Day of Defeat: Source was Valve's forgotten child, left in the cupboard while its much more popular sibling, Counter-Strike, was loved. Fortunately, Days of War, a game heavily inspired by Day of Defeat, has finally launched after more than three years in early access.

The game, which was successfully Kickstarted by developer Driven Arts in January 2017, is heavily influenced by "Day of Defeat" and combines the tactical approach of "Day of Infamy" with the "Battalion 1944" Call of Duty The pace is somewhere between inspired shenanigans and even remakes of some of DoD's most popular maps like DoD_Donner.

It was not an easy road for Days of War: after suffering the misfortune of a failed Kickstarter in 2016 and an Early Access launch in 2017 that coincided with a more successful campaign, the entire game was overhauled and the game was temporarily temporarily removed from sale. At the time, Driven Arts cited performance issues, bugs, and other problems, as well as high prices that damaged the game's player numbers, and for a time it appeared as if the game had disappeared from the face of the earth.

Fortunately, the game resurfaced in August 2019 with a new publisher, Graffiti Games, and a second early access attempt was made in November. The response was not exactly enthusiastic, but it was clearly better than the first time, and the game is currently indulging in a "Mostly Positive" rating on Steam.

I used to be a big fan of "Day of Defeat," so any game that mixes teamwork with a tactical yet accessible shooter immediately piques my interest.