This War of Mine

2014 video game

This article is about the video game. For for its board game adaptation, see This War of Mine: The Board Game.

2014 video game

This War of Mine

Developer(s)| 11 bit studios
Publisher(s)| 11 bit studios
Director(s)| Michał Drozdowski
Przemysław Marszał
Designer(s)| Rafał Włosek
Programmer(s)| Grzegorz Mazur
Artist(s)| Dominik Zieliński
Writer(s)| Based on inspiring idea of Grzegorz Miechowski
Composer(s)| Piotr Musiał
Krzysztof Lipka
Platform(s)|

* Microsoft Windows
* OS X
* Linux
* Android
* iOS
* PlayStation 4
* Xbox One
* Nintendo Switch
* PlayStation 5
* Xbox Series X/S

Release|

November 14, 2014

* Windows, OS X, Linux

* WW: November 14, 2014[1]

Android

* WW: July 14, 2015

iOS

* WW: July 15, 2015

The Little Ones
PS4, Xbox One

* WW: January 29, 2016[2]

Windows

* WW: June 1, 2016

Complete Edition
Nintendo Switch

* WW: November 27, 2018

Final Cut
Windows

* WW: November 14, 2019

PS5, Xbox Series X/S

* WW: May 10, 2022

Genre(s)| Survival
Mode(s)| Single-player

This War of Mine is a war survival video game developed and published by the Polish game development company 11 Bit Studios.[3] The game, inspired by the siege of Sarajevo among other conflicts, differs from most war-themed video games by focusing on the civilian experience of war rather than front line combat. Characters have to make many difficult decisions in order to survive everyday dangers. There are various endings for each character, depending on the decisions made in the game. The game has received multiple DLCs and sold over 9 million units worldwide across multiple platforms.

## Gameplay

[edit]

This War of Mine is a survival-themed strategy game where the player controls a group of civilian survivors hiding inside a damaged house in the besieged fictional city of Pogoren, Graznavia. The main goal of the game is to stay alive during the war using 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.

In the daytime, the survivors will have to stay indoors because hostile snipers are present outside, thereby offering the player time to craft tools from gathered materials, trade, upgrade the shelter, cook food and heal the survivors. At night, the player is given the opportunity to go out and search nearby areas for valuable resources to survive day by day. During their excursions, the survivors, controlled by players, can encounter other NPC survivors of the war, who they can choose to assist by offering food or medicine, or rob and kill. The player can also build a radio inside their shelter, which will provide useful information such as weather warnings, updates on the city's economy, and news of the ongoing war effort to help the player plan appropriate shelter upgrades and scavenging missions.[4]

The player starts off with one to four survivors whose actions the player can affect. The actions the player makes will change the type of endings each survivor has. Each character has one or two traits that helps/hinders the player, besides hidden, varying stats that affect combat, movement speed, and so on. Some traits are useful during certain days while others are useful all the time. For example, one character named Bruno has a trait called "Good Cook", which helps the player use less fuel and water when cooking meals or brewing moonshine; and Roman, a former rebel who is trained in combat. There are a total of twelve playable characters.[5] The Little Ones DLC includes the possibility of adding an extra character, a child survivor, that cannot defend itself or perform any of the tasks needed to maintain the shelter at first. In addition, the child survivor must be given constant attention to prevent it from becoming depressed but can be taught by the other survivors to perform small chores like cooking, filtering water, or growing crops, and once bonded with an adult, it can sleep with them in the same bed at night, removing the need for a separate bed for both.

## Development and release

[edit]

The game was inspired by the extremely poor living conditions and wartime atrocities that Bosnian civilians endured during the 1992–96 Siege of Sarajevo, the longest city siege since World War II,[6] among other conflicts.[7] Developers researched hundreds of years' worth of civilian accounts of wartime. Charlie Hall in Polygon, describing the developers' efforts, writes:[7]

> This War of Mine is not about Ukraine. It's not about any single conflict. It is about every conflict, and every innocent person imprisoned inside them. This War of Mine is about Ypres in 1914. It's about Warsaw in 1944 and Sarajevo in '92. It's about Mogadishu in '93, Kabul in '03 [sic] and Fallujah in '04. It's about Syria in 2013. It's about Gaza right now.

