In partnership with the publisher Frontier Foundry, it is of course the Petroglyph studio that we find at the maneuver behind this new STR, the developer based in Las Vegas including in its ranks many veterans from Westwood, the creators of Command & Conquer. But no imaginary world this time, it is on the very real front and it seems quite late in the Great War that the player is projected, in command of armies quicker to bury themselves than to lead a movement warfare.
In addition to real-time battles, the developers promise us a strategic turn-based map on which decisive choices will have to be made. A dichotomy that recalls what the now venerable Rise of Nations had done with talent. Among the possibilities offered to the player, let us quote strategic places to fortify to obtain defensive bonuses, but also technological research which will make it possible to have an offensive advantage like poison gas or tanks. To relive the siege of Verdun with the specificities of a fortress practically insensitive to artillery seems to be an obligatory passage of The Great War: Western Front.
Even more interesting given the reduced nature in the space of the western front, “Battles will take place in a living, persistent world. Existing battlefields bear the scars of previous encounters and deteriorate when players revisit them. Additionally, changing weather conditions will provide additional challenges for each unit.“
Enough to let a few beautiful hours dangle in this STR which wants to be “deep and authentic“, although it is possible to deviate the course of history in order to change the outcome of the war. The only honest option being of course to make France win at the Battle of the Marne.
Release planned on PC only, on Steam like Epic Games Store, during 2023.