The lack of hand-holding feeds into the gameвЂ™s motif, it works. This War of Mine is not Dark Souls and thatвЂ™s not the goal. There has been a ton of praise going around for games being more вЂhardcoreвЂ™ or вЂold schoolвЂ™ when they leave out the instructions and prompts. Some people may look to this feature and just laud the game for not holding its playersвЂ™ hands. It never gives you a prompt which explains вЂњIf you do X, Y will happenвЂќ (example: Dishonored prompts the player throughout that if they kill people, more rats will spawn and there will be more plague victims). This War of Mine works because it is subtle, incredibly subtle. Occasionally, theyвЂ™ll let you alter the game world through action, but even when they do, they tend to overuse or over emphasize the mechanic. Role playing games often give the illusion of choice through dialogue options. But what makes this game different from other games? LetвЂ™s take a look at player choice and player effect first. The game is dark it is grim, and completely unforgiving.

The game was inspired by the Bosnian civil war in the early to mid 1990вЂ™s and asks the question, вЂњHow would you make it through a modern day war?вЂќ As you play, you answer that question in some unpredictable ways. This War of Mine is a survival game in which the player is tasked with helping a group of civilians survive a modern day siege. Kudos to 11 Bit Studios for creating a game with feeling that doesnвЂ™t beat players over the head with it.

It is a grounded and eloquent take on some raw emotions that I would argue canвЂ™t be captured in other media quite as well as they are in this game. If you have an hour or two to spare, pick up this game. If anyone asks me for a specific recommendation for a game based on themes or gameplay, I gladly contribute suggestions, but I almost never recommend a game to absolutely everyone.

Play this war of mine free