This War of Mine (2014)
This game hardly needs an introduction or a recommendation from me, but in the name of certain honesty I still want to highlight it here. I’ve spent almost 40 hours with it, twelve of which just recently. Released in 2014, This War of Mine has been praised and awarded generously, and I can only confirm that it is both highly addictive and deeply moving. In the summer of 2016 the expansion The Little Ones arrived. The idea of children in the middle of war already broke my heart in advance, and I almost avoided installing it.
Behind This War of Mine is the Polish game studio 11 bit studios, and Poland has a long tradition of producing excellent games. This War of Mine has reached such proportions — at least in terms of player numbers and popularity — that it can hardly be called an indie game, even though the original expectations were likely nowhere near this high. It is said that sales exceeded production costs within the first two days.
War, survival and guilt
The inspiration for the game comes from the four-year siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s. In the game the war ends after just over a month, and keeping your civilians alive through the winter gives only a faint idea of what life (and death) has been like — and still is today in places such as Syria or Ukraine.
In short, the experience is devastating. Your civilians have lost everything from the peaceful days: their work, their home, friends and family members. In practice they’ve lost their identity, and both their mental health and morality are being tested. That someone truly recovers from experiences like these is far from self-evident. Even as a player, I feel traumatised.
Although the game’s promise is bleak — and calling its atmosphere merely melancholic would be an understatement — I got hooked instantly. Just one more day and one more night… until the ceasefire finally comes. Every single day you must take care of your civilians’ health, food, warmth, rest and mental wellbeing. Keeping them alive is the entire point of the game. During the nights you scavenge for materials and supplies, which are then used during the day to build everything necessary. The temptation to steal is strong, even though the price may be injury or death.
Is it acceptable to make a game about such a serious subject? Is it in bad taste to reduce the struggle for survival to game mechanics? It may well be that those who have lived through war themselves have no interest in this kind of game, but for the rest of us it gives a lot to reflect on. How would you survive if you suddenly found yourself trapped in urban warfare? Peace and normal life cannot be taken for granted.
Verdict
This War of Mine is, overall, an excellent survival game. The framing narrative and the backgrounds of your civilians create a believable setting for the struggle. The audiovisual presentation gives the game a realistic and serious, yet also artistic tone that immediately sets the mood. All mechanics were easy to grasp, and nothing ever became frustrating.
The limited randomness and the ability to start with different civilians make the game worth playing many times. The Steam community has also created its own content for This War of Mine. As for the expansion The Little Ones, it delivers exactly what it promises: children, with their own fragility. One cannot avoid thinking that the game could expand further, perhaps with a dog. But even in its basic form, This War of Mine more than “delivers”.
My personal rating for this experience is 86 points out of 100.
Availability
This War of Mine is available for Windows, macOS and Linux computers, iOS and Android devices, and the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles.