Many have failed over the years, but Delta Force Hawk Ops succeeds where many contenders have failed. TiMi Studios has opted for the best way to stand out in a highly competitive ecosystem: a free-to-play game with a less intrusive business model and seasons as dense as the current top seller, Call of Duty Black Ops 6, but with a tactical dimension. This decision paid off, as Delta Force established itself as one of the pleasant surprises of late 2024 and still sits among the 15 most played games on Steam today. The studio has no intention of stopping there and is finally preparing to launch its campaign on February 21, 2025. A story mode that, surprise, will be free for an estimated lifespan of around 7 hours. We were able to get our hands on it for two missions, accompanied by three comrades. Because yes, the Delta Force campaign will be entirely playable in co-op, and we believe that's how it will be best enjoyed.
Return to Somalia
1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia. A civil war breaks out in the capital, gripped by famine at the will of warlords seeking to starve their rivals. The situation is critical for the population and the UN decides to launch a relief operation with the support of 25,000 American soldiers sent by the Bill Clinton Administration. On paper, it was a routine mission for the Delta Force detachment: to protect UN convoys from attacks by warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid and his militia. On the ground, nothing went as planned, and this military blunder resulted in the deaths of several American soldiers.
Tragic events made famous by Black Hawk Down, Ridley Scott's 2001 film. In 2025, the director returned with a more nuanced, less heroic take on the bloody battle in a mini-documentary available on Netflix. A few weeks later, you'll be able to relive it in a video game. It is this story, and especially this feature film, that will follow the single-player campaign of Delta Force. Fans of the eponymous game released in 2004, as well as die-hard fans of the film, will quickly find themselves on familiar ground. It's a true love letter and a recreation of the work. The camera shots, the photography, the characters and their modeling, the iconic locations, the atmosphere, the music... everything is there to strike a chord with fans.
La guerre à quatre, c'est mieux
The game will therefore allow us to relive this historic mission by stepping into the shoes of a truly well-trained and, above all, well-supported Ranger. Jeep rides, plane descents, helicopter attacks, sniper ambushes will be the routine of the soldiers who will have to brave sometimes deceptive environments and streets that can quickly turn into a trap at first glance. Luckily, a soldier never ventures alone into enemy territory and a few teammates will be there to lend us a hand. This will be one of the big new features compared to the game of yesteryear: Delta Force Black Hawk Down will be entirely playable in co-op, with up to four players. As in the basic FPS, it is up to each player to choose from the four classes (Engineer, Support, Assault and Reconnaissance), all with their specificities. I personally played the role of a makeshift doctor, distributing bandages to everyone, while stocks last.
Because it's not so much the enemy militia's AI that will give Delta Force a hard time. On the contrary, it sometimes seems lost when exposed and only poses a problem during highly concentrated assaults, when you're caught off guard or when they have rocket launchers positioned high up as reinforcements. The difficulty should therefore lie more in resource management, as our skirmishes always ended with handguns due to lack of ammunition. You'll also have to take into account friendly fire management to avoid knocking a comrade down, share out the area's reconnaissance, flank, position yourself well, and above all, communicate. At first glance, at least when playing co-op, everything depends on coordination with your allies. This is especially true when you're propelled into more advanced missions in the campaign, where mistakes and unfamiliarity with the area are more easily punished.
On the surface, the objective was simple: escort tanks without them being destroyed. In reality, the enemy ambush, with heavy rocket and sniper fire, was such that our squad was crushed several times. The terrain was also less closed than in the very first mission of the campaign, and to flush out those who caused us misery it was imperative to coordinate, to assign areas, to go in pairs in this or that building to be able to be revived in the event of death. The small RP and strategy dimension that results from it was the whole point of the game session, far too short to see what this single-player campaign of Delta Force Black Hawk Down really has in store for us.
We await the single-player campaign of Delta Force... with curiosity
Building on the solid foundations of the 2004 game and the Ridley Scott film, Delta Force Black Hawk Down has all the weapons to please both nostalgics and die-hard fans of the license. The visual and sound ambiance, the photography, the cinematics transposed to perfection with Unreal Engine 5, it's all there. It remains to be seen what this campaign will really have in store, particularly in terms of pace, battle staging, and variety of approaches. In co-op and with a microphone turned on, there's definitely plenty to have fun with.
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