Making a game about World War I is not an easy task. Teaching about World War I isn’t easy either. But it helps that there are games like Valiant Hearts around, since it’s 100 years ago that ‘The Great War’ happened. This makes it hard for the average student to create an image of the impact the war had on the daily lives of the people. So, should we now all encourage our students to play Battlefield? No, but Valiant Hearts is a start.
Developed by Ubisoft Montpellier (France), the game really stands out due to its artwork. It shouldn’t be a surprise that this game is developed by the same team that created Rayman: Legends. We see the same type of cartoonish-artwork, with a touch of realism. It really fits the game though. It makes it approachable for die-hard history fans (like myself), but also for those that rather read a comic book than a history textbook. With ‘Valiant Hearts’ Ubisoft creates a 2D-action adventure platformer, with a solid historical background. The game starts with an overview of the event that triggered World War I (the assassination of Franz Ferdinand) but switches to more personal stories after the introduction cutscenes.
The British army has some Indian troops, which is historically accurate: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33317368
Relatable stories:
The stories are relatable. One of the main characters is a farmer with his daughter, working the farm in the countryside of France, close to the German border. His daughter is in a relationship with a boy from Germany, who is kicked out of the country as soon as the war starts (and ends up in the German army). A few weeks after this devastating family drama, the father is also summoned to fight.. but as you may have already guessed – for the French army. Eventually, the story gets two other characters you can play with – an American soldier who joins the French army for his own reasons and a Belgian girl who studies in Paris (Veterinarian/Doctor). Each has his or her specialties, which gives for a nice mixture of gameplay.
I already played this game when it was released on PC on the 25th of June in 2014, but I personally prefer to play it on the Switch. The controls make more sense and are easier to master then playing it with a keyboard. This said, the game works fine on PC with an Xbox or Steam controller. So, just personal preference. I did not experience any lag or frame drops, just a solid and smooth experience. Historical places like Ypres (probably the most well-known city in the game) are ‘beautifully’ and historically accurate drawn. But it is still a videogame, which adds some over-the-top elements. The best example is one of the boss fights, in which you have to do a game of grenade-tennis (with German stick-grenades). It did not bother me, but take it with a grain of salt.
Historical backgrounds:
A nice touch by Ubisoft is the added diaries and historical facts with each episode. You can access them by a special in-game menu, which includes historical photographs of the specific situation. This could have been better – like the newly released Egyptian episode of Assassins Creed. But hey, for a game released four years ago, it’s nothing to complain about. Maybe it’s something the developers of Valiant Hearts 2 (something we can only hope for, since the developers left Ubisoft after the completion of this game).
Conclusion:
For those who are interested in the story of World War I, but don’t like to read through the wall of books about the subject. Try Valiant Hearts. It’s a graphic novel, turned into a game, with solid gameplay (which is not too hard to master). It gives a little insight into the fact why people go to war. It’s strange, since, why would anyone fight the person who was his or her neighbor, just a few days ago. Maybe Valiant Hearts can help with a little bit of insight into this historical problem. Ubisoft, if you are reading this – release some language packs and develop a school-kit for use in history classes. For everyone else reading this review, if you are looking for a narrative-driven platforming adventure – Valiant Hearts is the game for you.
