This War of Mine

Despite coming out in 2014, This War of Mine is not only one of my favorite survival games, but also one of my favorite games of all time. The setting places you in the middle of a war-torn Eastern European fictional city of Pogoren, but rather than controlling either of the combatants, you control a group of 1-4 civilians of which there are many to choose from, with varying specialties/vices, who are just trying to survive the day-to-day as their homes are destroyed around them.
The replay value is always one of the first thing I mention when talking about this game. There are various scenarios that can happen during the day as you upgrade your shelter, from the trader coming by to offer supplies, to shady individuals with interesting propositions, to other survivors who need shelter, upon which letting them in adds them to your base, and much more. The amount of different levels to scavenge at during the night time part of the gameplay is even more impressive. They can be randomly selected or handpicked before you start a new game, and the different scenarios that could be happening at those scavenging locations give the game endless hours of replayability.
This War of Mine also brings ethics into question and forces you to make very difficult moral decisions sometimes, and some of them weigh heavier on different characters. There are genuinely some characters who are okay with doing anything to survive, including murder, while other characters may become sad and question their individual morals for even stealing from other survivors. This also attributes to the replay value of trying different survival tactics, since if you try to murder several people for supplies with emotionally weaker characters night after night, it can break them, leading them to acting dangerously unhinged and unpredictable.
Regardless of the lack of voice acting, you can still feel the general despair from the amazingly sorrowful soundtrack and the survivors' conversations/behaviors within your base, and you feel for the survivors in your shelter. This is especially true in the game's stories DLC, where you are given three narratives to follow as you play, which are very engaging despite all three stories having different end goals, besides surviving, of course.
TL;DR I wholeheartedly believe This War of Mine holds up to this day and is worth full price. That being said, as often as it goes on sale, it is without a doubt that I think it's a STEAL!

Most war games put you on the front lines with a rifle in your hands and adrenaline in your veins. This War of Mine does the opposite — it drops you behind the lines, in the rubble of a city under siege, where survival isn't about glory, but about desperation, morality, and hard choices.
This is war through the eyes of the civilians.
Inspired by the Siege of Sarajevo, This War of Mine tasks you with managing a group of ordinary people trying to survive in a war-torn city. These are not soldiers — they're teachers, chefs, musicians, and mechanics. They're cold, hungry, injured, and scared. And it’s your job to help them make it through another day.
The gameplay mixes resource management, crafting, stealth, and emotional storytelling. By day, you fortify your shelter, cook food, care for the wounded, and try to stave off depression. By night, you send someone out to scavenge for supplies — often facing brutal moral dilemmas in the process.
Do you steal from an elderly couple to feed your starving group? Do you risk injury to save a stranger calling for help? Do you ignore a knock at the door because you're low on meds? Every decision has a cost, and survival often means sacrificing your humanity.
The game’s art style is hand-drawn, bleak, and hauntingly beautiful. The grayscale palette is punctuated by muted colors, adding to the sense of despair. The ambient soundtrack is minimal and melancholic — never overpowering, always appropriate.
And yet, the most powerful element is silence. The game gives you space to feel. To stare at your characters as they sit in sorrow. To reflect after a gut-wrenching choice. It doesn’t yell at you. It lets the weight of war speak for itself.
While the mechanics are relatively simple — crafting, managing hunger, sleep, and morale — the emotional complexity runs deep. Each playthrough is procedurally generated, offering different characters, stories, and events. No two runs feel the same, especially with the growing burden of your decisions over time.
The game isn’t without its rough edges. The AI during scavenging can be a bit rigid, and the pacing in late-game scenarios can feel slow once your base is fortified. But those are minor blemishes on an otherwise unforgettable experience.
This War of Mine isn’t just a game — it’s a statement. It has been used in classrooms, praised by humanitarian organizations, and even added to the Polish educational curriculum. It forces players to think not just tactically, but ethically. It reminds us that war is not just fought with bullets, but with hunger, trauma, and loss.
The developers further supported this message with the “Stories” DLCs and the Final Cut, which refined visuals and added new content while maintaining the game’s somber tone.
This War of Mine is a raw, emotional, and humanizing portrayal of war that lingers long after the screen goes dark. It’s not “fun” in the traditional sense — and that’s exactly the point. It’s a powerful piece of interactive storytelling that deserves a place among the most important games of its generation.
If you’re looking for a game that challenges not just your skills but your conscience, This War of Mine will leave a lasting impression — and maybe a heavy heart.
Rating: 8/10

I dont remember this game much but all i remmeber is killing the elderly for probably a cracker and a tylenol

There are so many ways to die and so little resources to keep your suriviors alive. Hunger, fatigue and cold are far away from the only things that will make your playthough a truly hellish exprience. Every day you must make decisions that often lead to unexpected outcomes. War isn't fun or easy, this game does a good job at showing all the hardship people have to go through just to live another day.

"Even in this place one can survive, and therefore one must want to survive, to tell the story, to bear witness; and that to survive we must force ourselves to save at least the skeleton, the scaffolding, the form of civilization. We are slaves, deprived of every right, exposed to every insult, condemned to certain death, but we still possess one power, and we must defend it with all our strength for it is the last ... the power to refuse our consent" — Primo Levi, If This Is a Man

This is probably the best game I have played and ever will.
Despite quite simple graphics, the game manages to immerse you fully into the atmosphere of war, making you reflect on the harsh realities from the perspective of civilians caught in the crossfire and facing you with moral and survival dilemmas. At times, my choices kept me awake at night.
The music in This War of Mine is just top-notch. I even ended up saving a few soundtracks. Perfectly complements the overall somber and oppressive atmosphere, adding up to the feeling of despair but not overwhelming the gaming process.
Highly recommend.

Ok, the game is great. It creates an atmosphere for the player
BUT I have played almost 4 hours and it is too slow. I almost did the same thing for the 4 hours. At least it is like that for me. It didn't get me, and I feel sorry for that :(
I understand this is the game's mechanic, but this is the point. it is not for me.

Maybe I will try it again later