Gallipoli
Review

Finally getting out of those landing craft myself, I can confidently say that if you are a fan of the mainline WW1 shooters (like Verdun and Isonzo), you are definitely going to love Gallipoli.

It is a gritty, atmospheric, and incredibly lethal game that respects its history. Sure, it does stumble a little with its map traversals, but its gunplay alone makes it the best historical shooter I have played in a long time.

Visceral, Impactful Combat

By far, the greatest thing about Gallipoli is its gunplay. The combat is fantastic, balancing the deadly realism of the early 20th century perfectly with fast-paced momentum-based shooting.

In a world where automatic weapons like assault rifles dominate the shooter genre, there is something extremely rewarding about mastering the slow and methodical way of fighting of the First World War. Working the bolt of a Lee-Enfield or Mauser rifle is unbelievably visceral, and killing an enemy soldier at the other end of a sun-baked ravine in a single shot provides a unique dopamine rush. Sound design greatly enhances the impact of the combat, from the deafening whistling of shells to the whistling for an advance to the desperate melee brawls that happen whenever you attach your bayonet.

Regardless of whether you are fighting as the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps trying to establish their foothold on the shores or the Ottomans defending their homeland, the asymmetry of the terrain will constantly make you think outside the box and adapt your tactics. You will be forced to rely on your squad, using the authentic squad-based system of laying down suppression fire and issuing officer orders to advance the frontline bit by bloody bit.

LACK OF VEHICLES

While there is no denying that the greatest flaw of Gallipoli is that it doesn't have any vehicles whatsoever.

With such big and sprawling maps to fight in, the lack of transportation greatly affects gameplay in a negative way. I get that the actual Gallipoli campaign consisted mostly of infantry fights, but the game could greatly benefit from at least rudimentary vehicle options, like transport boats for bringing reinforcements to the different spots on the beaches or the first armored cars to break through the frontlines. Not just at the start of mission without even possibility to drive it.

Currently, losing a forward spawn point forces you to run for quite a long time in order to return to the action, ruining the gameplay entirely and leaving you completely exposed to snipers during your slow jog through the open terrain. And the only transport is rowboats, but they are more decorative than functional.

Cross-Platform Features & Ecosystem

It is vital to talk about the cross-play capabilities of Gallipoli. I am happy to say that the devs have included seamless cross-play between PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S right from launch.

In a niche and hardcore title like Gallipoli, having a unified matchmaking pool is a huge plus, making sure the servers are always fully populated throughout the day. Console players do have an option to turn off the crossplay if they want to avoid facing PC players who have mouse-and-keyboard controls. However, since the game focuses more on positioning than fast reflex aiming, I found the cross-play ecosystem to work quite smoothly. Unfortunately, full cross-progression is currently unavailable, meaning that all your unlocked uniforms and weapon variants will not carry over from one platform to another.

The Verdict

Gallipoli is a wonderful and extremely respectful representation of one of the most notorious campaigns of WW1. Its combat is visceral, enjoyable, and deadly, making you immerse into the hell of the trench warfare of 1915. The problem with the lack of vehicles might ruin the fun of map traversal, but it is a minor flaw in an excellent historical shooter overall.