Every article tag can be clicked to get a list of all articles in that category. Every article tag also has an RSS feed! You can customize an RSS feed too!
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

This War Of Mine Is Bleak, Interesting & Difficult, Our Thoughts

By - | Views: 12,291
tagline-image
This War of Mine is a really interesting take on the survival genre, and it's very bleak all the way through.

This was tested on Linux Mint 17 64bit, with an Nvidia 560ti graphics card. Sadly the initial launch of the game came with loading issues, but as it has been patched the game now runs perfectly well. Hell, even alt+tab works beautifully, so they delivered a pretty decent experience for me.

The first thing I noticed is that the game badly needs keyboard scrolling with WASD. Having to point my cursor to the edges of the screen constantly to looking around was a fair bit annoying, but not game-ruining. It's number 1 on my wishlist for a future patch, that's for sure.

As you begin your struggle for survival you are offered no helping hand, nor any kind of tutorial on what do to. All survival games seem to start this way, and it's usually frustrating, but This War of Mine handles it well with an extremely easy to use interface.

One thing I do really love is the fact that any gear you pick up is shared. There is no inventory micro-management, so if you make a shovel, anyone can use it at any time to remove rubble for one example. That keeps the game being fun, without all the back and forth of managing everyone's gear. Doing it that way was a pretty smart move!

One thing that does bug me is the in-game speech, as it's plain white text, and often it's very hard to read when your character decides to speak next to a hole in the wall. The text could badly do with a simple 1 pixel thin black outline. There are also issues with text completely overlapping other text at times, but I'm not sure of a good way for them to get around that.

The game constantly re-enforces just how bleak the setting is. As you hit the first night the game expands from the basic building blocks of a survival game, and forces you to steal from other locals in attempt to fulfil your basic needs. The scavenging section reminded me a little of Mark of the Ninja with the sneaking around, and the hiding aspect. The visuals also remind me of it, but they are very different games.

My first scavenging attempt was reasonably successful with plenty of gear obtained, but my poor Bruno came back badly wounded, and with no bandages his future was uncertain. I mentioned this game was bleak right? As I continue scavenging around my current home, my characters keep talking about how wrong it is to steal, and how worried they are for Bruno, damn! Should I feel bad for stealing? I just want to survive god dammit.
In hindsight for your first night's scavenging it's probably a better idea to go to somewhere abandoned, and not a house full of screaming people.

Bruno feels pretty bad about stealing from people right now, but with his serious wounds, and no bandages, he has bigger things to worry about, but nope, he keeps whining about stealing from people. Priorities man; you're going to die!

It gets even more bleak, as the second night came I went on another scavenging hunt, we were raided! Poor Katie was wounded, and the bastards stole some of my water. I really need to fashion some weapons to fend off those raiders.

By night 4 I decided to return to the small house of people that hurt my poor cook Bruno, and I murdered them in cold blood, with a shovel. They had nothing in their pockets, but it felt good to give a little payback. Oh right this game is supposed to make me feel bad right? Well, Pavle sure felt bad, but I managed to get some more bandages to patch up Bruno, so I think he needs a cold glass of man-up juice.

This War of Mine is one of the most interesting games to come out for quite some time, and I can easily suggest picking it up. It just didn't provoke any real thoughts about war and the ethics of "should I kill them for what's in their pockets?", it's just a game after all, and a good one.

I'm not an emotionless monster, but this is survival of the fittest people, and my people are either starving or dying.

It's a much needed break for a tired genre. It doesn't do anything truely ground-breaking or revolutionary, but everything seems to fit together really well. It's not perfect, but what game is?

Check out This War of Mine on Games Republic for a Steam key + DRM free downloadings. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Review
0 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
10 comments

Guest Nov 18, 2014
The text appears to have a background on the Windows version (a translucent black) -- which is also visible in the screenshot on the top of this article.

I've also noticed that the building / cooking multiple parts doesn't show the current item being made -- it just shows " /X" where X is the total quantity.
Liam Dawe Nov 18, 2014
Yeah it seems Linux doesn't get the texts background, which is a bit annoying, and the reason I stated it's not perfect. It doesn't ruin the game though, just a minor annoyance that doesn't happen often.
dubigrasu Nov 18, 2014
QuoteThe first thing I noticed is that the game badly needs keyboard scrolling with WASD. Having to point my cursor to the edges of the screen constantly to looking around was a fair bit annoying

You can grab the screen with the mouse though and drag it around. Is even easier than with WASD.
Segata Sanshiro Nov 18, 2014
QuoteThis was tested on Linux Mint 17 64bit, with an Nvidia 560ti graphics card

Has the 980 not arrived yet?
Guest Nov 18, 2014
Quoting: dubigrasu
QuoteThe first thing I noticed is that the game badly needs keyboard scrolling with WASD. Having to point my cursor to the edges of the screen constantly to looking around was a fair bit annoying
You can grab the screen with the mouse though and drag it around. Is even easier than with WASD.

It's really not though -- you can easily miss click and move someone (who was sleeping or building or whatever).

There aren't any keyboard shortcuts as far as I can tell; I suppose because this is an Android game.
dubigrasu Nov 18, 2014
Quoting: edgleyIt's really not though -- you can easily miss click and move someone (who was sleeping or building or whatever).

There aren't any keyboard shortcuts as far as I can tell; I suppose because this is an Android game.
It is a bit riskier yes, but easy to overcome. It is easier because it gives more precision and control (like speed/direction control) in your movements.
The white text is indeed a pain though.
Julius Nov 18, 2014
pro tip: get an axe to convert unused furniture in your house into wood and fuel. No way to scavenge all the wood you need in 2x inventory slots. Also upgrade your cooking stove or you will not have sufficient fuel when winter set in.
Guest Nov 19, 2014
Quoting: dubigrasuIt is a bit riskier yes, but easy to overcome. It is easier because it gives more precision and control (like speed/direction control) in your movements.

I can't agree with that I'm afraid. I, far and beyond, prefer to use the keyboard to scroll the view. I don't need pin point accuracy, I'd much prefer to be able to use my left hand for something other than picking my nose when I'm playing a game.

The alternative choice would be to allow keyboard movement of the characters, but either way I don't want to play with a single button, because I have 140+ others not in use (yes I know, you can use the right mouse button to run, but double clicking also works).

Quoting: GuestI hate games that make the view scroll when the pointer is on the edge of the window :(. Another reason not to buy this, great.

As I said above, I'm pretty sure all these issues come from it being a Android mobile game.

It's not the worst port, and they did add some graphics options, but I find it incredibly annoying that ports like this don't get any improved control options.
dubigrasu Nov 19, 2014
Quoting: edgley
Quoting: dubigrasuIt is a bit riskier yes, but easy to overcome. It is easier because it gives more precision and control (like speed/direction control) in your movements.
I can't agree with that I'm afraid.
That's perfectly fine :)
PublicNuisance Nov 19, 2014
If I didn't already want this game then this would have sold me on it.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.