14 DAY TRIAL // This War of Mine is an ambitious attempt to create a video game that can tell us something new about reality by allowing the player to experience one of the most disquieting situations of the modern world: being trapped in a city destroyed by war with no chance of getting out.
At the start of the experience, the gamer can control three survivors as they take shelter into a building that has been partially destroyed and set out to try and survive for as long as possible, making the best of their limited supplies and trying to get access to more via various means.
I spent my first day exploring the house we are holed up in, trying to see what materials we can use to create something useful and decide what to get from the coming nightly scavenge session.
I make one bed and one primitive stove and then decide to leave both my trader and a slightly sick cook behind, as Pavle, my fast runner, goes to a house that’s still burning a little to try and find more useful items.
I manage to get back with a shovel, water, food and medicine, and we spend the second day creating a radio, clearing out more of the house and cooking food for everyone.
Life under siege is monotonous, and apart from some trades, the scavenge and building cycle repeats itself, but by the fourth day I get to a point where I can no longer adequately feed all three survivors
Choices, consequences and pressure
I choose to try and go to a garage at night, and that’s when This War of Mine goes wrong, as Pavle dies when he tries to steal some high quality food, which in turn depresses the other two survivors, who are then raided and their final food supplies get stolen.
The game created by 11Bity Studios is bleak and very tense, forcing players to constantly plan for the future and try to make the most out of very limited resources.
At the same time, it’s a story about humanity and about the tough choices one needs to make when his life is threatened.
The gameplay does not rely on quick action and reaction cycles, and players will probably spend more time contemplating a trading screen (that does not include any money) and listening to the radio for new info than fighting other survivors.
This War of Mine is shaping up to be an engaging and emotional experience and I can barely wait to play more of it.
Take a look at how the game looks in action in the attached video and the images linked to this article, but keep in mind that this is a pre-release version of the title and that the development team might change a lot of elements before the official launch date.
