Review: This War of Mine – The Little Ones

The critically acclaimed survival-management game This War of Mine arrives on consoles, extending its emotional depth with the inclusion of a children’s perspective.

It’s challenging to write about war without resorting to well-worn tropes. Many of us are fortunate enough to have never experienced it, and hopefully never will. War not only brings death, distress, and destruction, but it can also erode humanity, forcing individuals into primal survival mode. The law of the jungle prevails. Yet, even amidst the instinct for self-preservation and the protection of loved ones, we remain human, with inherent emotions, needs, and vulnerabilities.

This War of Mine – The Little Ones, developed by 11 bit studios, joins a distinguished lineage of game developers from Poland (home to the Game of the Year 2015, The Witcher 3). Inspired by the Bosnian War (1992-1996), they’ve crafted a compelling, poignant, and intuitively designed game experience that can be described as a “survival-management” simulation. Think of it as a deeply serious and meaningful take on the genre.

Food is consistently scarce, and characters cannot remain hungry indefinitely.

The game places you in control of three individuals, each possessing unique characteristics – for example, “good cook” or “skilled searcher” – and of varying genders. Your objective is to manage their actions during the day and night, directing them to construct essential items that enhance their survival: basic kitchens, metal workshops for crafting shovels, lockpicks, and weapons, and even stills (for crafting tradeable moonshine). All construction requires resources, which must be scavenged from abandoned buildings, acquired by stealing from other people’s homes, or obtained through trade. Every decision carries consequences. At night, you must send one character on “scavenger hunts” to search for supplies. Should you prioritize materials or food? Should the other two characters sleep, or must one stand guard against potential looters? Have you acquired enough resources to build a bed for improved rest, or must they sleep on the floor? Resources are severely limited, creating constant trade-offs; your characters will become hungry, tired, injured, and depressed based on your choices. Since not all needs can be met simultaneously, you must decide what to sacrifice and how to survive for 40 days.

Death is permanent in the game and can occur suddenly. Often, driven by desperation, you might break into the wrong building and be met with lethal force. Alternatively, attempting to prevent an assault could result in your character being killed. Murdering another person inflicts deep emotional distress. Similarly, stealing from others carries a heavy moral weight. Can you stealthily gather resources from trash piles, avoiding conflict altogether? Or will the mounting pressure and overwhelming need for food lead you to steal from someone’s garden, leaving them in dire straits? These are the difficult, human decisions you are repeatedly forced to make. The death of a character feels like a genuine loss (often prompting a restart from the beginning, as there is no option to revert to the previous day). The world, characters, and events are randomly generated, encouraging multiple playthroughs with different strategies, each presenting unpredictable challenges.

How do you explain war to children?

New to the console version is The Little Ones – children who appear partway through the game. The devastating impact of war on children is undeniable. Yet, they remain children, seeking play and laughter, struggling to comprehend the harsh realities faced by adults. Your responsibility is to care for them, provide toys, and ensure they experience as tolerable an existence as possible while awaiting the end of the conflict. The inclusion of vulnerable children intensifies the game’s emotional impact.

This War of Mine – The Little Ones is not a graphically intensive, technically advanced title, but it is well-crafted with meticulous attention to detail. The understated graphics create a perpetually bleak atmosphere, punctuated by fleeting glimmers of hope that represent a distant promise of a better future. The console version incorporates a subtle charcoal/pencil effect in the background, evoking a documentary-like sense of memories. The music and sound design are understated, and despite the absence of sampled speech, the desperation in the characters’ lines and their physical expressions of pain are palpable.

The graphics are stylish and atmospheric. Check out the charcoal/pencil effect in the sky.

A playthrough of This War of Mine – The Little Ones typically takes 2-3 hours, depending on your approach. With each playthrough, you learn more, and the real-time arcade-style controls are generally effective, although occasional precision issues arise. The game offers unlockable surprises and an appropriate amount of textual context, providing sufficient background information without becoming overwhelming. The gameplay feels intuitive, and the mechanics are easily grasped. Any initial ambiguities are quickly resolved through gameplay. You also have the option to customize your game by selecting starting characters, difficulty levels, locations, and the number of days until the war concludes, thereby controlling the length of the experience.

The text with background info is perfectly balanced.

We enjoyed our time with This War of Mine – The Little Ones. It’s a compelling and reasonably complex management game, enhanced by an emotional dimension that motivates players to strive for improvement in subsequent playthroughs. The length is well-suited for focused play sessions, and while it may not offer the expansive array of choices found in Sid Meier’s titles, it provides sufficient depth for a well-made game that is typically priced lower than most new console releases for PS4 or Xbox One.