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'War is hell!' goes the saying, usually referring to the soldiers participating in the aforementioned conflict. But the civilians who end up caught in the crossfire rarely get a look in, as far as games are concerned. If anything, they're featured as naught but cannon-fodder.
But This War Of Mine changes all this and puts you in charge of several survivors of a war. Not the world-ending kind, but the kind of inter-country conflict such as the Bosnian crisis a few years back. Your mission is simple - keep them alive till the war ends.
This is no easy task especially since the war's end date is randomly determined before the game begins. In fact, there's a random element to various aspects of the game. Your survivors are randomly selected from a set of twenty or so possible survivors, as are some of the encounters you face during the game.
But this is no Homefront style shoot-em-up. Instead, you play the game from a 2D side-on perspective, and weapons themselves are hard to come by. Your survivors continued - er- survival - depends on you being able to feed them and keep them warm, especially when winter rolls in. Easy enough, right? Not by a long stretch.
Your survivors can't venture out during the day due to sniper fire, so have to resort to scavenging during the night. That's no easy task either, since you can only send out one survivor at a time and they could run into trouble since some of the locations they scavenge are occupied. Your survivors also aren't complete badasses, either. If you do get your hands on a gun - bullets can be made or collected, but are really valuable - they may shoot someone. But that will have an effect on their morale, even if the person they shot was a complete thug. Start slaughtering innocents and they'll sent spiralling into a deep well of depression that could end with their suicide.
Sounds depressing? Bleak? It is. Very. And that's one of the best things about the game. Surviving isn't exactly trial an error, but it is difficult since the odds are stacked against you. You can upgrade your shelter, manufacture goods to sell, but you'll still be flying close to the wind. You can end up having to trade in your precious few bullets or bandages just to buy food. Which means your survivors will eat, but they will have only knives to defend themselves if they are attacked at night.
This War Of Mine is not a happy, fluffy game. But it is one of the most addictive and immersive games I've ever played, not least since you get attached to the survivors. There's no save and reload option, so when survivor dies they're dead until you reload the game. I can't recommend This War Of Mine enough - not only does it tackle a very real issue but it stirs up emotions like no other game. Fantastic stuff.
Score: 9 out of 10.
Pros:
You get really attached to the survivors.
It's really involving and has genuine emotional depth.
The shadowy subdued graphics work really well.
Cons:
Sometimes, you'll have the same encounter twice.
But This War Of Mine changes all this and puts you in charge of several survivors of a war. Not the world-ending kind, but the kind of inter-country conflict such as the Bosnian crisis a few years back. Your mission is simple - keep them alive till the war ends.
This is no easy task especially since the war's end date is randomly determined before the game begins. In fact, there's a random element to various aspects of the game. Your survivors are randomly selected from a set of twenty or so possible survivors, as are some of the encounters you face during the game.
But this is no Homefront style shoot-em-up. Instead, you play the game from a 2D side-on perspective, and weapons themselves are hard to come by. Your survivors continued - er- survival - depends on you being able to feed them and keep them warm, especially when winter rolls in. Easy enough, right? Not by a long stretch.
Your survivors can't venture out during the day due to sniper fire, so have to resort to scavenging during the night. That's no easy task either, since you can only send out one survivor at a time and they could run into trouble since some of the locations they scavenge are occupied. Your survivors also aren't complete badasses, either. If you do get your hands on a gun - bullets can be made or collected, but are really valuable - they may shoot someone. But that will have an effect on their morale, even if the person they shot was a complete thug. Start slaughtering innocents and they'll sent spiralling into a deep well of depression that could end with their suicide.
Sounds depressing? Bleak? It is. Very. And that's one of the best things about the game. Surviving isn't exactly trial an error, but it is difficult since the odds are stacked against you. You can upgrade your shelter, manufacture goods to sell, but you'll still be flying close to the wind. You can end up having to trade in your precious few bullets or bandages just to buy food. Which means your survivors will eat, but they will have only knives to defend themselves if they are attacked at night.
This War Of Mine is not a happy, fluffy game. But it is one of the most addictive and immersive games I've ever played, not least since you get attached to the survivors. There's no save and reload option, so when survivor dies they're dead until you reload the game. I can't recommend This War Of Mine enough - not only does it tackle a very real issue but it stirs up emotions like no other game. Fantastic stuff.
Score: 9 out of 10.
Pros:
You get really attached to the survivors.
It's really involving and has genuine emotional depth.
The shadowy subdued graphics work really well.
Cons:
Sometimes, you'll have the same encounter twice.
