Valiant Hearts: The Great War

93%
Game Brain Score Based on 6,884 reviews
  • story
  • emotional
  • gameplay
Valiant Hearts: The Great War Game Cover
A refreshing slant at the handling of a tough subject, Valiant hearts is touching and poignant WWI game.
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Valiant Hearts: The Great War is a moving narrative-driven adventure game set in World War I. Control four interconnected characters as they navigate the brutalities of war and personal loss in this stylistic, emotional experience. Solve puzzles and engage with historical events and figures in this unique take on the traditional adventure game.

  • iPad
  • iPhone
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Phone
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Mobile Platform
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

93%
Audience ScoreBased on 6,884 reviews
story2,150 positive mentions
replayability11 negative mentions
  • story4,122 mentions

    The story of "Valiant Hearts: The Great War" is widely praised for its emotional depth and historical accuracy, following the intertwined lives of four characters during World War I. Players appreciate the game's ability to convey the horrors of war through a touching narrative, complemented by beautiful artwork and a haunting soundtrack. While the gameplay is often described as simple and puzzle-focused, it serves to enhance the storytelling experience, making it a memorable journey that resonates with players long after completion.

    • “Deep and accurate WWI story with emotional narrative; the soundtrack intensifies the emotional weight of the story, leaving a lasting impact and immersing me fully with just one playthrough.”
    • “Each puzzle, each letter, each memory uncovered draws you deeper into a story that makes you reflect on the fragility of life.”
    • “It's not just a game you play; it's a story you feel.”
    • “The story is where Valiant Hearts shines.”
    • “However, the episodic structure can sometimes break immersion, as you jump between different story arcs.”
    • “Despite how cartoony the art style is, do not be fooled because this game really portrays WW1 well in terms of storytelling.”
  • emotional1,435 mentions

    The emotional aspect of "Valiant Hearts: The Great War" is widely praised for its powerful storytelling and ability to evoke deep feelings in players. Many reviews highlight the game's heartbreaking narrative, which follows the intertwined lives of characters during World War I, often leading to tears by the end. The combination of beautiful visuals, a poignant soundtrack, and relatable character experiences creates a lasting emotional impact, making it a memorable and touching gaming experience.

    • “The game portrays the harsh realities of war through the eyes of ordinary people, creating an emotional impact that stays with you long after the credits roll.”
    • “You might think you are here to solve puzzles, but what you’ll really find is a deep, emotional journey that will move you to tears.”
    • “Valiant Hearts is an emotional masterpiece of a game that tells a heartfelt story about the horrors of World War I.”
    • “The emotional depth of the story was lacking, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
    • “I felt no emotional investment in the plot; it was predictable and uninspiring.”
    • “The game failed to evoke any real feelings, leaving me indifferent to the outcomes.”
  • gameplay1,417 mentions

    The gameplay of "Valiant Hearts: The Great War" is primarily focused on simple puzzle-solving mechanics, with a mix of exploration and light action sequences. While many players appreciate the engaging narrative and emotional depth, they often find the gameplay to be straightforward and occasionally repetitive, lacking in complexity. Overall, the game is praised for its ability to weave historical context into its mechanics, making it more about the story and emotional experience than challenging gameplay.

    • “The gameplay revolves around puzzle-solving, exploration, and occasional action sequences.”
    • “The gameplay is excellent.”
    • “Gameplay is a balanced mix of puzzles and action, with well-designed challenges that are satisfying without being overly complex.”
    • “The gameplay is repetitive and boring.”
    • “The gameplay itself is a fairly simple puzzle game, so this is mainly for the story crowd, but it's definitely one worth playing for the journey the characters go through.”
    • “The gameplay is quite basic, with puzzles being quite simple and can get quite repetitive at times but are still enjoyable.”
  • graphics1,241 mentions

    The graphics of "Valiant Hearts: The Great War" are widely praised for their unique hand-drawn, cartoonish art style, which effectively contrasts with the serious themes of World War I. Reviewers appreciate how the visuals enhance the emotional storytelling, creating a memorable and immersive experience despite the simplistic gameplay mechanics. While some critics note that the graphics may appear childish, they ultimately serve to convey the game's poignant narrative without resorting to graphic violence.

