[Review] This War of Mine

[Skipper ✪]

This War of Mine was first released in 2014 on PC and has since then graced almost every platform with its presence. Now, the game also makes its way onto Nintendo’s Switch console with the Complete Edition, which includes the base game and all post-release content available on consoles.

The Struggles of War

In This War of Mine, you take control of a small group of survivors who settle in an abandoned house as they try to hold on while waiting for the end of the war. The game basically combines survival and exploration elements with resource management. It is the setting however, that makes the game unique. Inspired by the Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War, the game tells the story, not of soldier but of civilians during war time. The creators tried to give another perspective to the horrors of war and they succeeded surprisingly in this.

As your group tries to survive day by day, the flow of the game is divided into two distinct phases. During the day, it is too dangerous to go outside, so your people can rest, prepare dinner, scavenge around the house and built various utilities and home appliances such as beds, chairs, cooking stoves, rainwater collectors and herbal gardens. You’ll basically take care of your people and slowly upgrade your shelter to a more livable place. During the night, you can send out one or more survivors to various places around the city to scavenge for resources, trade with other survivors or meet other NPC’s. Just remember that not everyone might be friendly and some resources might only be obtained the hard way.

It is during these nighttime endeavors that the game really shines, as they’ll often force you to make choices that might even make you question your own morality. For example, while exploring a house, you might find plenty of food, but you also discover that an elderly couple lives in the house. Will you rob them and let them starve or will you keep looking in other places for food, without knowing for sure you’ll find some? Remember, your group also has to eat and who says nobody else will steal the old people’s food, as they’re unable to defend themselves? And if you decide to rob them, the survivor who did might also feel guilty and become depressed. It’s these small narratives and the way they shape your experience that are the core of This War of Mine.

Of Children and Men

When the game originally launched, it featured it one mode where had to survive a random amount of days, which was until a ceasefire was announced. Like other survival games, it featured ‘permadeath’, meaning once everyone in your group was dead, it was game over and you had to start all over again. Later they added a scenario editor which allowed you to change various conditions and to select the characters of your choice. The first expansion, called The Little Ones, added children to the mix. Having a child in your group gave you an extra burden as this was an extra mouth to be fed and they required a lot of attention in order to not become depressed. But they could also be trained in performing smaller tasks like cooking. With various version upgrades, including the Third Anniversary version, the game also received new locations, characters, shelters and scenarios and endings. These elements further enrichen the game, but the biggest and latest addition to the game are the Stories. These are three different story-driven scenarios that give you more purpose in the game other than just surviving until the ceasefire. In the first one called ‘A Father’s Promise’ for example, you take control of a father who also has to take care of his sick daughter. As you’re trying to find a way out of the city, she gets kidnapped and you’ll also have to try to find her. The second story ‘The Last Broadcast’ was recently released but at the time of writing it was not yet available in the Switch version. A third story is still in the making and should complete this small narrative trilogy set in the world of This War of Mine.