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'War is hell!' goes the saying, usually referring to the soldiers participating in the aforementioned conflict. But the civilians who end up caught in the crossfire rarely get a look in, as far as games are concerned. If anything, they're featured as naught but cannon-fodder.
But This War Of Mine changes all this and puts you in charge of several survivors of a war. Not the world-ending kind, but the kind of inter-country conflict such as the Bosnian crisis a few years back. Your mission is simple - keep them alive till the war ends.
This is no easy task especially since the war's end date is randomly determined before the game begins. In fact, there's a random element to various aspects of the game. Your survivors are randomly selected from a set of twenty or so possible survivors, as are some of the encounters you face during the game.
But this is no Homefront style shoot-em-up. Instead, you play the game from a 2D side-on perspective, and weapons themselves are hard to come by. Your survivors continued - er- survival - depends on you being able to feed them and keep them warm, especially when winter rolls in. Easy enough, right? Not by a long stretch.
Your survivors can't venture out during the day due to sniper fire, so have to resort to scavenging during the night. That's no easy task either, since you can only send out one survivor at a time and they could run into trouble since some of the locations they scavenge are occupied. Your survivors also aren't complete badasses, either. If you do get your hands on a gun - bullets can be made or collected, but are really valuable - they may shoot someone. But that will have an effect on their morale, even if the person they shot was a complete thug. Start slaughtering innocents and they'll sent spiralling into a deep well of depression that could end with their suicide.
Sounds depressing? Bleak? It is. Very. And that's one of the best things about the game. Surviving isn't exactly trial an error, but it is difficult since the odds are stacked against you. You can upgrade your shelter, manufacture goods to sell, but you'll still be flying close to the wind. You can end up having to trade in your precious few bullets or bandages just to buy food. Which means your survivors will eat, but they will have only knives to defend themselves if they are attacked at night.
This War Of Mine is not a happy, fluffy game. But it is one of the most addictive and immersive games I've ever played, not least since you get attached to the survivors. There's no save and reload option, so when survivor dies they're dead until you reload the game. I can't recommend This War Of Mine enough - not only does it tackle a very real issue but it stirs up emotions like no other game. Fantastic stuff.
Score: 9 out of 10.
Pros:
You get really attached to the survivors.
It's really involving and has genuine emotional depth.
The shadowy subdued graphics work really well.
Cons:
Sometimes, you'll have the same encounter twice.
But This War Of Mine changes all this and puts you in charge of several survivors of a war. Not the world-ending kind, but the kind of inter-country conflict such as the Bosnian crisis a few years back. Your mission is simple - keep them alive till the war ends.
This is no easy task especially since the war's end date is randomly determined before the game begins. In fact, there's a random element to various aspects of the game. Your survivors are randomly selected from a set of twenty or so possible survivors, as are some of the encounters you face during the game.
But this is no Homefront style shoot-em-up. Instead, you play the game from a 2D side-on perspective, and weapons themselves are hard to come by. Your survivors continued - er- survival - depends on you being able to feed them and keep them warm, especially when winter rolls in. Easy enough, right? Not by a long stretch.
Your survivors can't venture out during the day due to sniper fire, so have to resort to scavenging during the night. That's no easy task either, since you can only send out one survivor at a time and they could run into trouble since some of the locations they scavenge are occupied. Your survivors also aren't complete badasses, either. If you do get your hands on a gun - bullets can be made or collected, but are really valuable - they may shoot someone. But that will have an effect on their morale, even if the person they shot was a complete thug. Start slaughtering innocents and they'll sent spiralling into a deep well of depression that could end with their suicide.
Sounds depressing? Bleak? It is. Very. And that's one of the best things about the game. Surviving isn't exactly trial an error, but it is difficult since the odds are stacked against you. You can upgrade your shelter, manufacture goods to sell, but you'll still be flying close to the wind. You can end up having to trade in your precious few bullets or bandages just to buy food. Which means your survivors will eat, but they will have only knives to defend themselves if they are attacked at night.
This War Of Mine is not a happy, fluffy game. But it is one of the most addictive and immersive games I've ever played, not least since you get attached to the survivors. There's no save and reload option, so when survivor dies they're dead until you reload the game. I can't recommend This War Of Mine enough - not only does it tackle a very real issue but it stirs up emotions like no other game. Fantastic stuff.
Score: 9 out of 10.
Pros:
You get really attached to the survivors.
It's really involving and has genuine emotional depth.
The shadowy subdued graphics work really well.
Cons:
Sometimes, you'll have the same encounter twice.