This War of Mine

 PC
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

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  1. Quazder
    Aug 22, 2023
    5
    I dont recommend it if you have ADHD, you will get bored after 4+ hours really quickly 5.5/10
  2. PaddysPub
    Feb 5, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A heavy experience for sure, this game definitely puts things into a different perspective for players. I never managed to 'beat' the game, going as long as only 3 days before the end as my personal best.… Expand
  3. Soullex
    Dec 8, 2022
    7
    Yapmak istediği şeyi, bu kadar iyi yapan çok az oyun var...................
  4. pawq
    Nov 20, 2022
    6
    I struggle to see what people love about this game so much. Maybe it's because I played Frostpunk before, and This War of Mine feels almost like a proof of concept for Frostpunk, with the essentially the same fundamental mechanics, but much muuuch (muuuuuuch) more basic. I may've also been a victim of my expectations - I expected this game to hit hard emotionally, but it didn't, becauseI struggle to see what people love about this game so much. Maybe it's because I played Frostpunk before, and This War of Mine feels almost like a proof of concept for Frostpunk, with the essentially the same fundamental mechanics, but much muuuch (muuuuuuch) more basic. I may've also been a victim of my expectations - I expected this game to hit hard emotionally, but it didn't, because (at least in the main game) there's virtually no story - it's just a pretty minimalistic survival game.

