"Avanti Savoia!"
"Mi trovo qui, la terra intorno a me..."note
Isonzo is a historical FPS game developed by M2H and Blackmill Games, and published by the latter studio. Serving as a follow-up to their previous titles Verdun and Tannenberg, Isonzo is, once again, set during World War I, this time on the Italian Front. The name of this game comes from the titular Twelve Battles of the Isonzo from 1915 to 1917, between the Royal Italian Army and the Austro-Hungarian Army, with the German Army reinforcing the latter by late 1917. Like its predecessor, this game is known for being rather difficult.
In contrast to Verdun, Isonzo was not released in Early Access, instead having been released as a full game from the get-go. It was released for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Playstation 4, and Playstation 5 on September 14th, 2022.
Currently, the only playable factions are the Royal Italian Army and The Austro-Hungarian Army, and, most recently, the Imperial German Army. Released alongside the game were several Downloadable Content cosmetic bundles for all three armies, featuring more uniforms, soldier models, and various assortments of headgear.
Isonzo contains examples of:
- Anti-Infantry: Given that it's World War I, there are several weapons and obstacles meant to stop mass infantry attacks, most of which are constructed by the Engineer class. These include various fixed weapons and fortifications, among which include heavy machine guns and barbed wire fences. The former can cut down large units that are exposed and/or attacking a position. The latter meanwhile can block and non-fatally wound anyone unlucky enough to get into its path, allowing for infantry attacks to be redirected to more heavily defended areas, slow down their attack significantly, or outright prevent them from advancing.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Much like in Verdun, all forms of poison gas shelling are this. While very good at incapacitating large numbers of enemy units on a point, its effects are the same for your troops as well, resulting in the encumbrance of using gas masks, or die a miserable death by poisoning.
- Bayonet Ya: Being set in World War I, this is a given. The vast majority of service rifles issued to players will have the rifle's bayonet on by default, allowing them to perform a melee attack for a One-Hit Kill.
- Battle Cry:
- The Italians have "Avanti Savoia!", the signature Battle Cry of the Italian Army during World War I.
- Battle in the Rain: The Caporetto map has the Imperial Germany Army fighting the Italian Army during a powerful rainstorm that soaks the entire mountain battlefield.
- Bottomless Magazines: Averted. Both handheld weapons and emplacements will eventually run out of ammunition, making ammunition resupply a must for long battles, which are inevitable given the size and scale of each map.
- Break Out the Museum Piece: Several of the unlockable rifles for both sides are older designs that can compete with or are better than their standard-issue counterparts in the Carcano and Mannlicher M1895 rifles in certain aspects. Of particular note is the M1870 Italian Vetterli and its variants, the Mannlicher M1888-90 and its variants, and the Gewehr 1888, which while having inferior stats overall, have certain advantages to them, such as allowing for mid-clip reloads or having better sights.
- Deadly Gas: Being set in World War I, poison gas attacks are available as a call-in attack. As the gas is deadly to any and all soldiers present in its radius, wearing a gasmask is a must.
- Death from Above: Aside from mortar rounds and artillery barrages returning, this game also adds bombing runs and strafing runs into the mix, which involve bombers and fighters attacking the frontlines after being called in by officers.
- Death Mountain: The entire game can be considered this, as every level is set in Alpine regions turned into warzones. Justified Trope, given that the Real Life Battles of the Isonzo were fought in these very types of mountain environments.
- Enemy Chatter: Carrying over from its predecessors is that every enemy, and even your own squadmates, will have lines indicating that they're reloading, hit, or calling in an artillery strike. This can be useful, especially to point them out and shoot them.
- Flare Gun: A flare gun is made available for both the Officer and the Mountaineer class, with the latter having to unlock it first. The purpose of this weapon is for spotting targets for artillery, air strikes, and poison gas attacks.
- Gas Mask Mooks: : Much like in Verdun, you, your teammates (and the enemy) will come off as this, especially if there are gas shells landing nearby. Not doing so results in you and anyone else not wearing a mask being gassed to death.
- Grenade Launcher: Rifle grenade launchers for the standard service rifles of each faction are available for the Rifleman class as an unlockable weapon.
