WARCANA
WARCANA
Game
Game2023
The Great War: Western Front™
Developer Petroglyph
The Great War: Western Front is a real-time strategy video game based on the First World War. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
239 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Oct 29, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
52
Mixed
94 positive · 86 negative
95% range 45–59%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 94 | 86 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 9 | 1 | 49 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
1,430 of 2,185 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
53% recommend · 93 yes, 83 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 176 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (2,193 of 3,311 positive).
Players praise the game's authentic portrayal of trench warfare and strategic depth. [1][2][3] Many reviewers note the game was abandoned by developers, leaving it feeling unfinished. [4][5][6] Some players find the campaign repetitive and the AI lacking. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [19]
Just...no. The game is sadness. You can only choose allies or axis, 1914 or 1916 ...that's all you have for "campaign". The map is tiny. Paris is the most west and most south point of the map, the german empire is virtually not even on the map.. Gameplay is a pathetic copy of total war. You have a world map where you move armies and "build" something, for combat you go into a somewhat 3D RTS map. Unit diversity does …
- [8]
I want to like this game so much. The trench warfare is great, building your lines, working out strats, the idea of unique units from each country. So much great things, but the gameplay is a solid loop that can bore some people but others can and will enjoy it. But the AI is trash, it just rushes over and over, while it can be fun playing a tower defence game for a while, when you want to go on the attack its …
- [1]
This is the World War One RTS that I have always dreamed of and it is actually a tragedy that it failed financially and has mixed reviews. The issue that most people have with this game is with he campaign, but the campaign is actually really good. The problem is that the campaign starts off with basic gameplay and that players are not giving campaign enough time or playing on a hard enough difficulty to make the …
- [3]
As a historian I can safely say this is one of the most authentic WWI command experiences out there. This is not your standard RTS - it's rough around the edges but its systems are all geared towards establishing the simulation that, at its heart, fairly accurately emulates the feel of the Western Front. This game is limited to the Western Front, unfortunately, but you can play the campaign from the side of the …
- [2]
This game, once getting into it really does show how repetitive and deadly this war truly was. Attacking the same position to only gain 1 trench line closer to victory, being charged with mass human waves to just gun them down, success being measured in inches and lost men is amazing. Alot of negative reviews over not being able to recruit your own units but in reality a general would just be told "oh btw heres 5 …
Summarised from 34 of the 229 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
The Great War: Western Front™ sits at 52% positive across 180 opinionated reactions from 2 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The Great War: Western Front received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregator Metacritic. Rock Paper Shotgun felt the game captured the atmosphere of the First World War, but criticized the user interface as clunky and difficult to use, leading to strategic missteps, "often I screamed aloud at my men to stay in the fucking trench". PCGamesN praised the realism of the game, but wrote it could make the title frustrating to play, "Real-time battles most often result in frustrating stalemates that accomplish nothing beyond burning supplies and getting a lot of men killed". Vice enjoyed the research and development metagame present in The Great War, "Naturally, the most…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 239 · most liked first"Crisis: 1914" is a clever #wargame exploring the six weeks leading up to the Great War. The five powers are jockeying for prestige and diplomatic pressure - while trying to avoid being the one that triggers the war. A great game of escalation management. 🎲
neutral · AI labelView post →Valiant Hearts: The Great War ✅ 20/20 🏆 I’m a history girlie so this game instantly caught my eye. Wasn’t expecting it to be a puzzles game, but I absolutely loved it. Tells a very powerful story that also shows the absolute horror that was World War 1. Literally sobbed at the ending. 🌹
positive · AI labelView post →Just...no. The game is sadness. You can only choose allies or axis, 1914 or 1916 ...that's all you have for "campaign". The map is tiny. Paris is the most west and most south point of the map, the german empire is virtually not even on the map.. Gameplay is a pathetic copy of total war. You have a world map where you move armies and "build" something, for combat you go into a somewhat 3D RTS map. Unit diversity does not exist. You have Infantery corps, tank platoon, air wing and siege…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the World War One RTS that I have always dreamed of and it is actually a tragedy that it failed financially and has mixed reviews. The issue that most people have with this game is with he campaign, but the campaign is actually really good. The problem is that the campaign starts off with basic gameplay and that players are not giving campaign enough time or playing on a hard enough difficulty to make the game the stalemate it should be. The main reason why this games campaign gets…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Was abandoned by the devs, great skeleton, no meat.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Was too nervous to watch that hockey game, but the lord has chosen a winner in the Great War of North America. Look, we have a uniform.
