The Second Battle of Fallujah was among the bloodiest battles for American forces in the Iraq War, with almost 100 killed in action. This however pales in comparison to the 2,000 insurgents and 800 Iraqi civilians that are estimated to have been killed during the six week battle that took place in November 2004. With that devastation in mind, it’s almost perverse to describe the journey the game Six Days in Fallujah has been through as ‘development hell’, but considering that the development can trace its routes back to 2009, it could be argued that way.
After its initial reveal and subsequent furore, the original publisher Konami decided to avoid the controversy and dropped the game, leading to its effective cancellation. But now, 14 years later, a new studio and publisher led by some of the original developers have revived the idea, aiming to push the boundaries and test the waters in what is an even more polarised world than before.
Six Days in Fallujah is joining a crowded market for squad-based military simulation (milsim) shooters. It’s a tough space to crack; once upon a time, realistic shooter fans sat looking longingly at the success of Call of Duty, Battlefield and other fast-paced FPS options, but these days there’s plenty of choice for tactical milsim fans, including Insurgency: Sandstorm, Arma, Hell Let Loose, Ready or Not, to name but a few. So how does Six Days fare?
Few games have courted as much controversy as Six Days in Fallujah have. Games like Insurgency: Sandstorm have a similar setting with Western military forces fighting Middle Eastern insurgents, it’s generic in such a way that allows it to skate past the ire of tabloids. Arguably if Six Days in Fallujah were first announced in 2021 and not 2009, just as the US was formally ending their most recent combat mission within Iraq, there might not have been anywhere near the same public distaste for it. That said, grounding it in a real world battle still comes with difficult topics that the game in Early Access doesn’t yet address.
Upon starting for the first time, a documentary-styled cutscene introduces the game, explaining the background to the battle and shows interview clips from various American Marines and Iraqi civilians that Highwire says were instrumental in the development of the game. The brief video explains the rise of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. After seizing control of Fallujah, we are told that the Coalition Forces established checkpoints around the city, and the Iraqi government ordered civilians to leave. Around 90% of the population left the city, leaving the remaining insurgents to build a fortress that must be cleared building by building, street by street. This is where Six Days is set, during the initial battle that went on for almost six weeks and involved more than 10,000 US troops, 2,000 members of the Iraqi Army, and almost 1,000 British Armed Forces personnel.
While the videos feature a range of Iraqi interpreters and journalists alongside US Marine Corp personnel, quotes such as “its tough fighting an enemy that’s not afraid to die” feels a bit ‘Oorah!’. There’s no mention of certain controversial elements to the conflict, such as military-age males being prevented from leaving the city before the battle began, or the use of white phosphorous by the US military – something designated as a war crime by the United Nations.
The current offering in Early Access doesn’t include any campaign missions yet, only Fireteam Missions which sees your four-man squad undertake short missions with objectives such as securing a compound or locating and destroying a weapons cache. Secondary objectives are optional and sometimes dismissed when you and your team are glad just to get out alive. The procedurally generated maps offer some variety, meaning each time you enter into battle you’re faced with a different layout of streets, buildings and piles of rubble.
This is where the game currently shines; the close quarter combat of clearing buildings room by room, checking every corner and peering around doors creates a level of tension that is difficult to find. Proximity chat means you can easily communicate with your nearby squad-mates, but anyone further away needs to be contacted via your personal radio which requires a free hand so you lower your weapon to activate. Other design choices like a minimalistic HUD, inspecting your magazine to see how many rounds you have left, or applying first aid to yourself and teammates enhance the level of realism and overall feeling that every room you enter may well be your last.
With the game being multiplayer only at this point, it’s good to see the matchmaking system working smoothly. I was also pleasantly surprised that the majority of players understand that communication and teamwork is key, with people introducing themselves in the lobby and attempting to establish who should be the leader and ‘calling the shots’, so to speak. You’re assigned one of four roles or classes in each squad, each with a slightly different load out, such as assault rifles, a light machine gun or shotgun that is helpful for close-quarter engagements. Respawns are limited to give just one second chance for your team, and that’s only if a surviving teammate makes it back to the AAV Armoured Personnel Carrier. This overall adds to the difficulty of each mission and certainly adds to the tension when you realise that a single well-placed mortar has just taken out your squad mates, leaving you to manoeuvre your way back to safety, or attempt to complete the objective alone.
Pretty quickly, however, you’ll rattle through the available Fire Team missions and find you’ll have done all there is to do in just a couple of hours. Currently there’s a very small progression system that feels insignificant, and no way unlock anything for your character – not even (appropriate) cosmetic items that we are so accustomed to see in games these days. The Early Access roadmap indicates that more missions are coming, missions at different times of day, and different types of weather will be added before the end of the year, as well as AI teammates that will follow your orders. The addition of civilians and story campaign missions will be added early next year, drawing from specific true stories that will be ‘narrated by Americans and Iraqis who were there’. I think this is where we will really get to see if Six Days can deliver on what it promises, and if it can toe the line in terms of taste.
Until then, Six Days in Fallujah is a co-op milsim shooter that claims it ‘recreates true stories of Marines, Soldiers, and Iraqi civilians during the toughest urban battle since 1968’. In its current Early Access state, that vision seems a long way off. Does it have the foundation to be a brilliant squad-based tactical shooter? Almost certainly. Does it adequately address the nuances of the event? That’s yet to be seen.
