Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 350 sampled Steam reviews (181 positive / 169 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Multiplayer & servers13% mention it
- Difficulty & balance10% mention it
- Bugs & crashes9% mention it
- Controls & UI6% mention it
- Story & writing4% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Multiplayer & servers37% mention it
- Difficulty & balance31% mention it
- Bugs & crashes21% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
60%
10 reviews
5-15h
65%
31 reviews
15-40h
69%
42 reviews
40-100h
54%
65 reviews
100h+
45%
202 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 76 | 17 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 54% | 56 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 37% | 43 | 31 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Aug 31, 2026) · 25 reviews sampled · 31 total reviews in window · weighted 7.4 up / 12.5 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (15)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 75
“Broken Arrow is an ambitious strategy game that builds on a wide variety of units, a sophisticated model of the modern battlefield, and a realistic depiction of military operations. Although it isn’t without technical glitches and minor shortcomings in optimization or pathfinding, it delivers an exceptional tactical experience that will be appreciated not only by fans of military games but also by players seeking a well-thought-out strategic challenge. The game’s strengths lie in its complex gameplay, authentic audiovisual presentation, and intuitive controls that won’t overwhelm even less experienced commanders. It could perhaps use a bit more content, but I’ll save that complaint for the conclusion.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Broken Arrow, while almost functionally identical to its competitors, has enough unique elements to help it stand out to its very niche audience.”
read full review ↗ - 78
“'Broken Arrow' is a blessing for wargame fans who prefer realistic battlefields. With its depiction of modern and near-future combat and a deeply engaging gameplay system, the game is highly enjoyable. However, it’s not a game for everyone, and there are still some lingering stability issues.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“From gameplay to unit diversity to mission planning, Broken Arrow provides one of the finest experiences of any current military RTS. However, it seemed unfinished for several reasons. Even though it isn't in early access, the game has an oddly incomplete feel to it.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Broken Arrow is a modern warfare strategy game with a clear positioning and target audience—veteran players coming from titles like Wargame: Red Dragon and Warno. It faithfully recreates the data settings of various military units and the coordination and tactics of modern battlefields, offering solid playability and considerable depth for tactical study.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Broken Arrow has a lot to offer those who put in the time. This level of visual accuracy and strategic depth is hard to find in other games that attempt to capture the complexity and scale of modern warfare. It's not a simple real-time strategy game, and it doesn't want to be one. Instead, Broken Arrow aims to simulate the chaos of 21st-century conflict and, in doing so, delivers one of the most compelling entries in the genre to date.”
read full review ↗ - 74
“Broken Arrow manages a brilliant tightrope walk between strategic depth and action-packed presentation, but struggles with unnecessary difficulty owing to the lack of a save function, among other things.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Broken Arrow is a strong debut from Steel Balalaika Studio and one of the most compelling real-time tactics in recent years, equally engaging in single-player and online modes. ”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Broken Arrow does enough to differentiate itself brilliantly from what already exists in the market. Unfortunately, the heavy focus on multiplayer holds it back due to cheaters and leavers. Whether the game survives depends heavily on the coming weeks.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Broken Arrow is the game for anyone who wants good RTS mechanics focused on modern-day military hardware. Combat, while centered around the classic concept of point control, is fast and fun, with plenty of tactical options. Players get a lot of choices when building their unique force for multiplayer or skirmishes against the computer. The campaign has some great missions with unique setups but also suffers because of its cast of characters and inability to save during a battle. Broken Arrow is a great experience for players who want to engage in multiplayer with a group of friends and aren’t too annoyed at having some limitations when other game modes are involved.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Both its greatest strength and biggest weakness, the precision that Broken Arrow demands often chokes its more abstract qualities. It's a stark spectacle with nasty, legitimately cynical overtones, but its unwillingness to compromise aesthetically and tonally almost makes it mechanically inflexible, to the point that the player often doesn't feel included in the strategy making whatsoever.”
read full review ↗ - 83
“Broken Arrow is a solid RTS that can provide good fun to anyone who’s willing to spend a bit of time studying its systems, but the lack of campaign saves and an occasionally unclear UI are definitely areas where there should be improvements. ”
read full review ↗
Gaming Professors
Jump Dash Roll
INVEN
GamesCreed
Gamersky
NoobFeed
NextPlay
Softpedia
PCGamesN
The Games Machine…and 3 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- “Russian Guard” DLC ReleaseAug 31, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Hotfix on August 21 — 1.1.2Aug 21, 2026
- Hotfix on August 11 — 1.1.1.2Aug 11, 2026
- Hotfix on August 5 — 1.1.1.1Aug 5, 2026
- Gameplay Balancing, Technical Improvements, and Spectator Mode releasedJul 30, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Hotfix on July 3 — 1.1.0.4Jul 3, 2026
- Anniversary UpdateJul 2, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- End of PTE v.1 and Update PreviewJun 24, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Devblog 2.0 on June 12 — Observer ModeJun 12, 2026
- Version 1.1.0.2 hotfixMay 27, 2026
- Devblog 1.0 — May 18May 18, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Hotfix Update 1.1.0.1Apr 9, 2026
- Baltic Battalion free DLC is out nowMar 30, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Hotfix Update 1.0.12.2Jan 28, 2026
- Hotfix Update 1.0.12.1Jan 22, 2026
- Allied Command Update - Out NowDec 16, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Matchmaking updateNov 20, 2025
- EAC Hotfix - Update v1.0.11.2Nov 18, 2025
- Update 1.0.11 - Easy Anti-CheatOct 30, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 1.0.11 update coming next weekOct 24, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Unity security flaw hotfixOct 10, 2025
- Server status + Tutorial hotfixSep 26, 2025
- Update 1.0.10 - Everyone fights!Sep 23, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Update 1.0.9.1Aug 27, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Update 1.0.9 ChangelogAug 13, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Update 1.08 - ChangelogJul 11, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- What is coming with Update 1.08?Jun 30, 2025
- Advanced Access - Hotfix 1Jun 16, 2025