10 Best Games Based On World War I (According To Metacritic)
With so many games being based on World War II and the Cold War, only a handful of games dedicate themselves to shedding light on The Great War - World War I. The first world war saw many technological innovations with the need to adapt to the changing battlefield.
Weapon and equipment of this time were also less advanced than that of WW2, making it much harder to create an enjoyable gameplay experience with WW1 than WW2. But if every war game would be about WW2, there would be little to none left to show the terrors of 1914-1918. More gamers know about the Tommy Gun than the iconic Mark 1 tank. With that being said, here are the 10 best games based on WW1.
Updated April 24th, 2021 by Emma Majoros: With games becoming more and more advanced, as well as our historical knowledge, players everywhere with an interest in historical events are craving accurate games that depict these harch times. Games about the Cold War, D-Day, and World War I and II are surfacing and becoming better than ever. Next to strategic games, first-person shooter games are also doing a fantastic job of embodying the harsh realities of the great war. Here are the best games based on World War I today.
15 Beyond The Wire (Metascore: TBD; User Score: TBD)
Beyond The Wire is an upcoming FPS game based on WW1. The game will immerse the players into the gory reality of war and will be centered more around simulated mechanics than an arcade one. The multiplayer game will support up to 100 players in large-scale combat across the large open plains of the map; implementing trench warfare, chemical warfare, artillery, and much more.
The game's combat mechanics aim to truly grasp the feel of WW1 combat from firefights to even the melee mechanics. On top of that, the game has a committed devotion to period-appropriate gear and weapons, aspiring to be the most historically accurate FPS game to date.
14 Battle Of Empires: 1914-1918 (Steam 6/10)
Battle Of Empires: 1914-1918 is a real-time strategy game where players lead their factions into war. Unlike most RTS games, each individual unit in the game can turn the tides of war. Gameplay emphasizes and encourages actual strategy than just a brute-force strength-in-numbers play.
Players can also control individual units as if playing a shooter game. Like actual war principles, stealth, flanking, and guerilla tactics are possible in Battle Of Empires. The game also has a multiplayer mode on top of a story-driven campaign.
13 Tannenberg (Metascore: 72; User Score: 9)
Tannenberg is a standalone to the WW1 FPS game Verdun. Gameplay and combat are slow-paced and methodical as a proper war simulator should be. Unlike Battlefield 1, Tannenberg and Verdun aren't run-and-gun kinds of games. This allows the players to truly immerse themselves in the feel of war. They are but equipped with bolt-action rifles where a single shot is lethal.
Maneuvering in this game should also be careful since there are no arcadey baseball slides to dodge projectiles. Just good ole fashioned cover-to-cover trench warfare. Matches are large-scale supporting up to 64 players. Tannenberg offers more gritty gameplay outside of a market unsaturated by battle royales and action shooters.
12 Rise Of Flight: The First Great Air War (Metascore: 77; User Score: 7.6)
Rise Of Flight is a dogfighter game where players take control of WWI fighter planes and wage aerial assaults across the skies. It is a simulated flight game that respects the real-world logic of dogfights from navigation, maneuvering, aerodynamics, combat, etc.
Players can engage each other in large-scale matches, capturing objectives and taking each other out of the sky. Players are immersed in the eyes of a true dogfighter in Rise Of Flight. The game provides gritty non-arcade mechanics that fans of simulated realism, flying games especially, will surely love.
11 Assassin's Creed Syndicate (Metascore: 78; User Score: 6.3)
Surprising to see an Assassin's Creed game on this list. Especially one centered around the industrial revolution. However, there lies a secret in Syndicate that allows players to play an entire storyline centered around World War 1. As Evie Frye, players take on missions for Winston Churchill in a war-torn London.
Syndicate captures the era of 1916 nicely and blends it perfectly with the gameplay and ongoing narrative of the Assassin's Creed franchise. This may also be the only open-world game that takes place in the heat of WW1.
10 Darkest Hour: A Hearts Of Iron Game (Metascore: 81; User Score: 8)
Darkest Hour follows world events from The Great War all the way to the Cold War. It is a real-time strategy game where players govern a country, making crucial strategies and decisions in a time of war.
The player will oversee all aspects of managing a country from foreign trade, troop deployment, military strategies, diplomatic affairs, alliances, technological innovations, and much more. Players can also capture territory later in the game. Because of the methodical pacing of Darkest Hour, combat doesn't usually come until around two hours into the game.
