Many video games with war themes revolve around the story of a soldier as he goes on shooting the bad guys. That’s always a sure-fire formula and will remain that way. But in 2014, the gaming industry got its first war-themed game in which it is seen through the eyes of those who are trying to survive, mainly the non-combatants caught up in war.

Poland-based 11 Bit Studios released their game called This War of Mine revolving around a group of civilians trying to survive in a fictional city of Pogoren, Graznavia that is under siege. The player has to ensure they are alive as snipers prevent them from going outside during the day, allowing them to search for food and tools for survival at night.

The game was inspired by what Bosnian civilians endured during the 1992–96 Siege of Sarajevo. When it was well received that the development costs was recouped in just two days.

If you call it a “survivalist” sim game then you are not far off as the main game can be considered as such. But with the release of a new DLC, this might want you to take a box of tissues with you when you play the game.

11 Bit Studios are releasing the “Stories” DLC series as they try to tug gamers’ hearts as they show that war is hell perspective. The first story will be “Fathers's Promise” where the gamer has to play the role of Adam who will attempt to save her daughter to survive and escape the besieged city.

The story still takes its inspiration from the Siege of Sarajevo, but they also add narratives based on the audio drama written by Polish author Łukasz Orbitowski. The DLC has 4 completely new locations, 5 reconstructed and remastered locations, and a set of new game mechanics: dialogue and clue searching system.

We highly recommend the game to airsoft players so used with first person shooter games and try to experience a game that is not based on just shooting the bad games. War is hell, and for the innocents caught up in the middle it, they have a story to tell and now can be experienced in a video game.