This War of Mine: The Little Ones Review

“This is a game which provides both entertainment and meaningful issues for the player to consider, achieving this combination nicely.”

When I first played This War of Mine at the time of its launch on PC, I very much enjoyed it. It is not a fun-loving, or happy game, but its structure and the ideas it attempts to covey work harmoniously together to deliver a meaningful message about civilians during wartime. At the same time, the game still managed to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience to partake in. The updated console release of the game, subtitled “The Little Ones” in reference to the additional content it includes within its story, has now finally come around, and I was glad to have the opportunity to pick up this deeply interesting title again.

In brief, gaming-related terms, This War of Mine plays out like what you might expect a post-apocalyptic Sims game to feel like. What it adds to this is the significant and smartly developed factor of emotional responses to surroundings and situations. A character who has been through a traumatic experience for example may feel sad, depressed or even like giving up completely. They can also become sick or injured, alongside experiencing other more conventional needs such as hunger or tiredness. Balancing the feelings and needs of the characters you manage is at the core of the game, but the overall goal is keeping them alive as survivors of an ongoing conflict…

Behind the foreground story of your survivors’ struggles in a bombed out house is a backdrop of war, poverty and anarchy. Whilst you fight to survive, so do others, making your struggle all the more dangerous. It is often hard to tell whether the greatest threat to your survival is being killed or handling the pressure when you need to become the killer. Theft and murder are very viable options as you battle to maintain the few lives which you manage, but get caught out by someone more dangerous during these efforts and you can quickly lose it all.

This is where the management of your survivors’ as individuals comes into play, which is another clever system of the game. Some may be good at helping out at home by cooking for the group, whilst others may be stronger and more able to carry looted items back to the base at night. Choosing who should eat or rest or head out for supplies and when they should perform these tasks is hugely important, and brings a significant strategy element to the game.

Predominantly, This War of Mine is a survival game though, and as such your main focuses are on gathering resources, building useful additions to your home base and staying alive. The difference between thus game and a survival game in the conventional sense it resources are sparse. There is no vast open world to explore and gather in. Instead your setting is a war torn city full of struggling civilians doing what they must to live on. Building a bed is a greater test than chopping a tree and shearing a sheep in this game, and it is choosing what to craft when that can determine how you go forwards, if you do so at all.

All of these different sides to surviving in This War of Mine work perfectly together, forming a story of your own creation which is influenced by your decisions and actions. This experience is complimented by the opportunity to craft your own story, by choosing which survivors to start with and which areas are on your map to visit during the game. This allows you to play out the emotional survival in exactly the way you want, with exactly the people you need.

Gameplay experience is also strong, but not quite as natural feeling as it was on PC. The conversion of the point and click control system to a controller based one has had its ups and downs. On the one hand, this system is perfect when you are scouting areas for lot at night, allowing for easy navigation and if necessary escapes. At home however it is often difficult to pinpoint exactly where you want a character to go. Objects too close together can cause confusion in designating an action, and the 2.5D plane can lead to difficulties navigating up and down stairs. My main issue however was that my characters would not stop going down ladders all the time, which became particularly frustrating.

Despite these points, the game is easy to work out the systems of, and it is quite easy to get used to how to navigate the interface. Once you have this figured out, your main focus is on people and time management, which is complimented by the simple layout for using objects and performing actions. Both at your makeshift home in the day and when you are out at night, it is not too difficult to figure out how to navigate menus or perform specific actions. Quick options at night like the ability to automatically run for an exit also make the game easy to play and reduce the stress of the sometimes awkward movement factor.

The is only one factor of the console release which baffles me, and that is its subtitle. Although “The Little Ones” version of the game references the inclusion of children in the dramatic events of the game, these younger characters do not seem to have quite as much presence as you might expect. The game is largely the same as the standard PC version, which is in no way a criticism, but it seems as though it would have been equally as suitable to leave the subtitle out and simply list the additional features included. As the difference these make has been subtlety integrated, some players may find themselves expecting more than is on offer and be a little disappointed.

Alongside all of its depth, meaning and gameplay experiences, This War of Mine succeeds just as highly with its aesthetics. Eerie music perfectly matches the attitude of the game, whilst hand-drawn looking visuals in a largely black and white frame compliment these goings on flawlessly. The mood is set for the game from the moment you begin to play, and no detail is sacrificed in doing so. Everything is impressive to take in throughout the game, with a great deal effort having been put into every aspect from the stance of the characters to the rubble of buildings. The designers of the game certainly deserve a pat on the back for their achievements.

This War of Mine is a game which attempts to portray important messages through the medium of a survival-focussed video game. It does this well, highlighting the significance of the mental state of civilians directly impacted by the events of wars. It also shows the difficult decisions that some people have to make in order to survive in such conditions, and the way that this can seriously affect their lives. As well as succeeding in providing these insights, the game also offers a solid survival experience, despite having one or two minor gameplay issues and bugs which could use a little work. The console release’s subtitle could easily have been omitted, but this does not affect the game as a whole. It may leave some people at a loss looking for major new features, but otherwise does not impact the overall experience.  This is a game which provides both entertainment and meaningful issues for the player to consider, achieving this combination nicely.

The Good:

• Great survival mechanics played out on a 2.5D stage.
• Emotions and mental state are considerations change the dynamics of typical survival games.
• Unique characters with well developed back stories and a setting of deep significance allow you to play out a meaningful story whilst you play.
• Strategy is key, with the timing and operation of your decisions being the core factors in your survival.
• The game forces you to make difficult choices, and deal with the fallout.
• An easy interface to learn and a simple one to operate.
• Visually and audibly striking, with aesthetics setting the mood perfectly.

The Bad:

• The subtitle of “The Little Ones” leads you to expect significant new features upon the original game, however these are really more subtlety included.
• Gameplay is far better suited to keyboard and mouse control than to a controller, with some issues arising with movement and finer controls.
• The nature of the game and its mood may put some people off.