Grit and Valor – 1949 review

In Grit and Valor – 1949, the axis powers weren’t defeated in 1945. In the game’s dystopian alternaverse, the fascists continued, building towering, diesel-drinking mechs that are razing Europe. After stealing a few iron walkers from their fleet, the resistance plans to transport a EMT weapon deep into enemy territory, thwarting their ambitions. Smartly, Grit and Valor doesn’t bombard players with exposition. Instead, details like the different languages spoken by resistance pilots and the shell-pocked landscapes deliver most of the details.

Initially, you begin with the machine gun-toting Ironclad and flamethrower-armed Dragan. Completion of in-game objectives like destroying secondary targets or killing a fixed number of foes eventually allows the resistance to bring a third mech into each battle. Across each run, you’ll face off against waves of opponents and the intermittent boss as you trudge toward New Germany.

Outgun and Outthink Your Enemies

Real-time combat takes place on modestly-sized, gridded battlefields. When you’re selecting a mech, time slows, allowing for a bit more accuracy. Mercifully, you can also pause battles at any time. Since your mechs cannot simultaneously move and shoot, commandeering your small convoy is rarely overwhelming. Although Grit and Valor is an RTS game, many of the genres fundamental, like resource collection and unit production have been jettisoned. This ensures that Grit and Valor’s pace rarely slows.

That said, you are burdened with protecting a vulnerable Command Vehicle. Like the rest of your resistance army, it does provide access to a secondary function, extending the ability to heal any of your vehicles. Tied to cooldown meters, your core fleet has access to their own device, which lean toward the offensive. With everything from mines, targeted airstrikes, to jump jets that allow you to come crashing down on opponents, players can quickly turn the tide of battle.

Three different strategic advantages can be gained. Units adhere to a rock-paper-scissors structure, with guns, incendiary, and explosive weapons all have a strength and weakness over other unit classes. Elevation provides another reward, often pushing the fight toward high ground. Finally, Grit and Valor offers XCOM-style spaces that provide cover from enemy fire.

Obligated to Play the Long Game

Performing secondary objectives like picking up dropped resources or seizing communication towers offers players a selection from three different roguelike rewards. These extend perks like boosting your firing rate or providing regenerative healing, making them worth the trouble across each run. Meta-game incentivization is rooted in the allotment of new parts that can be used to upgrade the stats of your mechs. But there’s the thing: you’ll inevitably fail early runs without these bonuses. As such, Grit and Valor rewards persistence more than strategic prudence, which might be vexing for those looking for a cerebral workout.

Grit and Valor – 1949 was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.