The Great War: Western Front review - A sloth-paced, real-time tactics game that grows on you

The Great War: Western Front is a real-time tactical experience developed by Petroglyph Games and published by Frontier Foundry. The game is set during The Great War era (1914-1918). While it offers similar mechanics to other titles of the genre, it manages to stand out from the crowd in many ways.

I had the chance to try out the demo some time ago, and now that I've played the release version of the game, I'm happy with how things have progressed.

The Great War: Western Front - Into the breach, a few more times

As mentioned, I got a chance to try out the demo back in February. Although numerous features and the campaign itself were unavailable at the time, the tutorial provided a pretty good idea as to what to expect from the full release version of the game.

Well, I'm glad that I took the opportunity to check out the demo and try out the game firsthand. Now, coming to the fully released version of the game, it has all the bells and whistles that hardcore real-time tactics fans can ask for.

First impressions and gameplay

The campaign map is rather large, but in a good way (Image via Frontier Foundry/The Great War: Western Front)

Let's start with the basics: The campaign map. Unlike most traditional real-time tactical games that I've played, this one is filled to the brim, quite literally. The entirety of the Western Front has defined borders and men placed along both sides of the line.

This would be terrifying for new players, to say the least; knowing that at any given time after hitting the "End Turn" button, the AI can attack. While this was definitely done with the intent of providing shock-and-awe, it can get confusing. Having to check each region at the very start of the game to see the weak points in your and the enemy's front line is tedious.

I wonder how long it would take to unlock everything? (Image via Frontier Foundry/The Great War: Western Front)

Nevertheless, once the initial checkup was done, the first thing I did was scramble to check out the Research tree; and oh boy, was I excited. Being able to see this complex, branching tree made me immensely happy.

What struck me the most was that five of the six research divisions were connected one way or another. For instance, I had to research a certain amount of Logistics before being able to unlock late-game content under the Engineering tab. The same goes for Trench and Flight.

The only division to be independent of itself was Infantry. While this could have also been connected to the Intelligence brand of the research tree, I'm not complaining about the bit. Given how expensive researching new technology can get, having an independent tree is a welcome sight.

Remember to check up on a region's details before pushing (Image via Frontier Foundry/The Great War: Western Front)

Speaking of welcome sights, the campaign terrain-map modifiers are a lovely touch. They feature 'blizzards' and 'rolling hills' which will dictate how battles are fought. I learned the hard way that observation balloons don't do much in regions that are hit by a blizzard.

While they do provide some visibility, they don't really help in the grand scheme of things. Even when the visibility radius is right over the enemy's trench, visibility is zero. It is much better to spend supplies on artillery, trenches, tanks, and of course, infantry. Thankfully, modifiers are shown on the pre-battle screen under "Battle Conditions'', so it's a good idea to pay close attention.

Battle Conditions will influence how battles play out (Image via Frontier Foundry/The Great War: Western Front)

Moving on to the battle map or the battle itself, it's perhaps what I love and detest most about The Great War: Western Front. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that supplies on the battlefield are limited. This ensures that I don't toss away lives like scraps on the plate.

Each attack has to be precise and well-coordinated with the artillery teams to avoid pinning my own troops down. Everything has to work in perfect harmony because if my attack fails or the advance is thwarted, supplies will be wasted and manpower lost for zero gain.

Rushing the trenches under an artillery barrage is nerve-wracking (Image via Frontier Foundry/The Great War: Western Front)

As mentioned, this can be very frustrating when attacking the enemy's position. For some reason, their infantry and MG nests seem to be more powerful than mine. Although I'm aware that this is a strange placebo that's running through my mind, I can't help but yell at the computer screen every time I lose multiple units during a push.

But I feel that this is what makes The Great War: Western Front so challenging and strategically demanding. The fact that even on the easiest difficulty, I end up losing over twice as much as the enemy has just to secure a minor victory is a testament to how brutal the reality of the situation was.

Looks like my attack failed (Image via Frontier Foundry/The Great War: Western Front)

In fact, when the enemy attacks my front line, I presume that the AI must also feel a similar frustration. Despite shelling and advancing with multiple squads, they failed to make the slightest dent most of the time. The only time I see my ranks crumble is when they charge the trenches.

Depending on the units at their disposal, this, too, may end in utter annihilation. Although this is true for both parties, those defending are usually able to withstand multiple units as long as there's some artillery to provide cover fire and render the attacking units useless. This brings me to the happier part of the battle phase.

Hand-to-hand combat will be necessary to secure a trench (Image via Frontier Foundry/The Great War: Western Front)

Once the defenders are defeated, the control point can be captured. Under 'new management,' it can be used to bring in more reinforcements. In most battles, I always went for the control points on the side of the map before going for the main capture point.

