10 Gaming Moments IMPOSSIBLE To View The Same Way After This
8. The Story Is Based On WWI Letters Written By The Lead Dev's Grandfather (Valiant Hearts)
Years before Ubisoft pivoted towards creatively-bankrupt titles like Tom Clancy's XDefiant (sigh), the studio put out several unique, lower-budgeted games on its 2.5D UbiArt engine - stuff like Rayman Origins, Child Of Light, and Valiant Hearts: The Great War.
All these games are fantastic, but Valiant Hearts is one that not many people have played. Its audience is obviously quite limited due to it being a story-heavy, side-scrolling puzzler, but the game deserves a lot of credit for attempting to keep things as historically-accurate as possible, while still providing a fun experience for players.
Well, "fun" might be the wrong word, because things can get pretty dark at times - and what's more, the inherent emotion that stems from the game's WWI setting runs a lot deeper than most players will realize.
The developers didn't want to create a heightened work of fiction - they wanted things to be as grounded as possible, so they actually based the game on letters and documents written by the lead designer's grandfather (who was a soldier during the war), where he spoke about losing his leg, and the general horrors of trench life.
The game is already emotional as it is, but when you discover how personal this project was for the people who made it? The experience hits even harder.