The Valiant

The Valiant is a squad-based real-time tactics game set during the Crusades, developed by KITE Games and published by THQ Nordic. Think Company of Heroes but shrunk down to a handful of named heroes, each with their own skill trees and gear slots. You command a small group of warrior archetypes, including heavily armored knights, ranged crossbowmen, and support clerics, through a series of story-driven missions and optional skirmish content. The RPG layer is light but present: heroes level up, unlock active and passive abilities, and can equip loot drops that meaningfully shift their stats. If you have ever wished a tactics game let you treat individual soldiers like D and D characters, the loop here is at least pointing in that direction. The campaign centers on Theoderich von Akenburg, a former Crusader trying to stop a relic of dangerous power from falling into the wrong hands. The premise has genuine potential. Morally complicated Crusades history, a protagonist haunted by his past, religious zealotry as an antagonist force. The execution, however, is surface-level at best. Dialogue is functional rather than memorable, and the supporting cast rarely rises above archetypes. For a game marketed partly on its story, the narrative payoff is thin. Choices do not branch in any meaningful way, and the writing does not reward a second look. If you come to this expecting BG3-tier character arcs, recalibrate hard before launching. Where The Valiant recovers some ground is in the moment-to-moment tactics. Positioning matters, ability timing matters, and the game does a reasonable job of designing missions that feel distinct rather than recycled. Flanking, crowd control, and knowing when to pull back are all genuinely relevant skills. The hero skill trees give you enough build decisions to stay engaged through the campaign's runtime, though the variety does not hold up especially well past the midpoint. Most players will settle on a reliable formation by hour ten and rarely need to deviate. The loot system adds some texture but never reaches the satisfying complexity of a true RPG. Multiplayer includes both co-op and competitive PvP modes, which is a meaningful differentiator for the genre. Co-op in particular extends the life of the game for players who have a regular tactics partner, and the small squad size makes communication manageable. The PvP community, however, was sparse at launch and has not grown significantly since, so matchmaking can be slow. Solo players should treat the co-op modes as a bonus rather than a core selling point. At 66 percent positive Steam reviews and a Metacritic of 73, The Valiant sits exactly where its execution places it: competent, occasionally engaging, never essential. Fans of the sub-genre who have already burned through Men of War and the Grey Goo catalog will find enough here to enjoy for twenty to thirty hours. RPG players chasing deep narrative or meaningful choice should look elsewhere. KITE Games clearly understands the mechanical bones of a good squad tactics game. The ambition to layer a compelling story on top simply did not land this time. Monika, Scout Team