Well, after over 600 hours spent in this game - it deserves a review. I bought this game in 2017 and I am playing ever since, being in two milsim units, then playing with two of my friends in different gamemodes.

But let's start from the beginning. Before you buy ArmA 3, ask yourself this question: "Do I have experience with milsim shooters?" - if you answered yes, Arma 3 will be good for you, but if you answered no - worry not. ArmA 3 works on the basis of "learn on your mistakes", there are many tutorials and showcases which will show you everything from shooting a gun to flying a plane. If you have friends, they can teach you everything - and the game has a strong community which will teach you with tutorial videos.

I run the game sometimes at only 20 FPS at high settings. It surely guzzles PC resources like an iced tea on a hot summer day alongside making my PC fans sound like a 30mm GAU-8, however that is a personal problem. There are a lot of settings, however take my one advice... Disable the picture-in-picture graphical setting (the one that is responsible for all the mirrors in vehicles) if you rarely look at them, it will significally boost your FPS. (Funfact: ArmA 3 doesn't use multi-core, so that may be a problem)

Now, after that mumbo jumbo - the gameplay. It is punishing as in every milsim shooter, with AI laser targeting you through walls, being able to sometimes shoot down a plane flying 500 KM/H with an APC, not being able to enter a vehicle, etc. But, overlooking that, ArmA is great fun, from the different mods and gamemodes to it's glitches, but let's talk about the campaign.

ArmA has a campaign which will introduce you to many of its aspects, driving, shooting a gun, placing explosives, driving vehicles, firing a rocket launcher. It is however buggy and can break often, so I recommend downloading a mod which will be a failsafe to remove an enemy that is stuck...

...Mods. Yes - ArmA 3 has a strong modding community. From the wonders of detailed plane mods, to packs of weapons and vehicles alike by Red Hammer Studios, to the realistic and hard ACE mod, everyone can find something for themselves. Like in bethesda games, it can even fix the bugs created by the developers, which isn't a surprise for a 2013 title that has oftenmost problems. It also has a map editor, the so-called "Zeus", which allows you to even edit in real time when in-game, alongside making scenarios starting from a convoy mission to a mission where you have to destroy a giant rabbit. Is it hard to learn? Yes. Are there youtube tutorials? Of course, there are many great ones, but I never dipped my toes in them nor the editor.

The DLC. I own most of them except for helicopters and Contact, which is one of the more expensive DLCs. Bohemia Interactive has a great DLC policy, you can use equipment from them in the arsenal with only an occasional ad popping on the screen alongside being able to sit as passenger in vehicles. What DLCs are worth it, you may ask me? The Apex DLC. It adds a terrain, alongside many weapons and equipment - it is also a basis for many different mods made by the community. But every DLC is for a different person, such as Laws Of War being a great campaign with few major bugs, Jets being great for people who fight air-to-air and air-to-ground and Karts being for the ones that waant to make a meme operation.

Multiplayer. It is rather visible in ArmA 3 with many gamemodes being created, ranging from King of the Hill (the most popular gamemode), to Exile (which is DayZ on steroids) to the likes of Antistasi and Vindicta, playing as guerillas and starting from the bottom. The community may be sometimes friendly, sometimes toxic, sometimes scream on voice chat (which is of garry's mod quality). MilSim units are an another popular type of a community and technically a gamemode, most often using the ACE mod (which adds things such as morphine, bandages, ballistics, earplugs etc) and being either serious or rather casual, playing their own scenarios. Personally I enjoyed them, laughed at them, made great friends in them, but they require a microphone most often, so prepare for that - alongside knowledge of ACE. Some units have basic training, so they will probably teach you everything you need to know. I recommend joining an unit after you get the basics down and play around fifty hours of both multiplayer and singleplayer combined, but if you feel safe after ten hours, then go for it.


I think I wrote major points that came to mind. It is one of my longer more professional reviews in a new era. Do I recommend ArmA 3? With all my heart, for new players and veteran players alike. It is simpler than it's sibling of ArmA 2, with it's simplified controls that will fit on keyboards (but numpad is important for third person, so keep in mind you will probably need it if you want it). Thanks for coming so far into my review, please send any criticism my way to improve my writing.

Final rating: 8.5/10 "Something for everyone inside."