Those who loved the survival gameplay of This War of Mine are in for a real treat. This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise keeps the original gameplay but adds a more story driven narrative. Play as a father and attempt to find her when she disappears one night. Those who loved the gritty world of the previous title will love This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise as it tasks you with making tough choices and smart decisions. This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise will be the perfect entry for those who wanted more story and is the first of three new DLC add ons for This War of Mine: Stories.

Once more, players are dropped into the role of a survivor, however this time, things are slightly different. This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise is less about surviving day by day and more focused on presenting a short story to the player. You’ll still have to search for items to not only make weapons, tools and food but now you’re forced to search for clues to the whereabouts of your daughter. Each decision you make in terms of scavenging might lead to more salvage that can be used but also takes a toll on your own body. This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise blends the gameplay of the original This War of Mine with story-based gameplay to create a truly unique piece of DLC.

In This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise—the first of several new story based DLC missions—you play as Adam. During the war ravaging the country, Adam and his family suffered slowly. Adam’s wife perished leaving him to care for their daughter Amelia. Unfortunately, Amelia caught a fever and began to get increasingly sick. Adam began his mission and tried to keep her safe from those who wished to take her away but one-day Amelia disappeared when Adam collapsed from exhaustion. Now, you must find Amelia and save her before it’s too late.

In 2014, This War of Mine was released and met with a ton of praise. Many considered it a fusion of games like The Sims and a dark/gritty war movie with you being in control of characters surviving in a decrepit and fallout ridden city. Now in 2017, developer 11 bit studios has released one of the first pieces of DLC—there are to be three—in the form of This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise. Acting as a more narrative based simulator, does This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise live up to the great base game that we loved several years ago? Why don’t we find out in our review of This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise?

This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise tasks players with controlling a father known as Adam. Unlike This War of Mine, players only control Adam and guide him through the destroyed cityscape as they search for his missing daughter. By removing the multiple characters, one would worry that would ruin the simulation elements found in This War of Mine. While there are some issues with this newer approach, we’re happy to say overall it works quite well in This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise.

Having only Adam, players become this father and embody his character. The main drive of This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise isn’t surviving day by day but instead finding Amelia and doing so as fast as possible. This is due to the fact that like This War of Mine, This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise utilizes the same aspect of gameplay as before. Players need to find food, need to salvage for material, use materials to make items and be ready to fight if the need arises. This works quite well in This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise as it keeps the player constantly moving but there are some issues because of the narrative focus switch it has.

You see, in This War of Mine, players felt the need to craft items like water filters, weapons and food items because it was a survival simulator. If you failed to do that, your controlled character died and that meant one less on your team. In This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise, Adam doesn’t need food all the time—literally we made it through eating only 3 times of the 14 days it took to beat the game—and weapons don’t really need to be used in more than one area which could be done in a stealth based affair like some scenarios in This War of Mine. This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise removes a lot of the simulation musts but for those who want that still, you can adhere to the old systems it’s just very unnecessary.

Now, we know those who loved the survival simulation focus of This War of Mine may not like this shift of story perspective survival in This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise but it actually can be seen as a positive. Now, with a main goal, players will guide Adam towards that goal and not feel the monotony of making food, making items and so forth. Instead, you get a story that keeps you pushing forward and makes you choose every movement carefully. Add to this that the story in This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise is so engaging and great—with a nice surprise twist at the end—and you find yourself getting truly immersed into Adam’s world for the 2 -3 hours you’ll be playing. Though a second run through might not be warranted because this is a story that once seen, doesn’t need to be re -seen, if we’re being honest.

Finally let’s talk about the two great elements that return from This War of Mine in this new DLC, the impressive pseudo-real visuals and outstanding soundtrack. The dark and destroyed city landscape found in This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise looks breathtaking and while it’s a very simple setup of using character models that are based on real people, it works well thanks to the noir-like tone This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise uses. The soundtrack as well is mind blowing with epic musical moments and haunting ambiance filled tracks. Each moment felt like something special in This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise and we always love that here at Honey’s Anime HQ. If This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise needed something from the original it was the graphics and music, and it did indeed return with those elements stronger than ever.

This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise took what made This War of Mine so great and made it even better. The fact that now, we get a more story based experience without ruining the simulation elements from the original This War of Mine is a remarkable feat truly. While some might not like the fact that This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise removes the survival aspect slightly and the multiple endings associated with it, for us here at Honey’s Anime, we loved how it felt like you were working for a goal rather than just aimless survival. Plus, This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise is a mere $1.99—though we recommend buying the season pass as it’s $4.99 and you get all three stories as they release—for essentially an extra 2 -3 hours of gameplay. Needless to say, we think This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise is an amazing piece of DLC and should be played by those who loved the base game and even those who care more about story than simulation survival.

DLCs like This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise add to what makes a game already great but equally changes the game enough to warrant purchase, a rarity for most DLC in the modern gaming age. Toted as the first entry of the Stories series, This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise gives a compelling story with the great gameplay This War of Mine offered and we loved that. Honestly, if you consider yourself a huge fan of This War of Mine like we were here at Honey’s Anime, then you’re missing out if you don’t get This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise when you can. What are your thoughts on This War of Mine: Stories - Father’s Promise? Are you excited with the direction developer 11 bit studios is taking with these story based DLCs? Comment down below as we would love hearing from you and for more game reviews and articles keep stuck to us here at Honey’s Anime.