The Great War: Western Front

The Western Front becomes a brutal contest of preparation, attrition, and carefully measured advances in this unusually thoughtful World War I strategy experience. The Great War: Western Front places you in command of either the Allied Nations or Central Powers between 1914 and 1919, asking you to win a conflict where ground is gained in yards rather than miles. Its tone is grim and methodical, capturing the human and mechanical cost of trench warfare without turning it into a simple action spectacle. Petroglyph combines the broad command decisions of a war map with the immediate pressure of real-time battles, making every offensive feel expensive and consequential.

At the theatre level, you move armies across a turn-based campaign map, allocate supplies, develop military technology, and decide where a limited reserve of men and matériel can matter most. When armies collide, command shifts to real-time tactical battles where infantry occupy trenches, artillery softens defenses, and assaults send soldiers into exposed no-man’s-land. Building layered trench systems, reinforcing strongpoints, timing barrages, and reacting to enemy positions matter far more than rushing units forward. Research opens period-appropriate tools such as tanks, poison gas, improved artillery, and aircraft, while rain, snow, mud, and terrain directly alter movement and bombardment effectiveness.

Its standout feature is the persistent battlefield: return to a contested region and find old trenches, shell craters, and ruined countryside still shaped by earlier fighting. That evolving landscape gives campaigns a sense of memory rarely seen in strategy games, while different faction abilities and tech priorities encourage repeat runs. Historical Battles offer focused recreations, Skirmish allows custom matchups, and multiplayer provides a sharper test of defensive planning and attack timing. Players who enjoy the strategic layer of Total War, the battlefield control of Company of Heroes, or the deliberate pacing of historical wargames find plenty to appreciate, though newcomers should expect a demanding game built around patience rather than constant aggression.