    The survival mechanics work, which is why I suppose the concept was taken further and expanded into Frostpunk. The game is also beautifully drawn, albeit in dull, grey-dominated colours (for obvious reasons), so it's not as charming as it could've been in a different setting. This made the gameplay alright in terms of enjoyment, but ultimately I found it pretty repetitive and unengaging.    … Expand
  5. Jollyolfun
    Nov 18, 2022
    6
    this is a pretty fun but dreary point and click adventure game but gets old fast
  6. edxtan
    Apr 17, 2022
    5
    This War of Mine's survival mechanics and narrative mechanics have a parasitic relationship, where the survival mechanics feed into the narrative mechanics, but the narrative mechanics suck the life out of the survival mechanics.
  7. Wrathzo
    Mar 22, 2022
    7
    This War of Mine is a war survival video game developed and published by the Polish game development company 11 Bit Studios. This War of Mine is a survival-themed strategy game where the player controls a group of civilian survivors in a makeshift-damaged house in the besieged fictional city of Pogoren, Graznavia. The main goal of the game is to stay alive during the war with the tools andThis War of Mine is a war survival video game developed and published by the Polish game development company 11 Bit Studios. This War of Mine is a survival-themed strategy game where the player controls a group of civilian survivors in a makeshift-damaged house in the besieged fictional city of Pogoren, Graznavia. The main goal of the game is to stay alive during the war with the tools and materials that the player can gather. Most of the characters under the player's control have no military background nor any kind of survival experience and will require constant intervention by the player in order to stay alive. The player must maintain their characters' health, hunger, and mood levels until the declaration of a ceasefire, which occurs after a randomized duration.… Expand
  8. metesuzuk
    Jan 14, 2022
    7
    Art design is good. It can affect me emotionally, I like it. More than just a survival game
  9. LaplanNapalm
    Dec 19, 2021
    6
    Wstaję rano, za piętnaście trzecia. Latem to już widno. Katia je śniadanie i robi 2 filtry do kolektora deszczu ale jest lekko zmęczona bo od 10 dni chodzi na nocny szaber. Bruno, ciągle głodny (jeszcze sobie w dossier wpisał, że dobrze gotuje.... żeby być zawsze blisko michy) i zmęczony bo często je i ma cukrzyce chyba. Ogarnia aparaturę do bimbru i idzie się położyć, bo w nocy będzieWstaję rano, za piętnaście trzecia. Latem to już widno. Katia je śniadanie i robi 2 filtry do kolektora deszczu ale jest lekko zmęczona bo od 10 dni chodzi na nocny szaber. Bruno, ciągle głodny (jeszcze sobie w dossier wpisał, że dobrze gotuje.... żeby być zawsze blisko michy) i zmęczony bo często je i ma cukrzyce chyba. Ogarnia aparaturę do bimbru i idzie się położyć, bo w nocy będzie czuwał (przy lodówce). Pavle, obudził się ranny bo ma syndrom niespokojnych nóg i w nocy przyjebał z całej siły w ścianę z kopa. Łata jedną dziurę w ścianie, jara przemokniętego szluga i wspomina jak to było przed wojną... po czym odczuwa zmęczenie więc idzie się położyć, mamrocząc coś o braku kawy. Od 3 dni przychodzi jakaś baba wyłudzając medykamenty dla (niby) potrzebujących. Przychodzą jeszcze jakieś dzieci ale wyglądają na działaczy WWF i pewnie zbierają na magoty gibraltarskie albo na temblak dla czapli mniejszej która zwichnęła skrzydło... nie otwieram. 15:00 Katia wstaje i już jest głodna (jebaniutka) więc idzie po jedzenie, spotykając się z chłodnym spojrzeniem Bruna który ojebał już porcję ale dopchałby jeszcze kichy. Pavle jeszcze śpi, a wybity mały palec (od kopnięcia) pulsuje więc trzeba zjeść pół szafy medykamentów żeby "czuć się lepiej", a następnie poczuć zmęczenie i dalej iść w kimono. Katia idzie na szaberek biorąc łom ale łopata się nie mieści, bo zamiast plecaka ma tornister 8-letniej Basi która jest (tzn była) sanitariuszką ale umarła z nudów grając w TWoM. Rano nasza KATARZYNA wraca z 4 kawałkami drewna i sprężyna od zegarka - jest dobrze, bo na upgrade warsztatu brakuje tylko elementów których zbieranie zajmie 3 miesiące. W nocy przyszły chuligany ale nie ukradły jedzenia bo Bruno już zjadł wszystko i teraz odpoczywa bo jest zmęczony. Pavle znowu narzeka na palec i brak kawy... I tak to z moim TWoM jest....… Expand
  10. Bushido95
    Sep 28, 2021
    5
    Игра буквально на пару часов и у меня не было бы проблем с её продолжительностью если контента в игре было достаточно, но это не так.
  11. elefsar
    Apr 22, 2021
    5
    Game play is boring for me. Story is good, mechanics is mediocre. Atmosphere is mediocre.
  12. Cz3rw0ny
    Jan 10, 2021
    7
    This War of Mine is a very special type of game. The plot/story is very engaging, but gameplay did not really hooked me up too much. Therefore, my personal rating is only 7/10.
  13. Schinkmeister
    Nov 7, 2020
    5
    Die Prämisse, die Greuel des Kreiges darzustellen sagt mir ansich zu, leider konnte das Gameplay mich nicht wirklich lange fesseln. Permadeath macht so ein Spiel zwar spannend, aber leider kann es einem das Spiel auch recht schnell ruinieren. Gerade ein Spiel mit einem relativ langweiligen Aufbaupart und vielem langweiligen rumgeklicke eignet sich meiner Meinung nach nicht dazu es häufigerDie Prämisse, die Greuel des Kreiges darzustellen sagt mir ansich zu, leider konnte das Gameplay mich nicht wirklich lange fesseln. Permadeath macht so ein Spiel zwar spannend, aber leider kann es einem das Spiel auch recht schnell ruinieren. Gerade ein Spiel mit einem relativ langweiligen Aufbaupart und vielem langweiligen rumgeklicke eignet sich meiner Meinung nach nicht dazu es häufiger von Vorne zu spielen.… Expand
  14. luaanzero
    Sep 5, 2020
    7
    O jogo tem um enredo bem diferente da maioria dos jogos de guerra e survival, acho que a nota poderia ser maior se o jogo apresentasse a historia mais diretamente com diálogos e não só mudanças de cenário e pelo narrador do radio me entreteve por vários momentos eu realmente gostei apesar das limitações, o jogo é bem unico
  15. tommydlbass
    Aug 16, 2020
    7
    Decent strategy game that often cheats at you to make you lose. The gameplay it's ok and there are multiple options to do. Like most games, one you know were it's everything and what you can expect from some places the magic goes away.
  16. Helmenkalastaja
    Sep 22, 2018
    6
    Game looks great and dark mooded style is just brilliant. What i hoped that there would have been more diversity and depth in the stuff you can do. Now everything is build from same few materials and everyone can do everything. How a journalist have 'know how' to build working radio? Only few types of food, almost all you need can be producted by workshops. Game mechanic is awesome, butGame looks great and dark mooded style is just brilliant. What i hoped that there would have been more diversity and depth in the stuff you can do. Now everything is build from same few materials and everyone can do everything. How a journalist have 'know how' to build working radio? Only few types of food, almost all you need can be producted by workshops. Game mechanic is awesome, but that can't carry away that fact that there is available far better survival games with much deeper complexity and difficulty. There is too many curves cut straight to make the game simple, too simple to my taste.… Expand
  17. Klewer
    Nov 10, 2016
    7
    I found this a hard game to rate. The game looks great, has great ideas and mechanics as well as a very interesting message due to the games setting. However it does feel a bit grindy and repetitive at times. Combat is also quite frustrating and average. Still worth having a look at though.
  18. Hack
    Aug 18, 2016
    7
    A very unique experience that I highly recommend everyone tries, even if you don't like the survival genre as I myself don't and I still enjoyed This War of Mine quite a lot.