This War of Mine was released for Microsoft Windows, MacOS, and Linux in November 2014.[8][9] The Android port was released on July 14, 2015, followed by the iOS port on the following day (July 15).[10] In November 2014, unlicensed copies of the game were made available online. The developer's response was to post a number of working Steam keys, encouraging downloaders to share them with friends, and buy the game if their financial situation allowed.[11]

### Post-release

[edit]

A scenario editor was added into the game through update 1.3, which allows players to create and select survivors. The editor also allows environmental conditions and the length of conflicts to be changed.[12]

Player-created content was released freely via the Steam Workshop as of update 2.0.[13]

A DLC called War Childs was released for a limited time between March 9 and April 3, 2015 on Steam to raise funds for the War Child charity. This DLC contained unique street art pieces that players could find with three tiers of content, depending on the amount of money donated. On 3 April 2015 11 Bit Studios announced that the donations received had been enough to change the lives of over 350 children.[14]

Another DLC, focusing on children, called The Little Ones was released for consoles on 29 January 2016[15] and PC on 1 June 2016.[16]

To celebrate the game's third anniversary, 11 bit Studios released three story-driven DLC's called This War of Mine: Stories: Father's Promise (released on 14 November 2017), The Last Broadcast (released on 14 November 2018) and Fading Embers (released on 6 August 2019)

In November 2018, 11 bit studios announced This War Of Mine: Complete Edition exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, releasing later the same month. This version compiles all the content in a single package, including the original base game, the Anniversary Edition content, The Little Ones, and its episodic Fathers Promise and all upcoming content including The Last Broadcast, and Fading Embers.[17] A physical retail version of the game was also released in Europe for the Nintendo Switch the same day, through Deep Silver.[18]

On November 14, 2019 11 bit studios released a free content update called This War of Mine: Final Cut.[19][20]

On December 12, 2024 11 bit studios released a new DLC entitled Forget Celebrations, focused on Katja, one of the characters from the original story and celebrating the 10th aniversary of the game.[21]

## Reception

[edit]

Reception

Aggregate scoreAggregator| Score

|

iOS| NS| PC| PS4| Xbox One
Metacritic| 90/100[40]| 80/100[41]| 83/100[42]| 78/100[43]| 78/100[44]
Review scoresPublication| Score

|

iOS| NS| PC| PS4| Xbox One
Destructoid| N/A| N/A| N/A| 6.5/10[22]| N/A
Edge| N/A| N/A| 9/10[23]| N/A| N/A
Eurogamer| N/A| N/A| 8/10[24]| N/A| N/A
Game Informer| N/A| N/A| 8/10[25]| N/A| N/A
GameRevolution| N/A| N/A| [26]| [27]| N/A
GameSpot| N/A| N/A| 8/10[28]| N/A| 7/10[29]
GameTrailers| N/A| N/A| 8.5/10[30]| N/A| N/A
GameZone| N/A| N/A| 7.5/10[31]| N/A| N/A
IGN| N/A| N/A| 8.4/10[32]| N/A| N/A
PlayStation Official Magazine – UK| N/A| N/A| N/A| 8/10[33]| N/A
Official Xbox Magazine (UK)| N/A| N/A| N/A| N/A| 8/10[34]
PC Gamer (UK)| N/A| N/A| 80%[35]| N/A| N/A
PC PowerPlay| N/A| N/A| 8/10[36]| N/A| N/A
TouchArcade| [37]| N/A| N/A| N/A| N/A
Digital Spy| N/A| N/A| [38]| N/A| N/A
Slant Magazine| N/A| N/A| N/A| [39]| N/A

### Critical reception

[edit]

The iOS version of This War of Mine received "universal acclaim", while the PC and console versions received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[40][42][43][44][41]

