Game profile
This War of Mine
Instead of soldiers, players control civilians fighting to survive in a besieged city, forced into moral compromises and difficult decisions. This somber 2D survival game shows the horrors of war from a rarely depicted perspective.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Survival / Strategy, set in the present day. Visually it is deliberately stylised rather than photorealistic, and the overall tone stays dark throughout. The structure is guided rather than open, so you are moved along instead of dropped into a map. Sessions of an hour or two sit at the sweet spot here.
It is genuinely demanding, and repeated failure is part of how it is designed. The narrative carries the whole thing, and the mechanics serve it. It is a single player experience from start to finish. It is available broadly, on 5 platforms. It sits in the budget bracket.
What stands out
- Civilians at war
- Moral choices
- Somber atmosphere
This fits you if
- you want to live through a story, not just play a system
- you actually want to be scared
- the writing matters more to you than the mechanics
- you want real resistance and are fine with dying a lot
- you play alone and want a complete experience without other people
- you are watching your budget
Look elsewhere if
- you want to relax and not be punished for mistakes
- you skip cutscenes and want to get to the gameplay
- you want something light and easy going
- you specifically want an open world to roam
How long is This War of Mine?
About 15 hours in total. At three evenings a week and two hours each, you will be busy for roughly 3 weeks, or 8 sessions.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 82 out of 100, which puts it above 40 percent of the 1276 games here and at rank 761 overall. That is mid-table for this database. Not a standout at the top, but solidly rated.
For comparison, Survival averages 80 points across the database, so this one sits 2 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 409 collected ratings.
Released in 2014, which makes it 12 years old. A genuine classic, and worth checking how the version you buy holds up today.
The facts
- Release year
- 2014
- Genres
- Survival, Strategy
- Playtime
- approx. 15 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Demanding, punishing
- Story weight
- Carries the whole game
- Play with
- Solo
- Setting
- Present day
- Visual style
- Stylised
- Price bracket
- Budget
- Platforms
- PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, Mobile
- Critic rating
- 82 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This War of Mine | 2014 | approx. 15 hrs. | 82 | Budget |
| Silver Pines | 2026 | approx. 15 hrs. | n/a | Mid price |
| Frostpunk | 2018 | approx. 30 hrs. | 86 | Budget |
| Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival | 2026 | approx. 12 hrs. | 71 | Full price |
If you liked this, try these
- n/a Silver Pines Shared: Survival, Present day, rated higher
- 86/100 Frostpunk Shared: Survival, Strategy, longer, rated higher
- 71/100 Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival Shared: Survival, Present day
- 69/100 Quarantine Zone: The Last Check Shared: Survival, Strategy
- 93/100 Alan Wake 2 Shared: Survival, Present day, rated higher
- 85/100 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Shared: Survival, Present day, rated higher