    I don't feel like the game has much replayability in the sense that you don't want to keep playing it because it can get quite tedious due to the lack of any sort of fast forwarding, and once you've found the best    A very unique experience that I highly recommend everyone tries, even if you don't like the survival genre as I myself don't and I still enjoyed This War of Mine quite a lot.

    I don't feel like the game has much replayability in the sense that you don't want to keep playing it because it can get quite tedious due to the lack of any sort of fast forwarding, and once you've found the best "build" you are basically replaying the same campaign over and over just making slight tweaks depending on your spawning circumstances which does get boring. Once I had successfully survived until the end of the war once and explored all the buildings I feel like I had seen everything the game had to offer and I was done. In the end I got 14 hours of enjoyment out of the game for £3.74 and it genuinely moved me at times, which is very rare for a game to do.    … Expand
  19. gracjanski
    Mar 10, 2016
    7
    I agree with the most people here, this game is overrated and not realistic. The gameplay is simple: It is like Sims with a bit strategy and stealth missions. Nice and funny, but nothing special. Many wrote it has a great atmosphere, the problem is, I cant immerse in this world, because it is more ridiculous than realistic. The charactes get depressive, when they are too criminal. WTF? II agree with the most people here, this game is overrated and not realistic. The gameplay is simple: It is like Sims with a bit strategy and stealth missions. Nice and funny, but nothing special. Many wrote it has a great atmosphere, the problem is, I cant immerse in this world, because it is more ridiculous than realistic. The charactes get depressive, when they are too criminal. WTF? I want to survive, I dont care if I stole something from others. In addition the most important ressource to survive is water, not sleeping. But it is a short game, so you can play it, you wont lose too much time to get to know this game.… Expand
  20. Underpants158
    Feb 7, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I played the game all the way through in one sitting taking me 7 hours. I fell under the one-more-turn spell and couldn't stop. It's a grim game and that's what makes it so compelling. You are controlling a group of survivors, managing resources, and kinda building a little economy in this run down building. What is great is that the game won't play out the same for everyone. I used one of my characters to kill civilians to take their goods but he couldn't handle his emotions and ran away. Another one got shot and killed stealing from armed men. Then yet another died from disease. I was left with two characters, who I happened to have started with, and on what turned out to be the last day of the war my entire situation was bleak and they were massively depressed so I had them console each other. It was a randomly great way to end my playthrough. A lot of different things could have happened and there is definitely replay value in going back and choosing what characters to start with and approaching things differently but Idk if I want to replay this game. I really like my own story and I want to keep it at that.… Expand
  21. RockStarGamers
    Jul 28, 2015
    7
    This War of Mine has a fantastic aesthetic, telling a bleak story in a beautiful way. But it's hard, both mechanically and emotionally. Brace yourself.
  22. SHlTGAME101
    Jun 14, 2015
    6
    More random event garbage. Just like FTL (ick). No amount of planning on your part will prepare you for the RNG events that take away all of your supplies.

