AI is intelligent and will easily wipe out the team in a straight up fight. Clever use of strategy and skill is necessary to succeed.

Call of Duty 2

One of the games that made Call of Duty the hallmark name it is today, Call of Duty 2 offers three different distinct campaigns. Players will remember the immersive Russian campaign set in Stalingrad, the desperate British struggle in North Africa, and of course the American campaign from D-Day to the crossing of the Rhine.

Sudden Strike 4

The latest iteration of the popular RTS, Sudden Strike 4 is an immersive and in depth real time strategy game that offers 3 full length campaigns and over 20 individual single missions. Choose one of nine historical commanders such as Montgomery or Patton, each with their own unique talents and abilities.

Tanks have weaker armor at the sides. Units are vulnerable to ambushes. Buildings can be fortified with infantry. Tactics and strategy are the names of the game in this strategy classic.

Panzer Corps

Panzer Corps is the spiritual successor to the Panzer General series. A classic of turn-based strategy, it offers a 150 mission grand campaign that covers the entire spectrum of WW2. Units level up with experience to reflect their success in battle and new technologies become available as they did in real life. Historically accurate to a fault, this is a must for fans of grand strategy.

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad

The Red Orchestra series differs from the majority of WW2 shooters available as it prizes historic accuracy above all. In fact it is unfair to call it a shooter at all. The game is a military simulator, hardcore to the bone.

Running too much fatigues you. Aiming is more accurate when crouched or prone. Players can die in one shot if unlucky. Even near misses will demoralize a player, cause their screen to go shades of gray and their aim to wobble.

Successive mods and expansions have expanded the game from its initial setting on the Eastern Front to include the Pacific theatre against the Japanese as well as the Western Front against the Allies.

Brothers in Arms Series

Part of the trinity of WW2 shooters that included Medal of Honor and Call of Duty, Brothers in Arms differs from its peers in that it encourages teamwork. Unlike other games where you can be a one-man army, Brothers in Arms puts you in command of 1-2 three man squads which must work together to suppress and outflank the enemy.

Medal of Honor Frontline

The definitive Medal of Honor game, it is most famous for its opening sequence that puts the player right in the midst of D-Day at Omaha beach. From there the campaign goes behind enemy lines as the player joins the OSS. Cross Nijmegen, resupply British forces in Arnhem, and destroy secret German projects to win the war!

The Saboteur

A different take on the standard WW2 game format, The Saboteur focuses on the secret war waged by the French resistance. The player takes charge of Sean Devlin, an Irish mechanic living in Paris. He becomes involved in the resistance and begins waging a brutal war against the Nazi occupiers.

The game uses an interesting mechanic to represent German occupation. Sean can liberate districts to gain support. German-occupied districts are black and white, devoid of color, and heavily guarded. Resistance areas will offer aid to Sean if he’s attacked and help him fight.

The game offers several styles of play with Sean able to shoot or sneak his way through occupied Paris using a mixture of stealth and combat to achieve his goals.

Battlefield 1942

The game that made Battlefield a household name. While offering only five infantry classes, Battlefield 1942 is famous for the sheer amount and variety of vehicles it offers the player a chance to command. Few other games let a player control tanks, bombers, warships, submarines, aircraft carriers, or coastal artillery positions.

Silent Hunter III

A classic series, Silent Hunter puts you in charge of a German U-Boat during the Battle of the Atlantic. It is an in depth submarine simulation offering cinematic naval action and tense gameplay.

The campaign is unscripted and non-linear, it is shaped by one thing only, your actions as the commander of your submarine. The difficulty is easily changeable, allowing a fun experience for both casual gamers and realism fanatics.

War Thunder

A thrilling free to play MMO, War Thunder lets the player control aircraft, land vehicles, and warships in realistic and competitive battles. Servers united players from across different platforms, all united for one immersive war.

Over 80 maps cover different historical battle theatres, allowing for a variety of hard-fought PvP combat at a variety of difficulty settings. Regular content updates add new vehicles, maps, nations, and missions.

Foxhole

An MMO, Foxhole requires you to cooperate with hundreds of other players amidst a persistent online war. Players are the content with every aspect of the war relying on their input. Logistics, base building, and reconnaissance are all just as important as combat.

Resources are limited and close teamwork is required by players to triumph. Everything from base building, manufacturing, strategy, combat, these are all player driven.