This is probably the most tragic review I have had to write. Beyond The Wire from Redstone Interactive and Offworld Industries is one of the most fun, beautiful, and wild games I’ve played this year… but I’ve only been able to truly experience its greatness once due to a resounding lack of players. Every other attempt is lackluster and frankly unenjoyable due to the sprawling maps, tactical grandiose, and many types of troops available that I couldn’t experience because there were only 40 people playing the game; 40 total players at the time of writing according to SteamDB.

The most concurrent players in the past year were the 1st of September when 314 players were in the game at once. Unfortunately, for a game that markets “epic 100-player battles,” this isn’t nearly enough to have a consistently good experience. While I will explain what I think could save this game later in this review, I wanted to clarify the issues I faced attempting to review this game and why I was forced to give it a much lower score than I would otherwise.

Gameplay

Beyond The Wire is a tactical first-person-shooter based in World War 1, featuring 50vs50 player battles across large maps. Bolt action rifles, shotguns, mortars, howitzers, and a load of other weapons including shovels and maces give plenty of variety to equipment, and the gorgeous visuals show off the brutality of warfare in this era. Squads of up to 8 players work together for their respective teams to capture objectives and push the frontline or assault through defenders, and utilizing your microphone as a squad leader is a necessity.

Medics administer morphine to get soldiers back in the fight, ammo carriers can drop boxes of clips for their fellow soldiers, and assault troops carry quick-firing pistols, grenades, and melee weapons for attacking trenches. When this works, it really works. Clearing out an enemy bunker with a quick series of shots and stabbing bayonets is a powerful feeling while getting shot because you peeked over the trench can be frustrating and bring a drive for revenge. The brutality of warfare is on full display, with limbs being blown apart and the screams of your men a cacophony above the general din of gunshots and explosions. I cannot express enough that when in a full game, where the game works well, it is a fantastic game. Easily rivaling Squad (one of the other major tactical first-person-shooters) with its atmosphere and no-holds-barred depiction of battle. It is truly unfortunate then that it rarely works.

With 50vs50 battles, the main draw and easily the most fun part of the game. When you only have 2 servers to choose from, one with 25 players and the other with 2, the fun evaporates. This game is dead, and as stated above, rarely goes above 100 concurrent players at a time. A lack of bots also means unless the game is over 2/3 full, the experience is truly ruined. After spending many games of 10vs10 or 15vs15, the lack of balance for the smaller teams is much more visible.

While Americans have shotguns and what feels like more accurate rifles, Germans can field much more with submachine guns. What this means is that 3 players with submachine guns can wipe out a team of 10 in about 4 seconds from a distance, while bolt-action rifles have one chance. When there are more players, this balance issue is completely removed due to the overall amount of weapons on the field, and those 3 submachine guns can only do so well against 3 squads of mixed soldiers.

To clarify again, I put more hours into this than I enjoyed. When I was playing on a full server I had an incredible time, working with my squad and team to capture and defend objectives in a visceral depiction of WW1 that often had me holding my breath. Bullets whizzing overhead while we huddled behind a trench, waiting for our squad leader to blow the whistle and order the charge along with the rest of our team had my heart pounding. Seeing the man next to you get shot down by an invisible enemy as you sprint to the nearest explosion crater for cover always made me jump. For the 3 hours I stayed on this full server, I was so excited and had some of the most fun I’ve had playing an FPS in a long time! For the rest of the time I played this game to review, I was sad about the game it could be.

Audio and Visuals

This game is pretty. Like, really pretty. With a pretty hefty set of recommended specs, it makes sense that Beyond The Wire is gorgeous. The maps are varied and have plenty of interesting vistas and cool spots for the light effects to shine, and the explosions and visuals for the weapons and actual warfare are incredible. The sunlight shines off the metal parts of your gun, crawling through the mud covers you in goop, and assaulting an enemy trench with your bayonet can leave your gun and hands with gore to remind you of the brutality of battle. WW1 has never looked so darn pretty, even when it’s showcasing the corpses of your fellow soldiers strewn across a field after a failed charge.

With that, the audio brings such a wonderful atmosphere to the conflict. The guns sound incredible, and even the bolt action sliding is well done. The voice actors also did a great job of capturing the random battlefield chatter, yells, screams, and announcements. While I figure most soldiers in WW1 didn’t have true comms, the way the comms sounded was also a nice touch based on proximity vs squad vs command. Calling for a mortar strike and having another player’s voice come back through static with confirmation was great feedback to immerse me into that game.

What It Could Have Done Better/Replayability

The only problem with this game is the lack of players and the inability to play it! If you buy a game, you should be able to play it. Unfortunately, with a basically non-existent player base it is a crapshoot on if you will actually be able to play, and with no single player, no co-op, and no bots, playing with the servers is not realistic. The reason I’m so bummed about Beyond The Wire is that it is a well-polished and fun game… when you can play a full game. Little to no bugs that I could see, fantastic immersion, wonderful gunplay and teamwork, all ruined because you can’t actually experience them.

If every hour of gameplay I had was like the 3 I had in that full server, this game would easily receive a 10/10. Unfortunately, less than 1/6 of the time I spent with this game was on a full server and enjoyable. The only suggestion on what can be done better is adding bots into the game, or finding a way to promote/bring players in. Maybe a console release and crossplay? This is an issue I don’t know how to resolve. Otherwise, it is excellent where it works.

Verdict

Beyond The Wire is a beautiful and well-made game that immerses you into the brutal battles of WW1 in the form of a tactical FPS. As beautiful as it is, the tragic truth is that it is objectively unplayable due to a lack of players. While I thoroughly enjoyed the full server I managed to play on, the fact that I was only able to play on one full server in my time spent reviewing is a tragedy. I even held this review to see if I could manage to find a full server again but to no avail. I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys tactical FPS experiences, or anyone who enjoys military history and authenticity. Honestly, I hope everyone reading this review goes and buys it so the player base goes up, but I cannot give a high rating to a game that you only get to truly experience rarely.

Beyond The Wire is out now and available on Steam. Let us know your thoughts in the comments, can I count on you to join me on the battlefield? The war effort definitely needs you.