Valiant Art.
Recently released to critical acclaim on consoles, Valiant Hearts: The Great War is a grim tale of survival seen through the eyes of four unlikely friends as they endure what might be one of the most brutal video game depictions of war in recent memory.
The game spans the gruelling events of 1914 to 1918, steadily introducing us to its protagonists; Carl, a German soldier deported from France at the outbreak of war; Emile, Carl’s father-in-law who’s been drafted into the French army; Freddie, an American who joins the French war effort voluntarily and finally Anna, a battlefield nurse from Belgium.
Together, the four take on an unflinching tour of the major battles of World War 1 in an adventure that manages to feel more harrowing and real in its detailed 2D landscape than any Call of Duty or Medal of Honor title.
But while Valiant Hearts saw success on bigger screens, sadly I found the recent iOS port to be a frustrating affair. Frankly, this is a game that deserves to be played on a TV, and not just because anything is more immersive than craning your neck at an iPad screen, but because the game too often became a chore thanks to clunky, unresponsive controls.
While its visuals and side-scrolling gameplay are at least better suited to the iPad than the recently ported Bioshock, the game still features mechanics requiring a responsiveness that’s hard to meet on a touch screen.
The biggest problem is simply in the way the game handles movement on apple devices. On-screen buttons have clearly been removed to showcase as much of the environments as possible, and outwardly this makes sense given that the gloomy trenches, battlefields, desecrated cities and ruins in which the game takes place still look absolutely fantastic on a retina display.
It’s only once you start playing that the cracks in the design begin to show. Moving Carl, Anna, Emile and Freddie requires you to hold down either side of the screen, meaning you have no direct control over their movement. As a consequence, whenever the game requires precision, which is in the majority of its environmental puzzles and stealth sections, getting your character in the right position can be a pain, even more so when you’re having to throw objects or push things around under pressure.
Matters aren’t particularly helped by Walt, your trained pooch who is as loyal and well-meaning as ever, but one of the game’s biggest grievances where its puzzles are concerned. He’s still just as likely to worm his way into your heart with his playful yelping and surprising adeptness at pulling levers, but occasionally he just won’t do what you ask of him, leading to awkward moments where you’ll be screaming at him to regroup with you, or chasing him around to get a quest item out of his mouth like in a Simpsons episode.
The iPad version is also host to a number of glitches, a couple of them game-breaking. The sticky controls make it awkward enough to move to objects and pick them up, but in some cases I had to restart levels because the tap command to pick up vital objects didn’t appear at all.
As a consequence of irksome controls, Valiant Hearts’ strongest moments are actually when it takes a more on-the-rails approach. Driving segments in which Anna hurtles a ramshackle taxi towards the screen, avoiding various obstacles that appear in time to stirring classical music, remain inspired and exciting. Meanwhile, hopping in a tank to shoot planes from the sky as Freddie is a welcome change in pace at the game’s midpoint.
Nevertheless, these moments are fleeting, and the majority of Valiant Hearts takes place with item in hand, attempting to get the hang of movement controls that never really fall into place. A shame, because the puzzles, although not mind-bendingly difficult, are fun and satisfying to play through. The backdrop of the war leads to some interesting scenarios, such as mining sequences in which Emile digs underground passages while avoiding buried bomb shells, or a mission in which Carl must escape a POW camp by hiding behind a moving pack of sheep.
Overwhelmingly, the flaws of the iOS version of Valiant Hearts make it hard to recommend over other platforms. However, if you have any interest in WW1 and a console, this is the game for you. Text box pop-ups appear with regular extra historical information, and collectible items allow you a museum-esque glimpse at some of the equipment and memorabilia involved. It’s a feature which didn’t need to be included in a game that’s already this strong at setting the scene, but it’s a nice touch by the developers for those interested in delving further.
Above all, despite the cartoonish look of its lead characters and a villainous German general who’s a bit too much of a caricature, the game shines at giving a perspective on war that you rarely see covered in video game form. Valiant Hearts scores big points for focusing not just on the conflict but the actual people involved in it. You’d be hard-pressed to find a game that makes you feel sympathy for everyone there, not just the characters in the foreground who you are moving around (or attempting to, at least).
Unsurprisingly, it’s a bleak and absolutely heartbreaking journey at times. For a 2D game in which characters do little more than mumble short phrases at each other for instruction, you’ll have nothing but support for the four heroes as woe upon woe falls upon them. I’ve still not broken the seal for crying at a game, but Carl’s attempts to reunite with the wife he’s forced to abandon at the start of the war very nearly had me in Birdsong levels of blubbering.
Ultimately, whether you want a beautifully drawn, beautifully scored alternative to the deluge of historical war games, or if you are just hankering to play a new adventure title with thoughtful puzzles, you owe it to yourself to play Valiant Hearts. But not the iOS version. While not unplayable, it’s simply too distracting from the game’s atmosphere to be having your own personal war with its controls. However traumatic it’s meant to be, Valiant Hearts is a work of art, and deserves far more than that.
Valiant Hearts: The Great War is out now on iOS. Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier Website
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