Valiant Hearts takes place between 1914 and 1918 and tells the story of five characters: Emile, a French farmer who goes looking for his son-in-law and becomes a prisoner of war after his first battle. Freddie, an American soldier fighting in honor of his fallen wife. Ana, a field medic surrounded by blood and tragedy. George, a British pilot who lied about knowing how to fly. And Karl, a German soldier who is in love with Emile’s daughter. These five are joined by an adorable dog who intersects with each of their stories and helps them on their path.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War
Developer(s) Ubisoft Montpellier
Publisher(s) Ubisoft
Engine UbiArt Framework
Platform(s)
Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
Xbox 360
Xbox One

Release date(s) TBA2014
Genre(s) Puzzle adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Valiant Hearts is a 2D side-scroller with traditional puzzles that change with each character. A demo we saw showed Emile using a bone he finds on the ground as a makeshift lever, and Freddie had wire cutters that he could use to get past obstacles. Puzzles in our demo were simple (a seesaw-like weight-based challenge and distracting guards to get past them and blow up a bridge), but Ubisoft promises they’ll become progressively more complicated.

The optional mechanics were where Valiant Hearts found its charm, though. The same bone you use to complete a puzzle can be thrown instead to play fetch with the dog. We saw a demo on a DualShock 4, and the touch pad could be used to rub the dog's belly. Finding brief moments of laughter and relief juxtaposed with the brutal devastation of smoke and bombs in the background had an incredible effect and helped the game immediately resonate.

Valiant Hearts is built in Rayman Legends engine UbiArt Framework by a small team at Ubisoft Montpelier. According to the team, the art direction is meant to be similar to a comic, exaggerating character design in order to create contrast with the serious story. The team used actual World War I letters (including some written by one producer’s great-grandfather) as sources of inspiration, plus based some characters on actual historical figures.