Here at Monstervine, we usually handle writing about games on a volunteer basis, but Grit and Valor 1949 was…well, let’s say “a real-time tactics roguelite in an alt-history World War 2 dieselpunk setting with mechs” was so me it was basically a “you are previewing this.” Fine, guys, twist my arms.
Axis forces destroyed and/or conquered most of Europe with giant mechs. The Allies are in retreat save for a ragtag resistance band off the coast of Scotland who have captured a precious few mechs of their own and are planning a daring raid into Axis territory to destroy their mech production and take down their communication. You’re commanding THE LAST HOPE TO SAVE THE WORLD and, to be clear, that’s the opening cutscene and you know exactly what you’re getting into.
If you’re unfamiliar with the dieselpunk vibe, this is less the sleek and stylish Japanese style mechs and more big, lumbering, stompy robots clanking across the landscape. It’s very late 40s: belching smoke, heavy, lumbering rather than jetting around, doing cool moves, yelling, and powering up.
The actual battles take place on fairly small maps and while a command vehicle must be protected, the mechs themselves are the stars of the show. There’s a pretty simple paper-rock-scissors at play: ballistic types shoot guns and are strong against the fire-shooting types but vulnerable to the explosive-shooting types. Fire types are good against explosive and weak against ballistic. You catch on pretty quick and there’s a little indicator on the screen if you don’t “catch on pretty quick.”
Terrain also matters–Obi Wan Kenobi would’ve taught you this, of course–so being on the high ground is important, and cover matters. We have giant stompy death machines, but they’re not totally invincible. The Axis has mechs of their own. They also have infantry and bombers on some maps, and all of them are happy to destroy you. Lastly, your mechs also have pilots. Though they aren’t depressed and/or horny teenagers, they do have special limited-use abilities that can swing a battle and include things like airstrikes, limited repairs, minefields, and jump jets that can increase movement speed.
As a roguelite, it’s less about the individual battles and managing the wear and tear over time: it’s less about one infantry squad beating up your vehicles than not managing them properly, getting worn down, and running out of limited repair options, or leaving one mech on their own and letting them get knocked out. There’s also the give and take: many battles have a main goal but also side objectives that provide additional benefits if completed, but sometimes that may mean your mechs cannot fight a wave of incoming troops and may take damage.
After completing a battle, you get a choice of enhancements or can reroll.
That said, having played enough roguelites, I chuckled when I saw the map.
The grey ones with the crosshairs are combat nodes. Obviously, there are lots of those. Blue ones are dialogue ones and provide a choice, like so:
Orange ones with chevrons indicate advanced combat, so those are harder but also provide better upgrade opportunities.
Of course, as with most roguelikes, losing is going to happen but that’s also sort of the point: You’re learning the systems, collecting loot, leveling up, and unlocking things. You also go back to base where you can purchase upgrades for your mechs and pilots by redeeming the Scrap and Valor (currency) you earned along the way.
The additional mechs and pilots were locked in the demo but it was possible to upgrade the ones it came with and you get a feel for things pretty easily: you upgrade damage and special abilities, increase armor, add range, improve critical chance, and so on.
The end screen of the demo promises more boss fighters, more regions, and more mechs and pilots. The only campaign currently in the demo is the British Isles but the promised campaigns include Scandinavia, Western Europe, and New Germany.
The missions are always pretty straightforward: killing Nazis. Sorry if you want to have reasoned debates with them. The side objectives give them a lot of flavor, though. Sometimes you’re capturing radio towers; sometimes you’re protecting an Allied safehouse; sometimes you’re trundling fuel across the map. The battles themselves aren’t overly tactical or challenging, it’s more about managing your small squad of mechs, working together, managing the oncoming threats, and getting through the scenario. The roguelike fun is unlocking abilities and buffing your mechs and pilots until you’re buzzsawing through previously challenging missions and getting better at the game.
Right now, the demo is pretty limited, and I actually found that frustrating! I want to find out what’s going on in the rest of the world, unlock more mechs and pilots, build out the squad, and fight some Nazi generals. “It left me wanting more” is probably the highest compliment I could pay.
