Tannenberg Review PlayStation 4

Authentic World War I action has made its way to consoles, as squad-based shooter Tannenberg has launched on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Originally released for PC in 2019, Tannenberg puts players on the Eastern Front of the war with authentic weapons, uniforms, and battlefields, complete with a brand-new map. Tannenberg is a niche shooter and won’t appeal to all players who enjoy the first-person shooter genre. However, the game looks and plays great on the PlayStation 4, and is a solid experience for those looking for an authentic wartime shooter.

The War To End All Wars

Tannenberg features large-scale battles that take place across various battlefields from World War I, which in this case occur within countrysides boarding Russia. Whereas the game’s predecessor, Verdun, took place on the Western Front and featured more close-quarter combat, Tannenberg’s open battlefields allow for a different type of strategy when trying to capture the various areas of the map for control or taking on the enemy in a game of Team Deathmatch.

Strategy is a major factor for success in Tannenberg. Being a lone wolf operative won’t do you many favors when trying to secure a position on the map (something I found out the hard way one too many times). Coordinating with teammates and individual squads is important so that positions can be secured or saved, should you need to defend a compromised point. This can be done through the use of D-pad commands.

Of course, this is far easier said than done, primarily due to the graphics and overhead teammate indicators being difficult to see. I often found myself already shooting at a teammate before an indicator finally showed up, or following another player only to realize too late that they were on the opposing team. That said, this kind of chaos on the battlefield is something that developers M2H and Blackmill Games were going for, so it kind of makes sense.

Back To Basics

The first thing that players will notice is that Tannenberg isn’t the most visually refined first-person shooter on the PlayStation 4. Far from it. While the graphics might be better than a standard PC, the game still looks like an old-school Medal of Honor game from the early 2000s. In fact, while playing, I often found myself reminiscing about the countless hours I spent playing Medal of Honor: Allied Assault in multiplayer LAN parties against a handful of friends at once.

This mostly speaks to the PlayStation 4 audience that Tannenberg will appeal to. Older players with an affinity for authentic (synonymous with realistic) war games will likely get far more enjoyment out of Tannenberg than those who are more familiar with over-the-top sort of shooters, like pretty much anything recent in the Call of Duty series. Tannenberg is a World War I shooter. That means no crazy weaponry, gear, or abilities. It’s a pistol or a rifle and a bayonet. Maybe you’ll even equip a shovel to use as a melee weapon or take control of one of the mounted heavy machine guns, but that’s about it. There's nothing glamorous in this game, which is even more true with the inclusion of the gas warfare that took place and was eventually banned following the war during the Geneva Conventions.

What’s Old Is New Again

Along with the move to consoles, Tannenberg now includes an additional map called Przemyśl, which can also be played on the PC version. Przemyśl is a welcomed addition to the game, with its theme based around large fortifications and more close-quarter combat when compared to the more wide-open maps in the game.

At a glance, Tannenberg might appear like a dated first-person shooter, but playing in the authentic world that M2H and Blackmill Games has recreated is an experience that history buffs and fans of the genre will enjoy and appreciate. The game plays as well as other shooters on the PlayStation 4, so long as you’re willing to get down to the bleak grittiness and utter chaos that defined the First World War.