15 Best PC WW1 Games That You Need To Play

War games are very popular because they give players a unique experience amongst the shooter genre. Especially when they take them back in time to previous events. World War 1 for example has become the host to many great games, we’ll show you 15 of them.

#15 Commander The Great War

Commander The Great War is very straightforward in its intent and gameplay. Mainly, they put you in the role of a commander during a set of five grand campaigns in World War I. It’s your job to use a variety of units to go and conquer the battlefield and claim victory in various missions.

In the hex-based map you’ll find yourself on, you’ll need to make the best decisions possible no matter the situation. Plus, you’ll need to improve your units over time so that they can take on the bigger obstacles that will be awaiting them.

The game is mean to be easy to learn, but hard to master, and as the campaigns grow more and more challenging, you’ll see just how good, or bad, a commander you are.

#14 Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game

We want to give a special shoutout to the team behind this game, because it was a mod team! They used the Paradox Engine to create their own title with a surprising amount of depth.

In Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game, you’ll play from the Great War to the Cold War, seeing just how many “darkest hours” humanity has had to endure over the years, and as a result of that, test your skills against all sorts of threats over the years. An AI has been made to ensure that the reactions to every move you make, no grand or small, will be determined for what they do next.

There are 10 campaigns of various sizes for you to have fun in, so dive in and see what makes this mod game shine.

#13 Valiant Hearts: The Great war

Valiant Hearts is a very different kind of WWI game from the ones we’ve already shown you.

Mainly because Valiant Hearts puts you in a comic-style adventure, one that’ll have you play the roles of various people throughout a singular campaign in WWI to reunite a German soldier with his love. But as this is war, nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and you’ll learn just how harsh the tragedy of war really is.

The game mixes action, stealth, and a deep storyline that’ll have you doing all you can to try and save these characters, and experience the consequences of war at the same time.

Like we said, it’s a very different game, but that’s what makes it so special.

#12 Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land

I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting to talk about Cthulhu today…but here we are!

Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land to be clear is indeed a game set within WWI. You play as a team of investigators who are tasked with finding out what is going on, and soon find that Cthulhu himself is trying to enact plans for the world. Not a good thing if you know who Cthulhu is.

You’ll have to fight back, figure out how to stop his plans, all the while making sure that you stay sane throughout it all. Again, not the easiest thing to do.

But if you want to try a Cthulhu RPG, this is definitely that game for you!

#11 To End All Wars

To End All Wars is a very large-scale strategy game that’ll allow you to truly experience World War I like few games can.

For example, just in this game there are over 1600 historical leaders to pick and choose from, each rated on their abilities and over 900 different types of units from infantry, to cavalry and artillery to aircrafts and battleships! That’s a lot of options!

What’s more, you’ll be able to choose any of the factions (and subfactions) who were trying to win the war, as well as experience incredibly detailed maps that featured all the terrain that soldiers fought in the world war.

So if you want to see just how grand and detailed a strategy war game can be, then To End All Wars would be a great start.

#10 Sprocket

Here is a title for those who want to go about fighting wars in a much different way. Mainly, instead of just picking a unit and going with it, you get to build your own unit. In this case, you get to build your own tank.

Yep, Sprocket offers you the chance to make your own custom tank, and allows you to make it however you want, even if it looks weird or unusual.

And to be clear, the depth of this customization is vast, as you’ll be designing literally every aspect of the tank so that it meets your specifications.

Then, when you’re done? You can test it out in scenarios set within WWI and 2 as you advance the tank technology to make an even better ride.

#9 Victoria II

If you’re wanting a title that’ll not JUST focus on the Great War, then Victoria II is one you’ll want to try out.

Because in Victoria II, you’ll take the role of a leader of a nation, one that is starting to grow through the colonial era of the world and must guide your people through the good times and the bad. You’ll start in the 19th century and end things just before World War II.

So as such, your choices throughout the years are going to heavily affect what happens to the people and the world around you. Will you be a magnanimous leader who truly goes and does what’s best for the people?

Or, will you be a tyrant and get the world to fear you? Jump in the game and find out.

#8 Toy Soldiers

Want the thrill of a war game but without things looking so…realistic? Then you need to check out Toy Soldiers. Because in this game, you’ll play as a group of literal toys from the WWI era, and command them to try and take over the toy battlefields that you are upon.

