It Takes a War review that is not a review of It Takes a War

This is not a review of the game, It Takes a War, in much the same way that It Takes a War, the game by Thomas Mackinnon, is not even about the game It Takes a War, the FPS.

Let me explain with the minorest of spoilers that feels necessary to sell the idea of It Takes a War. It Takes a War is self-referential. It’s a story within a story, recursive, a mise en abyme.

The Steam page for It Takes a War boasts of its ultra realism, stunning graphics, visceral tactical action, and revolutionary voice chat. It Takes a War features all of these things. It Takes a War has none of these things.

The combat in It Takes a War is just bad. The conflict in It Takes a War is profoundly human.

The game-within-a-game, It Takes a War, is a shitty, repetitive, unsatisfying, co-op FPS with bad graphics. The game you buy on Steam, It Takes a War, is a deeply touching, mind-bending, heart-wrenching narrative. It is both of these things.

As a quick aside, I will say one review-like thing about my experience playing: at one point, my game crashed and threw an error. It took me minutes (I have the video and just checked — it's two and a half minutes) to decide it was an actual crash and not a planned part of the gameplay. This statement is a full-throated endorsement of the game.

I don’t want to talk about It Takes a War because It Takes a War is an experience that I don’t want to take away from anyone. I want to talk about It Takes a War with everyone I can because it is a powerfully moving piece of art. I am both of these things.

It Takes a War is out now on Steam. It costs $5 and takes about an hour to finish. It Takes a War is an utterly forgettable FPS. I haven’t stopped thinking about It Takes a War since I beat it.