Hex of Steel on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Hex of Steel is a refreshing WWII wargame covering all fronts featuring a certain amount of original mechanics. Fight in solo against finally a decent AI throughout Europe, Africa or the Pacific, or against a friend in the cross-platform PBEM or real time multiplayer. Coop is also an option!
Hex of Steel is a strategy, world war ii and turn-based strategy game
developed and published by War Frogs Studio.
Released on August 31st 2020 is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux
in 21 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Czech, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Swedish, Portuguese - Portugal, Norwegian, Turkish, Catalan, Portuguese - Brazil and Ukrainian.
It has received 594 reviews of which 571 were positive and 23 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.9 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 24.99€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Hex of Steel into these genres:
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS *: Windows 7/8/10/11 (64-bit)
- Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 / AMD FX-4300
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel HD 4000 / AMD Radeon R5 230 / NVIDIA GeForce GT 710
- Storage: 1 GB available space
MacOS
- OS: macOS High Sierra or higher (10.13+)
- Processor: Apple Silicon or Intel i5
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 (or equivalent)
- Storage: 1 GB available space
- Additional Notes: GPU must be Metal compatible
Linux
- OS: Ubuntu 18.04+ (64-bit)
- Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 / AMD FX-4300
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.2+ Compatible GPU (Intel HD 4000 / NVIDIA GT 710 / AMD R5 230)
- Storage: 1 GB available space
- Additional Notes: Requires glibc 2.27+, OpenGL 3.2 support
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
The game is at a crossroad of genres: - Panzer Corps/OOB experience, and worthy of a quite honorable mention in that genre, - some steps of a Strategic at War WW2 (while being much clearer), - and having a deep "historical layer", but also a very "gameplay oriented" aspect on things. And beyond that, it even gives some "Hearts of Iron" feelings, while not even aiming at the grand strategy genre, as it retains some world scope, very intense economic consequences to every decision, well representing the pressure of war on an economy. There are actually two games in this one, in my opinion. The first is the "campaign with retinue", much like a Panzer General. Right now, I am so busy with the second game mode that I am not playing that one. Yet there are tons of scenarios to enjoy here in Hex of Steel: I think maybe 65 on each side, making it 130 I think if you play all sides. ( note that Panzer General I had 38 scenarios and PG2 had 50, Panzer Corps had 26 and Panzer Corps 2 had between 24 and 60, according to documentation ) But the real mode, I insist, is not this, not in my opinion. What was outstanding is the contribution in the "grand scenario", semi-world map, covering half of a world map and proposing an open-ended WW2 commitment, some kind of "WW2 saga" which you will write with your nation. (and some games such as Strategic WW2 had that "world experience" too, that's why I mention it) Such as trying in Hex of Steel: Pacific 1937 - the first I recommend to play as Japan vs China to learn the game ; China vs Japan is much harder ; or you could alternatively try Spain or Afrikakorps, but these lack the "very large world" aspect. Pacific 1941 - the climax of hardcore as Axis. Europe 1939 etc. And it works there thanks to an excellent non-cheating AI, very interesting mechanics, keeping you on your toes and wondering if you are losing or not, but also persistent leaderboards and "campaign medals" to motivate you into going further. The game also benefits from a very committed developer. AI AI does not cheat, not even economically, and also does not benefit from any map awareness (contrary to most if not nearly all of our strategy games). Please note that it is actually one of the only game that does so ; AI has advantages in many other games I listed above. Contrary to other Panzer Generals-like games, AI is truly active in this game and both defends and attacks on its turn. AI fights "tooth and nails" and can also adjust its plans. I've seen it, for instance, switch an entire fleet which was busy in assisting an amphibious assault (one which almost passed even 6 turns before my victory) into a new defensive mode around its ports, using it as defensive artillery ; and that was very efficient in stopping my attack. AI still lacks ability to protect itself from losses, but it is extremely active and world scenarios, without giving it any boost, all give it ways to express itself for the duration of a game. Mechanics The game has excellent mechanical efficiency, I think far beyond and above some of the previous WW2 titles and that is surprising considering the simplicity of it. The mechanics work also in economy, influencing your strategy and options a lot. It has rather weak probability modifiers ; no "Rugged Defense" here; only -15/+15% or so compared to estimated damage. Units have soft attack and hard attack ; which won't surprise anyone, right? and an unit strength that starts at 100, so to speak. So the good output comes from how it's used . The game is very detailed in number and type of units, with numerous unit types in naval, tanks, airplanes. Enemy F2A Buffalos are slightly superior to my japanese army fighters Ki-27, I can appreciate army fighters instead of naval ones, etc. It also proposes numerous ways to modify loadout/configuration of a unit and make your own. But it also uses a simple modelization concept where units are mostly comparable with each other. A light infantry from Germany has the same stats as a light infantry from Poland ; the soldiers on any side were not bad so it makes sense. But the entire situation is modified because of terrain, surrounding units, and the advantage playing for Germany here can be superior HQ unit, some local artillery but mostly a tremendous advantage in air power, and numerous armored and motorized units to "push through" once the line falters, and exploit other weaknesses created by your air power. Representing very well the effect of blitzkrieg. The game engine manages to represent very well, the same way, naval battles and several open-ended approaches you can take to them, such as hiding your carriers and raiding, protecting them with screeners, diving and emerging with submarines, fighting air-to-air and using torpedo bombers, using screeners/depth charges with destroyers against subs, radars and sonars, cannon power for shore bombardment, etc etc. So the game really benefits from expanding the scope. It never forces this behavior: you just discover that in some cases, you should adopt it instead of another to better isolate and protect naval encounters. It is suprising how screening, submarines, raiding, hiding, besieging can play out on pacific islands and how importantly naval warfare of all kind expresses itself here. All small scale battles also count and live on their own meaning that they evolve from every little decision they make but are not "written" from the beginning, as no previous advantage dictates the rest on a ground battle, terrain and entrenchment can heavily slow you down even against a lesser enemy and change the course of your progress. Terrain expresses itself very well and logistical pressure as well "Attrition" is well perceived in all areas. Mechanics also cause and represent casualties, and even use manpower. The game also uses fuels and supplies and proposes also very nice tools to handle it automatically. Economic investment into new units is costly enough and your decisions have a great impact on the war. The war itself does not feel easy at all. I think that is the reason why it works with semi-world scenarios even better than what I find in other games, as it integrates a concept of scope, freedom, no-cheat and duration that can implement a meaning to even tiny losses on any front, as it has a impact on your "tired economy". It represents open-ended naval gameplay in a global world map, but also interesting (though not complex) ground strategy. Because of the high attrition you feel, the level of decision and arbitrage you make when spending to recover fuel, ammo and units, you also have this "dopamine" effect on every action you do, wanting to go further. Rewards The scenarios I described above are accessible with the PLAY => Standalone Scenarios menu. You feel rewarded when you win such a scenario ; you gain a "medal" well displayed on your scenario list, and have one different for Axis, and for Allies. Issues There are some issues left: some problems such as being unable to attack a port with a ground troop if an enemy ship occupies it! some situations where AI does take too many losses still ; it is so aggressive that it accelerates its own losses. some "too many benefits" in one doctrine to pick, also scenarios and situations are not the same depending on the map you will play ; what I mentioned above really works for Pacific theaters. In closure I want to point out that I am looking for a challenge in a game, and this one has excelled by far in my view, compared to all previous title for having a non-cheating, fair, very active AI. It has been, for now, the only WW2 game which also has made me "feel a real Pearl Harbour", fight for the Pacific Islands. Every single area of battle was also important to the entire strategy. I have been very pleased by the game, and please note that it is also moddable, and may be tried for free.
