This War of Mine
Review
Caught in the middle
by Johnathan Irwin
reviewed on PC
Day by Day (cntd.)
His bio had updated to say he was happy he could help, with the next few postings being about his dwindling health. The other survivors had different things to say in their bios, one actually cursing him out of frustration for giving the medicine away before breaking down over his passing. This is only one of several instances of thought provoking emotion I felt as I tried to get them through the war, and this was only during the days when things were supposed to be somewhat calm. At night, is when the game pushes out further into this danger.
Night By Night
When night falls, you get the other side of the desperate coin. Before you set out for the evening, you must decide who's going to do what. Who gets to sleep? Who is on night watch? Who is going to go scavenge for supplies, and where? Once you've decided all of that, you take control of the one person you're able to send out for supplies to one of various different locales around the city. What you can find is randomized, as are the encounters that you may experience. Some of these encounters will be with friendly or neutral parties, others will be against those who may be hostile towards you for any number of reasons.
This is not good and evil, this is survival. One group of people may be willing to help you one day, can become an enemy later on as supplies become more scarce. Some may hoard all they can from the start, and if you're lucky they'll trade but you may have to decide whether to kill or sneak in and steal to get what you need. Among those just trying to survive, there are some dark hearted characters you will encounter as well, the darkest of which I found was a soldier attempting to force himself on a woman who was looking for food by promising to share his rations in return for a 'favor'.
What would you do? I opted to save a life, and I paid another high price for it. Striking the soldier from behind we were engaged in a battle, where he managed to get a shot off but I managed to take him down. The shot badly wounded my character who, shortly after returning home with the supplies, succumbed to his injuries.
Twice, I'd opted to save lives and in return had lost lives. However, I can't stress enough that it's not set in stone. Each and every playthrough is going to be different for each and every player, everyone is going to see the horrors of being trapped in an armed conflict play out before their eyes in a different way. Your goal is to survive as long as possible, and how you achieve that end is up to you.
"In modern war... you will die like a dog for no good reason."
On a few occasions I experienced the environment not loading. Restarting the game solved this each time so the inconvenience was minor, breaking the immersion for a thankfully brief moment only. The rest of the time, I stayed glued to my screen. The longest I've made it so far is eighteen in-game days and I am far from done playing.
This War Of Mine may not be the most complicated game to control and navigate, but it is in terms of how things play out at random and how choice is such a constant and impactful mechanic. Those, coupled with the tactics you employ for your survival make the game an unforgettable experience. It's an absolute must-play for anyone wanting their games to move as much as entertain.
9.0
fun score
Pros
The gameplay, the randomization of events, the art style, the unbridled human element that in turn evokes actual thoughts and emotions from the player.
Cons
Sometimes environments don’t load properly, briefly breaking immersion as you have to reload again, Point and Click controls perhaps too simple for a game so complex.
