Grit and Valor - 1949, A review

Modern gaming often implies that games are complex. They have deep narratives, elaborate characters, and so on. As much as I advocate for that direction, I can also understand people who want to launch and play a straightforward game devoid of all that. It is a game where you act more on instinct, without carefully considering every option after a long day at work—a game like Grit and Valor – 1949, a game that offers a comforting simplicity in its gameplay.

Check out our Assassin's Creed Shadows review if you are in the mood for a more serious "historical" game.

The Story of Grit and Valor - 1949

Grit and Valor – 1949 is a strategy game set in a world a few years into an extended World War II, where the Axis powers have nearly wiped out all their enemies in Europe—except for one island near the northern coast of Scotland. However, the Allies are regrouping, and it's up to you to liberate the occupied territories. You'll do this with the help of mechs—large, iron exoskeletons on two or four legs that became hot new commodities on the battlefields in the war's later years.

Battles occur on seemingly randomly generated small arenas with scattered concrete blocks for cover, elevated platforms you can climb, and occasional side objectives like capturing radio towers, destroying V2 rockets, or defending civilian tents. Your army consists of several different types of combat mechanisms and one command vehicle that you must protect, like the apple of your eye. Like the king in chess, its destruction means an automatic defeat.

Although you are the one broadly attacking and pushing back the enemy, in the context of each battle, you play defensively because the enemy helicopters bring in numerically superior units to the platforms that sustain your forces. Unfortunately, these helicopters cannot be shot down, which would probably make battles too short.

The Gameplay

The gameplay of Grit and Valor heavily relies on a rock-paper-scissors system, a classic game mechanic where there are three types of units depending on their weapon type: machine guns, flamethrowers, and bomb launchers. Each type has a specific advantage and disadvantage over the others. The most important thing for you as a player is to remember that bullets beat fire, fire beats bombs, and bombs beat bullets. This system adds a layer of strategy to the game, as you must carefully consider your unit composition and positioning to gain the upper hand in battles. Don't worry—this reminder is always displayed in the top-right corner of the screen.

After the initial battle, you're shown a map of the British Isles with all potential events on the path to victory, and it's up to you to decide which route to take. You'll often have between one and three options, indicating the dominant type of enemy units you can expect, the battle's difficulty, and special risk/reward choices like traversing unknown terrain or visiting a workshop. This unknown terrain is full of quasi-tricky situations where you're presented with dilemmas, allowing you to choose your preferred outcome—or stumble straight into an ambush. These situations can range from deciding whether to risk a shortcut that could lead to a surprise attack, to choosing between two potential rewards with unknown consequences.

You'll understand all of this easily but get stuck by the third or fourth battle. Why? The "catch" is that numerous battles await you on the path to victory, each lasting about five minutes, and you must reach the end in one piece. Your progress won't be erased if the game crashes, but the damage your units sustain carries over from one battle to the next, and you have few ways to repair your battered walkers. But, you'll use the resources you earn—upgrade parts, pilot experience, and money—in your starting base to improve your mechs, and then you're off again.

In Grit and Valor - 1949 choices matter

Your choices in battle difficulty have an impact here, as higher difficulty increases your chances of getting better temporary upgrades. During battles, allied planes drop supply crates, and these crates are essentially a gamble. Beyond the play on words, you never know what you'll get—you're presented with various buffs that can either strengthen your units or recharge special abilities, but these only apply to that specific run.

These supply crates can provide a significant advantage in battle, but they also introduce an element of unpredictability, as you never know what you'll get until you open the crate.

The buffs are color-coded to indicate their quality (grey for standard, flashy colours for legendary), as are the previously mentioned parts you can mount on your mechs. Choosing higher difficulty increases the chances of better rewards, which cumulatively helps much in the long run.

Or you can decide it's better not to risk your units' lives—the choice is yours. I should emphasize that the battles are always fair, as the game strictly follows its own rules, and once you master it, the fights are quick with little downtime, giving you a sense of reassurance and confidence in your gameplay.

No Depth, No Problem

After spending several paragraphs describing the gameplay, I return to the initial thought: there isn't much tactical depth regarding units because the power dynamics are quickly learned. You also need to know that units placed on higher ground can more easily destroy those below them. And that's it. You'll soon stop reading the buff descriptions because, logically, purple is better than gray, whatever it may be. The biggest downside is the somewhat exaggerated grind—attempts where you're almost sure you won't succeed, to gather resources for a more effective next run. Let's call this the dark side of the interesting mechanic of preserving units throughout the campaign.

You also won't bother reading the text dialogues between the good and bad guys, which attempt to create some characterization for characters whose names you definitely won't remember. These characters are either your or Axis generals, final bosses in key battles. Each subsequent boss is more challenging, and they nicely round out your journey from one point of occupied territory to the next. After liberating Britain, Scandinavia follows, then France, and finally the heart of Nazi Germany.

Visually, Grit and Valor – 1949 is a treat, with its decent graphics that engage the player in the game's world. The audio side, while not standing out, doesn't detract from the experience—there's almost no voice acting, the music is forgettable despite us using our Panther headset, and the game lacks some dramatic cutscenes, especially since the frequent text-based dialogue is quite dry. Technically, it's not perfect—I experienced several crashes, but they happened at the end of battles, and my progress was saved.

In Conclusion

Ultimately, this is a relaxing war strategy game where you try to liberate an entire occupied region in one efficient push with a handful of battered mechs. As interesting as that premise is, it's also the main flaw because it artificially extends the game's length without adding substantial content. 

Boss battles are challenging due to the fragility of your units or the special arsenals of the main antagonists—who you'll hardly remember otherwise. The character development and backstory are pretty thin, but some may prefer it that way. In short, this is definitely "one of those games" rather than one of the best.

Rating: 7.2/10

Grit and Valor – 1949 offers a fun, streamlined strategy experience with a rock-paper-scissors combat system. Still, its repetitive grind, lack of depth in storytelling, and technical issues hold it back from greatness.

Recommended Age: 12+

Due to its strategic complexity and wartime themes, it's best suited for teens and older who can appreciate tactical gameplay without excessive violence or mature content.