Seeing that the live stream room was getting a bit noisy, she quickly changed the topic: "How's the game? Won't we find out soon enough?"
"Has anyone noticed a particularly interesting detailâthe game's English translation?" Liuliu asked, looking at the many players in the live stream room.
Previously, Nebula Games' titles had never featured English names.
But this time, Valiant Hearts: The Great War clearly had a distinct English title.
Although she was a streamer, Liuliu was a unique figure in the streaming worldâher academic background was exceptionally strong, having once been the top-scoring student in her province.
As the game loaded, Liuliu explained her observation to the bullet comments.
"The game's Chinese title is Valiant Hearts: The Great War. Judging from the background description, this 'Great War' refers to World War I. In English, World War I can be translated in three ways: 'World War I,' 'First World War,' and 'The Great War.' The game deliberately chose the third option. Just from this English title, you can already sense the ironyâbecause 'The Great War' can also be translated as 'The Great War' in a glorified sense."
Clearly, even from these subtle details in the title and translation, one could already sense that this game was different from typical titles.
After hearing Liuliu's explanation, many viewers in the stream who didn't understand English were equally surprised. "Is that really a thing?!"
The game wasn't large in size, so it downloaded and installed quickly after purchase.
Filled with curiosity and anticipation, Liuliu adjusted her streaming settings and clicked to launch the game.
Staring at the opening Nebula Games logo, Liuliu felt a surge of curiosity.
How would this seemingly small-scale 2D independent game convey anti-war themes and the cruelty of war?
Yet, based on previous quality indie titles like Undertale and To the Moon, she still had some trust in Nebula Games.
"This background music is so beautiful! So the protagonist is a soldier and a search-and-rescue dog?"
Accompanied by a slightly melancholic mix of orchestral and piano Background Music, the game's UI interface appeared.
An elderly veteran in military uniform held a black search-and-rescue dog, standing amidst a landscape of ruined devastation.
After pausing on the interface for a few seconds to listen to the background audio, Liuliu followed the prompt and clicked to enter the game.
After clicking confirm, the screen went briefly black before a map of Europe appeared, with national territories and flags clearly demarcated.
ăAugust 1, 1914. After Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated, the German Empire declared war on the Russian Empireă
ăDue to forming alliances, France also began preparing for the conflictă
ăHours after general mobilization began, Germans living in France were ordered to evacuateă
ăCarl was one of themă
A series of comic-style cutscenes briefly introduced the historical backdrop.
She wasn't very familiar with World War I, but she wasn't completely unfamiliar either.
What caught her attention more was the game's presentation method.
So far, this opening seemed somewhat similar to Undertale, both using a comic-style approach to present the story background.
While Liuliu was pondering this, the game's scene shifted to a farm. Simultaneously, the top right corner displayed the time and locationâAugust 1, 1914. Saint-Mihiel, French.
A blond young man was using a pitchfork to shovel hay. Behind him, on a hay cart, his wife held their child.
The sky was clear blue, the sun shone brightlyâeverything was peaceful and harmonious.
But the next moment, two soldiers on bicycles arrived at the farm. They grabbed Carl's arms.
Instantly, a slightly sorrowful BGM began to play. The entire background turned dark, and the once-sunny sky became instantly covered in dark clouds.
Amidst the melancholic background music, a woman's voice cried out in anguish.
Carl's wife stretched out her right hand, holding the child, desperately trying to hold Carl back.
But in the end, Carl was still taken away by the soldiers, leaving French territory.
Behind him, Carl's father-in-law and wife slowly lowered their heads as they watched his retreating figure. Tears streamed down his wife's cheeks.
There wasn't a single line of dialogue, but combined with the sound effects, visual color shifts, and background music, Liuliu already felt the heavy, somber atmosphere.
A brief black screen. A line of white text appeared in the centerâA few days later.
A few days after Carl's departure, the quiet farm was disrupted by a letter.
At the top of the letter: ArmĂŠe de terre et armĂŠe de mer (Army and Navy)
It was a conscription letter from France.
Sorrowful BGM mixed with the sounds of battlefield combat made the game's atmosphere grow increasingly heavy.
ăA few days after Carl left, the war intensified, and Emile was also taken awayă
ăCalled to fight, Emile left the farm for Saint-Mihiel with a heavy heart. Like others, he was completely unaware of what the future had in store for himă
Emile arrived in Saint-Mihiel and joined new recruits for enlistment and training.
In gaming terms, this was a simple new player tutorial.
The game used 2D side-scrolling movement, requiring minimal operationsâforward, backward, attack, and throw.
These were the only actions needed in the game.
Following the prompts, Liuliu picked up a hand grenade from the nearby box and threw it at the target scarecrow ahead.
She threw several in a row. After the first grenade blew the scarecrow to pieces, the drill instructor led Emile forward. Following system prompts, Liuliu advanced while chatting with bullet comments, completely failing to notice that on the ground ahead, one of her previously thrown grenades was now flashing red.
A loud explosion snapped Liuliu back into the game.
The screen went dark, then reset back to the previous training level.
"Did I just blow myself up? Did I die during basic training? Sorry, I'm truly a shame to France!"
Thinking about the previous scene, Liuliu felt utterly speechless.
Meanwhile, the live stream room exploded with bullet comments.
'233333, I'm dying of laughter! Liuliu's grenade skills are legendary!'
'I killed myself!'
'Is this what French soldiers are like?'
'Here we go again! French-bashing has begun!'
Seeing the screen flooded with comments, Liuliu could only sigh helplessly. This incident wasn't for entertainment effectâit was purely because she'd been distracted by reading comments while playing. Still, she felt the need to clarify.
"Ahem... everyone, take it easy. World War I France and World War II France were completely different. This game is set during WWI, and French soldiers at that time were unquestionably the core strength of the Allied Powers. As for WWII... well, let's just leave that topic aside."
After completing the basic training tutorial, Emile raised the military flag as the standard-bearer, accompanied by the melody of La Marseillaise.
This moment was filled with a humorous atmosphere.
Next, Emile headed to the train station to find his unit, now far from his hometown.
ăAt Paris Station, Emile, searching on platform 21 for his regiment, is about to meet the close friend who will Fight Alongside him for lifeă
On the platform, a group of French soldiers surrounded a black soldier, taunting him.
Emile's task was to help the black soldier escape the situation.
This section was still part of the tutorial, primarily teaching players how the game's puzzle-solving mechanics worked.
"Hmm, this is interesting. Undertale had bullet-dodging gameplay, To the Moon was purely story-driven. The subsequent levels in 'Valiant Hearts' should feature more puzzle elements."
First, pull the lever on the right to drive away the soldiers on the right.
Then, by talking to the officer, learn he doesn't want red wine. Find a beer to bribe him, then direct the band to distract the soldiers guarding the train. Pull the left lever to drive away the soldiers on the left, successfully rescuing the black soldier.
This segment wasn't difficultâthere were even clear hintsâbut it still impressed Liuliu with its finesse.
Clearly, Valiant Hearts: The Great War was likely another Story-driven title.
While last year's To the Moon had been brilliant, its gameplay depth was admittedly limited. The puzzle elements in that game were essentially just a bonus.
But now, Valiant Hearts: The Great War, combining throwing mechanics learned in training, movement, attack, and this train station puzzle, even as a 2D side-scroller, had Liuliu looking forward to what came next.
In terms of Gameplay Content, this game was clearly going to offer a richer experience.
(Daily plea: Let this inexperienced author finally see what recommendation votes and Monthly Passes look like! Seriously, the first time I played this game, I didn't die to German artilleryâI died by blowing myself up during basic training...)
(End of Chapter) <