From Fallout to Baldur’s Gate 3, Civilization to Cyberpunk 2077, a lot of the greatest PC games are based on the idea that your choices as a player really, truly matter. But nowhere is that more keenly felt than in This War of Mine, the unique, historical survival game first launched by Frostpunk 2 maker 11 bit way back in 2014. A fictionalized portrait of the Siege of Sarajevo, it makes the simple act of cooking a meal, putting wood on the fire, or even answering the door feel laden with consequences. Now, a decade since it originally arrived, This War of Mine is suddenly back with an entirely new DLC.
This War of Mine is more than a survival game – it’s a war game, but played from the unique perspective of civilians. It’s not about fighting, winning, and holding territory. Trapped in the besieged city, and living in the ruins of a former three-story house, the characters you play are parents who have lost their children, partners separated from their husbands and wives. The battle rages outside and the only time when it’s ‘safe’ to travel is at night, when you must scrounge through the rubble of the former neighborhood looking for food, fuel, and medical supplies.
But it’s not just the battle that threatens your life. Spring turns to autumn. Autumn becomes winter. As the siege rages on, you’re faced with harsher and harsher realities. When someone gets sick, do you wait it out and hope they get better, or risk your life to try and find medicine somewhere in the fractured city? When This War of Mine first came out, I played it for ten straight hours, having gotten completely absorbed in its characters and its stark, somber subject matter. And now it’s coming back.
The new This War of Mine Forget Celebrations DLC follows Katia, a veteran war correspondent who returns to the fictional city of Pogoren to work on a book. A missile strike destroys her home, forcing her into a battle of survival against the very forces she was attempting to document.
We don’t have a release date yet, but 11 bit studios says that all proceeds from Forget Celebrations will go to its associated charities: War Child, Amnesty International, Liberty Ukraine Foundation, and Indie Games Poland. If you haven’t played the original game and want to try it before the DLC arrives, just head here.
Otherwise, try some of the other best PC games, or maybe get a look at the best upcoming PC games instead.
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