This War of Mine

Inspired by real-life events, This War of Mine is a strategy game set in a modern conflict, with a strong focus on survival in adverse circumstances. The Polish 11 bit studios, whose credits include the award-winning Anomaly series, a representative of the "reverse tower defense" genre, is responsible for creating this production.

Storyline

Unlike other games set in wartime realities, in This War of Mine we take control over a group of civilians whose main goal is to survive in the middle of a besieged city - living in an atmosphere of constant threat to their lives and encountering a number of unpredictable situations created by the ever-changing conditions on the battlefield. During the game we face the problem of hunger, lack of medicine or danger posed by snipers. To win we have to survive in besieged city until help comes.

Mechanics

Despite the fact that the world of This War of Mine was made in full 3D, the action is observed from the side (in the style of classic 2D platformers), and we interact with the environment using a variety of icons that allow us to perform appropriate actions. The day and night cycle plays an important role, determining the decisions we make. During the day, going outside the shelter inhabited by the controlled characters equals instant death, so we focus on performing actions related to repairing and improving our hideout - the game allows us to create weapons, furniture, basic tools or distill alcohol using the items we collect. It is also important to take care of the health and mental condition of civilians. In turn, under the cover of night we try to leave the shelter and go out to the streets of the city in search of things that will facilitate our characters' everyday existence.

The developers did their best to make players feel the atmosphere of constant uncertainty and struggle for survival throughout the game - the title repeatedly forces us to make difficult decisions and choices between life and death. Many times we have to sacrifice one of the civilians for the good of the whole, and the consequences of our actions affect the mental and physical condition of the entire group.

Technical issues

Thanks to the option of random generation of levels and controlled characters, the game offers a great variety of challenges and unique locations where we conduct our actions. The war theme of survival is emphasized by the dark, gloomy visuals based on the play of light and shadow.