Broken Arrow Review

Broken Arrow, developed by Steel Balalaika and published by Slitherine Ltd., marches into the real-time strategy genre with bold intent. Set in a fictional modern conflict between NATO and Russia, the game follows in the footsteps of genre staples like Wargame: Red Dragon and WARNO. But Broken Arrow aims to carve out its own identity with large-scale battles, modular units, and cinematic campaign scenarios.

Broken Arrow, which came out in 2025, is a big deal because it takes into account the complexities of modern warfare and combines them with realistic graphics and tactics. Even though it has some growing pains, the game's goals are clear in its huge size, high level of customization, and campaign that puts players in the middle of rising global tensions.

The narrative in Broken Arrow doesn't reinvent the storytelling wheel, but it builds a credible modern military setting that frames its tactical gameplay. The story unfolds through a geopolitical flashpoint in the Baltic region, with the United States and Russia standing on the brink of open war.

The game features 19 handcrafted missions divided between both factions. Missions often involve defense operations, timed assaults, convoy interceptions, or city sieges. While character development and emotional depth take a backseat to operational realism, the mission briefings do a solid job of establishing the stakes.

Cinematic elements such as real-time map briefings, radio chatter, and scenario-specific cut-ins provide a dynamic framing device for each operation. It may not offer profound moral conundrums or character arcs, but the storytelling succeeds in giving players a functional reason to care about objectives beyond simply capturing flags.

Each mission reveals the consequences of military escalation in modern warfare, from drone interceptions and humanitarian convoy conflicts to airbase invasions and strategic retreats. The changing objectives and storylines that can go in different directions keep things interesting even after multiple plays.

In a genre where stories are often very simple, Broken Arrow's focus on scenario-based storytelling is admirable, even if the characters don't have much personality. The game plays out on vast, detailed maps where terrain, elevation, and environmental layout heavily influence tactical decisions. Unlike traditional RTS games that rely on base building, Broken Arrow employs a command point system.

Players construct "decks" that act as loadouts—collections of vehicles, infantry, aircraft, and support units chosen before each battle. These units are then deployed via reinforcement points, which cost resources earned over time or by achieving objectives.

This system streamlines the focus toward strategic positioning and timing rather than resource farming or building infrastructure. Units can be upgraded, customized, and deployed with specific armaments based on the chosen deck. Customization options run deep, particularly for aircraft and armored vehicles.

For instance, a standard Humvee can be outfitted with anti-tank missiles, while jets can be equipped with specific air-to-air or ground attack payloads, depending on the mission. Logistics vehicles ensure ammunition and fuel resupply during combat, while recon units provide visibility, and jammers disrupt enemy operations.

The game integrates both U.S. and Russian factions, each with multiple brigade options, such as the U.S. Armored Brigade, the Marine Corps, or the Russian VDV Airborne Division. Each has its own mix of light and heavy units, military aids, and strengths in certain areas or situations.

Being able to zoom in and out of the picture without any problems lets you do both high-level planning and detailed management. This makes the experience more complex; each unit is important, and how you use them decides who wins.

Combat in Broken Arrow is intense, fluid, and rewards meticulous planning. The moment-to-moment action centers on capturing control zones, repelling waves of enemy reinforcements, and positioning your units to take advantage of the terrain. Infantry can garrison buildings, artillery can lay suppressive fire, and aircraft can devastate entrenched positions—if they're not shot down first.

The fighting puzzle in Broken Arrow, on the other hand, gets harder as you learn it. Because there aren't any helpful tooltips for unit types, it can be hard for new players to tell the difference between weapons and anti-air vehicles.

At first, the interface can be difficult to understand, with so many units and variants that understanding their roles requires either military knowledge or trial-and-error. And when units behave poorly—such as jets flying off and crashing due to fuel mismanagement—it becomes less about solving combat puzzles and more about babysitting unpredictable assets.

Even with these problems, the game's real-time push to make choices is fun. Missions need people who can adapt. Players must always switch between defensive and attacking positions, be prepared for sudden enemy reinforcements, and excel at using combined arms tactics.

In PvP, however, air units are a problem because anti-air weapons are too strong. One well-placed AA unit can wipe out expensive jets, making air superiority less about strategy and more about luck or miscalculated unit behavior.

While Broken Arrow isn't built around traditional XP grinding, it does reward progress through unlocks and strategic depth. Success in missions—especially with secondary objectives and badges—earns players progression toward unlocking more units, upgrades, and deck-building options. Completing missions on higher difficulties, keeping units alive, or achieving specific time-based objectives are all avenues for earning rewards that expand tactical possibilities.

What's missing is a more clearly defined progression system or RPG-like growth. There are no persistent unit upgrades or Veterancy mechanics in the traditional sense. This means that most of the learning curve is tied to player experience, not in-game mechanics. Still, the ability to replay missions at different difficulties and with different deck compositions adds longevity.

Broken Arrow is a great RTS game with great graphics. The unit models are very detailed, right down to the turrets on tanks and the shapes of soldiers getting off of trucks. The smoke effects, missile fire trails, and destructive movements make the game feel like a movie theater. As the fighting gets worse, the screen turns into a war-torn painting filled with explosions, broken objects, and changing lighting that really shows how chaotic modern war is.

The environments are just as amazing. There are a lot of homes, roads, and other features in urban areas that look like they belong in real cities. Forests, rivers, and bridges make the strategy more difficult because they change lines of sight and block paths. The maps are very big, and the way they're made makes every inch matter.

But this loyalty costs something. At Ultra settings, even high-end GPUs like the RTX 3080 have trouble keeping frame rates stable. It's clear that optimization is still a work in progress. If you have average gear, you might need to lower the visual settings to get smooth gameplay. Despite that, Broken Arrow is one of the most visually ambitious RTS titles on the market today.

The sound design in Broken Arrow enhances immersion through thunderous explosions, realistic gunfire, and ambient battlefield audio. Helicopters roar above, and tanks move along the roads. Each unit makes its own sound. The weapons have a real weight to them that makes battle feel living and important.

Even though the speech acting is there, it doesn't feel right. Some lines sound realistic and well done, while others sound flat or like they were made by AI. Some unit lines can get annoying after a while, especially during longer tasks, because they sound the same over and over. Thankfully, the sound effects make up for the weak voice acting.

The music does its job; it sets the mood for tasks without getting in the way of the gameplay. While it adds to the tension and size of fights, it stays in the background and never gets in the way. While not particularly memorable, the music provides an adequate atmosphere.

Broken Arrow is a tactician's playground—ambitious, intricate, and unapologetically dense. Its cinematic campaign and in-depth unit customization elevate it above many of its peers. The combined arms focus and strategic pacing place it among the best modern warfare RTS experiences. But it falls short in terms of quality and ease of use.

There is no way to save in the middle of a task; the AI is broken in battle, and some units act in strange ways. These are the only major problems with an otherwise great game. There are no tooltips for new players, and the tutorial doesn't do a good job of teaching basic techniques. This makes it even harder to learn. In some ways, PvP feels unfinished, especially when it comes to the mix of air units and connection problems.

Still, 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.

With continued support and balance tweaks, Broken Arrow could stand tall among legends like Wargame: Red Dragon and Company of Heroes. Right now, it's a strong but flawed general awaiting battlefield glory.