I don't like gore in games. I've never been a fan of the God of War series, and I'd prefer never to chainsaw an enemy in Gears of War. What I do love in games, however, are personal consequences. Sims creator Will Wright once spoke about how no medium other than games can convey the emotions of pride and guilt, and I love embracing what games do best. As devastating as it is, I love the idea of losing my best buddy Garrus to a swarm of Collectors at the end of Mass Effect 2 or my most-trusted sniper from a sloppy grenade toss in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. This War of Mine from 11 Bit Studios is a game all about making the best of a terrible situation and living with the morale-crushing consequences of your decisions.
Learn about Game Informer's Fight for the Top 50 Challenge 2014, happening today and tomorrow.
Even though Joe Juba wasn't wild about it, one of my favorite games last year was State of Decay from Undead Labs. Scavenging for supplies and building up your base amidst a zombie apocalypse with the constant danger of character perma-death was a gaming experiences that I've always wanted, even it was a little janky. This War of Mine takes some of my favorite aspects from State of Decay and flattens them onto a 2D plane. Bucking the obvious trend, This War of Mine has nothing to do with zombies or even a post-apocalyptic world and instead puts players in an ambiguous Eastern European war-torn city. Even if the pillars of scavenging and dealing with desperate NPCs are similar to games you've played before, the setting helps the game stand out.
This War of Mine plays like SimApocalypse. Imagine controlling a bombed-out house filled with Sims, but instead of the worst-case scenario is being slapped by a potential lover it's being forced to murder a priest with an ax only to have your friends hanging from the rafters when you get back home. This game is dark. I can't think of a darker game that I've ever played, but luckily the concept of survival is so strong that it kept me going. Getting lucky and finding the exact ingredients that you need while scavenging to go back home and cook a hot meal for everyone or build a workshop for life-saving tools are your pay-off moments. There's something primal and satisfying about the whole experience. All of my characters have died resulting in a full game over several times, but I hope to keep playing this game and building a sustainable home that will last until the war ends.
The Top 50 Challenge
When I first started playing This War of Mine, I quickly texted Tim Turi telling him to check it out. As a huge fan of zombie and survival games, I thought that he might be interested in a dark survival simulation with a real-world twist. I only hope that the flicker of humanity left in Tim's heart can withstand This War of Mine's brutal onslaught of bleakness and that he is motivated to fight for it as one of the top 50 games of 2014.
Tim was given one day to play This War of Mine. Come back tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. CT to read his impressions and see if This War of Mine will get his support for Game Informer's Top 50 Games of 2014.