The Digital Fix gave the PC version nine out of ten and said, "Whether you choose to perceive it through a moral lens or not, there’s a great tactical survival mechanic driving this game beneath the didactics. Although the events it depicts are depressing to contemplate at length, I found myself coming back again and again to try and get it right somehow, beat the odds, and save my people."[45] The same website also gave the PlayStation 4 version of The Little Ones eight out of ten and said, "While better on PC, the PS4 release brings this remarkable game to a new crowd."[46] 411Mania gave the Xbox One version 8.5 out of 10 and said that it was "not a game I will recommend if you like settling down for a visceral experience, or earning XP, or shooting stuff dead. It's not fast paced. It's not much fun to actually play. It'll make you feel terrible about your actions at almost every turn. But in spite of all that, there is something so essential about this gaming experience that I urge you to give this game a try."[47] Digital Spy gave the PC version four stars out of five and said that the "earnest human touch keeps This War of Mine compelling even when you mess up and the rubble all comes tumbling down around you, leaving you just enough hope for the next attempt that you'll dive back in and endure it all again."[38] Metro UK gave the PS4 version seven out of ten and called it "A daring, and largely successful, attempt to show the civilian side of war, that succeeds as an interactive drama even when it occasionally fails as a game."[48] However, Slant Magazine gave the same console version two stars out of five and said that the game "seems interested only in presenting a near-pornographic level of human despair in a warped attempt at edifying players."[39]

During the 18th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated This War of Mine for "Outstanding Achievement in Story".[49]

The game reportedly made back its development costs in its first two days for sale,[8] and had sold over 4.5 million units by April 2019.[50]

### Sales

[edit]

The game sold about 700,000 copies during its first year of release. The game's release on consoles and mobile devices expanded its audience, and the game was able to maintain steady sales and growth five years after its initial launch, according to 11 bit's publishing director Paweł Feldman.[51] As of January, 2024, the game has sold over 9 million copies across all platforms.[52]

## Impact

[edit]

In 2020, the Polish Chancellery of the Prime Minister announced that This War of Mine would be added to the recommended reading list in Polish high schools during the academic year of 2020-2021\. This was the first initiative in the world to add a video game to recommended readings in school.[53][50] The Microsoft Windows version of the game is free to download from the Polish government's website, alongside lesson topics for teachers.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 11 Bit Studios announced that all profits earned from This War of Mine for seven days starting 24 February 2022 would be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross to directly support victims.[54][55] Within the week the company had raised over £500,000.[16] In total, $850,000 was raised.[15]

## Board game adaptation

[edit]

Main article: This War of Mine: The Board Game

Awaken Realms launched a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2016 for a board game adaptation of the video game, designed by Michael Oracz and Jakub Wiśniewski.[56] The board game, which is a faithful reproduction or even port of the design of the video game,[57][58]: 10:35 has received mostly favorable reviews for its role as an artistic statement or educational tool,[59][58][60] although Charles Hall of Polygon recommends the video game instead.[57]

