Ultimate General: Civil War Reviews

I do enjoy this game with the amount of detail you have control of in this game, as the genreals and weapons and upgrades as a politician. though i would want tto see more historical details, such as missions on the western front, like the ohklahoma theater where we could end up facing native tribes who either sided with union or the rebels. Reagardless i still enjoy this game

TL;DR good game with lots of annoying bugs and imbalances. I love this game. But it have all the bugs and imbalances you can imagine. Let me list few: - fortification used by enemy cannot be used by your troops once you drive enemy from it - your units in fortifications can be flanked/rear flanked super easy (even those that seems to be circular are in fact, very easily rear-flankable) That would be ok, if it also worked on your enemy. If enemy is behind wall and you manage to get behind him, shooting him does no damage to him, with no morale hit to him, but he can shoot to you absolutely fine. So again - some rules apply to you, but are completely ignored by AI... - regiment of 2500 max exp guys with Richmond rifles deal smaller amount of damage to 800 Union regiment than receive from them. In the end I ended up with 1700 guys while their unit routed with 400 remaining. Like how is it possible that while both of us are in same open terrain, they deal twice the damage while having one third of guns? - If I get a dollar every time my unit gets "rear flanked" by fire coming from enemy standing right in front of them, I would have two dollars (not much after 30 hours, but still annoying). - my cavalry is just barely faster than enemy supply wagon. Once I capture the wagon, it slows down by like 50%. Enemy cavalry can outrun it on very short distance. Once they do catch it and capture it, it speeds up so much it is basically impossible for me to catch it. If I do, it slows down again... - 700 strong cavalry regiment gets routed after charging 200strong battery FROM BEHIND - if you sent fully exped cavalry unit with melee weapons to chase after routed unit, your cavalry unit get ~1:3 causality vs causality dealt to routed unit. Imagine Napoleon losing his whole cavalry twice after Ulm just because he wanted prisoners. - as game proceeds, I feel like it punishes me for not losing. In one defence battle, my 600 max exp artilery dealt less damage using canister shots over 3 hours battle, than received from enemy (250strong) round shots - one big forrest, my 2500 unit vs enemy 800. In the end my unit flees with 800 remaining, while enemy still has 600 hundred. How is that possible? - in general, whenever our units meets on equal terms, I loose badly. Whenever we meet on uneven terms in my favour, we are even... - and many, many more unfunny variations on issues above - battle description before the battle and during the battle are sometimes completely contradicting each other - you very often have no idea how long you really have for an objective. It happens that you get two objectives to capture, 1 game-hour. You push like crazy, loose large amount of causalities, just to find out game will give you two extra hours and reinforcements after the first 1 game hour expires. In other occasion, you get full army and two point to catch and two game-hours with instruction "shell them with artilerry for couple of hours before attacking". So I've positioned my arty well and shelled them until the two game-hours expired, only to be rewarded with "you failed to capture the points" message and lost battle. Like who writes those instructions? Why no one tells them what really needs to happen in the battle? - the supply wagon different speeds - again - you are running from enemy unit with your wagon and they catch you like nothing. I isntantly start sprinting with fresh unit to catch them, but the wagon dissapears into far like rocket-propelled car. Very frustrating.

Firstly, yes the enemy gets increased scaling on victories, but it really doesn't matter besides buffing the units health. When you learn to break the enemies morale, health means nothing besides the length of time it takes to kill the unit, which can be long if haven't lost or drew in a bit. It's annoying to say the least. All units have a purpose, no unit is a "waste". Just harder to use than others. Melee calvary chase down broken units and are really fast so they stay with broken units. If you charge the any calvary head on they are going to die :0 There's a battle midway through the game that uses mostly calvary and highlights their use, very insightful to learn, still hard to use. Tip: [spoiler]Recommend buying as much high tier equipment as you can as soon as you can (no reason not to), if you don't want to buy put it into supply.[/spoiler] Overall good game with a bit of balance issues when learning the game, can feel like winning is all for naught (which is probably what winning in a civil war feels like, kinslaying and whatnot).

I'm coming back to it after not playing for six years. Hell, I haven't been on Steam in six years (stuff kept coming up: COVID, existential crises, etc.) I've played through as the Confederacy and it was fine. I'm now playing as the United States. Actually, it was funny, in my most recent battle I was faced with several North Carolina regiments though fortunately not the one in which most of my ancestors served. Anyway. Like most strategy games, it's a major time sink but in a good way. Larger scale battles can be tough to keep track of sometimes, and the graphics look less than special but that also means it runs really well. Worth getting if you were ever into Civil War history as a kid, and let's face it: if you're a white dude from the South, your uncle made sure you were into Civil War history.

fun game for everyone to try especially if u like rts and the american civil war

Its not that much of a strategy game, besides you building your army its pointed in one direction and not very versatile, the AI behavior is also very poor and they do not have a good tutorial for explaining the game mechanics. I got bored after the Shilo heights mission then came to make this review. Its just poor development honestly. I think they didn't implement a good advice system for the factor of making sure you play the game past the refund point, The missions are long and some are multiple stages meaning you could of done things differently but it doesn't show you that. Its just not worth the price in any way witch is specifically why i bought it on sale.

