I really liked Valiant Hearts—more than our reviewer, who found it «visually stunning but mechanically lacklustre.» That's a fair assessment, but for me its humanization of the world's first industrial war, from the excitement and patriotic fervor of the early days of mobilization to the grinding, soul-crushing horrors of muddy trench warfare, delivered a genuine narrative gut-punch that I wish more games would dare to strive for. Without wanting to oversell it, I see Valiant Hearts as proof that Ubisoft is capable of great things when it stops chasing trends and franchises, and gives its teams the opportunity to fly free.