It Takes a War is a Counter-Strike 1.6 lookalike at a glance that focuses less on riveting gameplay and more on telling a relatable story. This short experience tosses you into a match with a group of friends chatting as if you don’t exist. You haven’t unlocked the ability to speak yet, and as such, you’re along for the ride. Listening to their ramblings unfolds a narrative about how our digital world influences online relationships.
| It Takes a War Overview | |
|---|---|
| Steam Store Page | https://store.steampowered.com/app/3919530/It_Takes_a_War/ |
| Developer / Publisher | Thomas Mackinnon / Pantaloon |
| Release Date | November 6, 2025 |
Without saying too much immediately, it’s difficult to discuss It Takes a War and not spoil the entire game. Before jumping into spoilers, here’s a quick idea of how I felt about it. It Takes a War ends with a good message that many gamers are bound to relate to. However, it leans on gimmicks and features that feel out of place. Many of which could have been completely removed. With under an hour of playtime, there are moments where it felt like certain features were underbaked and only took away from the story.
Spoiler Warning From Here On
It Takes a War doesn’t hide that it’s going for a nostalgic vibe with its obvious Counter-Strike inspirations. And if you didn’t know better, you could easily buy it without realizing that it’s not about being an FPS. This is merely a vessel or distraction to transport you through the story while listening to that group of friends. As it’s not the focus, I don’t want to criticize it for being a poor shooter, but it’s tough not to point out that it’s essentially a waiting room.
The short game length mostly prevents this from becoming an issue, despite being repetitive. Unfortunately, that lack of time does lead to the story having less room to develop. This is further hurt by starting with aimless chatter. It’s necessary to create the right atmosphere and build the story since you don’t want to jump right to the climax. However, by being a short experience, that aimless chatter takes away from the already limited time.
This makes it harder to create a connection with the characters and also gives them less opportunity to gain depth. Which is unfortunate because the ending does a good job of wrapping up the story and emphasizing the theme. However, It Takes a War has an identity crisis that continues to limit it. There are moments where it uses gimmicks to involve you more in the experience. But these are consistently out of place and led to me feeling like a poorly written character.
As someone who barely exists in the story, it would make more sense to only be an observer. Instead of using those gimmicks to build a metafiction around me, it should have only focused them on the friend group. These moments are where the story shines since it cleverly uses this opportunity to show that people are more than a username. As opposed to the random message I received that made it seem as though this would suddenly become about me trying to escape.
When prioritizing its theme around how people interact online, it makes you think about every digital social interaction you’ve had. Between the many free-to-play MMOs I grew up playing and years spent streaming, I can only imagine the sheer number of people I’ve met. Which makes me wonder how many of them remember me and see that it’s been years since I logged on. The anonymity the internet grants us is often a double-edged sword, where it’s easy to never truly learn who people are.
This can warp your perception of those you meet and make you forget that everyone has their own story. A simple joke or playful jab can have a larger impact even among close friends. This is why it’s important to recognize how every screen is a one-way mirror. It hides the person on the other side. While I may not care for It Takes a War’s gameplay, the fact that it makes me think about this shows how well its message comes across.
It Takes a War | Closing Thoughts
It Takes a War delivers a relatable story that finishes strong by making you think about how you treat others online. Regardless of whether it’s someone you meet in passing or a friend that you’ve known for years. My main complaint is that I wish It Takes a War spent more time on its cast of characters rather than trying to make me one of them. While certain gimmicks were creative, they didn’t always further the story when they focused on me.
Review Score: 6 (Okay)
It Takes a War was provided by the publisher via a Steam code.
Jeff is a journalist with over 10 years of experience writing, streaming, and making content about video games. With an associate degree in journalism, he’s a sucker for RPGs, survival games, roguelikes, and more.