This War of Mine is not what you would call a fun game, but it is one of the most compelling experiences you’ll have for some time. This War of Mine is the story of people, innocent civilians, trying, and often failing, to survive in war torn country. Playing a game like Call of Duty or Medal of Honor, it is easy to forget that those chest high walls, and deserted cities used to be peoples homes and lives, This War of Mine works to remind you of that fact.
At it’s core, the game is a 2D survival/scavenging game. You start out in a rundown house with a few survivors, and have to quickly get to work find food, fuel, medicine, and anything else you might need later down the line. You can add more survivor to your party, and upgrade or add to your house to keep it running smoothly and safely; however, you’ll quickly find that there is a finite number of recourse, and most of the time your survival comes at someone elses expense.
While in many games with a morality system, you are free to kill, loot, and desecrate to your hearts content as long as you’re killing, looting, and desecrating the right people; in This War of Mine, there are no “evil people” or “good people” there are only people. If your survivors are starving you may need to steal it from someone else home, and as a result your character might begin to lose moral because of their actions. If the house you’re robbing is home to a family who you must then kill in order to save yourself, not only will your character become depressed, but you, the player, will feel the impact of your actions. And if your character becomes depressed, they may turn to drugs in order to forget what they’ve done.
This War of Mine is an amazingly game, and you are unlikely to find a game like it anywhere else for a long time. If you’re sick of what you perceive to be the glorification of violence in games, or believe that you’ve become desensitized to the struggles of others, This War of Mine might just be what you need.