Steam reviews
199,423 of 245,798 Steam user reviews are positive (81.1%) and Steam's own label is “Very Positive”, according to Steam's review summary for Squad at the last data refresh.
What Steam reviewers mention
18 of the 20 sampled reviews recommend it. Several texts are single words or jokes; the detailed ones praise tense, realistic combat built on squad communication, with caveats about a steep learning curve and some abusive players, while two short negative reviews cite bugs, bad updates and falling population.
Sample: 20 reviews from Steam's English filter (10 most helpful, 10 most recent, ), 18 recommending · how Claude counts topics
- Squad Teamwork and Communication (praised in 9, criticised in 1 of 20): Many reviewers value the cooperative side, recalling encouraging squad leaders, chance friendships and coordinated plans over voice chat, while one warns that some players get abusive and strangers can be hard to organise.
- Realism and Learning Curve (praised in 3, criticised in 3 of 20): Reviewers like the tense, lethal realism compared with arcade shooters, though they note a steep learning curve for newcomers, occasional crushing defeats, and one jokes that telling friend from foe stays hard.
- Roles and Vehicles (praised in 4 of 20): Reviewers enjoy the range of jobs on the battlefield, describing mortar spotting, frantic medic work, armour hunts and helicopter resupply runs, along with a long standoff against an enemy tank.
- Updates, Bugs and Performance (praised in 2, criticised in 2 of 20): One reviewer credits a major overhaul and steady content updates and another says it runs on a low-end computer, while two short negative reviews cite bad updates and a buggy experience.
- Server Population (praised in 2, criticised in 2 of 20): One reviewer describes many full servers and another usually finds a good group, though that same reviewer says some servers empty quickly and a recent critic reports a shrinking player base.
Games like Squad
- Arma 3
- Hell Let Loose
- Post Scriptum
Drafted by Claude; not individually verified.
Good for
- Players who want team-coordination-focused military simulation over arcade shooting
- Communities that play together with voice communication as a baseline requirement
- Those interested in vehicle crewing, logistics, and combined arms tactics
Avoid if
- Solo play without voice communication is nearly unplayable — squad cooperation is mandatory
- Steep learning curve — new players frequently die before understanding basic mechanics
- Slow pace — matches last 1–2 hours and early death means long spawn waits
Is Squad an indie game?
Yes. Steam lists Squad under the "Indie" genre, and its publisher is not on this site's major-publisher list.
- Steam genre tags on record: Action, Indie, Massively Multiplayer, Strategy — includes "Indie".
- Developer: Offworld.
- Publisher: Offworld — same as the developer, i.e. self-published; not on this site's major-publisher list.
The rubric, its limits and the publisher list: methodology.