The Great War: Western Front alluded to – The classic RTS mindset doesn’t work here

Real-time strategy in World War II was common. In the first World War? Not that often. However, it is also difficult to imagine this on the basis of the trench warfare. But it works. The RTS experts at Petroglyph (Star Wars: Empire at War, Gray Goo, C&C Remastered Collection) prove it with their upcoming title The Great War: Western Front. I was able to get a taste of the game for three hours, dealing with the tutorial (you definitely need this), the campaign and a historical battle, among other things.

Briefly summarized, The Great War is about the fighting along the Western Front in a period from 1914 to 1919. On one side are the Allies, on the other the Central Powers. You take on the role both at the larger level of strategy via your chosen side and directly on the battlefields.

Strategic trench warfare

Since trench warfare was characteristic of the First World War, especially on the western front, The Great War is not a classic real-time strategy à la Command & Conquer or Age of Empires. You don’t brew up your base first and then overrun the enemy, Petroglyph really doesn’t make it that easy for you. If you send your men carelessly towards the enemy, you should be prepared for them to be mown down within seconds if they defend well.

Approaches other than sheer superiority are required here. And that’s where the artillery comes into play. First of all, every battle begins with you having time to set up defenses and place units. Each side has its headquarters, so to speak, with no man’s land in between. Placement is not to be scoffed at, because if your artillery is poorly placed, you won’t be able to fire at every corner of the battlefield. That can end up tipping the scales when it comes to advancing to a position.

As I said, the classic RTS way of thinking doesn’t do much here. I had to realize that at the end of 2022 when I played it for the first time, when I wasn’t getting along well with it. Now, on the second try, it worked much better. Ultimately, a combination of a well-considered approach, smart decisions and the right use of resources decides on victory or defeat. In order to bring new units (within the unit limit) onto the battlefield or to conduct artillery fire, you consume supplies.

Provide cover

Firing a salvo at an enemy position to prevent local enemies from firing at you is comparatively cheap. An attack with gas already costs 80 supply points, which is a lot depending on the situation. You’ll think twice about whether to use this option and when. It’s also helpful not to simply burn your units. If it becomes apparent that the squad will be lost, it is better to let them retreat. In that case you will at least get some replenishment points back.

There are many aspects that you should pay attention to and use judiciously. Balloons increase your view range, but can be shot down by the enemy. If an enemy bomber comes flying in, it can be intercepted by your own fighter planes. It’s about actions and reactions. It is helpful that you can pause the game at any time to analyze the battlefield or current movements and react to them in peace. If you give orders during the pause, they will be executed immediately afterwards.

Once you get the hang of it – I can only emphasize again: definitely play the tutorial! -, you quickly learn how to move on the battlefield. The frontal approach is definitely not the best here, unless there’s no other way. And if you can’t help it, you’ll have to make sure your artillery provides support at the right moment to suppress enemy fire. Ultimately, your men will rush into enemy trenches and take on the enemy face-to-face.

The primary goal is always to capture control points and push back the enemy. You only have a limited amount of time per battle before night falls and the fighting ends. Depending on the battle situation, there is basically a draw, a win or a loss, which in turn is important for the strategy map.

The strategic level

This is divided into hexes, on which you can clearly see the frontline. Each hex represents a region that has a different number of stars. Successful attacks ensure that the star rating goes down. If it reaches zero, the region is lost to the attacker. If there is no defensive action in a round, one star is restored. So to conquer a field, constant pressure is required.

The Great War is more or less reminiscent of a Total War Lite. You can build individual new buildings that give you more supply points for the region, which ultimately helps in a fight. You research new technologies, but new soldiers are only automatically supplied as supplies after a certain number of rounds. If you play the Allies, they arrive in Paris (French soldiers) or Calais (British soldiers) and can be distributed from there.

Units may either move or attack per round/turn, both consecutively are not possible. However, they participate in a defense regardless of their previous action, so you are not at a disadvantage. Incidentally, units also play a role in supply points. You receive a certain amount of supply points for each unit in a region. In addition, there is gold, from which you get more each round together with research points. Gold can also be exchanged for supply points. None of this is available in excess, use it wisely.

By the way, you don’t have to fight every fight yourself. Before the battle begins, you see a small overview analogous to Total War, which presents you with the starting position. If your reconnaissance was successfully active, you can see in detail what the enemy is doing. This display also tells you what your chances of victory or defeat are, and you can decide whether you want to take action yourself or have the fight simulated.

In the battles there are always smaller, optional secondary objectives to be fulfilled and you will also be regularly given tasks that you can complete on the strategy map. The rewards you get for it, such as more supply points, are definitely useful. On top of that, there are so-called “Hard Choice Events” where you have a positive and a negative effect. The agony of choice! It’s not always easy to make a decision.

Aside from the campaign, in which you determine the course yourself, historical battles under real conditions await you. One of them is the Battle of the Somme, which I was able to play. In it you play the central powers and have to fend off the advance of the allied forces. Not an easy task with multiple front lines, approaching tanks, and limited resources!

I admit, The Great War caused me a few problems at first, the classic RTS way of thinking from C&C and Co. was too much internalized in me. But once you deal intensively with all aspects of The Great War, you quickly learn its peculiarities and that the battles in the First World War are played differently. Ultimately, however, it works quite well and you quickly achieve your first successes. The extent to which the campaign will provide long-term motivation is an aspect that cannot yet be estimated. The basics of The Great War seem to be there based on what I’ve been able to play so far. So it’s worth keeping an eye on the title.

The Great War: Western Front will be released on March 30, 2023 for PC. If you pre-order, you can start playing as early as March 27, 2023. A demo will be available at the next Steam Next Fest starting February 6th, 2023.