The horrors of war are well documented and the wastefulness of a whole generation of men can never be forgotten when it comes to World War One. A war when hundreds could die in a flash, running across the frontlines.
Games dealing with these wars are a hard balancing act. Battlefield 1 does a good job in single player but there is an uneasiness to it when you are playing multiplayer and some 10-year-old is shouting down a mic about your mum.
Conscript then is a game that captures the essence of the war and the stories around it. But it is also a retro survival horror game.
Conscript is a hard one to play, but not in terms of difficulty so much. It is tricky even on the lowest level, and that’s because it has a relentless atmosphere of misery and tension in a trench-based war setting. And that’s how it should be in a World War One game.
Things are set in the middle of the 1916 conflict in the battle of Verdun. This was the longest battle of the war and took over 700,000 souls. You play the role of a French soldier called Andre who is fighting on the front line. Separated in battle from his brother Pierre, the task is to find his brother and get both of them home safely. I think the narrative told through the grim nature of the trench warfare and through little cutscenes and characters you come across perfectly captures the madness of WW1. It goes into the past as well, becoming almost dreamlike in its conditions. Seeing soldiers in pain or trauma in the trenches is very affecting and thought provoking.
Conscript plays through a top-down perspective where you are guiding Andre through a series of maze-like tunnels and rooms in the frontline. It feels like an old-school survival horror game, where saves are rare and backtracking and keeping your wits about you are what is needed. You start the combat by running away at first and then you get a shovel, a gun, a rifle, and a shotgun. It’s deliberately hard though, as you have to aim which takes time, as does reloading and shooting. Ammo is in short supply and it highlights the brutal nature of warfare. In certain sections, you will just have to run away from the explosions and mustard gas falling around you.
Enemies and soldiers run towards you, at times as bewildered as you. When you loot their bodies you see mementos, proving these are not faceless grunts you are killing. Progression is sometimes tricky as you are not signposted, but that adds to the fog-of-war feel of the game. And simple puzzles all work well, as a a solid piece of progression plays out.
The game follows through with its retro feel with the visuals. There’s the template of the trenches which comes across brilliantly, doing a great job with the top-down style of gameplay. And there are moments where Conscript focuses on graphic novel-styled cutscenes that are stunning. At all times though, the levels feel creatively authentic to the times.
The audio is also of the highest quality; screams and footsteps echoing around you. At times, Conscript is quiet for long moments, but when you hear the bullets come it’s like a slap across the face.
Conscript is grim to play, but ever-so important. It’s a brilliant homage to the war and the soldiers who fought there, as the horror of the situation and the relentless fear of the battle are clear and constant. Some might find the old-school mechanics a bit wearing, as may a lack of direction, but others will become completely absorbed into the trenches, glad that they’ll never have to experience this war.