    You shouldn't need a **** step by step walkthrough to beat your game, devs. It's not **** rocket science.
  23. tsakiym
    May 11, 2015
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. nice game.I do not have to say anything more. But i need to write one hundred and fifty characters. i think my score can describe it...................… Expand
  24. JimCorbett
    Feb 14, 2015
    7
    This War of Mine isn't the masterpiece that so many people claim it to be. However, it is definitely an enjoyable game. It's a relatively simply survival game where you play a civilian trying to survive amid a war. By day you build up your base and deal with the issues among your group of survivors and by night you go out and scavenge what you need. It's one of the few times that I reallyThis War of Mine isn't the masterpiece that so many people claim it to be. However, it is definitely an enjoyable game. It's a relatively simply survival game where you play a civilian trying to survive amid a war. By day you build up your base and deal with the issues among your group of survivors and by night you go out and scavenge what you need. It's one of the few times that I really felt like I was playing a survival game. You'll constantly be needing something and you won't find yourself coasting along easily at any point in the game. The gameplay is very basic, you just click on screen to where you want to go, click on items to loot them or upgrade and build things. There's nothing complex or no deep gameplay for you to get addicted to. This War of Mine's claim to fame is different. It adds an emotional state to the game. Your actions will affect your survivors. Stealing and killing will have cause your survivors to drop in to depression and there may be heartfelt dialogue that pops on screen about you just did. If this is something you don't really care for then you probably won't like this game no matter how big of a fan of survival games you are. If this sounds like something that appeals to you then you should definitely try this. The game however lacks replay value. There is a random element to the game; you can get different survivors with different traits. You safe house can look different and the places you go to scavenge may be different but that's it. After 1-2 playthroughs you will have seen most there is to do in the game and you'll become proficient at it. With that said, I did enjoy my time and feel like it's definitely worth a look for anyone looking for a moral side to their game.… Expand
  25. 12spageipriya
    Feb 11, 2015
    7
    In This War Of Mine you do not play as an elite soldier, rather a group of civilians trying to survive in a besieged city; struggling with lack of food, medicine and constant danger from snipers and hostile scavengers. The game provides an experience of war seen from an entirely new angle.
  26. JayLightBar
    Feb 9, 2015
    7
    I'll keep it short. Beautiful? Completely. The 2.5d style is nice, and the visual style they use is something that reminds you of the grey and grim of war. The music is so good. It really helps set the mood. I love the over all gameplay. Is it fun? No. But there is a firm belief that a game does not need to be fun, it needs to be compelling. And This War of Mine is the perfect example ofI'll keep it short. Beautiful? Completely. The 2.5d style is nice, and the visual style they use is something that reminds you of the grey and grim of war. The music is so good. It really helps set the mood. I love the over all gameplay. Is it fun? No. But there is a firm belief that a game does not need to be fun, it needs to be compelling. And This War of Mine is the perfect example of just that.… Expand
  27. Visko
    Jan 18, 2015
    7
    This is an amazing, if somewhat of a simple game. Starting with a few survivors, each with their own perks. You slowly progress through the days, trying to survive during the war. Crafting which reminded me of games like Minecraft or Terraria. Dig your way through areas, unlock doors, sneak into houses and steal. You get to choose how you want to survive, and your choices can affect theThis is an amazing, if somewhat of a simple game. Starting with a few survivors, each with their own perks. You slowly progress through the days, trying to survive during the war. Crafting which reminded me of games like Minecraft or Terraria. Dig your way through areas, unlock doors, sneak into houses and steal. You get to choose how you want to survive, and your choices can affect the survivors morale.

    Now what makes it engaging, also comes with its tradeoffs however. Not everything makes sense, actually not much makes sense. But it's difficult to create a game where everything is logical, it ends up being boring quite often. So you have to skip a few intricacies (like the crafting system) to keep the game flowing, less random, more predictable in order to appropriately strategize for the coming days.

    I have a few qualms with it however. Such is the combat system. I can't say I'm a fan of it at all, it's very basic, unforgiving and leaves no room for strategy. Stealth is great! But Combat, not so much. First time I had a gun, I figured "Sneak up on an enemy, and execute him in the head!" No... Doesn't matter how sneaky, close, or still I and my target are... I'll just shoot him in the hip, he'll turn around with his shotgun and blow my head off (as he did). With no Reload function, I'm forced to deal with it, or start over. That wasn't fun, that was stupid in my opinion and made me not want to play anymore. So it's true I only gave the game so much attention, but I just couldn't appreciate the Combat system since it didn't support MY playstyle.

    As well, playstyle, there's not much to adapt each individuals playstyle. You have to be stealthy, you have to be nice. That's the best way to succeed, anything else and you're just hurting yourself. You can't be those rag-tag survivors who make it by bullying and stealing, no you have to deal with them instead. If you're to do that, it's intended to be a last resort tactic- So in essence the game pressures you into playing it 1 way, and 1 way only, taking away from its re-playability some.