neutral · AI labelView post →2/5 stars, an honest attempt was made to simulate trench warfare but there are just so many issues here that I just can not recomend this game at all First the campaign progresses incredibly slow, territories need multiple assaults that have to end in total vicory to be taken, which leads to you conquering the same map over and over again. Infantry squads are predeployed on the map and can not be purchased exept with a few techs and events, the only things you can actualy purchase are tanks,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →VALIANT HEARTS: THE GREAT WAR is an exceptionally lovely video game
positive · AI labelView post →Game had alot of potential but the devs abandoned it, It has alot of cool systems but they lose replay ability after your 5th turn. Maps reset after every battle making it kind of dumb when it promises that they will persist. 3/10 I would not recommend this game unless it goes on sale for less then 10 dollars you will get bored before the campaign ends.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☑ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don't look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☑ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I want to like this game so much. The trench warfare is great, building your lines, working out strats, the idea of unique units from each country. So much great things, but the gameplay is a solid loop that can bore some people but others can and will enjoy it. But the AI is trash, it just rushes over and over, while it can be fun playing a tower defence game for a while, when you want to go on the attack its awful, Your units will stand around and refuse to get into the trenches and die right…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Extremely promising abandonware. Devs gave up completely after 1 major update. I had high expectations from Empire at War, and was really let down.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was so close to being a great WW1 game sadly Petroglyph abandoned it and now it feels rather half baked. Worth it on sale
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game, once getting into it really does show how repetitive and deadly this war truly was. Attacking the same position to only gain 1 trench line closer to victory, being charged with mass human waves to just gun them down, success being measured in inches and lost men is amazing. Alot of negative reviews over not being able to recruit your own units but in reality a general would just be told "oh btw heres 5 new divisions good luck" is such a fun mechanic and actually makes planning…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is great. Probably the best WWI game I've ever played. But despite the thumb up, I don't recommend it. Let me explain. This game fully captures the spirit of the endless grinding trench warfare that marked the Western Front. You will sacrifice thousands of men, expend massive resources, and claw out a "great victory" over a sea of dead bodies... and, after spending the better part of an hour managing such a battle, the frontline will have barely shifted. Because a region only…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The bones are there, the game is fun and the setting is rich, but they released the game and immediately bailed out. It is not a maintained and cared for project, they have not touched it in a very long time.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →10 hrs in and I think it's over for me. Initially I was so impressed with the scale and the vision, but it shocked me just how quickly it all starts to feel very stale and repetitive. I think the main problems for me are 2 fold: 1) the mechanic whereby, in order to achieve true victory and capture provinces, you have to capture all control points and the command bunker. Every. Single. Time. And I'm playing with the 1 star general mod which lets you take territory after just one great victory.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A great concept let down by serious flaws in its execution. Making a faithful RTS about the Great War was always going to be tricky. By its nature, a grind is essential to the feel of combat, and defenders need a clear advantage that clever attackers have to overcome. In the outlines, the Great War has those elements. The meta-map of the game is great. Big view, fun tech tree decisions, and an "but they can't defend everywhere" sense of opportunity and worry as you look over the map. But…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Great War. Ivychurch, Kent. 'You do not hear the dry wind pray Or the children play A game called 'Soldiers' in the street.' Brian Patten, 1947-2025.
neutral · AI labelView post →So as someone who last played this version of Civilization (just ... Civ, like how WWI was "The Great War" before WWII), does it seem like it'd be worth it to get the newest one? I loved the original, but I also need games that are easy to get into; not awash in learning-curve time these days...
