Enlisted (video game)

Enlisted is a free squad-based multiplayer tactical first-person shooter developed by Darkflow Software and published by Gaijin Entertainment. The game is set during World War II and revolves around major battles fought across all fronts of the war. It was an Xbox Series X/S launch title and timed console exclusive. On March 2, 2021, the closed beta went live on PlayStation 5. On April 8, 2021, the game was released on PC as an open beta test.

Gameplay
Enlisted is squad-based, with each player controlling an infantry squad or a vehicle's crew. Players control a squad of 3–9 soldiers (represented by a real life division of their respective military, such as the 1st Infantry Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division ) of varying classes, equipped with class-restricted weapons such as rifles, submachine guns, machine guns, sniper rifles, mortars, anti-tank weapons, or flamethrowers; alternatively, players may control the crew of a tank or plane, at least one of which must always be equipped for use in the menu. Players control one of the soldiers in their squad, and can give orders to or switch between the other AI soldiers in their squad. The player's squads, soldiers, and weaponry can be managed in the main menu, where squads can be equipped and upgraded, soldiers and weapons can be purchased, game modes and factions can be switched, and several other aspects of the game can be customized or controlled.

Players battle in large maps based on major World War II battles on the Eastern Front, Western Front, North African Campaign and the Pacific Theater in battles such as the Battle of Moscow, the Normandy landings, Invasion of Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battles of Rzhev, the Battle of Tunisia, the Battle of Guadalcanal, the New Georgia campaign, the Solomon Islands campaign, and the Battle of Berlin. Players are divided into two teams representing the Allies and the Axis. There are four nations to choose from: the United States, the Soviet Union, Germany, and Japan. Each faction has 5 Battle Ratings. Some factions also have a smaller faction incorporated under them (UK, Free France, Australia and New Zealand are currently under the US. Italy and Romania are currently under Germany). When matchmaking, the player will be matchmaking with the Battle Rating (BR) above and below. For example if the player is matchmaking in BR II that person can play with BR I and BR III players. Battle Rating III players however have the potential to either play in low BR matches (BR I and II), or high BR matches (BR IV and V).

Matchmaking options
Singleplayer tutorial levels for basic gameplay, tanks, planes, and engineers are also available, as is a shooting range containing every weapon in the game.
 * Squads – Standard default matchmaking, where players spawn with their full squads.
 * Lone Fighters – Modified matchmaking, where players do not spawn with their squads; instead the player selects individual soldiers from their squads to spawn as. If a soldier is killed, they will be unavailable for the rest of the match, and another soldier must be selected; to compensate, spawn numbers are increased. Most of the HUD is hidden in this mode. Lone Fighters is no longer a standard mode of play but is still available in custom matches.
 * Custom - Custom maps created by the Enlisted community which include both unique weapons from past events and standard unlockable weapons.

Game modes

 * Conquest – Both teams fight to control three control points (five in "Battle of Berlin" for some maps) on a map. Each team is represented by a colored bar that depletes as long as the enemy team has two or more points controlled. The match ends when one team's bar fully depletes.
 * Invasion – One team attempts to take a series of five control points on a large map, while the other attempts to defend each point. Each point is played sequentially; if the defenders lose a point, they must retreat to the next point. Attackers are restricted to 1000 respawn tickets (including AI soldiers). Additional tickets can be obtained by capturing control points or by shooting down barrage balloons in certain maps. The match ends when the attackers run out of tickets, the match runs out of time, or the defenders lose all of their control points.
 * Assault – One team must defend a series of control points from the other team. However, two points must be captured at a time to progress, and the points can be captured by either team, allowing the defending team to delay the enemy or push back. Each 2 points are in a sector. There are 3 sectors. The attackers gain tickets for each sector taken. Some sectors on a few maps have 1 point. The attacking team lose if all their tickets run out or if they run out of time. The defenders lose if all control points are taken by the attackers.
 * Destruction – One team must defend a series of control points from the other team. However, instead of regular control points that must be captured, the attacking team must plant explosives at each point and destroy them to sabotage the enemy. These explosives can be removed by the enemy, so the attackers must defend their explosives once planted. Each 2 objectives are in a sector. There are 3 sectors. The attackers gain tickets for each sector taken. Some sectors on a few maps have 1 objective. The attacking team lose if all their tickets run out or if they run out of time. The defenders lose if all objectives are destroyed by the attackers.
 * Armored Train Escort ("Battle of Berlin" only) – The attacking team must escort an armored train through two stations while the defending team must stop them. The respawn zones and objectives shift as the train progresses. The attackers regain some tickets once the armored train reaches the first station. The defenders lose if the attackers manage to escort the armored train to the second station. The attackers lose if they run out of tickets.
 * Confrontation – Both teams fight to control a series of control points. Each point is played sequentially, and the front line shifts with each point captured; however, both teams are on the offensive and can recapture lost points. The match ends when a team runs out of tickets or loses all of their control points.

