Given the fact that it’s sold seven million copies in its lifetime, there’s a good chance you’ve played This War of Mine.
First released way back in 2014, This War of Mine is an intense survival game that throws you into a war-torn city. Playing as a group of random survivors, you’ll need to keep yourself healthy, warm and fed – and doing so means going out into dangerous locations, scavenging for food and resources. Go out unprepared, and you’re probably going to die. Don’t go out at all, and you’re definitely going to die, because you won’t have enough food.
This isn’t a happy-go-lucky game, then, and it’s perhaps even more poignant playing it in 2022 as a real war rages in Ukraine. This War of Mine is set in a fictional city, but it is inspired by real-life events. It’s an accurate depiction of what trying to live in a city under siege must be like; surviving in a shelter, with all of your worldly possessions gone. It’s tough, it’s heartbreaking. But it’s real life.
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Related: This War of Mine – An Experience
This War of Mine: Final Cut is now available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S for the first time. A Compete Edition is also available, bundling in all DLCs. And since the game’s launch eight years ago, it’s had a lot of DLC.
If you opt for Final Cut, you’ll get the best version of the game, containing two previous upgrade packs as follows:
- Anniversary Edition, which adds three new locations, new NPCs, new scenario and a new playable character
- Final Cut update, which adds 4K visuals, improved UI, remastered locations, new quests and events
If you instead go for This War of Mine: Complete Edition, you’ll also get two premium DLC packs:
Watch the trailer for This War of Mine: Final Cut below:
This marks the first time that This War of Mine: Stories has been available on PlayStation and Xbox consoles. And in our opinion, their addition makes digging into the game – even if you’ve played before – totally worth it. Rather than playing as a random group of survivors tasked with the endless challenge of surviving, you’ll follow through a written story, complete with beats, twists and challenges.
Father’s Promise, for example, puts you in control of a father trying to care for his sick daughter. While he’s out scavenging, he comes home to find her gone: his brother has taken her to use her as a means to escape the country. And so an arduous journey begins to find her.
This War of Mine isn’t the type of game you play for graphical fidelity. It is an impressive-looking game though, thanks to its unique sketchbook-effect art style. In 4K, it’s sharper and more striking than ever. It performs excellently on next-gen too. Disappointingly, it doesn’t make much use of the PlayStation 5’s DualSense features; a bit of haptic feedback would have been nice in certain situations, but it’s hardly a dealbreaker.
If you’ve never played This War of Mine, then, Final Cut is the best way to do it. Be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster, but this is a game that’s hard to put down once you’ve started playing. And even if you have played before, the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S release is well worth jumping into. It’s never looked so good, and with the addition of the Stories DLC, it’s more immersive and gripping than ever.
This War of Mine: Final Cut is available now on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It’s also available on Xbox Game Pass. The standard version of the game is available on PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC.
