ActionAdventure
Spec Ops: The Line
Give it 4 hours
Gets good by 4h then rated almost like by veterans
Fully opens up by 5h rated like by long-time players
Reach the ending at least 40% of players who started
Started playing 83% of owners
Steam reviews 93% positive of 56,426
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 4 reviews are negative (25%); after 5h it's 1 in 25 (4%).
- Fully opens up by hour 5.
- At least 40% of players who start reach the ending.
- The biggest drop-off is between “The Horror” and “Three Kings” (Stand united): from 67% to 54% of starters.
- 83% of owners got the first achievement.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 56,722 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 290 reviews: 8.3h for positive, 6.1h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (82.7% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- They Live What's lost is found. 100%
- Treacherous Ground Look out below. 89% −11
- The Lost Battalion We have contact. 81% −8
- Desert Storm Engineer an exit strategy. 75% −6
- The Horror Face the horrors of war. 67% −8
- Three Kings Stand united. Most players quit here 54% −13
- The Great Escape Get out of here! 53% −1
- A Bridge Too Far The end of the line. 49% −3
- Too Late The Hero Carry on, soldier. ≥40% −9
story milestone ending (most common ending) biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (50)
story milestone ending side
- They Live What's lost is found. 100%
- Spotter Recover one Intel Item. 93%
- Treacherous Ground Look out below. 89%
- The Lost Battalion We have contact. 81%
- Desert Storm Engineer an exit strategy. 75%
- Army of One Kill 3 enemies with a single grenade. (campaign only) 69%
- Preventive Diplomacy Kill an enemy just as they are throwing a grenade. (campaign only) 67%
- The Horror Face the horrors of war. 67%
- Damn Close Kill an Edged Weapon Expert while he is up to 5 meters away. (campaign only) 59%
- Marksman - Rifle Kill 350 enemies with any rifle. (campaign only) 55%
- Three Kings Stand united. 54%
- Blind Luck Kill 5 enemies using blind fire. (campaign only) 53%
- A Man of Action Play it loose. 53%
- The Great Escape Get out of here! 53%
- Good Training Sprint into cover 10 times while under fire. (campaign only) 51%
- The Human Factor Kill an enemy by tagging him with a sticky grenade. (campaign only) 51%
- A Bridge Too Far The end of the line. 49%
- Boot Complete game on "Walk on the Beach" difficulty. 49%
- Aim High Kill 250 enemies with headshots. (campaign only) 47%
- Marksman - Small Arms Kill 100 enemies with any pistol or SMG. (campaign only) 47%
- In Your Face Kick an enemy by vaulting over a cover. (campaign only) 42%
- Friendly Fire Show mercy. 42%
- Situational Awareness Stun an enemy by dumping sand on their head. (campaign only) 41%
- Too Late The Hero Carry on, soldier. 40%
- Close Combat Carnage Kill 4 enemies with a shotgun in 10 seconds or less. (campaign only) 40%
- We Were Soldiers Complete game on "Combat Op" difficulty. 37%
- Marksman - Sniper Kill 50 enemies with any sniper rifle. (campaign only) 37%
- The Road Back Live and let live. 36%
- Damned if You Do Follow your orders. 36%
- A Line, Crossed Choose vengeance. 35%
- Applied Force Hit 10 enemies with your melee attack. (campaign only) 34%
- Damned if You Don't Buck the chain of command. 33%
- Recon Recover 12 Intel Items. 30%
- Adapt and Overcome Blow up 10 explosive objects, killing at least one enemy each time. (campaign only) 28%
- Marksman - Grenade Kill 50 enemies with grenades. (campaign only) 27%
- A Farewell To Arms You are relieved. 26%
- Marksman - Heavy Arms Kill 150 enemies with any heavy weapon. (campaign only) 25%
- A Line, Held Choose restraint. 24%
- The Road To Glory Live and let die. 24%
- Unfriendly Fire Save a bullet. 23%
- Airspace Control Kill 10 enemies while they use zip lines or are rappelling. (campaign only) 21%
- Battle Management Kill 50 enemies using only the Attack Command. (campaign only) 19%
- Sierra Hotel Complete three chapters in a row without being killed or reloading a checkpoint. 18%
- Marksman - Shotgun Kill 75 enemies with any shotgun. (campaign only) 18%
- A Man of Patience Play it smart. 15%
- The Devil's Disciple Complete game on "Suicide Mission" difficulty. 13%
- Deer Hunter Kill an oryx. (campaign only) 12%
- Intel Operative Recover all Intel Items. 6.0%
- All You Can Be Complete any chapter with 60%+ accuracy without dying or reloading a checkpoint. 5.8%
- MFWIC Complete game on "FUBAR" difficulty. 4.4%
Steam page Updated: 2026-10-18.