Telling the Story of the Warsaw Uprising in the Style of Darkest Dungeon

Upon loading up an early preview build of WARSAW, the player is thrust into a turn-based battle slap-bang in the middle of Warsaw, Poland. The date is 1st August 1944. Amidst stunning pen and ink style characters and their hardy backdrops, something else catches the eye. Small blotches of rich red contrast against pale skin in this street skirmish.

We are looking at Jadwiga, a medic whose blood-spattered arms and face steer well clear of typical ‘healing’ character tropes. There is no fade-to-white healing spell complete with chimes, or even an off-screen bandaging animation helping you recover from a direct rocket launcher hit. Jadwiga is a composite of multiple real-life heroes during the Warsaw Uprising, a bitter conflict in which medics were often first to lose their lives as they rushed to aid the wounded. As you play the tactician, it is details like Jadwiga’s tired, dirty, visceral appearance that connect the weight of your choices and the game’s detailed mechanics.

WARSAW is being developed by Pixelated Milk, a Warsaw-based team of 11 previously responsible for the multi-platform tactical JRPG Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs. A publisher called gaming company (that’s not a typo) approached the developer over two years ago with the budget and concept, then things went from there.