Classes
Enlisted features 16 different classes, each filling various different roles in order to support their team.


 * Anti Tank Gunner - Uses an anti tank rifle, or an anti tank rocket launcher in order to take out armored targets.
 * APC Driver - Can drive Armored personnel carriers.
 * Assaulter - Uses submachine guns, shotguns and assault rifles to engage enemies at close range.
 * Attack Pilot - Pilots light bombers and ground attack aircraft.
 * Engineers - Can build spawn points, ammo boxes, machine gun positions, defensive fortifications, anti tank guns, and anti aircraft guns.
 * Fighter Pilot - Pilots fighters, seaplanes and interceptors.
 * Flametrooper - Operates flamethrowers to engage the enemy at close range and clear out buildings.
 * Machine Gunner - Uses machine guns to engage enemies.
 * Medic - Can drop a medical box and can heal teammates and squadmates.
 * Mortarman - Soldier that uses motars to bombard the enemy from afar.
 * Paratrooper - Drops out of an aircraft and lands at a zone that the player has selected. At the landing zone, paratroops can pick up additional weapons from a supply box which vary depending on battle rating.
 * Radio Operator - Uses a radio to call in artillery, airstrikes, and rocket artillery.
 * Rider - Drives a motorcycle to quickly reach objectives.
 * Rifleman - Soldier that uses bolt action and semi automatic rifles to engage enemies at mid to long range.
 * Sniper - Uses Scoped rifles to engage enemies at a distance.
 * Tanker - Can drive tanks in order to support infantry.

Development
Gaijin Entertainment and Darkflow Software first announced the game in 2016 as a crowdfunded title. Two campaigns focusing on the Battle of Moscow and the Invasion of Normandy were announced. The game was advertised as a "first person shooter decided by the fans, for the fans" and that "they will have direct input into what we create, including things like campaigns, game modes, even which platforms after PC we will support"; other campaigns would be unlocked if the game's funding goals were met. Funding tiers at the highest levels would allow contributors to choose which campaign would be added next.

The first public play test occurred in April 2020 on PC. In November 2020, ray-traced global illumination and DLSS was added to the game. On May 20, 2021, the Battle of Berlin campaign was partially released in a public beta test, followed by the Tunisia campaign. On December 4, 2023, all campaigns were changed to create 4 nations to play as.

Release
At E3 2018, Microsoft confirmed that the game would be released on the Xbox and would be part of the Xbox Game Preview for that year. The first public play test occurred in April 2020 on the PC and in October of the same year, Microsoft announced that Enlisted would be part of the Xbox Series X/S launch lineup and a timed console exclusive. On March 2, 2021, the closed beta went live on PlayStation 5. Nvidia confirmed the game's PC release. On April 8, 2021, the game was released on PC as an open beta test. On October 4, 2021, Enlisted was released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, albeit with only the Moscow, Normandy, and Tunisia campaigns. All six campaigns have since been released on all platforms. The merge occurred in December 2023 for all players. There was a Steam release of Enlisted: Reinforced available on March 28, 2024, for approximately 16 to 18 hours of sale, from their blog, "symbolizing the recent massive changes to the game, and how far the community and Enlisted has come since its initial release." After the Early Access release window, sales on Steam were pulled, and a Steam News post citing an unoptimized back end system and a whole litany of bug issues. The base game is playable through their in-house launcher.

Reception
XboxEra gave Enlisted a 5/10 rating, saying the game's best elements were "mediocre", and its worst elements "truly dreadful". XboxEra praised the gun handling, but criticized the game's uncomfortable controls, generic soundtrack, and poor performance. Heavy criticism was given to the game's slow player progression system, in which each item must be purchased individually for each soldier in each squad, calling the system pay-to-win.

A review by Penny Arcade praised Enlisted, calling it "an absolute blast" and "the best WWII shooter", praising the game's "'Matrix ' style encounters where the player might die only to come into consciousness in another body".

GLN gave Enlisted a 7.8/10 rating, saying "the game's visuals are "detailed and realistic", and the game is impressive because it offers an "engaging gameplay experience". GLN praised the level design, but criticized the game's matchmaking system, animations, and bugs and glitches.