- Gun Accessories: Most weapons will have bayonets, special clips, and scopes for sniper rifles.
- Hold the Line: Essentially the premise of Offensive Mode, where one side will defend a set of objectives, with the attackers tasked with capturing or destroying said objectives. Much like its predecessors, this is much harder and complicated than it initially seems.
- The Many Deaths of You: Carrying over from its predecessors. You can get bombed, strafed, blown, stabbed, shot, gassed, cut down by tripwire, drowned, or kill yourself by accident (or on purpose) with poorly thrown grenades or artillery strikes. And that's just the start, with Isonzo adding new ways to die such as having rocks thrown from cliffs high above smashing into your head and face.
- More Dakka:
- The Italian, Austro-Hungarian, and German Assault classes each get access to a light machine gun, with the Italians getting the Villar-Perosa, the Austro-Hungarians getting the Madsen, and the Germans getting the MG08/15. Compared to everyone else, who are armed with bolt-action rifles, handguns, and revolvers, these weapons can put out more lead into a targets, only being beaten by the heavy machine gun emplacements. Notably, these are the only handheld and portable automatic weapons available in the game, and only one to two of each Assault class per faction can use them at any given time.
- The heavy machine gun emplacements from Tannenberg return here, with the Engineer class having to construct them before they can be used. In contrast to the previous game, these heavy machine guns are now given ammo reserves, and can be resupplied by riflemen with an ammunition crate.
- Mountain Warfare: Set on the Italian Front of World War I, all of the game's maps are set in the mountains between Italy and Austria-Hungary, with the Royal Italian Army and Austro-Hungarian (and later, German) Armies fighting for control of various peaks, plateaus, and valleys in-between.
- One-Hit Kill: Anything firing a full sized rifle round can kill you with one hit, even if it isn't a head shot. In addition, bayonet and melee weapon kills are guaranteed to be this as well should they register.
- Pistol-Whipping: For handguns, revolvers, and primaries without bayonets, as well as a number of other non-melee weapons, this is how their melee kills are done, with the user often smacking their foe to death with the aforementioned weapon(s) on hand. In contrast to bayonets, maces, pickaxes, and knives, these are not a One-Hit Kill, requiring the player to smack their foes at least twice to ensure a kill.
- Powerful Pick: The Mountaineer classes are issued with icepicks as an unlockable melee weapon, which, when compared to rifle bayonets, have a faster swinging rate.
- Revolvers Are Just Better: Generally, revolvers like the Bodeo, Rast & Gasser, Gasser, and Reichsrevolver are capable of performing a One-Hit Kill on any enemy unlucky enough to be on the business end, making them excellent trench and bunker sweepers. On top of that, they're accurate up to long range, making them effectively a Sniper Pistol when in the hands of a skilled shooter.
- Scenery Gorn: Being set in World War I, many of the Alpine regions and towns that appear are filled with shell craters and have burnt out areas where vegetation once stood. Compared to Verdun, though, the damage is overall less.
- Sequel Escalation: Compared to the maps found in its predecessors, Isonzo's maps are much, much larger, with some even covering entire valleys and their surrounding towns.
- Scenery Porn: In stark contrast to Verdun, a lot of Isonzo's maps are in much more pristine condition, with several forests and the vegetation in alpine valleys still being largely intact.
- Tactical Withdrawal: Much like in Verdun, you need to capture the enemy sector within a set time limit and without too many casualties, or this ensues. Also, if you do not retreat in time, you're executed for desertion.
- Target Spotter: The Mountaineer class serves as this, being issued with binoculars, an unlockable Flare Gun, and the option to build a periscope for additional spotting.
- Translation Convention: Averted. The Austro-Hungarians speak German and the Italians speak Italian.
- Urban Warfare: Certain maps are set in mountainside towns, villages, and cities, with buildings both intact and destroyed often serving as the perfect place to set up an outpost, machine gun nest, or mortar position.
- War Is Hell: Definitely. Deaths are sudden, violent, and bloody each time, anything that moves is out to kill you, and even near-misses from artillery and gunfire are genuinely frightening and will suppress the player.
