Grit and Valor - 1949

In Grit and Valor - 1949 from Milky Tea Studios and Megabit Publishing, players control dieselpunk mechs through an alternate history. These feel like upgradeable towers sent into real-time tactical battles over beautiful dioramas, held together by a roguelite progression system.

Grit and Valor - 1949 is set in an alternate reality Europe where World War II rages on, with the Evil Axis controlling the continent. To end this conflict, players must join the resistance, liberate occupied countries starting with Britain, and escort an EMP device into the heart of enemy territory to destroy their mech production and communications headquarters. Yes, that's right, there are dieselpunk mechs that are the central element of the army. The combat missions themselves take place on rotatable dioramas set in four regions, with a variety of randomly generated battlefields and objectives/challenges to overcome.

Players use a squad of Mechs to protect the Command Vehicle also on the map, complete objectives and survive against hordes of enemy waves, using the terrain and environment (cover) to their advantage and exploiting enemy weaknesses.

There is a simple but effective rock-paper-scissors principle - tied to the damage they do - that is taught in the tutorial (and conveniently shown with icons in the top right corner). Although the dioramas are reminiscent of Into the Breach, Grit and Valor - 1949 plays quite differently, being more of a real-time tactical game with a pause function in which you can give orders. Alternatively, when selecting a unit to command, the game time is automatically slowed down. However, when planning the movement of troops, players must take into account that troops can either move or attack - in the latter case, the troops are more like mobile towers, like in a tower defense game. However, players will quickly get used to this. The Mechs can also perform special actions, such as jumping or laying mines, depending on the pilot. Players only control a limited number of mechs, which ideally have synergies with each other. Between waves and when picking up reinforcements, players will be offered a choice of three upgrades that will improve the current Mechs in the run. It is also important not to remain static on the battlefield, but to actively react to the waves of enemies. This is how you fight your way from diorama to diorama to the region's boss enemy.

If the mission fails, you will return to headquarters and start a new run, but you will be able to access the resources (scrap and valor) from the previous attempt and research technologies, unlock more Mech models, improve the pilots, and upgrade the Mechs and their components. This is also important for adapting the mechs to the next challenges. So it's the typical Rogue-lite cycle, which can take a while depending on your luck with the perks, but it's good that the maps and the number of enemies are randomly generated. It all feels surprisingly similar to Metal Slug Tactics, but with real-time combat.

"We're thrilled to officially launch Grit & Valor - 1949 alongside Megabit. Our team has poured passion into blending deep tactical gameplay with a gripping post-war narrative, and we can’t wait for players to experience the unique strategic challenges that define this genre." - Kevin Campbell, Producer at Milky Tea

Grit and Valor - 1949 is developed by Milky Tea from the UK. The studio was founded in 2005 in Liverpool and has about 30 employees. They design, develop and publish their own video game IPs (HyperBrawl Tournament or Coffin Dodgers) as well as offering "work for hire" game development services. Grit & Valor is their first game released under the Megabit label. Milky Tea is part of the Aonic Collective (Sweden) of game studios, and Megabit is Aonic's publishing arm, created to support its 1st and 3rd party studio partners. Major titles currently in development under Megabit include Warren Spector's Thick as Thieves from Otherside Entertainment and the cozy open-world adventure Lou's Lagoon from Tiny Roar (Germany). The Aonic Collective of game studios includes Tiny Roar, OtherSide Entertainment, Red Games Co, nDreams, BKOM, Milky Tea and TutoToons.

"It's no coincidence that Grit and Valor - 1949 is the first game published under Megabit, as it perfectly represents the reason why we built our new publishing arm, to support experiences and studios like this. Milky Tea is a passionate group of visionary developers and it’s truly an honor to help them realize their extraordinary vision." - Benjie Clarke, Managing Director of Global Publishing at Aonic

Grit and Valor - 1949 was released on 26 March 2025 for PC via Steam. The game will then be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and the Epic Games Store in the summer of 2025.

Conclusion

Fast-paced, stylish real-time tactics await players in Grit and Valor - 1949 - at a level between casual and hardcore, but with motivating roguelite progression.

Features

• Accessible real-time tactical combat with pause
• Roguelite progression and replayability
• Small battlefield Dioramas