The Old Front Reopens the Trenches of an Alternate WW1
The Old Front drops you into 1928 in an alternate history where the U.S. never entered the Great War and the frontline never quite closed. What remains is a ruin of tunnels, rusted bunkers and No Man's Land now claimed by the Risen - the soldiers who never stayed dead. This single-player top-down extraction shooter is all about careful scavenging, brutal raids and a fragile community of survivors doing whatever it takes to keep the lights on.
Raids are the core loop. You slip into the abandoned trench lines, hunt for weapons, magazines and supplies, and try to get out alive. Everything you bring back can be used to improve yourself and the Refuge, a makeshift base where former enemies trade, take quests and piece together a tenuous peace.
Scavenge the Abandoned Trenches
The maps are built around interconnected trench lines and underground tunnels left over from the war. Expect multi-layered environments: open shell-cratered fields, claustrophobic shafts, and concrete bunkers where the best loot often comes with the highest risk. Each map promises distinct points of interest and pockets of salvage, but they are also crawling with the Risen.
The extraction mechanic means your runs matter. If you poke too far without planning your exit, or if you burn through the wrong ammo, you could lose everything. That tension is the point - loot is scarce, and every decision about what to carry home is meaningful.
Refuge A Makeshift Camp of Former Foes
Back at the Refuge, survivors of different nations have banded together for reasons of survival rather than friendship. The Refuge is your hub for trading, picking up quests and upgrading both your character and the base itself. It is where the social layer of the game sits - NPCs sell parts, offer work and sometimes change the way you approach the frontlines.
Upgrades to the Refuge unlock better gear, new quests and more robust ways to keep survivors alive. Trading recovered parts and ammo is a key loop that ties your risky runs to long-term progression.
Choose Your Gear Carefully
Supplies on The Old Front are scarce. You will need to scavenge the right ammunition types, magazines and maintenance tools to keep weapons serviceable. The game emphasizes historical handling - it includes more than 25 historically accurate weapons that function similarly to how they did a century ago. That means attachments, magazines and condition all matter.
Decision-making about loadouts is tactical. Do you lug a heavier rifle with limited ammo or a lighter sidearm and more consumables? Every extra kilogram affects your choices on a raid and your chances of making it back to the Refuge with loot intact.
Explore At Your Own Peril
Maps reward careful exploration and knowledge of the layout. Old tunnels can connect unexpected parts of the map, and underground bunkers hide both treasure and danger. The Risen are the constant hazard, and their presence turns routine scavenging into tense, often messy skirmishes.
Because the game leans on salvage and extraction, stealth, timing and route planning are often as valuable as raw firepower. The environment itself becomes a player - collapsed passages, choke points and ruined entrances influence tactics and create memorable moments.
Character Progression
Progression is skill-based and quest-driven. You improve and upgrade a survivor through abilities and equipment you unlock via missions and Refuge upgrades. There is a twist in longevity: when your current character dies, you assume control of a new survivor from the Refuge. That keeps the story of the community moving forward while tying each run into a larger meta of rebuilding and survival.
This system supports a persistent world feeling where losses hurt but do not stop the larger effort to reclaim and fortify the frontline.
The Old Front frames an alternate WW1 through the lens of extraction shooter design: meticulous scavenging, resource scarcity and fragile alliances make every run matter. Between tense trench raids and the slow work of rebuilding in the Refuge, the game promises a steady grind of risk versus reward in a war that never really ended.