Until and unless the enemy has little to no defenses, this is the best strategy to follow in most scenarios. While tanks can be used to circumvent this effort and go straight for the head, so to speak, it's always safer to secure the flanks before pushing on the main objective. But that all depends on if you even want to push for the main objective during the battle.

The Cease Fire feature is a saving grace (Image via Frontier Foundry/The Great War: Western Front)

Unlike most real-time tactical games, The Great War: Western Front lays great emphasis on attrition. Rather than spending resources (at times, wasting them as well) to secure an entire region, claiming one capture point and establishing a foothold is the best outcome.

Since the number of casualties sustained in battle will directly result in the amount of funds needed to replenish them, it's best to call it quits as soon as possible. Furthermore, with AI employing 'banzai' charges the moment you go for their major capture point, it's at times best to capture the minor point and claim a victory.

Small victories are better than no victory at all (Image via Frontier Foundry/The Great War: Western Front)

While victory on the field of battle is essential to maintaining a winning streak, paying attention to the campaign map is important as well. Aside from investing research points into offensive tech, researching things specific to unlocking buildings will be needed as well.

Depending on what kind of building(s) is built in the region, the troops garrisoned directly benefit from them. They can provide buffs such as morale boost, reduce the cost of replenishment, and allow you to station more tanks/airplanes. While these are employed rather late in the game in most instances, rushing this tech is highly recommended.

I love how important research is in gaining the advantage on the battlefield (Image via Frontier Foundry/The Great War: Western Front)

Last but not least, the most important aspect I had to keep in mind while playing The Great War: Western Front was "National Will Score." Losing too many skirmishes and/or regions will hamper the score and lower it, eventually leading to a defeat.

Thankfully, it can be regained by winning battles and capturing regions. Even a victory will help boost the score. This is great for players (including myself) who enjoy employing a 'turtle strategy' and playing defensively. Although enemies can still break through your ranks by flooding the battlefield, it will be a costly push, and you can always counterattack while their 'chips' are down.

Keep a track of National Will, don't let it drop too much (Image via Frontier Foundry/The Great War: Western Front)

Performance and Sound

The Great War: Western Front, provided by Frontier Foundry, was played on the system with the following configuration:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
GPU: RTX 3070 8GB
RAM: 32 GB

Throughout my playthrough and time spent in the Allied campaign, the game ran smoothly. I did not encounter any stutters, lagging, or crashes. Similar to when I tried the demo version of The Great War: Western Front back in February, everything worked fine.

Coming to the sound and SFX, it's pretty much what you would expect to find in real-time tactical experience. Gunshots ring true, while artillery barrages can be heard loud and clear during combat. The music is good and fits the time period.

Although this is not related to sound/music at all, the colorful loading screens are really beautiful to look at. I look forward to seeing them in-game as much as possible. They depict the era magnificently and add a lot of flavor to the game.

In conclusion

While The Great War: Western Front gets a lot of things right, there are a few things that irk me. For starters, while the way in which war is waged on the field of battle is very realistic, it gets rather monotonous after a while.

The ebb and flow of combat is more like an unstoppable force that meets an immovable object. It goes something like this: attack, fallback (or lose most of your units, which is mostly the case), fend off the counterattack, and repeat the process.

While I have gone all out and attacked from the flanks at times, it rarely works in my favor, as the enemy will spam infantry like there's no tomorrow.

Of course, I can use my artillery to shell them and cause them to use up supplies, but eventually, they will overpower my infantry and tanks. Then, they'll either probe my defenses, or I'll try to attack them again.

The banzai charges don't stop (Image via Frontier Foundry/The Great War: Western Front)

Truth be told, unless you capture two minor points and flank them from both sides, taking the main point is next to impossible. Even when they seemingly have close to almost no supplies, they manage to dig in and fight back. In the end, despite winning the fight, I lost more than I bargained for.

Perhaps this is me being a terrible player, or this is exactly how it is supposed to work, but either way, it can get frustrating. Taking a single region from the enemy takes up multiple turns and a lot of patience. That being said, as tanks are unlocked, things become a lot easier and, most importantly, quicker.

But keeping this stalemate situation aside, the game plays exactly as it should. Gameplay feels great in terms of strategy and tactics, and being able to decide the best approach to situations gives players the freedom of choice.

How much artillery is enough? Yes. (Image via Frontier Foundry/The Great War: Western Front)

You can either focus on infantry charging down the trenches or mechanized units breaking through the enemy's lines. If either of these is not your style, you can sit back and hammer the enemy with artillery.

All in all, The Great War: Western Front is a true WWI experience. From time periods and accurate depictions to artwork and a frustratingly slow push to claim ground, it's all very well-fleshed out. While there are a few instances where pathfinding becomes random, it's not enough to deter me from playing the game.

With that said, I very much look forward to seeing what else the developers have in store for the game's future. No doubt, in the coming weeks, better balancing and overall quality-of-life fixes will be employed. Until then, I'll man the trenches and let the enemy rush my MG nests.