Valiant Hearts (Xbox One)

Valiant Hearts is a UbiArt game, released in 2014, and thanks to the Games With Gold program, a free purchase for me. A side-scrolling, puzzle game set during the first world war, it follows the story of a group who are all connected to each other and their stories during the war.

A family is torn about due to the war, Karl, is deported from his family and enlisted into the German army, his father-in-law, is drafted into the French army. Baron Von Dorf is a high ranking member of the German army, Karl serves his battalion. Emile befriends an American soldier, Freddie, together they form a great friendship in the face of war. Emile was captured and breaks free from Von Dorf's clutches and Freddie's family were killed in a bombing raid from Von Dorf. Through their journey, they meet Anna, a battlefield medic and a doberman helper, Walt. Anna is tracking Von Dorf, as he kidnapped her father to build advanced war machines. The three become a force in their hunt for Von Dorf.

The style and art of this game has been knocked out of the park, Ubisoft need to keep this stellar design with the UbiArt engine. The music is beautiful, it's so fitting and that alone will bring tears to your eyes. Amazing visuals and beautiful soundwork aside, the story and characters are emotional and heroic, you want them to succeed and you want them to survive. There is no dialogue through the characters, but you know exactly how they're feeling. The only dialogue you get through the characters, are speech bubbles with pictures that indicate what you need to do. The story is told through excellent narration and never has you question what's happening, as you're guided through where each character is and what is going on.

You are accompanied by your dog companion, Walt, for the majority of the game. The chemistry which each character and the dog is clearly shown and they all care about each other. You can command Walt to pick up items, pull switches and bring your items. Walt will help you solve a lot of puzzles, but you'll have to explore around to find useful items to solve the puzzles. I loved the puzzles and even the boss battles. The game is very similar to the Monkey Island series, in its puzzle solving. You can also pick up grenades and weapons to strike down enemies, but for ninety percent of the game, you'll be stealthing and running for your life, as opposed to actually fighting, that's not what this games is about. There are also some vehicle missions, taxi missions are really fun, you avoid enemy vehicles and bombs while amazing music plays, and the commotion you're avoiding is in time with the music.

It may be cartoony, but it certainly doesn't sugar-coat war. This is easily one of the most emotionally, heartbreaking stories I've ever played. In some missions your character can manouver around enemies by wearing German soldier diguises, another threat would be the poison gas, that's an instant death. When in friendly areas, you can help people. You can pull them out of wreckages, help them find or someone. When playing as Anna, her medic abilities are in the form of quick time events. They are pretty hit and miss, sometimes you'll hit it no problem, the next you're left wondering why it didn't register.

It's an incredibly powerful story and an emotional ending. This is without a doubt one of the best games Ubisoft has came out with in recent years, and it needs to be played by everyone. The ending has certainly gave an opportunity for a sequel, and I for one am up for the ride.

7.9/10