A conflict known for its gruesome trench warfare and grizzly, inhumane combat tactics, World War I doesn’t often make a great video game backdrop. Unlike World War II, which spawned numerous digital adaptations across multiple console generations, the Great War was a war of attrition simply unsuited to video game reimagining.
Yet the supposedly authentic interpretations of war seen in games like Brothers in Arms: Road To Hill 30 andMedal of Honor: Frontline have given way in recent years to more creative and stylized depictions of warfare. From the intensely romantic 11-11: Memories Retold to the flashy and bright Battlefield 1there are a few World War I games that justify the era without emphasizing realism.
10 NecroVision (2009)
Developed by The Farm 51, NecroVision is an alternate take on World War I, notable for trading standard enemy soldiers for demons, vampires, and zombies. Centered around some sort of occult conspiracy that dives into some pretty demiselike area, it’s definitely a unique approach to the conflict.
NecroVision was only released on PC and was forgotten pretty quickly, although it did get an expansion in NecroVision: The Lost Companywhich was also released in 2009. Though clumsy and outdated, NecroVision takes full advantage of its strange environment and stands out as a World War I title that debuted at a time when most developers preferred to ignore the Great War.
9 Valiant Hearts: The Great War (2014)
A 2D sidescroller of a completely unique breed, Valiant Hearts: The Great War tells a story of commodore and tragedy, fate and futility, and it probably has more heart than any other game ever developed by Ubisoft.
With an art style that wouldn’t look out of place in a graphic novel, Valiant Hearts: The Great War is a puzzle adventure title that will challenge the player’s mind and morale in equal measure. Tear-jerking yet triumphant, there really aren’t many other World War I games quite like this one.
8 Thin (2015)
Released in 2015, dilute was an undeniably ambitious PvP-focused indie title that placed players in the frenetic trenches of the titular World War I battle. A title that taunted authenticity, dilute‘s gameplay was slower and demanded that players stop and carefully align the blast of shotguns instead of running and firing with anachronistic automatic weaponry.
While dilute Not very active seven years after its release, it has spawned a succession of World War I games, the latest of which – focusing on the battles of the Isonzo Front – will debut in September 2022.
7 Darkest Hour: A Hearts Of Iron Game (2011)
Hearts of iron is one of the most acclaimed major strategy series of all time, and its 2011 spin-off darkest hour, replicates the intense details of HOI gameplay. From the early twentieth century to the beginning of the Cold War, darkest hour isn’t entirely focused on World War I, although some of the title’s scenarios do include it.
Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game is extremely detailed and requires players to overcome a significant learning curve. From micro-level troop deployment to macro-level supply chain management, it’s about as in-depth as you’d expect from a strategy game.
6 Trenches – A World War I Horror Survival Game (2021)
An indie effort developed by Steelkrill Studio, trenches is an atmospheric horror game set in the filthy mud of the frontlines of the First World War. The conflict was notorious for the poor living conditions soldiers had to endure, and this title brings this aspect of the war to the fore and adds some psychological anxieties to add to the tension of an already bleak and emotionally heavy title.
While some of the game’s gimmicks thin out after a point, the unique setting of trenches alone makes it worth playing, even for fans of the setting who don’t necessarily enjoy horror-focused media.
5 Rise of Flight: The First Great Air War (2009)
Most modern flight simulators usually focus on air combat in fighter jets or stealth fighters, but those from 2009 Rise of Flight: The First Great Air War takes players back to the dawn of aviation. Detailed and exact in its replication of biplane control, Emergence of the flight is the kind of title primarily aimed at amateur fliers rather than average gamers.
That’s not to say that only those with in-air know-how can play Emergence of the flight. While it has something of a learning curve, it also has a fairly immersive gameplay loop that will get flight sim fans excited to get to grips with the supposedly archaic World War I airplane controls.
4 11-11: Memories Retold (2018)
The First World War is often regarded as a very pointless conflict; the factors leading up to it were complicated and intensely political, and those involved in the fighting often struggled to reconcile the futility of war. This is a driving force behind the plot of the 2018 adventure title 11-11: Memories Retold.
Developed in collaboration with British animation studio Aardman Animations, the title focuses on two characters on opposite sides of the war who, despite their disdain, are thrown the hardest into battle. Just like Ubisoft’s Valiant Hearts: The Great War, 11-11: Memories Retold focuses on a kind of heart and heroism not often seen in media focusing on World War I.
3 Darkest Days (2009)
Easily one of the weirdest FPS titles of the seventh console generation, darkest days sees the protagonist enlisted in some sort of time-bending far-future organization with a vested interest in shaping the course of history by determining certain outcomes in major military conflicts. Players storm battlefields of the American Civil War and World War I armed with anachronistic weaponry and are asked to either equalize the odds or protect soldiers who will later be a consequence of the timeline.
darkest days is totally bizarre and insanely buggy, but it’s so unique that just about anyone into first-person shooters will find some fun with a playthrough.
2 Vampire (2018)
In vampire, players take on the role of Jonathan Reid, a man who has recently turned into a vampire. Eager to help a desperate London population, but also desperate to sate its vampiric thirst, the game centers around an interesting mechanic that requires players to get to know NPCs to help treat them and strengthen the community, though they may find themselves there. also of having to feed in order to become more powerful.
Set during the outbreak of the Spanish flu in the aftermath of the First World War, vampire is not directly about a military conflict, although it does contain in-depth studies of veterans, and it does deal quite a bit with the intangible mental scars that war veterans suffer.
1 Battlefield 1 (2016)
While it was by no means historically accurate, DICE’s Battlefield 1 is arguably the most popular World War I video game release of all time. Focusing on several fronts, campaigns and loyalties, it was a surprisingly thorough affair with one of the most exciting multiplayer modes since Battlefield 1942.
As usual Battlefield The multiplayer battalions are divided into five-man squads, and each squad member must choose a specific role to maximize the unit’s battlefield effectiveness. This fits particularly well with maps that focus on trench warfare and up-close urban chaos.
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