
OMG. What. A. Game. I absolutely LOVE this. It’s raw. It’s depressing. It’s challenging. It leaves me with a cold pit in my stomach just thinking about it, and exhaling a huge sigh of relief when the game ends. But I love it because of that. It makes me feel, and I’m not talking the usual celebratory joy that comes with most standard games. That’s because TWOM isn’t your usual take on a war game. It doesn’t glorify or celebrate shooting and killing. Instead it tells the human story of those trying to survive; they are the human casualties caught in the conflict. Like the game says; Because in war, not everyone is a soldier.
I have the original release, plus the expansion called ‘The Little Ones’ that introduce children characters into the story. I bought this game maybe six months after it’s initial release having discovered it by accident one day on Steam. It’s not the usual genre I play, so I’m not surprised I missed it, but I was intrigued enough to give it a go. What convinced me was the majority of then overwhelmingly positive reviews, but also by the fact that it was influenced by real life survivor accounts of conflict and war. Added to that a percentage of sales were (and still are) being contributed to war-torn countries and affiliated charities; Everything about it spoke to my humanitarian core. I had to have it and give it a shot (pun intended. I know, I’m a horrible person that’s likely going to hell. But what else is new? *lol*)
Since it is so gut-wrenching at times, it’s not the kind of game you can play on repeat for weeks and months at a time – at least I couldn’t anyway. So I usually play for a while, run through a few scenarios to completion, and then put it back on the shelf and take an extended break from it. That’s also what makes it so tough; not only does the game make you (me) question what war must be like to endure from a civilian POV, but it also lingers once the game is over. It brings with it a degree of guilt that we as players can escape the horrors while in real life somewhere on the planet someone caught in similar scenario at that very moment can’t escape so easy. It’s tough. But it is a fantastic game. So much so that lately I’ve been in the mood to write a story of some sort based around it. Not sure how or what or why or even when, but such thoughts naturally make me want to install it all over again just for the, dare I say it, “fun” of it (yep, it’s the hell-express for me, I’m afraid).
So the point of this post isn’t really a game review. Anyone can find that with a simple Google search and make up their own minds, or simply go here to the official site. What I’m thinking is posting updates here if anything interesting or of note happens in my game. Again, as with much of this site the things I post are more for the sake of prosperity than anything else. So for now that’s my plan. This is one of those ‘watch this space’ things fueled by good intention and little planning. We’ll see how it goes anyway. And if by some chance someone happens to be reading this and IS curious about trying the game for yourself, all I can say is PLEASE DO! You won’t end war in the real world but you’ll help benefit someone else in need by buying it, and that’s got to be worthwhile, doesn’t it?


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