Valiant Hearts: The Great War Review

Valiant Hearts, the puzzle adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, starts off with young Karl being drafted into the Great War leaving his son and wife behind. Karls father-in-law Emile decides to join the Army as well. You start the game out going through basic training as Emile, which also serves as the tutorial. Before you know it you are thrown in to action being bombarded by the enemy. Navigating your way through the field, dodging bombs, you witness the horrors of war firsthand. Emile is wounded during the battle, and is captured by the enemy.

Meanwhile you play as Freddy, an american that enlisted in the French forces. Freddy is a strong man capable of wrecking havoc upon his enemies. And this he does, ending up victorious in the battle against the Germans. Meanwhile Emiele meets Karl whilst being captured and succeeds in escaping with the help of his new found friend – a dog. After his escape attempt Karl meetes Freddy, who has been fighting on the front.

Together, the two meets the newest horror-invention by the Germans – mustard gas. Our brave heroes fights through, and meets up with our last character Anna, a medic looking for her missing father. They all drive together in the same direction, travelling through ruined cities helping the local population. Anna ends up helping the soldiers, bringing them to the front and helping them stay alive. Lastly we once again play as Karl, seeing his story throughout the war.

The game does very well telling the stories of our four heroes and how their stories intertwine. All while showing the horrors of war and telling a sad tale that leaves you with an emotional ending. The storytelling is mostly done through actions, there is no voicelines within the game (cept for the narrator). Instead the NPC’s have speech or thought bubbles above their heads with imagery. There are quests inbetweem the fighting segments where you have to fetch something for someone. The gameplay mostly consists of puzzles that tests your problemsolving skills. It can be quite macabre, as it sometimes involves how you can kill off other soldiers.

The puzzles themselves are not that hard, some segments rely on a bit of rexles and/or remembering where to go. This is great as it would defer from the storytelling. It is a very serious subject, and the game does well in telling said story with a bit of humour and wit. Whilst playing the game you can run in to different collectibles which represents real items from the war – it also gives you a chance to read a bit more about said items or the war in general.

Valiant Hearts is a great game. It is well made, the graphics are outstanding and the puzzles are fun. Whilst playing, you learn about World War I finely intertwined within the story arch of our fictional protagonists. The soundtrack also does great in hitting the right ambience, the music being inspired from it’s time period. It is purely classical, even sometimes using known melodies.

All in all Valiant Hearts has a lot going for it. It is an interesting title, surely something that has not been done before. It is a bold game, trying to convey one of the worst part of human history through a point-and-click game, still showing the action, putting you on your toes. Whilst the game is humorous (and even fun), it also is capable of hitting right in the feels. If you are a fan of the genre it is a game you do not want to miss.