This War of Mine released back in 2014 and was one of the most surprising games of that year. In a year filled with modern shooters as Call of Duty, Wolfenstein, Titanfall and Halo: The Master Chief Collection came This War of Mine. Unlike the other shooters, you aren’t one man/female trying to solve the war. You play as a group of survivors, trying desperately to survive in a besieged city. That game released on consoles as ‘The Little Ones’ and adds children to the drama.
This War of Mine
If you haven’t heard of the original game, be sure to read our review, we described the game as following
This War of Mine is a survival game, set in a besieged city. You don’t control a super soldier who kills 10 people before his grenade explodes, nor are you a nation with the capability to spawn tanks faster then Twitter can update. In This War of Mine you take control a group of civilian, trying to survive from day to day. You start the game as a random group, that just took refuge in a ruined, multi-storey house. This is your home and it will serve as your shelter throughout the following weeks.
This War of Mine maintains a day and night cycle. During the day, you have time to maintain your house, craft items and take care of your survivors. The first couple of days you start by cleaning up your house, opening locked rooms/furniture, prepare food and craft new items. Every action you make requires time, so you have to plan your day accordingly because once it’s 8:00 PM, the night cycle starts. While enemy snipers prevent you from going outside when there is daylight, at night you can sneak outside. You can take a civilian out on a scavenge mission at unique locations in search for items, guard your house so other scavengers won’t loot you dry or sleep to increase your chance of survival and heal from injuries or sickness. But it comes with a cost, those who stay awake will be tired the day after, those who go to sleep can’t guard the house. Don’t think that it is safe during the night. The locations can be filled with militia or other civilians. Even during the night, you have to pay close attention to your clock. You have to make sure that you are back before sunset, or you might not survive the road back. Once it’s morning again, you can begin fixing the breaches to keep other scavengers out, upgrade your equipment or talk to other survivors to keep the mood up.
The Little Ones
This system hasn’t changed at all in this new version. You still control a group of survivors and have to go on scavenging hunts during the nights. Returning to your shelter always comes with nerves. You never know what to expect when you return. Will your shelter still be there? Didn’t others attack it? Are some of the residents becoming ill? Should I need to look for more medicine next time? It’s a game that’s never really ‘enjoyable’ in a sense of having fun. To be honest, war isn’t something you should enjoy, it’s something you should fear and that’s what This War of Mine delivers.
There is only survival
It delivers a true-to-life war experience where you’re scared of what the next day might bring. Sacrificing characters to save others is something you’ll have to do regularly in the game. The theme is dark and the visuals and score all add to this dark atmosphere. This isn’t a fun game; it’s a reality check that you’ll keep in your memories for a very long time to come, especially since they’ve added kids to the game.
Among your survivors are kids this time, making the situation even more emotional than it was. Kids act differently than adults of course, although they are scared, they still remain children. This means you’ll have to feed them more regularly and that they are more vulnerable than the others but that they’ll need to play and relax as well. It’s heartbreaking to see your children start drawing on your walls in a shelter. It’s shocking to see how the developers managed to create such a realistic experience. The children act as they should, they are scared for sure but they remain children above all. This also means you’ll have to make some devastating decision from time to time.
If you return form a scavenge hunt with limited medical supplies and have to decide to bring back your strong adult or innocent child, your moral compass will start making the decision for you without a doubt. You don’t always go for the ‘smart’ decision since you won’t give up your little ones that easily. The addition of children to the game opens up a lot of new gameplay elements and heartbreaking moments at the same time. Thanks to these little children, the game truly is unforgettable.
Conclusion:
This War of Mine: The Little Ones is still the same game as back in 2014 but with one important change, the children. The children add an extra emotional layer to the game, resulting in some heartbreaking moments. The game isn’t about having fun, it wants to show you what kind of impact a war can have for the survivors. Having fun is the wrong way to put it but we’re sure this is one of those games you’ll remember for years after you’ve played it.
