Bay 12 Games Forum

"The crowd of Norse warriors yell victoriously in unison, welcoming their new warlord. 'We're all mourning and weeping for Tod, aye!' - Warlord Sigurd began his speech - 'He was a great leader and a dear friend of mine. He also considered me his right-hand and sole advisor, so it is only rightful that I inherit the title of Warlord today! *public cheers* The King Theodo of Sardinia, the ruthless Christian cur, has been killed by my trustful axe, and so today, we'll march forward into his castle and slaughter his entire family in retribution! TODAY... IS THE DAY WE'LL RULE THIS ISLAND!' And the crowd rejoiced with cries of extreme enthusiasm and outstanding morale; they were ready to conquer the kingdom."

"Tod's body was put on a small boat, ignited, and let into the sea, abiding by the Norse traditions of nobility funeral, while Theodo's body was left rotting in the destroyed town. (3) Upon assaulting the ruling dynasty's castle, Sigurd and his troops took heavy losses, but have ultimately managed to take the castle. Di Sardegna dynasty were taken prisoners and executed via quartering."

"(6-2, weak army) The other noble families were horrified from the brutal execution of Di Sardegna dynasty members, so they've obeyed Sigurd and accepted him as the king of Sardinia."

"(2) Christian peasants of Sardinia weren't happy to serve under the rule of a Pagan, and declared a major revolt three years after the crowning of Sigurd. (5 vs 6) Sigurd's forces defended his rule fiercely, but the sheer number and zealotry of the peasantry (led by remaining Catholic bishops of Sardinia) has defeated Sigurd and overthrew Norse rule. (4) Sigurd has managed to flee to England, which was conquered by the Scandinavian Fylkirdom, where he raised another host of troops to retake the Sardinian kingdom. (6 vs 4) Once Sigurd was dethroned, the clergy and the nobility were debating over the right to rule over the island; the men of The Holy Bible or the men of noble blood? Ultimately, this led to a civil war, where the clergy was victorious and seized the control of Sardinia. (2 vs 1-1) The realm of Sardinia was severely weakened by the civil war, so Sigurd has managed to take it back quickly and mostly painlessly."

"Once Sardinia was back under the rule of the Norse, the population of the island was pacified after the devastating civil war from earlier, and didn't revolt against King Sigurd again. (4) The population didn't resist the conversion to Paganism, and so the north and the center of the island were largely populated by Pagans in a matter of less than a decade."

"To protect Sardinia from Catholics, King Sigurd married one of the Fylkir's daughters to solidify the relations and form an alliance. At the twilight of his life, Sigurd had (5) sons and (3) daughters. Sigurd died a natural death at the age of 56, with his oldest son, Ivar, inheriting the kingdom of Sardinia..."

Anyway, twas a wild, if messy, ride. Thanks for playing!

Okay, keep climbing, but be prepared to kick the skeleton guinea pig in its skull if it gets too close.

I mean, it made me laugh so hard from its awfulness that I had to stop it at 0:18 mark to stop my laughing.

I'd say This War of Mine fits quite neatly in the three categories that Scoop brought up: Visually, it's a bleak game with "pencil-drawn" broody and dark filter, fitting the horrors of war nothing short of perfectly. The people's models, in addition, are realistic, and the game also uses realistic photos as portraits for its characters. You'd think it'd create an unwelcome contrast, but it doesn't, and only reinforces the mood of the game.

Both the narrative and the gameplay help each other to the point where the two categories merge: There are a-plenty of games with anti-war messages, but their message tends to be muddled by being power fantasies, where you play as a generic military uber-badass hero. This War of Mine takes a different path and gives you the control over three civilian survivors of the occupation, each with their quirks, but ultimately mundane and human as the game can portrait them. You'll be sneaking around abandoned places to find things vital to your survival (frequently inhabited by bandits or military), whenever it is some wood planks to keep your filter working, food to not die from the empty stomachs, and medical supplies to stave off sickness and patch the wounds up. The materials required for your survival will get scarcer through the game, and going to the new places will always carry a risk of bandits, military, or simply other desperate survivors that want to take that canned food for themselves to not starve. That's where you'll be forced to commit acts of violence and/or stealing from those who are just as unfortunate as you are (and in some cases, are helpless to stop you), which will leave your survivors demoralized and depressed from the realization of what terrible deed they've committed.

Controls are very simple point-and click; click once to walk/sneak/loot/craft/whatev, click twice to hurry up (and probably alert the bandits in the building with the noise you'll make). They really can't go simpler than that, but they don't need the complexity, anyway.

In any case, This War of Mine was a very welcome break from the constant power fantasies and literally the best anti-war game that has been made so far. I consider it a work of art, very bleak and depressing, but also very meaningful and human. Sure, "war is hell" was never a new message in any form of media, but This War of Mine succeeds on the front of delivering and presenting the message by simply taking a different path from "a game about an uber-badass soldier that also has PTSD or some shit", and being all about the human experiences of living under a blockade of a city. It'll be very interesting to see how anyone can do a better anti-war game than this, if it'll be possible.

"It's not gambling, it's surprise mechanics."

Hang on the wall and try to shoot the guinea pig skeleton with acidic rocket rounds.

"(1 vs 6) With his balance quickly regained, Theodo cuts vertically at Tod's left arm, causing him to drop the shield and bleed profusely. Tod tries to sidestep his next attack, but Theodo kicks him in the knee, causing the Viking leader to fail and clench his teeth in pain on the ground." 

" 'You sons of Odin are pathetic: all dirty tricks and cheap tactics, but no valor or code of conduct when it comes to battlefield.' - King Theodo says to the wounded Tod while closing his distance, having his longsword in one hand and raised. 'So, have thou any last words?' "

Your left arm is wounded and your right kneecap is shattered. You can't use your left arm, and you can't stand up. Looks like the duel is lost.

Fucking Hindus and their +30% morale bonus for troops; They always defeat me when the forces are even, despite me having lots of pikemen and light cavalry in my ranks.