After the video game's fund drive for the Ukrainian Red Cross, 11 Bit Studios and Awaken Realms sold off all remaining Kickstarter copies of the board game, with revenue beyond taxes and shipping going toward the Red Cross and a charity evacuating Ukrainian cancer patients.[61]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Maiberg, Emanuel (November 2, 2014). "War Game About Innocent Civilians This War of Mine Gets Release Date, New Trailer". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
2. ^ Mejia, Ozzie (August 27, 2015). "This War of Mine tells 'The Little Ones' tale on PS4 and Xbox One in January". Shacknews. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
3. ^ Maiberg, Emanuel (March 14, 2014). "Survive the horrors of war as a civilian in This War of Mine". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
4. ^ Grayson, Nathan (March 13, 2014). "Heavy: This War Of Mine Is A War Game About Civilians". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
5. ^ Zgierski, Kuba. "Characters". GamePressure.com. GRY-Online S.A. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
6. ^ This War of Mine Launch Trailer - The Survivor. 11 bit studios. November 14, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014 - via YouTube.
7. ^ a b Hall, Charlie (September 3, 2014). "A war game that actually feels like being in a war". Polygon. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
8. ^ a b Yin-Poole, Wesley (November 27, 2014). "It took just two days for This War of Mine to make its money back". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
9. ^ Barreiro Jr, Victor (December 23, 2014). "This War of Mine review—Staying alive". Rappler. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
10. ^ Karol_11bitstudios (July 14, 2015). "This War of Mine is out on Play Store!". Reddit. Retrieved December 21, 2015. "Hey guys, it's Karol from 11 bit studios, one of the devs behind the game. Currently, the game is dedicated to tablets, but I want to assure you, that we are already working on bringing it to other devices as well, including before mentioned smartphones. Hopefully, soon we'll have some good news about it."
11. ^ Kała, Andrzej (November 17, 2014). "11-bit Studios wygrywa internet!" [11-bit studios win the Internet!]. PlayingDaily (in Polish). Retrieved November 17, 2014.
12. ^ Hillier, Brenna (April 29, 2015). "This War of Mine update 1.3 adds scenario editor". VG247. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
13. ^ Booker, Logan (December 12, 2015). "This War Of Mine's 2.0 Update Brings Modding Tools To The Game". Kotaku Australia. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016.
14. ^ "Summary of the War Child Charity DLC". October 10, 2016. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
15. ^ a b "This War of Mine - Our fundraiser has ended at $850.000". Steam News. March 4, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
16. ^ a b Troughton, James (March 3, 2022). "This War Of Mine Raises Over Half A Million Pounds For Ukraine". TheGamer. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
17. ^ Nosuupu, Iggy (November 7, 2018). "This War Of Mine: Complete Edition Heading Exclusively To Switch". NintendoSoup. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
18. ^ Lim, Gabriel (November 26, 2018). "This War Of Mine: Complete Edition Is Getting A Physical Release In Europe". NintendoSoup. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
19. ^ "This War of Mine - This War of Mine: Final Cut is available now!". Steam News. November 14, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
20. ^ "This War of Mine". finalcut.thiswarofmine.com. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
21. ^ "This War of Mine: Forget Celebrations Charity DLC on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
22. ^ Rowen, Nic (February 29, 2016). "Review: This War of Mine: The Little Ones (PS4)". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
23. ^ "This War of Mine (PC)". Edge. No. 275\. Future plc. January 2015. p. 118.
24. ^ Robinson, Martin (November 25, 2014). "This War of Mine review (PC)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
25. ^ Tack, Daniel (December 2, 2014). "This War of Mine (PC): Despondent Days, Nihilistic Nights". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
26. ^ Amogi, Gil (November 24, 2014). "This War of Mine Review (PC)". Game Revolution. CraveOnline. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
27. ^ Amogi, Gil (February 8, 2016). "This War of Mine: The Little Ones Review (PS4)". Game Revolution. CraveOnline. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
28. ^ Clark, Justin (November 17, 2014). "This War of Mine Review (PC)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
29. ^ Clark, Justin (January 29, 2016). "This War of Mine:The Little Ones Review (XONE)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
30. ^ Huber, Michael (December 9, 2014). "This War of Mine Review (PC)". GameTrailers. Defy Media. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
31. ^ Liebl, Matt (November 21, 2014). "This War of Mine Review (PC)". GameZone. Archived from the original on November 26, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
32. ^ Zacny, Rob (November 24, 2014). "This War Of Mine Review (PC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
33. ^ "This War of Mine: The Little Ones". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK. Future plc. March 2016. p. 93.
34. ^ Stone, Tom (January 25, 2016). "This War of Mine: The Little Ones review". GamesRadar+ (Official Xbox Magazine UK). Future plc. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
35. ^ Hussain, Tamoor (November 19, 2014). "This War of Mine review". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
36. ^ "Review: This War of Mine". PC PowerPlay. No. 237\. Next Media Pty Ltd. January 2015. p. 54.
37. ^ Ford, Eric (August 17, 2015). "'This War of Mine' Review – A Perfect War-torn Port". TouchArcade. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
38. ^ a b Nichols, Scott (November 14, 2014). "This War of Mine review (PC): Bringing the war home". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
39. ^ a b Pressgrove, Jed (February 9, 2016). "This War of Mine: The Little Ones (PS4)". Slant Magazine. Slant Magazine LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
40. ^ a b "This War of Mine for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
41. ^ a b "This War of Mine: Complete Edition for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
42. ^ a b "This War of Mine for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
43. ^ a b "This War of Mine: The Little Ones for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
44. ^ a b "This War of Mine: The Little Ones for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
45. ^ McCullough, Steven (January 23, 2015). "This War Of Mine Review (PC)". The Digital Fix. Poisonous Monkey. Archived from the original on January 30, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
46. ^ Harwood, Edd (February 9, 2016). "This War of Mine: The Little Ones Review (PS4)". The Digital Fix. Poisonous Monkey. Archived from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
47. ^ Lange, Stewart (March 9, 2016). "This War Of Mine [The Little Ones] (Xbox One) Review". 411Mania. Archived from the original on April 30, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
48. ^ "This War Of Mine: The Little Ones review - suffer little children (PS4)". Metro UK. DMG Media. January 25, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
49. ^ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details This War of Mine". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
50. ^ a b Handrahan, Matthew (June 18, 2020). "This War of Mine will be added to school reading list in Poland". GamesIndustry.biz. Gamer Network. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
51. ^ Feldman, Pawel (August 6, 2019). "This War of Mine: Five years later". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
52. ^ "This War of Mine Surpasses 7 Million Copies Sold as Final Cut Releases on Current-Gen Platforms". Games Press. May 10, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
53. ^ Tilles, Daniel (June 18, 2020). "Poland puts computer game "This War of Mine" on school reading list". Notes From Poland. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
54. ^ Rodriguez, Nick (February 24, 2022). "Anti-War Game This War of Mine To Donate Sales To Ukraine: Red Cross". ScreenRant. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
55. ^ Brown, Andy (February 25, 2022). "'This War Of Mine' developer will donate proceeds to Ukrainian Red Cross". NME. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022.
56. ^ Grush, Andrew (May 11, 2016). "This War of Mine is now a board game, Kickstarter officially launched". Android Authority. Authority Media. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
57. ^ a b Hall, Charlie (August 14, 2017). "This War of Mine: The Board Game is part social experiment, and entirely too long". Polygon. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
58. ^ a b Vasel, Tom. This War of Mine: The Board Game Review. The Dice Tower. Retrieved October 19, 2023 - via YouTube.
59. ^ Theel, Charles (October 28, 2017). "Review: This War of Mine, the board game". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
60. ^ Iglesias Amorín, Alfonso (December 30, 2022). "La aplicación de los juegos de mesa en la enseñanza de la Historia" [The application of board games to the teaching of history]. Clío (in Spanish) (48). University of Santiago de Compostela: 26–49\. doi:10.26754/ojs_clio/clio.2022486981.26-49&rft.date=2022-12-30&rft_id=info:doi/10.26754/ojs_clio/clio.2022486981&rft.aulast=Iglesias+Amorín&rft.aufirst=Alfonso&rft_id=https://doi.org/10.26754%2Fojs_clio%2Fclio.2022486981&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:This+War+of+Mine" class="Z3988">
61. ^ Jarvis, Matt (March 10, 2022). "This War of Mine: The Board Game creators donate all revenue from remaining Kickstarter copies to support Ukraine". Dicebreaker. Retrieved October 29, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* Bosnia and Herzegovina portal

* v
* t
* e

11 Bit Studios

Developed games|

| Frostpunk series|

* Frostpunk
* Frostpunk 2

|

Other games|

* Anomaly: Warzone Earth
* This War of Mine
* board game
* The Alters

Published games|

* Moonlighter
* Children of Morta
* South of the Circle
* The Invincible
* The Thaumaturge

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work

|

*[WW]: Worldwide
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