Syrian Warfare

Soldiers associated with the player character Anwar's unit pass from mission to mission, gaining experience and equipment as they progress. The player selects the composition of the unit, as well as reinforcements and the distribution of equipment. Trophy weapons and equipment may be used during the game.

Troops and equipment do not have health bars, with dynamic damage calculation taking place depending on the equipment type. Ammunition and fuel supplies are also limited.

The player takes control of the central protagonist Anwar Amin (callsign Falcon-4), an officer in the Public Security Police stationed in a small, quiet town before the war.

To Anwar, the civil war feels distant - something only "seen on the TV screen", allowing him to take leave to visit relatives in Lebanon. Upon returning, the conflict has erupted in his home town. Rebel forces, aided by Wahid, the defected police chief of a neighbouring town, organise an attack on Anwar's police chief Wazir. Wahid had offered Wazir a change to join his side, boasting about funds, weapons and endless support from abroad (including a monologue about the government falling and potential reprisals against minorities).

Syrian Warfare was developed by Cats Who Play, founded in Russia in 2005 by former members of GFI Russia, who had previously worked on titles such as Warfare (2008). The game was written by Vitaly Shutov, and directed by Dmitry Babkin. The concept for the game originated in October 2015, based on the reporting of military correspondents during the Syrian civil war.

Development began in December of the same year, with the games Warhammer: Dark Omen, Combat Mission, Counter Action and Company of Heros cited as inspiration.

Mail.ru included Syrian Warfare in their list of best games of the month in March 2017, later leaving a review where the game was highly rated with a score of 8.0 out of 10. The review was positive, comparing the game a successor to others in the genre such as Sudden Strike or Blitzkrieg, recommending it for fans of "man-over-machine" tactics while warning that the games difficulty and political tone would not be for everyone.

Riot Pixels positively reviewed the game and the Return to Palmyra expansion, giving it a score of 77/100 praising the games use of historical real-world events, attention to detail and plot, while noting the games simple graphics and user interface, the lack of multiplayer as well as minor bugs. In the annual community rankings for 2017 on Riot Pixels, the game placed in third place for best strategy game, after Endless Space 2 and Total War: Warhammer 2, while Return To Palmyra placed second for best expansion following XCOM 2: War of the Chosen.