The campaign system is broken. I fought Chancellorsville and left the confederates with 3K infantry left. Next battle? NOT an attack on Richmond, but instead Gettysburg, and the Confederates have somehow recruited 90K new soldiers. For specific battles the game mechanics are generally good, but there are other flaws. Artillery is almost impossible to charge, and in a one on one battle my 2K regiments typically lose 600+ troops to a single 300 man battery, and then break. Also the melee structure is broken. Playing on the easiest level, I have had a regiment of 1500 in entrenched positions with melee training and high melee weapons, lose to a group 400 soldiers. AI is also a mess, having units turn in circles at times. At other times troops will not turn at an obvious attacker, sitting without any reaction while they are destroyed by a flanking unit, with no unit engaging them in front.

This game started out alright but as you progress into the campaign it starts forcing outcomes that closely match the actual history,, instead of let the player advance on their own merit. Example: Bull Run. I have the confederates almost totally eliminated and encircled with most of the units they have left counted in double digits. I'm closing in for the kill and the game suddenly stops and says it's the "Next Day". My units reappear on a hilltop on the right with about half the units I had when the day changed. Additionally, two of the three supply units I had aren't there anymore. The defeated rebels start coming back at my belittled force with filled out units that were destroyed before the game changed to the next day. There is no way to win. It is litterally forcing the results of the actual historical events. Fun and challenging at first, but then it sucks.

Ultimate General: Civil War is a deep and immersive real-time tactics game that challenges players to step into the boots of a commanding officer during one of the most pivotal conflicts in American history. Developed by Game-Labs, this title builds on the foundation laid by Ultimate General: Gettysburg, expanding the scope, depth, and ambition to deliver a grand campaign that spans the entire American Civil War. With a focus on historical accuracy, strategic depth, and meaningful choices, Ultimate General: Civil War offers one of the most compelling and demanding Civil War strategy experiences available. At its core, the game tasks players with commanding armies across a series of interconnected battles that evolve based on your performance and decisions. The campaign mode allows you to take control of either Union or Confederate forces, starting as a relatively low-ranking officer and working your way up through key historical battles. As you win—or lose—engagements, you gain resources, reputation, and political influence, which you must spend wisely to train new units, recruit officers, and expand your army. What makes the campaign particularly engaging is its dynamic nature: each battle can affect the next, with casualties and unit experience carrying over. A costly victory might leave your forces too weakened for the next engagement, which adds real weight to every tactical decision. The combat mechanics themselves are a masterclass in battlefield realism. Terrain, morale, fatigue, and line of sight all play crucial roles in determining the outcome of engagements. Units don’t just respond to commands instantly—they move, reposition, and react in realistic ways, which means thoughtful planning and timing are essential. Flanking maneuvers, high-ground advantages, and artillery placement can mean the difference between a decisive rout or a catastrophic collapse. The AI is intelligent and reactive, punishing careless maneuvers and capitalizing on weaknesses, which makes battles tense, strategic, and often brutally unforgiving. Graphically, Ultimate General: Civil War delivers a clean and functional visual style that favors clarity over spectacle. While it doesn’t compete with modern AAA titles in terms of visual fidelity, the minimalist aesthetic works well for the game’s tactical focus. The battlefields are well-rendered and historically themed, and unit movements are animated clearly enough to keep track of large-scale engagements. The sound design enhances immersion, with period-appropriate music, battlefield sound effects, and the echo of musket and cannon fire creating a palpable sense of chaos and urgency. One of the game’s strongest features is its army management system between battles. You can customize your brigades, appoint officers with distinct traits, and decide how to allocate limited resources. Will you recruit more raw troops, or invest in veteran units with expensive gear? These choices have a lasting impact, and the game rarely gives you enough to do everything you want, forcing hard decisions and long-term planning. It’s a layer of strategic depth that sets Ultimate General: Civil War apart from many of its peers. However, the game does come with some limitations. The interface, while functional, can feel clunky at times, particularly when trying to manage large-scale troop deployments under pressure. New players may also feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information and the lack of in-depth tutorials. There's a steep learning curve here, especially for those unfamiliar with tactical or historical wargames. Additionally, some of the campaign pacing—especially on the Confederate side—can feel punishing due to resource limitations and increasingly difficult scenarios. In conclusion, Ultimate General: Civil War is a deeply rewarding strategy game that demands attention, planning, and a deep appreciation for historical warfare. It combines real-time tactics with meaningful strategic decisions in a way that very few games in the genre achieve. While it may not be the most beginner-friendly title, those who invest the time will find a rich, intense, and historically grounded experience that offers incredible replayability and satisfaction. For history buffs and tactical enthusiasts alike, this game remains one of the finest representations of the American Civil War in interactive form. Rating: 8/10

Enemy armies scale with your success making all progression useless. Eventually you will encounter massive forces with no way to gain an advantage over the enemy. Poor unit balance as well, cavalry units are a waste of resources.