This War of Mine Reviews

[h1]Emotionally crushing & successfully self-reflecting // Recommended for those seeking a personal experience[/h1] + Sound effects are nearly flawless in quality and implementation; ambient noises add to a paplable atmosphere + Pencil effect is mesmerizing, and lends the game a style of its own + Line of sight is extremely well-represented, and adds to the suspense of not knowing what's in the next room until you're close enough to be at risk + Scavenging creates at atmosphere pregnant with tension + The soundtrack pulls the player into the game and engulfs them in emotions appropriate to the theme + The player-controlled characters are presented and developed so well through one's actions, that one will find a deep emotional investment forming; the player will really care about what happens to these people + Different surivors have various skill sets, making each one somehow valuable to the others + Scavenging locations remain static, but their contents and risks are all randomly generated + Graphics are crisp and meticulously detailed; animations, too, are seamlessly rendered with little clipping issues + Crafting is slightly basic, but the costs and desperation for materials makes prioretization the crucial factor; crafting is less about hoarding items and advancing, and more about making difficult selections + Frankly put, the game makes the player choose between devastatingly hard choices; this is further expanded, in that the characters are designed to react emotionally to the consequences of such decisions + Myriad factors exist to affect one's characters, including sickness, depression, hunger, and temperature; such needs must all be balanced via crafting, trading, and scavenging for materials + Custom play options increase replay value + Taking life in the game is intimate and often emotionally involving; this is exacerbated by the reactions of both the victims and the player characters, who often slide into debilitating depression as a result + Random events can affect the safehouse if one isn't prepared, such as raiding and murders - Bartering feels slightly unbalanced; the player always leaves a trade feeling screwed over, and many common items seem inordinately expensive [h1]LockeProposal's Big Day Out[/h1] [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/bigdayout#]Community Group[/url] [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/7611703/]Curator Page[/url] [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/SeriousSteamReviews/]Serious Steam Reviews subReddit[/url]

In the beginning there were 3. Pavle, the ex-footballer. Katia, the journalist. And Bruno, the [strike]asshole[/strike] professional chef. They came together during the siege purely by chance, and used their collective skills to improve their survival chances. Over the next 2 weeks they struggled to stay fed. Always low on supplies, and usually having one or more go hungry each day. Then Marko arrived, seeking shelter. The survivors knew they would struggle to support a 4th person, but welcomed him anyways. Marko then proved his worth after bringing home more food and medicine in one night than Pavle had managed in a week. Then he managed to bring home enough supplies to build some more furniture, and a radio. He helped the group not only survive, but flourish. He even at one point rescued a girl under the assault of a drunken soldier, earning him the status of "hero" amongst the people of Pogoren. Then one night he went scavenging in a dangerous area, known to be inhabited by brutal bandits. He had done this many times before, and felt safe enough to travel indoors. While searching through a cabinet, he was spotted. While he managed to kill 2 of the bandits, the remaineder proved to be too much for him. The group was devastated by his death. They never really recovered. A little over 2 weeks later, the siege had been lifted. The group had survived, and all went back to try to pick up where they left off before the war. Except for one. Whose body silently lies in a shallow, unmarked grave. RIP Marko. You will be missed. dis game 11/10 i cri evry tiem

This is an INCREDIBLE game. It was recommended to me by a close friend because, me being a former war refugee from the Balkans, he thought I might find the content "a bit familiar." It went a bit further than that, in fact it kind turned out to be some uncanny early-childhood simulator for me. I still remember the visceral terror of being a child in that war; I will never forget howling and begging my mother not to go outside to buy bread, out of fear that she would be shot dead by a sniper. Asking why my grandmother couldn't go instead. This game captures moments like that with a masterful hand. It is never heavy or hamfisted. I can't explain how well the developers have encapsulated the hoplessness and the mundane brutality of the Balkan civil war, and it leads me to think that at least one key person involved in the development of this game had to have lived through it, too. The tone is just perfect, striking that difficult balance between terror and absurdity, and reminds me of all the films I love that came out of Former Yugoslavia after the war. This is not Angelina Jolie painting Balkan politics with a broad brush dipped in ignorance and a skewed western perspective insensitive of nuance--this is an authentic work of art that is sensitive to the complexities of its subject matter and the individual stories of the thousands of people whose lives were shaped and altered forever by this horrible, unnecessary war. It's an emotional playthrough, even for people who haven't had any experience with the historical event. It is a "war game" like no other and I can't recommend it enough. Take it from someone who was there.

