Developer: Kite Games
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Platform: PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
Tested on: PS5
The Valiant (PS5) – Review
It’s well known that some genres of games are better suited for consoles than others. For example, this is why you will find a lot more party games on the Switch because of its focus on split-screen multiplayer, while PC gamers get a ton more strategy games since keyboard and mouse are an optimal setup for this. That is why it’s always a joy to see an RTS game come to consoles since these are far and few between. Hopefully, The Valiant will show developers that this genre of games can be played with a controller just as well as with the usual setup.
Story
The Valiant tells the story of a former soldier in the war between the Crusaders and the Templars, who is called back to arms to face his past. Theoderich used to be a vicious Crusader knight, together with his brother-in-arms Ulrich. When on a mission, they stumble upon a mysterious artifact hidden in an underground temple, which quickly turns out to be a dangerous relic. Ulrich’s mind is corrupted by the ancient item, which makes him hunger for power. This causes a fallout between the friends and Theoderich chooses to leave the Crusader life behind. Eleven years later, a monk shows up at his door with a text that tells the history of the artifact. Together they set out on a journey to find the two other pieces of this relic that can be combined into a powerful scepter. What follows is a journey across the continent, putting together a band of misfits and facing the one friend Theoderich had thought to never see again.
The story of The Valiant does exactly what it sets out to do, telling a medieval tale to accompany the tactical gameplay. And while the narrative definitely isn’t bad, there is also nothing that makes it stand out. You’ll definitely guess where the story is going. None of the characters stand out and you probably won’t remember the journey in a couple of months.
Graphics
When the developers translated the graphical side of the game to consoles, most of it stayed the same. The look of The Valiant is exactly what you would expect, as you’re treated to a medieval world filled with fields and castles. Luckily the campaign takes place in a collection of locations, like snowy fields or thick forests, to keep the ten-hour campaign looking fresh. The game does look well overall, but you can see the details evaporating when you zoom in on your troops, which is not uncommon for an RTS.
Another important element with this type of game is a clear HUD, since you’ll be micromanaging a lot of elements and need a bunch of information at a time. This is where The Valiant does a good job, as things like a map or troops are always visible on screen, and commands are easily accessed through radial menus. This is also something that translated well to a controller with smart button mapping.
Sound
While the graphical design is pretty bland at times, the sound really kicks it up a notch. Almost all of the characters and dialogues are voice-acted and deliver some great performances. During the battles, you can expect the usual clashing of swords and galloping of horses in your ears. All of these sounds fit perfectly with the great soundtrack.
Gameplay
The Valiant is an RTS game that was released on PC last year, now making its way over to consoles. When we checked out the game’s original release, we described it as a solid experience, but one that doesn’t do anything special for a game of its genre. Let’s see if this experience translates well to consoles.
The game boasts a handful of game modes, the first one being the aforementioned campaign where you take on the role of Theoderich during his journey. This tale is split up into different chapters, the first ones posing as tutorials. Here you’ll learn the ropes of the basic gameplay: selecting troops, sending them to battle, and taking over important locations. These opening levels can be a bit tricky to get through if you aren’t that familiar with RTS tactics. After you complete these introductory chapters, the campaign offers you a ton more options with an overworld. The biggest thing you can do here is replay older chapters to earn extra resources or find collectibles. These can be used to enhance troops and make the rest of the journey more manageable. Another great addition at this point is the fact that you can alter the difficulty, which is a welcome feature since a lot of console gamers aren’t that familiar with RTS games. It is a weird design choice that changing the difficulty isn’t an option with the first two levels. This makes the fact that you’ll have to start the chapter all over again if your characters don’t have enough health more painful.
Aside from this campaign are a few more classical game modes, the first of these being a point-based PVP clash. All players fight over resource locations to strengthen their army and hold their ground at central locations to reduce their opponent’s point total to zero. This can be played with up to four players online or you can challenge the different levels of AI to strengthen your tactical mind. Aside from this game mode is a horde mode where players must work together to protect a collection of caravans from invading armies. All of these modes are a ton of fun and offer a lot of options to switch up the gameplay. There are a bunch of maps, heroes, and units to experiment with and cosmetics to earn.
After spending some time with the game, we can finally answer the biggest question: yes the game works well with a controller. While it does take some time to get used to doing everything with joysticks and a few buttons, all of it will feel pretty natural after some time spent with Theoderich and his companions.
Conclusion
The Valiant is a pretty good RTS game that doesn’t do anything too special, which probably helped when the developers ported the game to consoles. The game controls well and is a great introduction to the genre. The story isn’t that special and tells a classical medieval tale of war and comradery, but the gameplay shines with a collection of game modes and enough customization to keep it interesting.
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