It Takes A War is the second game from Thomas Mackinnon after the hugely popular The Corridor. It’s marketed as a Co-op tactical shooter but if you’re familiar with The Corridor — and watch the trailer — then you should know you’re sure to be in for an interesting dive into some deeper subjects.
You start It Takes A War with some new found companions in a game similar to the original Counter Strike 1.6 with your team fighting against another team in wave based team deathmatches, quite simple from the get go but as you gradually get further into the game things start to shift.
Your team are all chatting away having fun, you yourself are limited to just listening as you have to earn communication by playing your first match and as you get to know those around you you can see that their friendship is a bit on edge, to say the least.
From the three classes available I would personally recommend the assault class. The shotgun hits like a wet blanket and takes four centuries to reload and the sniper’s recoil has you shooting at the stars — so to stand a decent chance either use your pistol or stick with the assault class.
Now, it is important to mention that It Takes A War isn’t necessarily about winning. You can lose as many rounds as you want with the odd comment from your team mates about how poor the overall performance is but it’s not a necessity to progress what’s happening so don’t feel obliged to play your heart out — instead focus on what’s being said.
Random snippets of hateful conversations, arguments over minor inconveniences as well as IRL plans that leave some wishing they were doing more then leads to a dark twist as well as a perspective shift for you as a player letting you get to know those teammates a bit more than you’d normally bargain for in your average game of Counter Strike.
It Takes A War does however take its time in hitting some of its narrative points with numerous rounds of repetitive simplistic gameplay being looped over and over again. Where It Takes A War excels with its writing, it is heavily hindered by its actual gameplay — I did find myself getting a bit bored, especially in the first few rounds as it is painfully simple.
If you’re looking for another mind-bending experience then be sure to check out Liminalcore a backrooms-esque adventure having you search around looking for an escape. This one is a bit less thought provoking but definitely has the same nonconventional exploration of some liminal spaces.
As you attempt to immerse yourself in the game with your team yapping on about their days and comings and goings things start to get a bit weird, doors will begin to appear letting you glance into the real world, screens will appear in the sky and what I can only compare to the Majora’s Mask meteor appears in the sky ready to strike down anything in its way.
As things begin to unravel and you start to question whether this is just a game anymore your new companions realise that they cannot leave the game and neither can you. Even trying the classic Alt + F4 won’t help, so it looks like you’re stuck in this world until the game has ended.
Without spoiling too much of the game it is mainly an experience and the “gameplay” itself doesn’t really matter in relation to the overall tone of the game. It’s about sending a message and it’s more aimed at you as a person playing online than you might think.
It’s a journey of friendship, overcoming adversity and overall just compassion between people which is not something you see a lot of these days. The game itself can be completed within an hour which I also feel is a purposeful choice for those that didn’t like the experience or may have genuinely thought it was a CS 1.6 clone as this does fall well within the Steam refund policy — which is actually a nice addition for those that don’t quite vibe with the game.
Once the dust has settled and you reach the end of the adventure you can settle down knowing that you’ve not only taken a look into the lives of others but also at a reflection of yourself and the impact you can have on others without even realising. Underneath the jokey funny tones and the old school Counter Strike gameplay there’s much more of an experience than a game and it should be treated like that.
If you’re interested in It Takes A War you can find it on Steam now.
