World War 2 and first person shooter games go hand-in-hand. Arguably we wouldn’t have the modern day-set Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 being released in a few months if the likes of Medal of Honor and the original Call of Duty didn’t entice people into the theatre of war. Over recent years though, there has been somewhat of an absence of World War 2 set games, and even more so in the lesser represented tales of the Chinese fighting the Japanese, something which 4Divinity look to put an end to.
I was lucky enough to go hands-on with a slice of the game at Gamescom 2026, and after some time with it, I have to say, the team behind it have nailed some aspects, while others need a bit of work and polish, which, with a 2026 release date touted for the game, is a slowly closing window of time to get right.
Firstly, the good. The weapons are bang on, and an FPS lives and dies by how the weapons within feel to the player. Each of the weapons I used felt different to use, each packing a punch in a different way, and more than satisfying to use. The shooting aspects alongside it are good too, with a significant thud being heard (the audio is incredible) as you send bullet after bullet towards your enemies.
Swapping from weapon to weapon is pretty standard fare, and you can pick up all sorts of weapons off the floor, including those of your enemies. As mentioned, the audio is phenomenal, from the individual sounding weapons having not only distinct animations but also significantly different sounds, but the general audio is a pleasure in the most overwhelming ways.
The slice I played had us, the Chinese soldiers, storming and attempting to hold off the Japanese on a trench covered hill, with danger behind every corner, smoke cloud, or hidden away in a trench waiting for you to run in unaware. It felt chaotic. It sounded like war, fortunate as I am to not have experienced it. There were shouts, screams, bullets whizzing by my head and explosions near and far. It was madness in the best way, and something other FPS game fail to accomplish.
Graphically, it’s on a level with many other games due to release this year, and I wouldn’t say much stands out, beyond some impression smoke tech and some explosions, I wasn’t that blown away with the visuals, if I’m honest, which is actually not to discredit what was in front of me, but moreso that it’s harder to be significantly impressive graphics wise in 2026.
As gameplay goes, as mentioned the gunplay in my opinion, pretty tight. For an FPS though, and campaign play at that, it felt harder than many games I’ve played in the genre. As someone who has completed every Call of Duty on Veteran, I’m no scrub at this sort of thing, and maybe it was just a higher difficulty the devs had put it on, but the lack of any sort of grace for players will be a problem if it’s the base difficulty. It was incredibly unforgiving, and with an admittedly sluggish and featureless movement system, I died more often than not thanks to a lack of responsiveness, not just my mistakes. Hopefully there will be some more niche movements added into the final game beyond run and duck, as I wasn’t even able to lie down, which is a baffling decision.
Maybe there will be in the final game, but the preview build I played also had no dynamic AI at all. Each time I died, I had the same enemies acting in the same way, coming at me from the same direction every time, meaning that it ended up feeling like a Soulslike in the end. The more I died, the more I learned the routines of those attacking me, which is fine when you’re heading up to fight Promised Consort Radahn in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, but not so good when you’re playing through an FPS campaign. Of course, this only further makes it feel like Medal of Honor, but in 2026 should be less of a thing in the genre if you want to keep players engaged and coming back for more.
All in all, considering it was one of my titles I was most looking forward to prior to Gamescom 2026, I don’t know how I feel about the upcoming release of The Defiant. There’s more to work on, and maybe not enough time to polish what needs it, but what works with it really works well, and I couldn’t get over the audio design even well after I’d left my appointment.
What do you think of The Defiant so far? Will you be picking it up? Let us know in the comments below.
For your next read, check out our preview of SAW: Genesis, and our review of Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
