On this day, eighty years ago, the Normandy landings took place, also known as the Battle of Normandy and codenamed Operation Overlord and Operation Neptune, a milestone that marked the significance of World War II. Let us recall that until that moment the conflict on the Atlantic coast of France left the memory of Dunkirk in 1940, when the British troops, surrounded by the Nazi army, made a retreat that, despite what is implicit In this sense, it was a great success for the United Kingdom, which it was feared at the time that German troops would cross the English Channel.

Operation Dynamo, as the withdrawal was codenamed, took place between 29 May and 4 June 1940. just 10 days before the arrival of German troops in Paris it marked the culmination of occupied France alongside treacherous and collaborating Vichy France, which for four years had been in the total service of the Third Reich. At the time, the German war machine seemed unstoppable, and for several years the heart of Europe remained in the shadows.

The Battle of Stalingrad However, it marked a turning point, the German 6th Army surrendered to the Red Army and began to retreat on the eastern flank. For his part, a month ago, General Montgomery achieved El Alamein the first major defeat of the Wehrmacht in North Africa against Rommel. Piece by piece, lebensraum Germany was beginning to shrink and the still powerful but increasingly battered Nazi army was beginning to show exhaustion.

Which brings us to June 6, 1944, to a military operation of the first order, which was able to break the Atlantic Wall, with which Germany tried to protect the Atlantic coast from a possible landing of Allied troops, which eventually occurred. This means that the Normandy landings were not, as some think, the first major turning point of World War II, as the Axis defeats at El Alamein and Stalingrad had occurred earlier. However, he is remembered the most. And in his memory we look for the best games to try to replicate it on our PC.

Call of Duty: WWII

First-person shooter (FPS). You can find it on Steam

There’s little we can say about Call of Duty, the most successful franchise in the war genre, that we haven’t already said. This volume takes us directly to the landings in Normandy, and therefore suggests that we try to repeat the epic of the said battle alongside other episodes of the second great war. And if you get tired of realism, don’t forget that it also offers a zombie mode.

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

First-person shooter (FPS). You can find it on GOG

At other times, this Steven Spielberg-produced saga has held its own against Call of Duty, but in recent years it seems doomed. For this special, we’re bringing back the first title of the franchise, which came to PC in 2002, and which undoubtedly proved again the director’s interest in the Normandy landings, as he already showed us with the mythical beginning of Save to Private Ryan four years earlier.

Society of Heroes

Real Time Strategy (RTX). You can find it on Steam

We change the extreme action of shooters for the combination of strategy and response speed necessary in the real-time strategy genre. Draft CoH begins on D-Day and embarks on a campaign that takes us all the way to May 1945 and the end of the war in Europe.

Brothers In Arms: Road to Hill 30

First-person shooter (FPS). You can find it on Steam

We’re returning to the shooter genre, but this time we’re not setting foot on a Normandy beach. Instead, we will assume the role of a member of the 101st Airborne’s 3rd Squadron in Operation Chicago. And what does this have to do with the Normandy landings? Well, a lot, actually, because these men played a key role in securing the advance of the troops that landed a few hours later on the coast.

Heart of Iron IV

Turn-based strategy. You can find it on Steam

In one of the most recognized and successful titles of this genre, we change real-time action (whether we are talking about shooters or RTS) for reflection and analysis of turn-based strategy. Just a heads up, yes, whichever side you choose, as it offers you to lead the Allied army, the Axis army and the Soviet Union, you will have to face a common enemy: a series of paid DLCs to get the full experience.

Squad 44 (AKA Post Scriptum)

First-person shooter (FPS). You can find it on Steam

Not as well-known as the previous ones, nevertheless we find a very well-made game that aims to offer a fairly realistic experience. It focuses on five main operations (Market Garden, Overlord, Battle of France, Battle of Crete and Battle of the Bulge). And more precisely, in the context of Overlord, we will have to face three maps: Utah Beach (the westernmost of the five Norman beaches used for landings), Church of Santa Mera and Carentan.

Go to hell

Multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS). You can find it on Steam

The result of a successful crowdfunding campaign, the creators of Hell let Loose are undisputed supporters of the idea that with friends is better than alone, and the design of this title takes us to games with up to 100 players (50 vs. 50). But don’t worry, you won’t have to coordinate with the other 49 on your team, as each side is split into squads of up to six players. Its developers claim that the map, reproducing the Norman town of Sainte-Marie-du.Mont, Utah Beach, is a “1:1 scale battlefield”.