by Peter Robbins, 7 October 2026
Lowlands Lions is the first of hopefully several DLC packs to release for use with the popular wargame Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War. Lowland Lions is primarily a content update for FC:CW. What I mean by that is that there are no new major functional changes that are not otherwise provided and accessible in the core game.
For example in some past DLC on the prior version of FC, there was the addition of air assault functionality to the game to align directly with the new content. For Lowland Lions I’m not aware of any similar feature set added specifically due to the release of this DLC. Now, with that said, the amount of content provided is good for a $15 DLC. You end up with 25 total net new scenarios, 13 stand-alone scenarios; a Dutch campaign, a Belgian campaign, and a new remaster of a previous Flashpoint Germany West German campaign. The DLC also includes 25+ new units for your use in the new campaigns and scenarios. That’s not too shabby an armshot to the existing amount of content already provided in the core game. This DLC brings new life to a product that we were already enjoying.
What’s In The Box?!
The meat and bones of what you are getting with the Lowland Lions DLC for FC:CW is the following list of new campaigns, and stand-alone scenarios.
click images to enlarge
As you can see in the pic above, you are able to delineate which game content you are looking at by way of the “From” pull-down menu there near the Play Scenario header.
For our play through review sake, we’ll stick to showing you mostly the Dutch content, by way of the Dutch campaign, NL1 Lowland Lions, and one of the Dutch oriented new standalone scenarios, Lions Roar.
Game Specs
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Documentation
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A note on AI Content provided with this article. All of the images, thoughts, and writing in the main article were created/cropped by the human author.
Campaigns
NL1 – The Lowland Lions
Scenario Intel (slideshow)
Below are the initial friendly dispositions without changing the provided deployments. They are a good bit back from the overall deployment zone, so one of the first things we’ll want to do before clicking [Start] is to re-deploy them into logical areas that support one another and allow for a fighting withdrawal and easy fallback for the recon elements.
Here is just a first stab at re-deployment. I will now check that all commands are properly intact and close by as needed to maintain our momentum of turn time scale, gotta keep that OODA Loop tidy and quick.
Below are a sample of the new platforms that the Dutch bring to the Flashpoint Campaigns : Cold War table.
Just a few additional examples of the newer equipment inbound with this DLC for the Dutch forces.
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Improved Ammo Resupply SOP functionality, core game but worth showing what is available to this Dutch on map artillery.
This was the wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am finale if you will of the scenario. A heated fight near Varbitz on the Dutch southern (right) flank.
The lovely ending to a long hard fought withdrawal (you can likely say that about almost every Cold War game scenario ever played – as NATO at least), is shown below. A lovely Marginal Loss. Considering how cruddily I’ve played this game in the past, I’m actually rather content with that result. I did end the scenario early, as I wasn’t seeing much give and take any further and I’d been playing it for three nights straight ; ) doh.
As you finish NL1 – SC1, you are provided with the following pop-up. The main way I was able to continue to SC2 Orange Crush was by opening the final SAVE file and then it auto-advanced to the scenario “Orange Crush”.
The only image I’ll show of Scenario 2: Orange Crush is the depiction of forces that carry over, which is shown below.
Dare I compare this to the core units design approach to Panzer General 2 and Panzer Corps 2 as its progeny. A nice and simple mechanic for instilling fear of loss of materials in prior scenarios! Always a good thing to try and be able to follow through on things.
Final Thoughts & First Impressions
I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of variety provided by the additional Dutch (3 Scenarios), Belgian (4 Scenarios), and remastered West German campaigns (6 Scenarios) added to the game by Lowland Lions DLC. At last count, upon release, there were 13 stand alone scenarios provided, and the three campaigns; a grand total of 25 scenarios. Note: Yes, I know how to count. I had to remove one scenario from the grand total, as 1 of the stand-alone scenarios is a stand-alone version of the first scenario of the Dutch campaign.
These are not cake-walk scenarios. Both the fighting withdrawal and counter-attack scenarios found throughout the campaigns and the stand-alones are difficult to get even a marginal victory in. I’m saying this with only a five day stint with the product thus far, and I’m a little rusty on FC:CW honestly, so take that with a grain of salt. I saw this as a complement to the DLC. It will challenge you throughout.
I honestly would have been satisfied with the campaign additions but then adding the additional stand-alones, and more than 10 at that, brings this DLC over the edge to “yep, get it” territory. If you are still playing FC:CW this is a no-brainer addition to your virtual shelf.
APPENDIX A
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Further Reading
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Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War — Lowland Lions DLC
FIRST IMPRESSIONS ~ SCENARIO GALLERIES ~ FORUM THREAD
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