Squad Battles: Advance of the Reich Is Looking Good

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A few weeks ago, I shared the news that Wargame Design Studio, a well-known publisher of wargames, had purchased the artwork for Burden of Command, one of my all-time favorite World War II games.

I thought the update process would take several months to begin, but the WDS team has been incredibly quick! They’ve already started updating game titles, with ‘Squad Battles: Advance of the Reich’ being the first to receive the new graphical improvements.

Advance of the Reich is a turn-based strategy game that puts you in command of battles during the first two years of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It focuses on smaller, tactical engagements, unlike games that cover larger campaigns. The game features 113 scenarios playable as either side, and includes detailed army lists for German, Soviet, Italian, Romanian, and militia forces.

I tried out a few missions, and I’m really impressed with how much better the game is now! Check out these comparisons – you can adjust the sliders to see the changes to the map yourself.

The “Heavy Tanks at Rossienie” map has received a visual overhaul. The uneven terrain has been smoothed out and now features the hex-based ground from Burden of Command. Most noticeably, wheat fields have been added across the map, significantly improving its appearance and adding vibrant color.

Forests now appear much denser and more visually appealing on maps, no longer resembling large shrubs. Roads are also significantly easier to see.

To make the game look better and easier to play, it would be helpful to add more shading to the new terrain tiles. The older graphics clearly showed height changes with darker shading, which is now missing. The current, cleaner tiles – especially the sandy ones – don’t stand out as much and can blend into the background.

The updated graphics are fantastic, but there are still a few issues. Some of the older buildings still look strange, and I find that playing maps in 3D with these overlapping sprites is confusing. I usually switch back to 2D when I encounter them.

I’d really like to see the game’s unit sprites updated next. With the new, beautiful backgrounds, the older sprites look noticeably dated and don’t quite fit in.

I wanted to share a quick look at the recent graphical improvements to Wargame Design Studio’s Advance on the Reich. I’m consistently impressed with the quality of their work, and they really understand how important good graphics are for attracting new players – particularly younger ones. It’s a fantastic update!

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2025-11-25 17:43