A top-down war you can wander through
RUNNING WITH RIFLES drops you into a large open world as one common soldier among thousands. You push the front line with your comrades, or peel off behind enemy lines to sabotage radio towers, steal cargo trucks, rescue prisoners and loot useful gear. Cover matters: the realistic cover system rewards you for hugging walls and terrain instead of running in the open. As you rack up experience you get promoted, which unlocks command over more soldiers and better equipment. At higher ranks you can call in artillery fire missions or paratrooper reinforcements when a push stalls. Dozens of weapons, support items and cover items are scattered across hundreds of locations, from trenches and towns to deserts and snowy valleys.
Playing with your group
The multiplayer side supports co-op, PvP and PvPvE, with 40+ player support and dedicated servers. In co-op you and your friends fight on the same side against the emergent AI, which will punish sloppy tactics. You can man armed boats, tanks and APCs together, or split up so one player runs a solo sabotage mission while the rest hold the line. PvP puts your group against other players, and PvPvE mixes both. Speech bubbles let you talk in-world, and there are plenty of deaths and fails to share, including your own.
Before you start
Expect a sandbox rather than a scripted corridor: the open world approach means you define your own path through the campaign, and side objectives keep branching off. The game is moddable, so your group can add content beyond what ships. It is a top-down shooter with RPG progression, so early on you are a basic rifleman with limited command; rank up before expecting to call in heavy support.