NEW ON STEAM
Dagger Directive
At a glance
Dagger Directive game facts
Steam store information checked 2026-08-27。- Studio
- Arcane Alpacas LLC Published by MicroProse Software
- Release
- Aug 13, 2026 Released
- Official genres
- Action
- Play mode
- Single-player · Multiplayer · Online co-op
- Desktop platforms
- Windows
- Steam Deck
- Playable Some controller prompts do not match Steam Deck controls.
- Controller
- Full support
- Steam features
- Achievements · Workshop · Cloud · Family Sharing
- Languages
- 12 listed languages English, French, Italian, German
What that means for your setupDagger Directive is developed by Arcane Alpacas LLC and published by MicroProse Software, released on August 13, 2026 as an Action title on Windows. It supports single-player, multiplayer, and online co-op, with full controller support, achievements, Steam Workshop, cloud saves, and family sharing, while Steam Deck is listed as Playable because some controller prompts do not match Steam Deck controls. Audio is supported across English, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese-Brazil, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Ukrainian, and Spanish-Spain, and the developer has outlined a roadmap that includes a Workshop-enabled mission editor, expanded tutorials, a Free Play Mode, and modding support for weapons and gear.
If you ever burned hours in Delta Force 1 or 2 and have been waiting for something that feels like that again, Dagger Directive is the closest thing in years. You choose your loadout, pick day or night, then stalk or smash your way through open maps built around multiple entry points, tall grass, and switchable lights. The modern hook is a hefty arsenal of more than twenty-five weapons, drones, tripwires, mines, and grenades layered on top of ballistics that respect distance and bullet drop, so each mission genuinely rewards a different plan.
What the game actually feels like
The strongest supported appeal is the nostalgic open-field tactical sandbox, where you pick a loadout, choose day or night, and pick your own approach across large maps with multiple entry points, tall grass, and lights you can shoot out.
Ballistics feel grounded for the genre: bullets, shrapnel, and grenades obey real-time weight, velocity, and trajectory, scopes adjust for distance, moving targets must be led, and ricochets add real chaos.
Three full campaigns set in the Bering Sea, the South Pacific, and Eastern Europe give you eco-terrorist, organized crime, and extremist operations across distinct biomes, and each mission is built to be approached in more than one way.
Online co-op is a first-class feature rather than an afterthought, letting you coordinate flanks, breaching, and overwatch with friends across the same fifteen-mission early-access campaign, with a mission editor and Free Play Mode planned.
What early players are seeing
What is landing
- Multiple long-time players describe it as the closest modern recreation of NovaLogic-era Delta Force they have found, praising the open maps, long-range engagements, and sandbox military-sim feeling.
- Reviewers consistently highlight the armory, with a recommended loadout per mission plus access to the full roster of 25-plus weapons, attachments, drones, and explosives from the start, so you can tune a loadout to your taste instead of grinding unlocks.
- Several players note that the 1.0 update brought a major jump in AI behavior and weapon sound design, with suppressors now feeling meaningfully different and enemies actively flanking, using smoke, and giving callouts.
- Players who came in without nostalgia for the classics still report a very fun, challenging tactical shooter with tight gunplay, tense lone-wolf missions, and impressive depth for what is effectively a small-team indie release.
What still needs watching
- Early-access and 1.0 reviews describe highly uneven enemy AI difficulty between missions, where the same setting can swing from nearly brain-dead to punishingly lethal snipers, which can sour first impressions until you find a difficulty sweet spot.
- Long stretches of foot travel between objectives are part of the design, and multiple players call out missions where you can walk several minutes to the next contact with no vehicles available, which is a real pacing concern if you dislike trudging.
- A handful of quality-of-life issues remain, including a carrier drone impact grenade that does not always detonate on contact, RPGs and satchel charges feeling weak compared to lighter gear, and occasional directional audio bugs.
Is Dagger Directive worth buying now?
Current decision
Worth tryingThe blend of grounded ballistics, open tactical maps, a deep armory, and online co-op delivers exactly the throwback PvE tactical shooter that long-running fan requests describe, and the 1.0 update plus a clear Workshop roadmap make it a credible pick at full price for the target audience, even though uneven AI tuning and long walks between objectives are real caveats you should weigh.
Who this is for
A good fit if you…
- Fans of classic NovaLogic Delta Force who want a modern, budget-friendly spiritual successor with a real single-player campaign.
- Players looking for a PvE tactical shooter to run with a small squad of one to three friends in online co-op.
- Solo tactical shooter fans who enjoy slow, methodical clearing of large outdoor maps across multiple biomes.
- Players who value a wide, unlocked arsenal of 25-plus weapons, attachments, drones, and explosives over progression gating.
- Anyone excited by a Steam Workshop mission editor, Free Play Mode, and modding support already on the post-launch roadmap.
Wait if you…
- You strongly dislike long on-foot traversals between objectives and do not want to wait to see whether vehicles or a faster pace get added.
- You need fully polished, consistent enemy AI on day one, since several reviewers flag mission-to-mission swings between trivially easy and unfairly lethal AI behavior.
- You primarily want a tightly scripted, modern-looking cinematic shooter rather than a retro-styled, voxel-tinged tactical sandbox.
- You were hoping for friendly AI squadmates in solo play, since reviewers note that commandable bots are a commonly requested feature still missing at launch.
If Dagger Directive is not quite your game
SIMILAR OPTION
HELLDIVERS™ 2
Choose it ifPick HELLDIVERS 2 if you want frantic, friendly, twin-stick-feeling co-op against swarms, and Dagger Directive if you want quieter, more methodical outdoor engagements you can plan from a distance.
How it comparesPvE third-person squad shooter with online co-op and loadout-driven missions HELLDIVERS 2 is a third-person arcade-leaning horde shooter with live-service seasonal progression, while Dagger Directive is a first-person, slower, open-map tactical sandbox with longer sightlines and stealth-friendly tools.
SIMILAR OPTION · 40% OFF
Among Us
Choose it ifPick Among Us for a quick, low-pressure party night, and Dagger Directive if your group wants a longer, skill-based shared tactical shooter session.
How it comparesOnline multiplayer party game built around friend groups coordinating or betraying each other Among Us is a short-round social deduction game with almost no shooter mechanics, while Dagger Directive is a full PvE tactical FPS where cooperation means flanking, suppressing, and clearing objectives together rather than voting someone out.
SIMILAR OPTION · 60% OFF
Dead by Daylight
Choose it ifPick Dead by Daylight for tense, replayable horror rounds with a human villain, and Dagger Directive for squad-based PvE tactical missions you can play at your own pace.
How it comparesAsymmetric multiplayer where a small squad faces off against a single powerful opponent Dead by Daylight is a horror chase game with one human killer versus four survivors, while Dagger Directive is a PvE experience against AI factions with no human antagonist role and a much more grounded military tone.
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