Tannenberg, WWI followup to Verdun, leaves early access today
64-player battles, with bots to fill the gaps
Tannenberg, a 64 player FPS that takes place on a battlefield but was clever enough to come up with a proper name, has left early access today. The followup to 2015's Verdun, Tannenberg is inspired by the 1914 battle of the same name, and lets players wield period authentic equipment in giant scrapes between Russian, Roumanian, Austro-Hungarian, German and Bulgarian troops.
My ability to gauge historical accuracy basically starts and ends with that one series of Blackadder, but the knowledgeable and formerly-of-this-parish Fraser Brown had a bash at the game last year, saying:
"An eye for detail and an obsession with authenticity, if not complete accuracy, is possibly even more important in Tannenberg than it was in Verdun. Despite the long pauses and more restrictive format, Verdun’s trench warfare hook set it apart from other military shooters and placed it firmly in World War I."
Here's the release trailer:
As well as the 64 person battles, developer Blackmill Games promises over fifty weapons, six maps, and several game modes. Also, the big battle have AI bots to keep numbers consistent. Bots! In 2019! It's enough to make you go "Oh, yeah, bots, that's quite nice. I like bots." Seriously though! Bots! There may have been some other games with bots lately that I've missed. In which case, ignore this excited outburst.
Keeping up the dedication to historical accuracy, the maps themselves have been modelled on locations from "hilly forests of Galicia to a Polish village subjected to scorched earth tactics." I write about games from my bedroom for a living, so I haven't seen a real hill in about two years. People keep telling me that they're quite nice though, and they do look like very nice hills from the screenshots.
You can join the fields of battle on which Tannenberg takes place via Steam for £15.50/$20/€17, or grab a bundle of both Tannenberg and Verdun for £19.50/$25/€22. There's also a "a 25% loyalty discount" on Steam for previous owners of Verdun.