Enlisted Review: Squad Command Reinvents the WWII Shooter Formula

Enlisted has been quietly running for a few years now under Darkflow Software and Gaijin, and in a genre absolutely saturated with WWII shooters, its core pitch is still one of the more interesting ideas the space has produced: you don't just control a soldier, you command a small AI squad alongside them. We went back in for an extended session across its historical campaigns to see whether that idea still holds up as the game's foundation.

The Essentials

Enlisted places you in real historical battles — Battle of Moscow, Normandy, and other WWII engagements — as the leader of a small squad of AI-controlled soldiers you recruit, equip, and level up over time. You can swap between direct control of your squad leader and quick-commands for your AI teammates, and you can also hop into vehicles — tanks, aircraft — that are built to stand on their own as viable playstyles rather than as bolted-on distractions from the infantry loop.

The historical-campaign framing does real work here. Where most competitive WWII shooters abstract their maps and modes into generic arena spaces, Enlisted's grounding in specific, real engagements gives every match a sense of place and stakes that the genre usually skips.

The Experience

The squad-command idea sounds like it could be a gimmick until you're actually issuing orders mid-firefight and feeling how much it changes moment-to-moment decision-making. Losing a squad member matters — you feel the reduced firepower immediately. Positioning your squad before pushing into a building or holding a flank matters. It's a genuine tactical layer bolted onto an FPS skeleton, and it's the single best reason Enlisted stands apart from the WWII shooter crowd rather than blending into it.

Vehicle combat holds up its end too. Tank engagements have real weight and require genuine positioning awareness, and aircraft play adds a strategic layer to the larger battles without dominating them the way vehicle combat sometimes does in similar hybrid shooters. Having both infantry and vehicle combat be independently satisfying, rather than one propping up the other, is a harder balance to strike than it sounds, and Enlisted mostly gets it right.

Progression across squads and weapon unlocks is grindable without spending, and while it's a real time investment to build out multiple squad types, we never hit a point during testing where free progression felt artificially blocked — just slower than the premium track.

The Limits

Matchmaking is the game's clearest weak point right now: it doesn't always account well for disparity in squad-progression level, which can put a newer, lightly-upgraded squad up against significantly better-equipped opposition. That mismatch undercuts the tactical layer the game is built around, since a well-positioned but under-leveled squad can still lose to raw stat advantage.

Map design is inconsistent in a similar way. Some layouts actively encourage the push-and-hold tactical gameplay the squad-command system is designed for; others reward players who park in a defensible corner and let AI squadmates soak damage from cover, which flattens the tactical decision-making into something closer to a standard arena shooter and undercuts the game's own best idea.

Who Is This For

Enlisted is a strong fit for WWII shooter fans who want something more tactical than a standard arena shooter, and for anyone who's wanted small-unit command mechanics in a first-person format. It's a weaker fit if you specifically want fast, purely individual-skill-focused arena combat — the squad layer adds friction to that kind of play by design.

Verdict

Enlisted's squad-command system is a genuinely good idea, well executed, and it makes the game feel distinct in a genre that badly needs distinction. Inconsistent map design and matchmaking keep it from greatness, but the core loop is strong enough to carry it regardless. 7.6/10.