FAKE RONJAN!!Off Topic Tuesday: Valiant Hearts
We are just a few days away from entering the summer "dead zone" of the sports calendar, with only the World Cup final four holding us over. What does this mean? Expect more Off Topic Tuesday content!
Two months ago, I wrote about Child of Light, a beautiful turn-based role-playing game that I flat-out loved. The game was developed by Ubisoft and it used a proprietary technology known as UBIart Framework in order to create beautiful, hand-drawn visuals.
Well, Ubisoft has topped themselves with their newest UBIart game, Valiant Hearts: The Great War, a puzzle game set during World War I. In fact, they've created one of my favorite games I've ever played. Here's how:
- Much like Child of Light, Valiant Hearts is a treat for the eyes and ears. The cartoony visuals actually accentuate the moments that highlight the grimness of war, while the music is a mix of well-known classical works, period-style originals, and some moving orchestral pieces.
- Unlike the traditionally adolescent shooter genre, in which war is glorified and the player murders countless people in a gross tribute to humanity's violent nature, the puzzle-style gameplay allows for a more nuanced, slower-paced, and thoughtful approach to telling a story. Notably, the player is never given a gun, and the rare moment where a character -- friend or foe -- dies is much more impactful.
- The game tells a small, personal story, rather than an epic one. This is critical in demonstrating the toll of war, rather than glorifying the thrill of victory. The story is told through four playable characters, and we see their arcs as the war progresses. Notably -- the story ends when the narrative for these four people ends, and not when the war ends.
- The game takes a generally neutral approach to the "soldier in the trenches", since you play as characters on both sides of the war. This helps build empathy for anyone in a wartime situation, since everyone on the ground is ultimately following orders from more powerful people. There is a particularly great scene in which characters from each side aid each other, and the game is richer for it.
- The game subverts the traditional video game cartoonish villain trope. While there is a cartoonish villain in the game, it becomes clear over the course of the game that the war is bigger than any one man.
- The game thematically highlights the true impacts of war. The game's ending is beautiful, poignant, and brilliantly handled. "War makes men mad." I won't say any more than that.
Valiant Hearts is $15, and I think it's a must-play.
-rj