June 01, 2025

Game against Ukraine


Game against Ukraine
Fun? Squad 22 ZOV, Steam.

Perhaps it was inevitable. Between VR museums in schools, a meme-inspired Red Army Choir performance, and crackdowns on absurdist memes, Russia's ongoing War on Ukraine has continued to infiltrate cyberspace.

Now, even gamers can get in on the action.

On May 28, the video game Squad 22: ZOV was published on the online PC game platform Steam. The game has been available in Russia since January, but the international release on the popular American-owned marketplace was delayed.

Russian media attributes this to "Russophobia and intolerance towards the Russian gaming industry" (of course). More likely, the delay was due to the game's sensitive subject matter. Squad 22 is a real-time close-quarters tactical game where players command a team of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine on maps replicating actual battle sites. According to the developers, the game drew on the experience of veterans of the "Special Military Operation" to create a realistic atmosphere.

From the Steam page, Squad 22 appears to be a weak imitation of Door Kickers, a popular earlier title where players commanded modern American special forces to infiltrate and clear terrorist hideouts in nail-biting firefights. Reviews of Squad 22 currently stand at "Mixed," with 61% positive, with some praising its realism and other decrying it as shoddy propaganda. For reference, reviews of Door Kickers 2 stand at 95% positive.

It also appears that several complaints have been launched towards Steam, so it may only be a matter of time before the game is delisted.

Those crying propaganda may be right: The game's developer and "chief ideologist," Alexander Tolkach, is the son of Russia's former ambassador to Hungary, hardly an impartial party. Still, Russian state media asserts that the game is selling well, even with American audiences: Reportedly, 70% of the game's downloads so far has come from American gamers.

Still, this does not make it a hit, despite Russian state media assertions. According to SteamCharts, an online tool that measures player game traffic, Squad 22 peaked on May 29 with a paltry 50 players on Steam worldwide.

As of the writing of this article, 36 players were in-game. More than 650 were playing Door Kickers 2.

We'll hold off on downloading it until we can play a map of Putin's palace.

You Might Also Like

Game Over
  • January 30, 2023

Game Over

The Russian government has asked the prosecutor's office to create a list of banned video games.
Sci-fi Author, Meet Dystopia
  • June 14, 2022

Sci-fi Author, Meet Dystopia

A well-known science fiction author has been placed on the Kremlin's wanted list for protesting the war in Ukraine.
A Pixelated Palace for Putin
  • February 09, 2021

A Pixelated Palace for Putin

Now you, too, can experience the glamor of Putin's Black Sea palace without the pricetag in the digital worlds of Minecraft.
Tetris: The Perfect Video Game?
  • May 17, 2020

Tetris: The Perfect Video Game?

A deep dive into the history and philosophy behind Tetris, and the reasons why it has managed to stay relevant for so long and will probably still be in the future.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955