Manufacturer: 11 Bit Studios
Type: Survival - Management
Year: 2014
Platform: Pc, Ps4, Xbox One, android and iOS
Just a few days ago I was reviewing a list of games that I had got or bought but never finished due to lack of desire or maybe forgetfulness.
This War of Mine was among them and the title immediately aroused my attention, it is in fact a unique game of its kind.
In the sea of management and survival games indeed This War of Mine stands out for its themes and attention to detail, as well as decidedly well-chosen game dynamics.
The title of the 11 bit studios it is not a novelty on the video game market as its release date goes back to the 14 November 2014 but this does not deserve to be the subject of a review and an analysis a few years later.
So what kind of game are we talking about? This War of Mine it's not a war game, This War of Mine it's a war game. What does this distinction imply? We will fight a war not only of weapons and espionage, but a war of hunger, cold, fear, fatigue and depression. A war that is fought every day by civilians of all ages who find themselves in the middle of a truce that leaves no truce, the battle for survival.
In particular, the conflict that will be the backdrop to our game is inspired by the siege in Sarajevo and everything is rendered in a very realistic way, by our characters with their stories and their problems, by the hut in which we will have to live and we will have to repair and equip to make it habitable, this involves the construction of beds, chairs, stoves, rainwater filters and much, much more. The game indeed has a nice component of crafting which plays a vital role in gameplay.
The game takes place in two distinct phases: a daily phase during which we will have to explore our home and recover resources and useful materials to build new objects such as the barricades that will serve to make our house safe against jackal attacks, and then feed on and let our men rest and eventually cure them of wounds or sickness. During this phase we will have to deal with numerous random matches that could have important repercussions on the game.
During the night instead we will have to deal with the second phase of the game, that of exploration, we will decide who will have to stay at home to stand guard or to rest and who will have to come out into the open to look for supplies of food, medicines or materials useful for the already quoted crafting. We will have numerous places to explore such as churches, hospitals or homes and we will be able to make more or less welcome acquaintances, we will find people looking for help, helpless elders who will be able to decide whether to rob or leave in peace, soldiers or easy trigger jackals and people like us who for fear of being deprived of their supplies they could make the most violent gestures.
The game actually puts us in front of important moral choices and everything is rendered in a rather immersive way, so much so that we will really be interested in the choices of our characters and their health and choose whether to help those who knock on our door in search of provisions or drive out via strangers could represent a nice question. Do you put the group in danger to do a good deed (which has a positive effect on our morale) or choose not to jeopardize the security that we have managed to build in days of fatigue?
From a technical point of view the graphic section is very nice, the destroyed landscapes, the abandoned houses and the ruined walls are rendered with dark shades, gray with charcoal and even the sky seems to be a battlefield, tormented and never clear, entering the atmosphere is essential to fully enjoy the gaming experience and the development team has succeeded to the full, even the sound effects are of quality and the soundtrack of great effect.
This War of Mine is a game of incredible depth that deserves hours and hours of play, many will pass before starting to scratch the surface of this wonderful pearl that unfortunately I let slip the release. The only flaw I found is the poor replayability: in the long run it could be repetitive. It should be noted that two DLCs have been released for This War of Mine whose proceeds are entirely donated to the charity War Child.
http://www.thiswarofmine.com/#home Official site
Francesco Rugolo