Expand the review
Hex of Steel is, quite simply, the best "beer and pretzels" WW2 operational-level strategy game out there. What sets it apart from other well-known games like Panzer General, Panzer Corps or Order of Battle is that its game design philosophy is closer to Advance Wars: each turn, you earn points for every city/special hex you control, and you use these points to deploy new units. And unlike in traditional games like Panzer Corps, where the enemy is often static, in Hex of Steel, the enemy is doing the same thing you do, and deploys units every turn. This means a continuous flow of units on both sides duke it out, until one side manages to push the other back to their territory. This makes the battles a LOT more dynamic compared to scenarios in classic games where the enemy is simply waiting for you to attack. It also makes arbitrary and frustrating turn limits obsolete, because the "real" time limit is organic; if you don't take action, the enemy will simply swarm you eventually; it's up to you to fight back. I'm not sure the solo dev is even aware he made a game that combines the best of both worlds (classic WW2 strategy games and Advance Wars). But he sure did. The game also features a lot of game mechanics that the player can switch on or off in the options. Some of these mechanics are classic stuff that you would find in most other operational-level strategy games, like Zone of Control or Weather, but there are also stuff that you would usually see in 4X or Grand Strategy games, like Manpower or Diplomacy (create alliances, make peace or war, etc). That's because some of the maps are HUGE and cover whole theaters at once, such as Europe, the Eastern Front, or the whole Pacific. The game has hundreds of units, dozens of maps covering all theaters of war, a scenario editor to create maps on which you can play against AI or against human players. As for mods, the game also has great customization (you can make new countries, new units, new terrain tiles, etc). To top it off, the game is pretty, with colorful terrain tiles and unit counters with detailed 2D illustrations. And most importantly, the game plays well, and by that I mean that issuing orders is fast and responsive. This game has that "one... last... turn..." feel and it's easy to spend a lot of hours playing before you realize it. If you like games like Panzer Corps but are always frustrated by the static AI and arbitrary limitations, you should most definitely check out Hex of Steel -- no limitations and the battles are far, far more dynamic.
Expand the review
You get better support for this game right here on the Steam forums than you get for corporate games that cost twice as much! Not that it's needed much, the game is excellent as-is.
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Such an amazing game, very well put together. All I found myself wanting was more of it. The Campaigns and Scenarios are nothing short of amazing and crazy fun. Counters are beautiful. Where game also truly shines much more than Matrix or Slitherine games is the amazing Mullti-player support which is absolutely top tier. I know the author has put so much work into this title I feel bad for being a greedy human but I hope the author of this amazing titles drops a DLC that has a Global Map like other WW2 Grand Strategy Titles, make it a DLC and I could not toss cash at it fast enough. Also, advertise better, you are hiding this gem from the Community.! This is a sit down version of chess in a Military setting...........easy to learn the basics but skill and critical thinking is needed to rule the board. I'm in love with this game.
Expand the review
Excellent on-line version of the Classic Avalon Hill board games. Nice to not worry about accidentally bumping into the board too.
Expand the review
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Frequently Asked Questions
Hex of Steel is currently priced at 24.99€ on Steam.
Hex of Steel is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 24.99€ on Steam.
Hex of Steel received 571 positive votes out of a total of 594 achieving a rating of 8.94.
😎
Hex of Steel was developed and published by War Frogs Studio.
Hex of Steel is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Hex of Steel is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
Hex of Steel is playable and fully supported on Linux.
Hex of Steel offers both single-player and multi-player modes.
Hex of Steel offers both Co-op and PvP modes.
There is a DLC available for Hex of Steel. Explore additional content available for Hex of Steel on Steam.
Hex of Steel is fully integrated with Steam Workshop. Visit Steam Workshop.
Hex of Steel does not support Steam Remote Play.
Hex of Steel is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Hex of Steel.
Data sources
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Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 11 June 2025 06:10 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 08 June 2025 04:19 |
| Steam price | 15 June 2025 04:47 |
| Steam reviews | 14 June 2025 00:05 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Hex of Steel, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Hex of Steel
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Hex of Steel concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Hex of Steel compatibility
Game modes
Multiplayer
Features
Online players
50
Developer
War Frogs Studio
Publisher
War Frogs Studio
Release
31 Aug 2020
Platforms