In This War Of Mine, you do not play as an elite soldier, but rather a group of civilians trying to survive in a besieged city, struggling with a lack of food and medicine and facing constant danger from hostile scavengers and snipers. The game provides an experience of war seen from an entirely new angle.

The pace of This War of Mine is imposed by the day and night cycle. During the day, snipers outside stop you from leaving your refuge, so you need to focus on maintaining your hideout: crafting, trading, and taking care of your survivors. At night, one of your civilians can scavenge through a set of locations for items that will help you stay alive.

The game challenges you to make life-and-death decisions driven by your conscience. Try to protect everybody from your shelter or sacrifice some of them for longer-term survival. During the war, there are no good or bad decisions; there is only survival.