    • “The hand-drawn, cartoonish visuals contrast sharply with the grim subject matter, creating a unique and memorable aesthetic.”
    • “From the muddy trenches to bombed-out villages, the visuals perfectly complement the game's emotional tone, making the world feel alive and immersive.”
    • “The art style is one of the standout features of this game, beautifully capturing the tone and setting of the time period.”
    • “The graphics look like a browser game (doesn't even matter but if it bothers you).”
    • “The graphics are charming at the beginning but are getting boring and actually start looking bad very fast, at least for me.”
    • “The graphics might seem too childish at first, but their humor acts as a necessary detachment from the otherwise overwhelmingly brutal realities of war that the game conveys.”
  • music1,237 mentions

    The music in "Valiant Hearts: The Great War" is widely praised for its emotional depth and ability to enhance the storytelling experience. Reviewers highlight the beautiful orchestral score, which includes a mix of classical pieces that perfectly complement the game's somber themes and moments of levity, such as the driving sequences synchronized to lively music. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's immersive atmosphere and emotional impact.

    • “The soundtrack is an emotional mix of piano pieces and classical compositions, with sound effects that perfectly complement the game’s style.”
    • “The hauntingly beautiful music that accompanies the opening scenes is not just an auditory backdrop; it's a gateway to the emotional turmoil that lies ahead.”
    • “It's not just a game; it's a symphony of history and humanity, and the music, like a compassionate guide, leads the way.”
    • “Imo this story is bad, it's silly and all over the place, and the music doesn't help.”
    • “The gameplay, while simple, serves the story well, and the visuals, music, and atmosphere create a powerful emotional impact.”
    • “The music isn't memorable.”
  • atmosphere232 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and emotional portrayal of World War I, enhanced by meticulous hand-drawn art, a haunting soundtrack, and historical context. Players appreciate how the combination of visuals, music, and storytelling creates a gripping experience that captures the somber realities of war while maintaining a unique charm. Despite some critiques regarding gameplay mechanics, the overall atmosphere is considered a standout feature that deeply resonates with players.

    • “The game’s atmosphere is gripping and immersive.”
    • “The hand-drawn art style and hauntingly beautiful soundtrack enhance the experience, perfectly capturing the era's atmosphere.”
    • “The combination of the ambient sounds, the music, the atmosphere, the narration, the characters and the story bring on a great, great experience.”
    • “Nice try at the atmosphere, but still rather boring.”
    • “While the rest of the game is great, the real appeal of Valiant Hearts is its atmosphere and story; it shows regular people, not super soldiers, who have to deal with the brutality of war.”
    • “Initially it doesn't feel like the art style and light-hearted voice-overs add to its atmosphere, often distracting and clashing with the serious tone it should be conveying instead.”
  • humor113 mentions

    The humor in the game is described as a blend of light-hearted moments and dark comedy, effectively juxtaposed against the serious backdrop of World War I. Players appreciate the cartoonish art style and whimsical character interactions, which often lead to genuinely funny situations, despite the game's emotional weight. Overall, the humor adds a unique charm, making the experience both entertaining and thought-provoking, though some feel it occasionally detracts from the gravity of the narrative.

    • “I also hit multiple bugs throughout the game; the audio was super out of sync during every cutscene to the point of making what should've been emotional moments, quite frankly, hilarious (having the narrator say 'x person died' and seeing their loved ones hugging and smiling at the same time was an exceptionally odd one).”
    • “Valiant Hearts is a mixture of feelings: sometimes you will giggle at the hilarious chases rigged by classic music, then the plot will make you thoughtful for a while, and by the end, you will be crying like a little girl.”
    • “What genuinely amazes me even more is that even though this game is mostly very sad, they were able to add some genuinely hilarious comedic moments and make it work!”
    • “But frankly speaking, although this game tells a good story, it is not funny as it is supposed to be.”
    • “+ the ending is definitely not funny (which is something unexpected)”
    • “You know... it's ok if a game is not funny, some are intended not to be.”
  • replayability56 mentions

    Overall, the game has low replayability, primarily due to its linear structure and straightforward puzzles, which many players find easy and unchallenging. While some users mention the potential for replaying to collect items or achievements, the consensus is that the experience is best enjoyed in a single playthrough, as the story and gameplay do not significantly change upon replay. Despite its limited replay value, the game's engaging narrative and mechanics make it a worthwhile experience for first-time players.

