This War of Mine surprisingly announced (and launched) a new story-driven DLC series today. The first one is called Father’s Promise, and we managed to get some time with it before the rest of the world. Here’s our review…
It’s so cold, water drips from the ceiling from where the roof has caved in. I’m worried about building a fire, can I afford to burn the wood I’ve scavenged? I can hear gunshots in the distance, perhaps I’d be better using that wood to patch up the holes in the walls.
To keep the looters out.
God, I’m so hungry.
I’ve got to keep my daughter safe.
The only thing is, I don’t have a daughter. It is cold outside but I’m sitting in my office, a cup of warm coffee in hand, a fleecy jumper on and my home heating has just come on. That’s the thing with This War of Mine, it has this profound way of getting under your skin, of making you feel the pressure your characters feel, it takes you on a journey, a journey of wondering how to keep your characters alive to wondering which character are you going to allow to die first.
This War of Mine is not an easy game, it’s not meant to be. It’s meant to be harrowing and the latest Stories DLC is what I think the game has been missing all along. It’s not that the base game is lacking, it’s simply that when you boot up Father’s Promise, the first of three stories in the DLC, you can’t help but feel even more emotionally involved in whats going on. You can’t help but feel your gut wrench when you awake to find your daughter has been gone, taken from her sickbed, and you weren’t there…you couldn’t even stay awake…you couldn’t even save your own daughter…
What follows is your journey of trying to track down your daughter; trading, stealing and fighting your way to finding her because she’s all you have left.
Where This War of Mine simply had you survive without any real emotional connections between the characters that lived in your home-base, the Stories DLC introduces these heartfelt narratives, it creates these tangible connections between your characters which makes the hard decisions the game throws at you even harder. The core mechanics and gameplay are the same but the tone of the game is more three-dimensional.
One thing I loved (and hated at the same time in the best of ways) was that as you start out the story, as your daughter lies sick on her bed, you can’t go out and scavenge. Of course, you can’t, who would stay and look after your daughter, the only thing you have left? You come to a realization after a couple of in-game days, ‘I can’t go on like this, I simply can’t keep this up.’
The Stories DLC drives home the stark reality that although we are experiencing these stories through a video game, for some…this is their reality.
The Stories DLC for This War of Mine costs $4.99 for the Season Pass, or you can buy the Fathers Promise story separately for $1.99. In my opinion, either price is a steal for the hours of content you’ll get out this DLC and if you’re a fan of the base game this DLC is a must-buy.
