The Great War: Western Front
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
The Great War: Western Front Trailers
The Great War: Western Front | Extended Gameplay First Look
The Great War: Western Front | Official Reveal Trailer
Critic Reviews for The Great War: Western Front
The Great War: Western Front is a bleak, conservative attempt to capture the brutal battles of World War I.
The Great War: Western Front is a deep RTS that shows a lot of attention to historical authenticity, though that can certainly bog things down.
Despite finicky controls and complex gameplay, The Great War: Western Front is deeply satisfying, always respectful of the source material.
Doing its best to make a long-ago conflict come alive, The Great War: Western Front is ambitious and complex. Like the actual war, it requires patience, determination, and the ability to suffer repeated failures to make a small amount of progress. It isn’t so much a hardcore sim that novices can’t decipher it. The problem for me is more with the subject matter, combined with the weight of many systems. Victories never feel jubilant. In World War 1, winning was a matter of losing slightly less than the enemy. History lovers and wargamers will find a lot to enjoy, but for me, playing The Great War: Western Front felt a bit too much like homework and not enough like fun.
The Great War: Western Front aims to be a faithful reconstruction of the many battles the France, Britain and Germany fought more than a hundred years ago, and of the context surrounding them. It definitely succeds at that, thanks to a very good soundtrack and to videos, posters and quotes from the period. Gameplay wise, however, the result is a game that is more catered towards a niche of players.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Great War: Western Front is an interesting strategy game that delves into its setting for better and worse. Offering various strategic and tactical opportunities provides a lot for strategy game fans. However, the glacially slow pace will undeniably turn some people off, despite being very much due to the World War One setting. If there is one key issue, the AI is almost like a relic of previous games, seemingly not following the same rules as the player. Other issues with pathfinding also feature. However, despite these issues, I can't help but admit the game is compelling.
Grim-faced dedication to history has produced a rules-heavy RTS that's rarely fun or strategically rewarding – a highly accurate depiction of the First World War, in other words, and a success in that respect at least.
The Great War Western Front is a unique game. The game seems to be constantly juggling between historical veracity and the obligation to make it a playful work.
Review in French | Read full review