Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Did you know, 10 years later, there is a sequel of this game Valiant Hearts: Coming Home, available on Netflix games free to members :D I played both one right after another, great experience!

Haha machine gun go breerrr
When I first played this game it literally sent me to the hospital, cause you're supposed to seek immediate medical attention if your erection lasts longer than 4 hours.
You see women don’t normally talk to me, so like the men in this game, I too like storming trenches to cope.
This game achieved something just about no other game has ever achieved, it presented a moving story that was educational and still worked as a game in its own right. It's simultaneously the only game that's ever made me cry and taught me something meaningful about history. It had the most moving ending I've seen in ages, which concludes an epic experience.
I just finished the game not too long, and just wow I was blown away. I was intrigued the moment I first saw this game, and it exceeded my expectations and went above and beyond them. It was a beautiful and incredible emotional roller coaster.
It's a puzzle/adventure side-scrolling game that takes place during WW1 and involves multiple protagonists. Despite it's cartoonish looks, the game's tone is very grim, as it tries (and succeeds) to showcase the terrible suffering and consequences this time in history brought upon those who took part in it. Everything in the game is so well done: The graphic design, the soundtrack, the rather simple yet engaging puzzles, the inclusion of historical facts and tidbits, and the fact that I deeply cared for each character in the story.
What I liked the most is the knowledge I learned about WWI while playing this game. The misery and suffering that both civilians and soldiers went through during this war. The Great War was a fu*king travesty. Trench warfare… it was so horrible. Playing a game about it was gut wrenching. I was a sobbing mess at the end.
Plus it was a great chance to educate my friends that noticed I was playing a game about World War I. During my gameplay, I got a lot of messages with things like "Oh, you're playing a French soldier. Are you just going to run away the entire game?" No, motherfu*ker. Not at all.
Furthermore, the seamless blend of animation and music put this game above anything else I've ever seen/listened too, and as a music nerd I very much appreciated that. But what struck me the most is how dedicated to the truth it was. That pit in my stomach that I felt every time a major battle played out was not a reaction I got when learning about WWI in school, though I feel that providing that emotional context should be ESSENTIAL for any educational system.
Unfortunately I think some people similar to something like Unravel with EA, make this game guilty by association just because it was published by Ubisoft. It’s such a beautiful and emotional game, that does puzzle solving so well. It’s from a time when Ubisoft still did games that mattered!
I could go on, but I just want to state that, if this is any indication of the path video games are headed in the far future, than I am excited as both a gamer and a fan of the arts. Now I'm just hoping for something like this that tackles the Spanish Civil War.
The game also doesn't overstay its welcome. I was able to complete it in about 7 hours, and enjoyed every second of it. It’s about on par with Grave of the Fireflies for me. Absolutely amazing. I’ll never forget that ending. Will never replay again. I just need a couple days to recuperate from the sadness I felt again from the game. Seriously worth every penny. If you're a history fan, you simply have to give this game a go.
War makes men mad... gets me every time.
10/10

"Even though their bodies have long since returned to dust, their sacrifice still live on."

Boy do I regret waiting for so long to play the masterpiece this game is. The historical accuracy and the story taking place in my country for the most part combined to its very down to earth, human perspective from each side of the events made it an incredibly poignant experience to me.

One of the greatest games I've ever played, can't recommend enough.

I first came across this game a decade ago in a gameplay video on YouTube by Jacksepticeye. Even then, I was enchanted by its beautiful storyline. Now, at 19, with my own PC and money, I purchased the game myself. Experiencing this game twice was truly necessary. Now, I could immerse myself in the sounds of war and the touching tale of a father and son. The ten-year wait was undoubtedly worth it.

This game is historic, I remember watching playtroughs when I was younger and every single time I cried at the ending. Now that I bought it, the game is so well made, every single playable character feels human.

Story focused games like this always seem to be very good.
Obviously the gameplay is very "thin" but the story and charakters are very rich in comparison

Summary
A short atmospheric puzzle adventure game emphasizing more on its emotional narrative story of 4 characters navigating through the Great War.
Pros
+ Great story telling
+ WWI history
Cons
- Slow pace
Overview
Valiant Hearts is a short atmospheric puzzle adventure game that focuses more on its emotional narrative story than gameplay. It follows 4 different characters of differing backgrounds with their own stories and goals all tied to the unfolding conflict of World War I showing us how the war impacts the common people. There are also many facts and history relating to the war you could read giving you a great glimpse of the conditions and current events of the time.
Story
The story revolves around World War I or the Great War as it was known at the time and we play as 4 different fictional characters of differing backgrounds all with their own stories to tell and their part in the war from its beginning to its end. The game is separated into chapters starting with how the war started and as we follow through history and our 4 protagonists personal journey through the war to how it finally ends and what it means for each of them.
Although the main focus may seem to be the characters we play, Valiant Hearts is also telling a much larger story of the history of World War I and the impact it has on the common people regardless if they were soldiers. The overall story and each characters personal arcs are rather poignant, some of them more so than the others.
Gameplay
The game is a 2D side scroller and is not complicated at all and quite slow paced opting to focus more on it's story and atmosphere being more of an educational game. You move backwards and forwards following the objectives of each character at the time where some areas will require you to solve puzzles or follow the instructions given to them by their commanding officers or some other requiring assistance.
Each character plays more or less the same but each having some ability only they are capable of doing making it somewhat different for the levels of those characters.
There are also some levels that play differently almost like minigames but there are only a few though they do mix things up a little.
There are collectables you could find while throughout the different levels, although not adding to the overall gameplay itself but serves as a way to learn more of the war and it's history.
Graphics
Graphics of the game is nothing impressive on the technical side but is quite beautiful in its backgrounds and how it depicts the war utilizing a comic book style overall and in its story telling while using real historic pictures for its educational tidbits.
Other than making certain levels drab and depressing fitting of its conditions the game also does not sugar coat things and truly depict some of the horrors of war such as some gore, though due to the art style some of the gore isn't too detailed but it is obvious what it is.
There are no achievements implemented for Steam but there are actions you could complete for UPlay/Ubisoft Connect. Most aren't difficult but do check if you plan to complete them all as some are optional interactions.
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