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M2H and Blackmill Games “Tannenberg” is a large-scale multiplayer first-person shooter, somewhat like “Battlefield 1“, but a whole lot more authentic and unforgiving.

Trenches, combat, corpses and death is all over the place in “Tannenberg” (welcome to the battlefields of WW1 baby!).

This obviously means that weaponry is limited – all you have to fight the enemy is your rifle (complete with bayonet), gas mask and the occasional pistol and hand grenade.

This is the map of the area that’s showing the progress that’s been made by the German army.

Other than that, gun emplacements can sometimes be found scattered around the battlefield, and your NCO also has the ability to call in for air support every so often.

When you’re done with “Tannenberg”, then you can buy and play “Verdun” (the game is all yours for 17,50 Euros via Steam).

There are the usual four classes, although little differentiates between them. If you are (un)lucky enough to be the captain of your squad, you only have a pistol and binoculars.

However, you can command your troops to move to a given position, which, as most of the players in the game are currently bots, they will do so (eventually) without question.

tannenberg the games different game modes

There are three different game modes to be found in “Tannenberg”, three of which Manoeuvrer is the only one that anyone plays.

As for game modes. Well, there are three different game modes to pick from: The main mode (“Manoeuvrer”) where you have to run down your enemies tickets through capturing points and killing the enemy, and two types of death-match games, which are usually empty of players (there are no bots in those modes either, unlike in “Manoeuvrer”).

There is quite a bit of detail to be found in the game’s objects, and its small things like that which makes the game more interesting and realistic.

Capturing areas just requires that you to wait until a timer expires, hoping that the enemy doesn’t try and stop you. Captured areas add various bonuses and help to expand your front-line in the push to defeat your current enemy.

Tannenberg’s music is good, the controls are responsive and the environments are varied (joy O´ plenty!).

As for wepons. The games weaponry consists mainly of rifles (with bayonet), the odd hand grenade and pistols, with the possibility of getting better weapons as you progress your character.

However, it’s a bit hard to tell when they will be available, as little information is given…

Fixed gun emplacements (with limited ammo) are sometimes available (say hello to my little friend!).

I would also like to point out that due to the limited number of players, you’ll be playing with hoards of bots. In other words, expect to be killed a lot!

The AI varies a lot and seems to be, for the shooting part anyway, all over the place – some will shoot your head off as soon as you leave a trench, whilst others just stand around trying to hit you.

In “Tannenberg” you can play as Russian, Roumanian, Austro-Hungarian, German and Bulgarian troops.

Graphically, “Tannenberg” is pretty decent – there is a nice bit of detail with all the damaged buildings and dead horses scattered around, and it certainly looks authentic. Furthermore, the game’s characters are look fairly decent too.

Gas warfare is very much a real thing in “Tannenberg”. So just like in the real edition of WWI, you have to be quick to put on your gas mask whenever gas warfare is used against you on the battlefield.

Character movement is fine (although AI ones are a bit stiff and odd at times), but your weaponry is severely limited. Whilst being pretty accurate, it just doesn’t make the game particularly interesting.

“Tannenberg” is with no doubt a very good WWI FPS game. However, there are a handful of downsides to be found in the game. For example, the on-screen text is very small, the weaponry is very limited, there are no kill cams and there is a lack of controllable vehicles in the game.

Collision detection can be rather wobbly at times. For example, you can be right next to someone and they will survive, but a long distance shot through a wagon will get you straight away.

So against “Battlefield 1”, this is a poor relation. Especially so since the lack of controllable vehicles does this game no favours, and whilst authentic, continual trench doesn’t make for an exciting game.

Nevertheless, at the end of the day. “Tannenberg” is still a very fun and fairly authentic WWI FPS game. So if you’re into WWI and FPS games in general, then “Tannenberg” should be your cup of tea for sure.

Pros:
+ Very nice authentic graphics.
+ Music is good.
+ Controls are responsive.
+ Environments are varied.

Cons:
– Playing against mostly bots.
– Some modes are empty.
– Lack of controllable vehicles.
– Enemy/friendly player markers take time to appear over characters.
– No kill cams.
– Very limited weaponry.
– On-screen text is so small!

Gameplay: 3/5
Graphics: 4/5
Sound and music: 4/5
Controls: 4/5
Replay value: 3/5
Story: 4/5

tgg grade 4 out of 5

Verdict: 4/5
“Tannenberg” is a fairly authentic WWI game, it certainly can’t be beaten on that front for sure (very few WW1 FPS games has any say against “Tannenberg” when it comes to authenticism). As a fun game to play, though, there are certainly better games available.

So “Tannenberg” is a game you would play once or twice more our of curiosity than anything else. Furthermore, the game sure isn’t helped by an inaccessible weapon system and lack of usable vehicles.

Title: Tannenberg
Developer: Blackmill Games, M2H
Format: PC Download
Genre: Massive multi-player WWI FPS
Resolution: User-defined
Release date: 2019-02-13
Difficulty: User-defined
Spent time: +2 hours
Average grade internationally: 72.88% Gamerankings.com
PEGI age rating: 16+
Price: 18.18 Euros via Steam