neutral · AI labelView post →Game feels like its not finished. Is abandonned by devs (at least no bugs are being addressed anymore). Fun concept, but after a few turns ingame, you realize its literally nothing new anymore. There are ingame (world) events that are just flavor. You are very limited by supplies, however the enemy seems to be completely unaffected by supplies/gold reserves. Losing battles leads to replenishing dead troops with "Gold Reserves", but you can go into the negative without any repercusion (outside…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I WISH THERE WAS AN OPTION FOR MIXED RECCOMENDATION!!!!!! I'm choosing to leave a positive instead of a negative review, despite the issues this game has, and the lack of development from the devs. For what it offers, it's unique enough that I've enjoyed my time with it. That said, this game is not for everyone, and I'd think some of yall would have had more sense before purchasing something WE BOTH KNOW YOU WERE NEVER GOING TO LIKE. If you're a fan of WWI history, a hardcore RTS fan, then…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a fun game but they have completely abandoned it. Now It's ok for some games to be "finished" and "complete" but there's a lot of stuff that really should be in the game that isn't. Like others have said only buy on sale.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a historian I can safely say this is one of the most authentic WWI command experiences out there. This is not your standard RTS - it's rough around the edges but its systems are all geared towards establishing the simulation that, at its heart, fairly accurately emulates the feel of the Western Front. This game is limited to the Western Front, unfortunately, but you can play the campaign from the side of the "Allies" (I would have preferred Triple Entente but this is what happens when you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Great War: 1914-1918 Blue Byte / SSI, 1992 A World War I turn-based tactics/strategy game (similar to Blue Byte's Battle Isle) where two players act simultaneously on a split screen. #retrogaming #strategy
neutral · AI labelView post →Fun, but for full price not worth it due to it geeling very unpolished after beign seemingly abandoned after 6 months post release. Their is a lot of polish\gameplay issues that i noticed mostly revolving around pathfinding and balance: Infantry try to use trenches when moving in trech systems to naturally avoid getting shot at, but it seems at random moments their pathfinding randomly breaks and they will leave their trench for no reason and walk across the top getting killed. Somtimes…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First Impressions: Imperial Elegy: The Road to the Great War 1850-1920 from VUCA Simulations. theplayersaid.com/2026/05/06/f...
neutral · AI labelView post →I wish there was a "Don't Buy at Full Price" recommendation. Because the game isn't a complete write off. The first couple of turns and first dozen battles or so were kind of fun. But you quickly learn that those have all the gameplay you're going to get. What really kills the game is its pathetically passive AI. I have now finished two campaigns where the enemy strategic AI has refused to attack me. It lets you eat it alive. It'll barely reinforce where you build up, if it does at all.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I picked up a game called Never Going Home at #SaveAgainstFear a few weeks ago and I love the concept of Eldritch Horror during The Great War. So io course, I drew my character immediately.
neutral · AI labelView post →Abandonware, never finished.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Great War: Western Front is a well researched, designed, and executed game that provides players with a meaningful simulacrum of its historical namesake. Unfortunately, though, the Western Front of World War 1 was a terrible, repetitive slog. This provides a bit of a conundrum to anyone who would review, buy, or play this game. On one hand, this game is, though taking some liberties for the sake of gameplay as all historical games must, representing the core dilemmas and strategic…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is unfinished and overpriced. I enjoy parts of it but it is glaringly obvious it was never completed. Wait for the SALE. Do NOT buy full price is the best advice I can give if you wanna play it. I got it for cheap but if I paid full price I'd be upset at the waste of money. I would really like to see development for it finished entirely. I think a good game could be possible tbh.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →in Descent: Freespace: The Great War (notably *not* a Descent game), Act 1 Mission 5 "Out of the Dark, Into the Night," you can kill the untargetable foes' shields with GTM-2 Fury Missiles. any other available weapons are basically useless against them. you get a hidden award for doing so !!
neutral · AI labelView post →The game was abandoned and is still too janky to be enjoyable longterm. Maybe if it got the work it needs it would be worth the time to invest in playing it. I really want to like this game, and the concept is there, but its just unfinished and not worth it
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As much as i want to enjoy this game, the biggest problem is the AI has seemingly endless supply in a game where your supply not only is your ammo(for extra troops and call ins) but also global so the Logistics upgrade while handy(upgrades your limit) means jack to the AI even on the easiest difficulty with a modifier for the player. Another issue is it doesn't really tell you anywhere that you can shoot at entrenched enemies so to push a trench you quite literally have to throw all your supply…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The challenge was as concise as it was complex: “Sketch in the boundaries of states according to your view of probable peace terms.” Two months into what was quickly becoming known as the Great War, FT asked its readers to predict the impact the conflict would have on the map of Europe. As a game
neutral · AI labelView post →game has a lot of potential but in the end its just annoying to play
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Grant shares his thoughts in this solitaire video review for Hapsburg Eclipse: The Great War in Eastern Europe, 1914-1918 from Victory Point Games/Tabletop Tycoon. theplayersaid.com/2025/02/01/s...
neutral · AI labelView post →Valiant Hearts: The Great War It’s a puzzle based WW1 game following a few interconnected character stories.
neutral · AI labelView post →The Last War is the definitive version of the renowned 28mm miniature skirmish game Forbidden Psalm: The Last War. The Great War, World War, War to End all Wars, the only true name it has is the Last War, for now remains not enough people to fight another. spacepenguin.ink/products/the...
