All Quiet in the Trenches

All Quiet in the Trenches is a narrative strategy game with RPG elements and the debut project of a German studio Totally Not Aliens. It focuses on turn-based combat and taking care of our units, keeping them alive and sane. The game was inspired by the novel "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque.

Plot

The game is set in 1915 in the trenches of World War I's Western Front. We play as an officer commanding a squad of soldiers. Our objective's not to turn the tide of war, but to keep our men alive while fulfilling our commanders' ambitions.

Mechanics

All Quiet in the Trenches tasks us with commanding our men during combat and afterwards. Rather than freely move our troops, we issue commands, such as moving to the next cover, suppressing fire, treating the wounded or retreating. There are many problems we must deal with, such as jammed guns and lost glasses, dealing with which requires sacrificing more precious turns.

In-between engagements we assign tasks to our troops. Most of them won't be able to rest, busy with pest control, digging trenches, recon work or digging graves. All this affects their physical and mental state. We'll need to resolve conflicts, learn our troops' secrets, motivations and wants. We'll also need to talk to civilians and help them whenever we can.

All Quiet in the Trenches forces us to make difficult decisions that affect how soldiers and the command see us. To succeed, we must keep both these groups satisfied.

Technical aspects

The game features a comic book-like artstyle contrasting its mature themes.