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Valiant Hearts: The Great War Telling the tales of the forgotten war
U
bisoft Montpellier’s artful new adventure Valiant Hearts: The Great War is out of step with most modern military-themed games. In fact, Ubisoft’s Guillaume Cerda told us that the team thinks of Valiant Hearts not as a war game but a “game about war” – an important distinction. As such, a large part of the experience isn’t about battlefield heroics, but the human beings who were swept up in the cataclysmic events of World War I, the first “war to end all wars.” World War I remains largely uncovered by the game industry, which has already stripmined World War II. Valiant Hearts tells the tale of four main characters whose paths intersect in surprising and touching ways in the war during the years of 1914 to 1918: Emile (an older French farmer), Karl (Emile’s blond German son-in-law), Freddie (a brawny American fighter), and Anna (a plucky young woman turned battlefield nurse). At points, players are also accompanied by a dog named Walt, who you can command and plays a role in solving many of the puzzles. The game walks a razor’s edge, balancing surprisingly light-hearted comedy with a story The puzzles seem fairly straightforward
that deals with the heavy moral and emotional cost of war. Its storybook visual style is gorgeous, rendering everything from the rooftops of Paris to the trench warfare of the Marne in a style that recalls the detailed, hand-drawn animations of the French classic The Triplets of Belleville. Sometimes it runs the risk of trivializing the subject matter; I’m not sure chlorinegas warfare is something that lends itself to the adventure-game treatment. However, it seems successful at generating real emotion from the plight of the characters. Valiant Heart’s gameplay is a mix of adventure elements and light action, with an emphasis on puzzle solving. Most of the puzzles I experienced weren’t particularly difficult – distract a guard with a thrown brick, use pulleys and switches to navigate up to a high walkway, etc. Anyone who is a fan of 2D adventure games like Broken Age should feel right at home. The interface is very simple, usually based around single button commands. Some set-piece action moments break up the flow of the game, like an exciting sequence when you must steer your car clear of bombs that fall in time with the orchestral soundtrack. Ubisoft
The game’s puzzles seem fairly straightforward
says that the game is peppered with unique moments like this. Valiant Hearts has the potential to be a special experience. While not technically an “indie” developer, Ubisoft Montpellier clearly has the go-ahead to follow its muse, and it shows. The game is unique in both subject matter and tone. I have questions about whether the gameplay can sustain a longer play experience. However, there’s something about Valiant Hearts that sticks with you; it doesn’t feel like anything else currently on the market, and its rooting in real World War I history gives it a sense of importance that other games of this ilk can’t match. It’s clearly a labor of love. One of the producers’ great grandfathers fought in the war, and his letters home have served as the team’s inspiration for the project. If successful, Valiant Hearts could serve as both an introduction to an important part of world history and a tribute to those who experienced the events themselves. » Matt Helgeson
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» Platform PlayStation 4 Xbox One PlayStation 3 8BOX s 0# » Style 1-Player Adventure » Publisher Ubisoft » Developer Ubisoft Montpellier » Release June 24
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