neutral · AI labelView post →Dont buy this game it was abandoned by the devs
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Best ww1 RTS I have ever played. Sadly Frontier development (the publisher) decided to not do anything with the game and don't allow the developers to update and improve the game for now.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →so when i got this game i was expecting to build and manage armies to hold certain fronts and miles of trenches. that was far from the truth. what i got was losing every battle after battle after battle, losing campaign after campaign no matter how easy or hard i set the difficultly. let start with the good. the game isn't hard to understand after playing a few battles. graphics are not bad at all with the good out of the way let get into the bad. battles are never in your favor even if you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a fun game. Wish there was more of it, would have loved some DLC with more armies and maybe even diplomacy. That said its still fun as is.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is great at what it does. I'm a Total War player. This is like TW, but WAY slower paced. This is a WW1 strategy game that is done right. If you want a fast pace, "conquer all who oppose me", then do not buy this game. It's not for you. But if you really want to grind out an entrenched slugfest, fight 5-10-15 battles over the same inches of dirt, meanwhile you're maintaining your supply and cash reserves; then get this game. It really breaks it down to how tough it was to gain ground…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Back in the world of old, there we humans granted powers by the Gods. These humans were called Heroes. In the Great War, Heroes and Monsters fought one another in brutal battles of survival. Hood is her name. Slaughtering is her game. She's a battle junkie. #OC #OCArt #RedRidingHood #Hero
neutral · AI labelView post →History lover here. This game is a hidden gem, it is quite sad to see it didn't succeed to the level it deserved. It was made with love and respect for history, and it shows. Fans of Total war will pretty much recognize the gameplay immediately, even though the game differentiates itself quite well from it. As supreme commander of the Entente or Central Powers forces on the western front from late 1914 to whenever the front collapses, you are tasked with choosing which points of the front to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Developers just abandoned it. Cash grab game with potential
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The devs have abandoned this game, which is a shame because it has the foundation for something great. Still, I can't honestly say anyone should buy this, go find something else.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →your grandfather’s generation died in the trenches fighting The Great War so that you could enjoy the freedom to spend your entire Sunday making a video game vampire say “I love marijuana and boobs” just something for you to think about
neutral · AI labelView post →There is 'Kaiserpunk' (2025) which is kind of civ-city game with an ongoing Great War. There was also 'Iron Storm' (2002) in which the Great War is still running in 1946. More recently, 'Iron Harvest' (2020) which sees a war running on beyond 1920 but is in a very dieselpunk world.
neutral · AI labelView post →This game got me obsessed with the great war... sucks ass they stop development of it. Would recommend if on sale.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Took a break from my alphabetical destruction of my Xbox library because the next game was a jrpg and I have Final Fantasy 3 already going. So I finished Valiant Hearts: The Great War for my 12 for 12 list Absolutely fantastic game with a soundtrack to match. The ending had me needing to cry
positive · AI labelView post →The concept is great and ww1 is an underserved war when it comes to videogames but im afraid that in execution its too repetitive and as of now the game is broken, buggy and will just freeze repeadly. disseapointed
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty relalistic game about trench warfare, but i wish i could zoom in depper during the battle
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I want to like this game. Really! There is a lot of cool mechanics and building your trenches is a lot of fun... But the game has crashed in my 10 Hours of Gameplay around like 15 times. I just cannot play the game properly. Add to that, how once the game crashes, the RTS section of the game is not saved - meaning I have to redo the entire trench set up everytime I restart the game. So yeah, this game has a lot of potential... It could be great, but technical issues make it impossible for me…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are multitude of mechanics that seem to be there just to hide the impressively low number of maps that the game has, is fun for a while, but it gets incredibly repetitive incredibly quickly, its such a shame it was abandoned so soon, it clearly has potential
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →20 games that have stayed with me or influenced me. One game per day, for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews. Just covers. #GameChallenge #videogames #Games #retrogaming #retrogames Day 16: Valiant Hearts: The Great War This game will never leave you, a must play 💔
neutral · AI labelView post →The Great War at Sea. Mediterranean. Naval Action, 1912 to 1923 Fleets of 11 nations in this game.. Considering as teaching material. (Btw, new semester has just started) #MaritimeHistory #naval #warships
neutral · AI labelView post →My Favorite Wargame Cards – A Look at Individual Cards from My Favorite Games – Card #93: German Home Card Otto von Bismarck from Imperial Elegy: The Road to the Great War 1850-1920 from @vucasimulations.bsky.social theplayersaid.com/2026/09/09/m...
neutral · AI labelView post →
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