This is hardly the first game to use history as its frame. But it’s clear that the team at developer Petroglyph Games took its setting seriously. “We wanted to create that authentic World War One experience,” says Chris Becker, The Great War’s lead designer, noting that Petroglyph worked with London’s Imperial War Museum to make their product as “plausible” as possible. This partnership can be glimpsed in the game’s canvas – and its smallest specifics. On a strategic level, players are encouraged to appreciate the attritional nature of trench warfare, each attack incrementally denting their army’s resources and national morale. Zoom in, and they’ll notice the buzzing of biplanes, and how every shell blasts soil up into the air.
The Great War: Western Front is the definitive (their claim) World War 1 strategy game from Petroglyph, the makers of Command & Conquer™ Remastered & Star Wars™: Empire at War. Play a deciding role in history with this real-time tactical experience as you take charge in the pivotal Western Front from 1914 to 1919.
Pick your faction and lead your forces to victory, by directing your armies in gritty real-time battles and by guiding high-level decisions in turn-based strategic gameplay. Dig detailed trenches, research new technologies such as poison gas and tanks, and make decisions that will have a profound and lasting effect on your success. Think like a Commander to either relive history – or redefine it.
As Theatre Commander, experience enthralling turn-based grand-strategy as you direct the deployment of forces, perform research and carefully consider how you disseminate your resources across the Western Front in a war won by inches. Alongside this, take up the mantle of Field Commander in dynamic real-time battles as you direct units to defeat your opponent, build trenches and perform direct assaults by sending your infantry over the top. Pick your battles and fight them your way to shape the course of history.
The video at https://youtu.be/DoZ3aKKpDvQ gives a pretty good overview of what to expect. What is clear, though, is you can play at the strategic level with some really great animations you can zoom into, but you can also play tactically by laying out trenches, defences, etc.
Although the reviews on Steam Games are mostly positive, there are some issues, especially with the AI. Some lengthy reviews give some detail on some shortcomings, so it is always worth reading through the reviews before buying. A couple of game reviews have also started appearing on YouTube, for example, this popular one at https://youtu.be/z0or9cqxp10.
See https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230404-the-great-war-the-ww1-video-game-thats-eerily-accurate