This is the kind of game that will make you wonder about what kind of person you are. Is it worth killing helpless innocents for a couple days' worth of food? Will you help the weak out of kindness? Or will you rob everyone blind in the sheer desire to survive? Sure, you can say "it's just a game", but it's impossible to avoid the feeling that your actions here might well mirror your true inclinations. So what's more important, survival or your humanity? Or can you preserve both? There are moments of both incredible kindness and cruelty to be found within, and they stir something in the human soul that I've rarely seen in games. From running a gauntlet of sniper fire to help a wounded father reunite with his infant son to murdering an elderly couple for their meager goods, it's impossible to play this game without thinking, "Could that be me? Would I do that? Could I rise that high, sink that low?" And that is the brilliance, the poetry, of this game.

Marko had spent last night scoping the place out. He clutched his pistol tightly with a pair of sweaty plams. This was it. Slowly, he edged towards the door and out of the rain, opening it with a gentle sigh from the hinges. It was dingy inside; the gloom was heavy. Taking slow steps forwards he made his way to the next door. Knelling down and looking through the grimy keyhole, he saw no one. [i]Good[/i], he thought to himself. Nudging the door open with his pistol, the hooded survivor krept down the hall. [i]Footsteps![/i] Quickly hiding in the gloom of an alcove, he held his breath tightly as a young woman walked past. Some part of him was screaming in anguish over the moral dilema. [i]It's not right[/i], the voice spoke to him. His conscience needed to be suffed, and he ignored it as the door closed. The woman was inside the kitchen. He just needed to wait, and- "Emil!" she screamed suddenly. Marko bit his lip as she locked eyes with him, only to run upstairs. Grasping the weapon as his breathing became hard, the young man ran through the open kitchen door, slid down the ladder, and burst into the basement. Turning and looking for a place to hide, he wanted to cry. There was nowhere. "Not here," came a strong masculine voice from above. Markos slowly turned to face the door, his eyes shaking in their sockets. Some bloke in a blue shirt ran into the room, holding a knife high. "Bandit!" Marko was up against the wall. He couldn't hold the pistol properly because his hands were shaking so hard. Two shots burst through the gloom. One hit the man square in the chest, the other in his knee. Although wounded he charged, stabbing Marko twice as they grappled for freedom. Life and death. Markos raised his pistol to fire and... ...He missed. He died before he could realize the folly, falling limp with a soft plod as the knife sunk into his neck. Marko had been a hero, always willing to brave danger to feed his fellow survivors, always volunteering to scavange, and never letting anyone go hungry. He'd [i]been[/i] a hero. Pavle realized his best friend was dead the moment he didn't come back. He was distraught. Waiting by the door all day, sitting on the floor and listening for hours. The young sports star had only eaten once, and his face was grim. "I'm sure he's just la-" began Bruce. Pavle sucked his breath in sharply, cutting Bruce off. "No," he said slowly. "Marko is never late. Ever since this started he was always back on time." Taking a knife from the floor besides him, Pavle looked Bruce in the eye. They knew it had to be done. It was raining again. The journey to the house had been uneventful, and Pavle knew roughly what was up, thanks to Marko's work two nights before. Slowly but surely he crept into the dark building, illuminated only by the blinking lights and fire. Creeping into the kitchen the football player could see food. He was glad. Sliding down the ladder and turning around, however, his mood plumeted. There lay Marko; his corpse pale in the darkness. Blood was all across the floor and up the back wall, with the body slumped slightly against it. His face was frozen in time, eyes wide in fear. Pavle was... calm. He knew what he need to do now. Going back up the ladder and shunting the kitchen door open, with no regard for stealth, he charged up the stairs. Up and up he went, his breathing becoming savage as he reached the very top floor. Pavle heard groaning and the moving of objects, but he didn't care, bursting through the door he stared a bandaged and bloody man in the eyes. "No... you can't!" cried a female voice behind him. Running forwards with his knife in hand, Pavle screamed as tears streamed down his angry face. The blade sunk deep into the wounded man, killing him instantly. Turning to face the woman, and watching her run out of the room, Pavle ran after her. She was too slow, and his blade was very sharp. Her body fell limp about as fast as he used to score a goal. Checking both their bodies with no respect, the sports star cursed. They had nothing on them. When he got back to the safehouse, Pavle was covered in blood. Alica asked him what happened, but Bruce merely handed him a drink. Placing the knife off to one side, Pavle just sat down, and wept. They had killed his best friend... and he had killed them. ------- EDIT: Complaints and whatnot, decided to do a little proper review down here. This War of Mine is powerful because of how it handles itself. There's an overtone of helplessness and regret, characters lamenting over their uselessness. Often when someone dies, they'll hope the next one isn't them. [b]Marko is dead[/b]. Those three words gave off more emotion than every other war game I've played. I didn't need to twoniner my foxtrot, I wasn't "getting my ass" down to 'bravo point', there wasn't some black hawk down, and my 'LZ' wasn't 'too hot'. I didn't even have to press [F] to pay respects. Marko is dead. I just saw these three words as my screen faded to black. Then I was back at camp, and the others knew something was up. I can't really express how profound that was. Perhaps because of how subtle the game was, the moment it outright told me someone was dead, then moved on... maybe that's why it was so powerful. [i]This War of Mine[/i] allows you to build characters up. It's literally an open book and it'll allow you to draw as many conclusions as you want. Because of that, I feel, it was made much more personal. Let me explain: I'm a writer, see? I write characters, get attatched to them, and sometimes watch them die. I'm constantly close to my own creations. I feel like this game lets everyone else do that, too. If you want to make your own characters with it, that's totally fine, and it will let you. If not? That's still fine, because the game tells you enough on its own to invest you regardless. I'm kind of rambling here, so I'll end this edit thus: This was not the game I wanted, this was the game I needed. Also the DLC is garbage sadly. Hopefully their new game is better.

---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☑ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☑ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☑ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{ Difficulty }--- ☐ Just press 'W' ☐ Easy ☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☐ Significant brain usage ☑ Difficult ☐ Dark Souls ---{ Grind }--- ☑ Nothing to grind ☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks ☐ Isn't necessary to progress ☐ Average grind level ☐ Too much grind ☐ You'll need a second live for grinding ---{ Story }--- ☐ No Story ☐ Some lore ☐ Average ☐ Good ☑ Lovely ☐ It'll replace your life ---{ Game Time }--- ☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee ☑ Short ☐ Average ☐ Long ☐ To infinity and beyond ---{ Price }--- ☐ It's free! ☑ Worth the price ☐ If it's on sale ☐ If u have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended ☐ You could also just burn your money ---{ Bugs }--- ☐ Never heard of ☑ Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs ---{ ? / 10 }--- ☐ 1 ☐ 2 ☐ 3 ☐ 4 ☐ 5 ☐ 6 ☐ 7 ☐ 8 ☐ 9 ☑ 10

Not a First Person Shooter, not a survival tycoon, but an [i] experience [/i]. The distinction is essential to the purpose of the game since without it, it is merely another FPS/survival game. I personally refunded a few crappy games to purchase this and I did not regret my decision one bit. If the game induces empathy and melancholy then congratulations, you played this correctly. The story of the game is based on the 1994 Balkans Conflict, particularly during the Siege of Sarajevo which lasted at least a year before broken and relief was sent to the people although in the game, the war would last around 30-60 days depending on the character set you start with. Regarding the characters, barring one (Roman) they are civilians with different qualities, emotions, stories and strengths and you unlock more of their background story as the game progresses. You build your shelter in the day, you scavenge for supplies in the night. The key to enjoying this game is not winning. Its surviving and as I've mentioned above, empathizing with the soldiers, civilians, [b] even the thieves. [/b]

I checked the rat traps for food after 3 days of not eating and not finding anything canned when I raided my neighbors house and the kid's school. I found nothing in the traps and had to go out and shoot a stranger over a handful of vegetables. Then I went home and played This War of Mine. It really helped take my mind off of it. 10/10.

