War Of The Worlds: ‘Valiant Hearts’ is a Stunning Piece of Fiction

‘Valiant Hearts’. Photo: Gamespress

[easyreview cat1title = “Valiant Hearts” cat1rating = 4 cat1detail = “PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC”]

INR 1248 (via PSN), INR 940
(via Xbox Live), ~INR 900 (via
Steam)

Valiant Hearts: The Great War is about the World War I. Rather than having you gun down insurmountable foes like you do in Call of Duty, Medal of Honor or Battlefield, you’ ll be skulking around trenches in the dark of night, hoping that you don’t get caught by passing guards. You’ll help citizens of bom­barded cities find their loved ones and you’ll lob grenades to open new pathways.

Along the adventure, you’ll get to know four kindred souls and how their lives have been torn apart by war. There’s Emile, an old Frenchman con­scripted into battle, Karl, a young German soldier, Anna, a Belgian medic and Freddie, an American. Without giving away too much, let’s just say Valiant Hearts is a stunning piece of fiction. By the end of your journey, you’ll feel your heart move. This is a rare in­stance of story taking prece­dence over gameplay.

That’s not to say Valiant Hearts is threadbare in the gameplay department. No, far from it. However, some odd sequences such as having to evade German aircraft fire while driving an ambulance, feel out of place and cut back on all the fun you’re having with the game. The sheer simplicity of the game’s puzzles are also a let-down. But much in the vein of Ubisoft ’s last two games sporting the oh-so-lovely Ubiart Framework, namely Rayman Legends and Child of Light, this is a fantastic looking 2D game.

At around INR 900 (depending on which platform you buy it for) and almost six hours long, Valiant Hearts is worth the price of admission. It’s not what you’d usually expect given that this comes from the same company behind Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Splinter Cell, but it’s welcome all the same.