A new war video game is turning the genre on its head, casting you not as a soldier in battle but rather as innocent bystanders who are left dealing with the reality of the turmoil surrounding them. From Polish developer 11 bit studios (the company that recently hired a pair of Witcher 3 designers), the game is called This War of Mine. Its tagline is "In war, not everyone is a soldier."
Described as a "dark survival game," This War of Mine has you controlling a group of civilians who are trying to stay alive in a city besieged by war.
"During the day snipers outside stop you from leaving your refuge, offering players time to craft, trade, upgrade their shelter, feed and cure their people. At night they must scavenge nearby areas in search for food, medicines, weapons, and other useful items."
This War of Mine was inspired by the real-life story of how one man survived in a city surrounded by war, lead designer Michal Drozdowski said in a statement.
"We learned about his hardships and the horror of that experience," he said. "We decided to work around this idea and make something real, something that moves people and make them think for a second. It's about time that games, just like any other art form, start talking about important things."
In This War of Mine, players will make "life-and-death" decisions based on what their conscience tells them. Some options including trying to protect the people in your shelter...or sacrificing some of them in order to survive. "There are no good or bad decisions during war. There's only survival," reads the game's description.
This War of Mine is coming to PC and mobile devices, and will make its worldwide debut at the Game Developers Conference next week in San Francisco. You can check out a trailer below and read more about it on the game's website.