    • “Great replayability if you are an achievement hunter as well.”
    • “There are items to collect and things to read as you move through the game too, which will give this game at least one more playthrough if not more replayability.”
    • “Surprisingly enough for this style of a game, there is a lot of action, and many collectibles throughout the game as well, which adds replay value for those achievement hunters out there.”
    • “This is one of those 100% linear games with no replay value; the PC version doesn’t have achievements either.”
    • “The only con is that I found the game to have little replay value (unless you are a collector), and it's quite short.”
    • “The game is only 6 hours long and has virtually no replay value.”
  • grinding53 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the gameplay tedious and repetitive, particularly in the latter stages. While some appreciated the narrative and character development, they often felt that the puzzles and mechanics became frustratingly monotonous, requiring excessive backtracking and simple tasks that detracted from the overall experience. Overall, the game is described as needing significant patience due to its grindy nature, which can overshadow its more engaging elements.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “A bit grindy sometimes.”
    • “I don't really like puzzles, and I don't really care for stories that often, but the blend is just right so the puzzles weren't too tedious, the story was a perfect vehicle for the theme and the educational extras were a good side benefit.”
    • “The only thing that I didn't like is that towards the end it started to feel tedious and got frustrating at some points.”
    • “My experience with this game was a slow, tedious agony.”
    • “The gameplay is dull and tedious, and the puzzles are downright annoying.”
  • stability38 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that disrupt gameplay. While some minor issues are deemed tolerable, many reviewers express frustration over significant technical problems that detract from the overall experience. Despite these shortcomings, a few players still find the game's narrative and style compelling enough to recommend it, albeit with caution regarding its stability.

    • “It is not buggy or anything like that.”
    • “No glitches, stuttering, or crashes encountered.”
    • “The game runs smoothly without any issues.”
    • “Releasing buggy games is not ok.”
    • “The game is also subject to glitches and bugs, getting stuck, death, etc.”
    • “I experienced many bugs, glitches and crashes but thankfully, the game saves pretty often and is very well spaced in-between for checkpoints.”
  • character development28 mentions

    Character development in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its depth and emotional resonance, particularly through strong storytelling and expressive character design. However, some critics note that character arcs can feel underdeveloped or reliant on external narration rather than in-game interactions, leading to a lack of immersion. Overall, while there are standout moments of character growth, the execution varies significantly across different players' experiences.

    • “The art style, character development, historical references, gameplay, soundtrack, and most of all the story, which beats almost every AAA game I've played since the PS1 era.”
    • “I haven't seen a better job of storytelling and character development done by any game in the past few years, which, when you consider the characters mostly communicate in pictures or by grunting at each other, is pretty impressive.”
    • “Another good thing I enjoyed was the character development; they flesh out each character's background and how that affects their reactions to everything during the war.”
    • “If the developers had invested more effort in character development, it could have further elevated the emotional impact of the game.”
    • “Nearly all of the character development in this game, something that I thought would be its strong suit, is handled by the omniscient narrator, rather than the characters themselves.”
    • “Character development is next to nil in a game focused on four potentially strong primary characters and their own arcs really only move forward when you take yourself out of the game, navigate a menu, open their diaries and wrestle the controls to allow you to read them in the correct order.”
  • optimization20 mentions

    The game is highly praised for its optimization, running smoothly on a wide range of systems, including low-end PCs, with consistent performance at 60 fps and no significant bugs or glitches. Users report flawless performance even on older hardware, making it accessible to a broad audience, although some mention that the price-to-performance ratio may not be ideal during full price sales. Overall, the optimization is considered excellent, allowing for an enjoyable experience across various setups.

    • “The game runs smoothly on a wide range of systems, with no noticeable bugs or performance issues.”
    • “It’s optimized well for both low and high-end PCs, ensuring a consistent 60 fps even on modest hardware setups.”
    • “The game is optimized to work with an amazingly large variety of computers and installations.”
    • “If it's on sale, such as 80%, it may fit the price-performance ratio; otherwise, not recommended.”
    • “Although some things could be optimized, I totally recommend this game!”
    • “Its a simple rhythm game with a bandage that will get progressively more or less bloody based on your performance.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization of "Might & Magic Duel of Champions" has been criticized for its reliance on microtransactions in a free-to-play model, which ultimately led to the game's closure and the loss of player achievements and statistics, raising concerns about the sustainability and value of such monetization practices.

    • “A more serious case was that of Might & Magic: Duel of Champions, a free-to-play game with microtransactions, whose closure not only removed the game from stores but also erased achievements and statistics from accounts, rendering important player information inaccessible.”
    • “Is it an art game with a message or just a cash grab?”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

78% average critic score

Buy Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Play time

8hMedian play time
7hAverage play time
7hMain story
9hCompletionist
6-10hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 39 analyzed playthroughs

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