    Regardless, worth a purchase, worth a play-through. Everything has its problems, but this was a nice refreshing take on a "War Game" for sure.    … Expand
  28. iseeall
    Jan 9, 2015
    6
    This game has an interesting setting (bad picture of war), a great message (don't vote for leaders who want war) and nice graphics+music. However the gameplay is very limited (too few actions available for characters) and frustrating. In the core there is "Don't starve"/"Minecraft"-like crafting system. You run around locations and loot items from containers, to produce stuff out of thoseThis game has an interesting setting (bad picture of war), a great message (don't vote for leaders who want war) and nice graphics+music. However the gameplay is very limited (too few actions available for characters) and frustrating. In the core there is "Don't starve"/"Minecraft"-like crafting system. You run around locations and loot items from containers, to produce stuff out of those items, then use the produced items to produce some more items, of which a few you need to consume regularly. Most of the time you need to sneak, and sometimes you fight. The GUI is optimized for iPads, not PC. What spoils the experience the most is the lack of consistency: some NPCs decide to let you loot all containers, some let you grab stuff only from those without a "private" label and attack you if you take items with such a label, some follow you around with a shotgun aimed at you without attacking, some attack you on sight even before you examine any container. In such an inconsistent game a proper save feature would be a must (if you didn't expect something or encounter a game bug, you reload), but there is no save/reload. I dropped this game after 2 attempts. After a while I read a walkthru somewhere, only to find out that the game is even more inconsistent than I thought (like "this guy will attack you, that guy won't, oh wait there was a bug in an older version but now they fixed it" and so on). Sorry guys, but I just don't have the time to play the whole game thru to just learn what each of your NPCs is scripted to do. I still give the game a 6/10 for its message and good aethetics.… Expand
  29. Tubey
    Dec 5, 2014
    7
    If I were reviewing the devs, 11 bit studios, this would be a 10. Everything from their promo vids explaining the rationale behind the game and the ingenious way they tackled pirates by offering 10 free keys to people as a good will measure, is excellent, and the bigger studios could learn bucketloads from this type of marketing and approach.

    So, that's out the way - the game itself...    If I were reviewing the devs, 11 bit studios, this would be a 10. Everything from their promo vids explaining the rationale behind the game and the ingenious way they tackled pirates by offering 10 free keys to people as a good will measure, is excellent, and the bigger studios could learn bucketloads from this type of marketing and approach.

    So, that's out the way - the game itself... is OK. It nails the atmosphere really well, with the art style and minimalist score helping to create the perfect mood. It's a grim game in every way and, whilst not exactly fun to play, it challenges you to re-evaluate what you expect from a "good" video game.

    It falls short in certain aspects though. The crafting system is strange, with items breaking that shouldn't break, just to meet the gaming convention of resource management. The trade system is hit and miss, following no distinct pattern (I understand this is an attempt at an economy system, but it doesn't achieve what it set out to do). And combat is lacklustre to be honest - a point and click, stealth orientated affair but it doesn't get the heart racing or add positively to the overall experience. Worst of all, it seems either pre-programmed difficulty spikes or harsh RNG dictates how long you can survive - you can do everything right, and then be killed off inside 10 minutes.

    It's a game worth trying for its' unique aesthetics and atmosphere, and the ambition of the developer, but it's not going to go down as a classic. That said, it's a great base, and I look forward to seeing what 11 bit do next.    … Expand
  30. LostSandwich
    Dec 4, 2014
    7
    I knew nothing about this game going into it. But based on the title and knowing it was about war i figured it would be how they portray war in a game like Call of Duty, or Battlefield, but rather than portraying war as a fun playground they portray it realistically, well expect for the whole make a stove with some nails and wood, but a game does not need to be fully realistic. Gritty,I knew nothing about this game going into it. But based on the title and knowing it was about war i figured it would be how they portray war in a game like Call of Duty, or Battlefield, but rather than portraying war as a fun playground they portray it realistically, well expect for the whole make a stove with some nails and wood, but a game does not need to be fully realistic. Gritty, depressing, scary, generally hell on Earth. This game needs no "Press F to feel", the art style combined with the atmosphere, the sounds, the depressing notes left behind by others, the comments from your survivors, makes this game an emotional and thought provoking trip, about what being in a war zone really looks and feels like.
    The game play itself is decent but does have flaws. This War of Mine punishes you for each hit you take, but then combat is just mashing the Left Mouse Button on the character you are attacking and is generally very clunky. If taking hits during combat will have such large consequences you need to make sure your combat is very precise. Overall it's a good game worth the asking price, i dropped at least 20 hours onto it but it definitely could have been better.    … Expand
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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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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. Impulsegamer
    Dec 11, 2019
    100
    For the price it is… I wouldn’t even say wait for a sale, I’d just say buy this game… it will challenge you, it will pull at your heart strings… but I think, especially in this day and age, we need games like this to remind us to care for one another and to point out what is really important.
    Read full review
  2. Dealspwn
    Mar 22, 2015
    90
    A deeply atmospheric, emotionally compelling game that manages to treat war as a serious topic and examines the hard choices made by those caught in the middle of conflict.
    Read full review
  3. Hyper Magazine
    Feb 9, 2015
    80
    Not many games can claim to be "edifying." I think this one can. [Issue#257, p.75]
See all critic reviews »