Like many others probably did, I picked this game up for cheap during a sale and then forgot about it for a long time until I happened upon it again while looking for a new game to play. One thing I can say right now is that if you're interested in this game or just need something new to play for a little while, play this. Right now. The game itself is based on a pretty simple concept(survive and thrive) split into two rotating phases - day and night. During the day you make food, build new things, have your survivors interact with each other, and deal with ailments or wounds. Nighttime is where you decide wether you want to send out one of your survivors to scavenge, guard the shelter, or sleep. Typically scavenging is the most fruitful option, as it's your main source of many of the important resources needed to create your nescessities. It's also the most gameplay-rich part of the game as you have both a time-limit and an inventory limit to consider. You will sometimes, however, have to adapt to the situation you're in and either stay put, or take a risk and scavenge in a potentially dangerous location. For me this is the greatest strength of the game. It's quite difficult, and it's VERY punishing if you make a mistake, while also being greatly rewarding if you do something right. The first few playthroughs or attempts, you're quite likely to end up in at least a couple of bad situations, to which the solution might require some pretty big risks or sacrifices. As you play more though, you learn to avoid putting yourself in unnescessary danger as well as preparing for critical in-game events such as winter. The game does rely quite a lot on early-game decisions which can be excessively punishing when you first start out(ex. I barely survived my first playthrough without knowing how to create upgrade items), but again this is something you'll learn quite fast. The game does lack a bit of replay value though. Every time you either succeed or fail with a new group of survivors, you'll unlock a couple of new ones, which does add a bit of variation. Locations do also have a chance of changing it up a bit in terms of inhabitants and loot, but after your first 3 or 4 runs you'll have mostly seen it all. Once you know how to deal with the different situations as well as how to accomplish your goals, there's very little challenge left in the game unless you go out of your way to assault a military establishment with nothing but a shovel. I squeezed out almost 50 hours of this game and loved every moment of it, but there are easily a lot of things that could've been done to add more content. + Incredible atmosphere Amazing soundtrack Challenging Good writing and variation in characters - Lacks replayability Little variation in in-game events

I was glad. Things were going quite well for my four survivors. It was around Day 27. They had just fixed a broken guitar and a little bit before the nightfall Katia was playing the guitar and Kalina was listening to her play and sang(?). I thought it was heartwarming. Then it was time to send Katia to scavenge. I chose St. Mary's Church and wasn't too worried, because I thought it would be relatively safe. There wasn't much to find though and then I saw a man and made Katia sneak a little bit closer, so that I could hear what the man was mumbling. I hid Katia and waited. I figured the man wasn't interesting and thought it would be better to leave, and just when Katia stepped out of her hiding spot the man found what he had been looking for, turned around and spotted Katia. He had a gun. Katia didn't have any weapons. I think he shot Katia or then I just decided it was best to flee, as he approached Katia threateningly, and after that he started shooting. I wish I had guided Katia to a different route, but I didn't. She started to climb the ladders and was shot to death. I was shocked. In the morning, seeing my other survivors sad, especially little Kalina, was heartbreaking. Everything had seemed to go well and now it was just a distant memory. I had lost my bargainer and it was harder to play with only two adults. I knew I had made mistakes and I cursed my timing, maybe Katia would have survived if I had waited longer, maybe I could have hidden her somewhere if I had guided her to a different route. Pavle or Bruno said something like "she was just here and now she isn't" and that's exactly how I felt. It was sad and it gives me shivers. I didn't dare to return to St. Mary's Church, but I want to explore it when I start a new game. The other three survived.