9 Toy Soldiers (Metascore: 81; User Score: 8.7)
Toy Soldiers would be the result if the logic of Toy Story was applied to a detailed World War 1 diorama. Miniature soldiers and war units wage havoc against each other in the universe of a relatively vast living room. It is a tower defense game where the player fights against incoming waves of enemies.
Aside from automatically firing, the defense units players place can also be manually controlled, allowing the player a more active role in the game instead of just sitting back and watching his strategy unfold.
8 Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Metascore: 87; User Score: 8.3)
When doing a game on The Great War, a puzzle adventure seems like a questionable decision. However, Valiant Hearts executed it beautifully. Valiant Hearts is an emotional heart-wrenching journey that shines a light on the turmoils of war. It centers on the personal stories of four strangers of World War 1, touching on their individual lives outside of just being another number.
Every other game on this list sees troops as an expendable resource. Just another death, just another respawn. By shedding a different light on war, Valiant Hearts brings players much closer to the battlefield than any other game ever could. This 2D animated puzzle game has light humorous gameplay, but its narrative, along with the historical trivia, will forever change perspectives towards the events of 1914-1918.
7 Battlefield 1 (Metascore: 89; User Score: 7.9)
Regarded as one of the most inaccurate depictions of World War 1, Battlefield 1 is one of the most fast-paced shooters based on the matter. The game borrows elements from war strategies such as trench warfare and integrates them into an action-centered shooter rather than a simulated one.
Matches are large scale supporting up to 64 players along with the use of weaponized vehicles such as tanks and bomber planes, among others. There are also different classes in the game, each with their own specialized use on the battlefield. Though far from how actual war plays out, it's a nice blend to have with the modern FPS genre.
6 Strategic Command: World War I (Steam 9/10)
Strategic Command: World War 1 is a turn-based game similar to the Civilization franchise. The game is so complex that its instructional manual contains 300 pages. However, it captures every aspect of the war from bloody skirmishes to diplomacy and politics to national morale.
Players can choose their side of the war, and even select the country they wish to play as. The game follows The Great War from the first few shots to the culmination of the conflict. This methodical turn-based game gives players the freedom to manage countries in the dreaded conflict.
5 NecroVisioN (Metascore: 63, User Score: 6.1)
NecroVisioN seems to be inspired by a Lovecraft horror and strays a little farther from the realistic WWI setting. Although it embodies the overall feel and style of the harsh realities of the great war, it takes the liberty to add fantasy elements like monsters and zombies.
In this FPS, players take on the role of Simon Bukner, who is being recruited into the British Army. During his time fighting for his country, Simon discovers, that he not only has to fight against man but supernatural elements as well. While it's the ugly duckling of the list, it still counts as a WWI game, because of its accurate setting and style.
4 Call Of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land (User Score: 7.4)
Based on the iconic H.P. Lovecraft novel The Call of Cthulhu, this tactical RPG was released in 2012 and has had great reviews ever since. While it follows a more fantasy-type storyline compared to other games based on historical events, it still depicts greatly what WWI was all about.
Players take on the role of a team of investigators looking into conspiracies within the German army during the war. Its story is gripping, as is the gameplay, and while it's not entirely historically accurate, it still pays tribute to the great war.
3 To End All Wars (User Score: 8.3)
To End All Wars is one of the more advanced WWI strategic games out there. Players strive to take over Europe by expanding their units and taking down nations. For newcomers, this is a bit more advanced and takes time to get to know the game, but fans love the overall style and the story.
It's based in the time of WWI and brings to life the feel and strategies of the war. So for history fans and strategy game fans alike, this is one of the best of the best out there.
2 Victoria II (Metascore: 75, User Score: 8.3)
Victoria II is yet another grand strategy game, very similar to To End All Wars, with the only difference being the time frame the game takes place in. Victoria II is based from 1836 to 1936, following a much longer timeline.
With this game, players don't only have to live through the great war and come out on top, but lead society into the 20th century. This includes political, diplomatic, military, economic, and even technological strategies that simulate the realities of this century. Each decision the player makes affects not only themselves but the entire world even.
1 Verdun (Metascore: 70, User Score 7.7)
With Verdun, players can enjoy a first-person shooter game that not only takes place in World War I but allows players experience authentic weapons from the iconic time period. The gameplay is merciless and realistic, showing players what the unforgiving reality of the time period was.
It's set between 1914 and '18 within the western front and strives to be as realistic as possible. Because of this, both the setting and style of the game have a unique feel that both history buffs and FPS fans will enjoy very much. Players all around the world praise Verdun for its immaculate depiction of WWI.
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