What’s more, you can command them in a variety of ways, including doing it from on high, or playing “on their level” to try and see things through their eyes.

What’s more, you won’t just be playing as soldiers, but as tanks, planes and so on. With improved visuals and the DLC included for free, get the remastered version and see what toy war looks and plays like.

#7 NecroVisioN

So, what’s more monstrous than war? How about a war that actually has monsters in it? NecroVisioN puts you in the role of a soldier who has his entire unit put into the trenches of a place that just so happens to have actually monsters as inhabitants.

This underground world that you and your fellow soldiers discover is one that features an even greater evil than the one above, and it’s your job to make sure that it doesn’t ever get out.

You’ll be using the real weapons of the era, mixed in with some magical artifacts and even some vampire powers to boot. Clearly they’re going for a wide range of abilities here.

So load up and fight the darkness itself in NecroVisioN.

#6 Verdun

Based on the infamous battle from 1916, Verdun puts another twist on the WWI gameplay arguably in the best way.

In this case, they make the game truly accurate from top to bottom, so that you can’t just point and shoot to get a kill, you must really aim and shoot the weapon in a realistic way to get things done.

What’s more, you won’t be playing along, as many modes within Verdun feature multiplayer components that will test you mightily. Including a 64-player mode that’ll really leave you with the desire to be the last person standing.

Add that to various other modes, lots of locations to play in and more, and you can see why Verdun is so special a game.

#5 Tannenberg

What’s that? You want more of what Verdun had to offer? Well then, check out this other game in that line of titles, Tannenberg.

Tannenberg plays very much like Verdun, just with different settings. Including being able to play as the various factions on massive maps that’ll be affected by how the multiplayer gameplay goes.

The maps are wide and very open, and you’ll have to deal with ALL that the soldiers in WWI had to deal with, including climbing in and out of trenches, as well as dealing with things like gas grenades. With up to 64 players in the game at times, you’ll have a hard time making it out. Ensuring that skill is the most important factor in the title.

#4 Battlefield 1

The Battlefield series hasn’t always had the best games (as their more recent releases have shown…), but at times they do indeed bring the visual spectacle and scope of war, and Battlefield 1 is another example of that.

In the game you’ll be fighting the Great War from various places and viewpoints. One moment you’ll be fighting in French cities, and other times you’ll be up in the Alps trying to do a mission there. The environments, thanks to their powerful engine, will be constantly changing and evolving, and thus, you must evolve with it.

After you get the hang of things, you can jump into the multiplayer modes and see if you can outlast the other gamers in various modes that’ll test your skills.

#3 Battle of Empires 1914-1918

While not a name that rolls off the tongue, Battle of Empires 1914-1918 knows exactly what it wants to me. An RTS title that takes you through of the biggest and bloodiest battles/campaigns of the Great War in order to show you what it’s like to lead troops to victory in that period.

Of the six different campaigns that you can partake in, you’ll find all manner of warfare within. From basic troop battles, to tank battles, to planes, and more. You can even choose to play it on your own, or to co-op it with a friend for a better chance of victory.

And naturally, there is a multiplayer element in here as well, ensuring more longevity for the title.

#2 Rise of Flight: The Great Air War

Most people forget that World War I was indeed the war that brought in aerial combat into the field of play. Granted, it wasn’t the most advanced warfare around, and the ones who flew the planes had to do some incredibly basic things just to not get shot down by their own crew (see: wear brightly colored scarfs).

But, as Rise of Flight: The Great Air War shows you, there was indeed a thrill in getting to fly these aircraft, and now , you’ll get to experience that in a very authentic title. Just as important, you’ll find there are multiple ways to go and control the planes to better suit you.

There are over 40 planes in this game, and each one was painstakingly made to recreate the original blueprints of the craft. So hop into the cockpit and see how flying feels.

#1 Iron Harvest

What’s that? We’re ending this list with an alternate future game that is set AFTER World War I? …and your point is…?

Look, Iron Harvest is indeed set after the Great War, but that’s part of the point. This is a version of the world where the war ended one way, and as a result of that, we got steampunk mechs that you can pilot and cause REAL damage on the battlefield.

What’s more, even though one war is over, another is about to begin, and you’ll need these mechs at your side in order to get through the dark times that are coming.

So ignore the “historical accuracy” of things for a bit and just go enjoy Iron Harvest!