I wouldn't normally consider invading Italy as part of my weekend plans. Putting aside the legal and ethical concerns, it also seems like an expensive endeavour. But there's a rare opportunity to kick some fascists out of Europe's boot for the reasonable price of nothing this weekend, as Relic's World War 2 RTS Company of Heroes 3 is completely free until Monday.
This gives you time to play a good chunk of the game's ostensibly free-form Italian campaign, where you order companies across the Italian peninsula to engage the Wehrmacht in both scripted battles and semi-random skirmishes. Alternatively, you could probably chew through the entirety of its more traditional North African campaign, with time left over to dabble in the Italian campaign afterwards.
The latter was one of the weaker elements of Company of Heroes 3 on launch, as PCG's online editor Fraser Brown explained in his review, referring to it as "a bit of a dud". But the free weekend lands hot on the heels of a massive 2.0 anniversary update which makes "considerable changes" to the experience.
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The patch reworks most of the Italian campaign's companies to emphasise their specialist roles on the map, increases the variety of playable skirmishes with both new and existing maps adjusted to facilitate larger battles, and makes a wide array of adjustments to units costs, abilities, and recruitment times to improve the balance and pacing of the whole endeavour.
The 2.0 update also makes extensive adjustments elsewhere, introducing an array of maps that include returning favourites like Angoville, brand new maps like Crossing in the Woods, and community-made battlefields such as Djebel Pass. There's a long list of tweaks to CoH 3's multiplayer, affecting everything from broader faction behaviours to the traits of specific units and structures. And of course, there's a bucketful of bug fixes too.
The changes seem to have gone down well with the game's community. Recent Steam reviews have notched up a 'Mostly Positive' rating, with reviewers saying Relic has "turned it around" with the game having "evolved into a worthy followup" to Company of Heroes 2. "This was a complete dumpster fire at launch," writes user HOW'DITGETBURND. "But it appears Relic have pulled off a miraculous recovery and fixed this with the 2.0 Update."
Hopefully this is the first sign of a revival in Relic's fortunes, as the RTS specialist has endured a rough period in the wake of Company of Heroes 3's launch. This culminated in it parting ways with former owners SEGA and "returning to its roots as an independent creative studio", albeit with the aid of an investment firm.
In any case, Company of Heroes 3 is free until March 10. The base game is also 50% off until Thursday, so if you find its overhauled multiplayer and twin campaigns to your liking, you can grab the full experience at a deep discount.
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