The first character I got to play as, prisoner of war Emil, is a middle-aged farmer who was ripped from his family to join the French advance, following in the footsteps of his son Karl as the need for bodies, old or young, became ever more desperate. Eventually he makes his escape from the German camp where he's incarcerated, and sets off with his friend Freddie to try and find his son. Freddie's a black American fighting alongside the French. His motivation seems to be simple revenge – he's tracking a German officer who's wronged him, though in what way I'm not yet sure. Anna is a medic, she's swept up in the excitement of the war and looking to use her medical skills to help her fellow countrymen, but again I didn't have time to really get a hold on her in the brief time I spent with the game.
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| Each of our heroes has their own special skill. Anna is the medic |
Eventually these three meet up, and I'm expecting their various goals and motivations to become clearer, and more inter-connected, over time as they make their way through war-ravaged Europe. They each have special abilities that you'll need to use to get past various obstacles. Freddie, for example, is a combat engineer with wire-cutters, while Anna the medic can heal the wounded via a slightly Guitar Hero-influenced minigame. Eventually you'll have to use the various powers in concert with each other to solve puzzles in typically contrived adventure game fashion; Emil can order his loyal dog companion to retrieve a lift lever, thereby gaining access to the upper floor of a building to Freddie, who can then remove barbed wire to let everyone through.
The game has a mix of those simpler obstacle sections and more complex puzzles, like working out how to shut off a gas-spewing valve by pulling various levers. Most of the puzzles I encountered weren't too difficult, and they make for a bit of a change of pace when they pop up. I suppose there's the risk that they end up being a bit of a distraction thrown in because of a perceived need to have something 'video-gamey' to do, but they're never obnoxious enough to get in the way of the story. In the same vein, combat seemed pretty much non-existent, aside from the occasional section where you have to destroy a machine-gun nest with a well-placed grenade, or clonk an enemy soldier on the back of the head while his back is turned. Valiant Hearts isn't a war game in the traditional sense, after all.
Telling its tale through charming hand-drawn visuals and voice-overs (there's no actual dialogue in the game, with the characters conversing in little accented burbles instead), Valiant Hearts has a great feel for its setting. First there's the glamour and majesty of a country gearing up for war; excited youths in crisp uniforms eagerly rushing onto trains that will take them to the front-line. Despite a sad parting from his family, Emil's caught up in the excitement too, at least until the moment he and his comrades get their first taste of the horrors of modern warfare.
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| The character design is wonderful. Check out that dapper little carrier pigeon |
Though it's never overtly violent, Valiant Hearts certainly doesn't shy away from depicting the brutality of war. That early charge when Emil's squadmates are taken to pieces by machine guns, a subsequent escape from a German base obliterated by British artillery fire, then a visit to the hell of Ypres, where chemical weapons were deployed by Axis forces for the first time. The contrast between those attractive, charming visuals and the true cost of the war makes for some truly awful moments – the sight of gassed soldiers stumbling out of the mists of Ypres, or a terrified, screaming German youth trapped under a pile of rubble hit hard. I'm expecting the full game to really tug on the heartstrings.
That said, it's not all darkness and gloom. There's lots of deft little touches that raise a smile, like the satisfied woofs your adorable canine makes when you give him a fond little scratch behind the ears, or the moment you conduct a French brass band while waiting for your train to the front. There's even a brief racing sequence set to the can-can. Honest. I'm glad these little moments are there. They provide a nice counterpoint to the otherwise sombre mood.
It's also great to see Ubisoft paying respect to soldiers from every country that fought in the war. In just the short preview I played I saw Canadian troops and the Indian Garwhal Rifles, both of whom battled alongside British forces and suffered the same dreadful losses. During the game you can check the main menu for various historical facts about the war, and throughout each level there are various trinkets and pieces of equipment to find – medals, tools used in the war, letters home, that sort of thing. Valiant Hearts is a game that takes its history seriously.
If you've seen any screenshots of it you'll know this already, but Valiant Hearts is a beautiful game, and it looks even better in motion. Character models are expressive and instantly engaging, without being too cutesy. The world itself is brought to life with impressive detail and scope; charging across a desolate battlefield, you'll see soldiers charging forward in the foreground and in the distance, tanks trundling forward and planes zooming across overhead. It's not all brown and grey either, each new area you visit has a slightly different colour palette that makes it stand out, whether it's the green smog of Ypres or the sunny fields of Marne.
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| Battlefields are grim and terrifying places, full of horror and spectacle |
All this is backed by a terrific soundtrack, with touching piano sonatas and sweeping orchestral pieces, and some solid sound effects that really bring the battlefields and cities of WWI Europe to life. Full marks for presentation so far.
Apart from being another demonstration of the pretty things you can do on the UbiArt framework, Valiant Hearts: The Great War looks like it should be a touching, thoughtful look at a bloody and horrific period in human history. It will be available June 25 on PC and consoles. I'm really looking forward to it.
Most anticipated moment: I know this game is going to make me sad. I'm half looking forward to it, half dreading it.
