This War of Mine

 PC
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 63 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 58 out of 63
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 63
  3. Negative: 0 out of 63
  1. Game Over Online
    Dec 15, 2014
    74
    Overall, while I found This War of Mine to be an intriguing and novel game, I didn’t really enjoy it. It is downbeat and somber to a fault, especially if things start deteriorating and you have to watch your civilians get ground down into nothing.
  2. Gamers' Temple
    Feb 3, 2015
    70
    For a game, it's more eye-opening than it is entertaining.
  3. Thunderbolt
    Nov 26, 2014
    70
    This War of Mine is a soul crushing thing to consider as entertainment. It is going to make you feel bad and absorb the consequences of your actions. It exists as a piece of indie expression that shows the actual grayness that is inherent in all conflict. There is no winning.
  5. God is a Geek
    Nov 14, 2014
    70
    This War of Mine wants you to care about the people who have been affected by the war, rather than soldiers on the front-line. Via conflicting thoughts the characters have, the cast’s paper-thin stories and an elementary crafting system, it never fully reaches its potential. But the moments where you’re racing across an outpost trying to dodge military fire and robbing someone blind right before their eyes; those are the points where this war does genuinely feel like mine.
  6. CD-Action
    Feb 7, 2015
    65
    The game is dripping with pathos, but I couldn’t invest myself emotionally in it, because it all just feels fake. [01/2015, p.42]
    All this publication's reviews

Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Best PC Game of 2014
30
#30 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
19
#19 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1106 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 867 out of 1106
  2. Mixed: 169 out of 1106
  3. Negative: 70 out of 1106
  1. Roombastic
    Nov 14, 2014
    10
    Being a journo I got my final copy two days ago. Been busy with it ever since! At first I took this game as a gimmick, knowing about a conceptBeing a journo I got my final copy two days ago. Been busy with it ever since! At first I took this game as a gimmick, knowing about a concept since maybe April I perceived it as a very nice twist with a huge question mark for gameplay, replayability and actual story. While I still think that the devs a bit exaggerate their 'grieve' approach to war, casualties and such, I must say they have delivered an addictive game with strong mechanics. You've got crafting here, you've got exploring, time management, character developing so to speak, you've got resource management and a bit of randomness that adds a nice spice to the mix. So after a while you tend to forget all this bleak and suffering, and just enjoy your achievements, make bonds with characters, just immerse in the world and enjoy it. Especially I liked how the story is told: not to fast, you really focus on details, sharpen your attention, and enjoy small carefully polished details of the concept. Well done 11 Bit!… Full Review »
  2. jmhoffer
    Nov 19, 2014
    0
    Like every other survival game out there, I have to give this game a nil score.

    How, exactly, with a simple metal working station did I    Like every other survival game out there, I have to give this game a nil score.

    How, exactly, with a simple metal working station did I make a shovel and crowbar? Think about it for a few minutes. It's not physically possible. I need forging equipment to do that.

    Tools don't last long enough and should be something you look for and find, not something you have to constantly make and replace. That makes zero sense. Has no one ever used a crowbar before? In my time as a renovator I met people that had bought crowbars thirty years ago that they were still using, and they were using them a hell of a lot more than what you do in this game.

    Why, exactly, does my rainwater - CLEAN WATER - need filters? Why would I need to set up the collector every time for this? You would just set it up once and let it collect as much as possible. This doesn't make sense. If the argument is that it is from a contaminated source, a filter doesn't do anything unless it is chemical contamination (which generally will not be a problem). The more pressing issue is biological contaminants, which means boiling, not filtering.

    Why can't I use a brick, piece of wood or rubble as makeshift weaponry?

    Are none of these books guides on how to make simple traps that don't require manufacturing?

    I could go on ENDLESSLY. I have yet to test to see how the hunger mechanics work, but in real life it takes THREE WEEKS before your body shuts down from lack of food. Vastly more important? Water; without which you will go into kidney failure in three days.

    The makers claim to have lived through a warzone? Sorry, I'm not buying it. There is far too much that makes no sense for that to be true. I'm a practiced survivalist and this game made zero sense to me.

    How is it that you can't go outside during the day, but some random idiot that wants to trade can?

    Why are people showing up at my door and NOT telling me what makes them useful in order to convince me it's a good idea to let them in?

    Why can only one guy go scavenging at a time, even though in real life that would be nearly suicidal?

    I just don't see it. I didn't feel like I was in a war zone: I felt like I was in a bad game made by people who have zero understanding of survival. The fact that this game gets a good score shows the ignorance of the gamers and the reviewers. This is not an immersive game nor even a good game. This is a bunch of pandering and nothing more. I read a claim that the makers had actually been in a warzone. I'm calling BS. If they had been, they'd know everything that I'd just questioned over the immersion.

    This game is, like all other survival games I've tried, absolutely terrible and a prime example of why I don't pay for video games until after I've tried it. This game was so bad that I should have been paid money to play it.    … Full Review »
  3. Izitmee
    Nov 16, 2014
    6
    For me, This War of Mine fails to achieve its ambitions. I appreciate its intentions, but it ends being bland and not that realistic.
    Yes,    For me, This War of Mine fails to achieve its ambitions. I appreciate its intentions, but it ends being bland and not that realistic.
    Yes, the graphics are beautiful. And yes, the grittiness of war from a civilian's perspective (though lets not forget that there are places where wars are much worse) is sometimes present, in the stories and in some events. But the gameplay feels almost casual and severely breaks the immersivity and the overall tone. The crafting system is shallow. Time needs to be well managed but is presented in a weird way where your characters, even while running, can take up to 20 minutes to climb a couple of stairs. The save system straightforwardly sucks. If you try to leave the game while playing, nothing warns you that you'll lose everything you did during the day and will have to restart it, which is exactly what happens.
    And then there's all the stuff that breaks realism by itself. Like your group having psychic powers and knowing everything a single member does when on a scavenge mission, even if he was alone and far away. Like a guy asking me for medicines for his father, me trading with wood instead, and all the team (thanks to their psychic powers) thinking I gave him medicine and being happy for that. Like my group being composed of 4 healthy rested people that are very hungry, and only one member being able to go out to scavenge. Like interaction icons sometimes superimposing themselves and me clicking the wrong one (which was actually below the correct one, so bug) and ending up in a fight instead than a conversation, which in a game where choices matter is kind of a deal-breaker. Things like that.
    Oh, and the randomized world. It's not really randomized. Simply you'll get different characters if you restart, and sometimes some areas will be inhabited by different people.
    In short, again I appreciate the intentions, but This War of Mine ends up being one of those zombie survival games that we already saw tons of times. And this is not me ignoring the realistic intentions behind the operation: this is me being forced to ignore them by way the game was done. I'd say that the devs put a lot of effort in making the graphics and the background atmospheric, and they did succeed there. But then the rest just falls short. Still, maybe it's just me.    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »