#holdfast

TheSteadyState :: @steadystate2025

I’ve played a lot of games over the years. Too many, probably. Every genre, every setting, every promise of “the best multiplayer experience ever” that usually lasts about a weekend before it collapses into silence or toxicity. So when I say there’s nothing quite like the Holdfast: Nations At War community, I mean it.

Most multiplayer games treat voice and text chat like a liability. Something to be muted, moderated, sterilised. Holdfast does the opposite. It leans into chaos, humour, historical absurdity, and collective nonsense, and the result is genuinely brilliant.

The community is loud, sarcastic, and completely unapologetic. No matter what you do in game chat, someone will respond with a joke, a reference, or an over-the-top patriotic speech delivered with absolute conviction. It never feels mean-spirited. It feels theatrical.

Play as the British and you’ll hear it immediately. I’ve lost count of how many times someone has yelled about fighting for the tea, the Crown, or the King. Redcoats charging into musket fire while belting out mock patriotism like they’re auditioning for a historically inaccurate stage play. It’s ridiculous, and that’s exactly why it works.

Switch to France and the tone flips instantly. Suddenly it’s “Long live the revolution,” cries of liberty, exaggerated accents, and dramatic speeches about overthrowing tyranny. The jokes change, the energy changes, but the commitment stays the same. Everyone understands the assignment. You’re not just playing a faction, you’re playing a role.

That’s the magic of Holdfast. The community doesn’t just inhabit the game, it performs it. The humour comes naturally because the setting invites it. Line battles, bayonet charges, naval chaos, all underscored by players who know that half the fun is leaning into the absurdity of it all.

In an era where online games feel increasingly corporate, cautious, and joyless, Holdfast feels refreshingly human. Messy, loud, unserious, and deeply entertaining. It reminds you that multiplayer games are at their best when people stop trying to win at all costs and start trying to have a good time together.

I’ve played many games. I’ll play many more. But communities like this are rare, and when you find one, you notice it immediately.

From a WiP titled Holdfast