Skip to main content

War Hospital

War Hospital is a bleak and brutal management game, but one with an incredible theme and plenty of depth to keep you engaged.
War Hospital Game Cover
63%Game Brain Score
gameplay, story
stability, optimization
63% User Score Based on 638 reviews
Critic Score 74%Based on 12 reviews

Platforms

Xbox Series X|SPCEpic GamesPlaystation 5XboxWindowsPlayStation
Buy Nowfrom $2.89
Buy NowGet on Steam €23.99Buy NowGet on Xbox Games Store Buy NowGet on Epic Games Store
War Hospital Game Cover

About

War Hospital is a single player tactical city builder game with warfare, economy and historical themes. It was developed by Brave Lamb Studio S.A. and was released on August 17, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Be the ray of hope among the darkness of war. Control a British WW1 field hospital in a unique society survival game. Fight for life, soul, and humanity in a world that rejected them.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
War Hospital screenshot
War Hospital screenshot
Skip User Reviews

63%
Audience ScoreBased on 638 reviews
gameplay46 positive mentions
stability52 negative mentions
  • The game offers a unique perspective on the horrors of war, focusing on the management of a WW1 field hospital.
  • Gameplay is engaging and challenging, requiring players to make tough moral decisions about patient care and resource management.
  • The atmosphere and art style effectively convey the grim realities of war, enhancing the overall experience.
  • The game is plagued by numerous bugs that can lead to crashes and unplayable situations, particularly in later chapters.
  • The user interface is clunky and lacks quality of life features, making management tedious and frustrating.
  • There is a significant difficulty spike that can make the game feel unfair, with limited resources and staff leading to a sense of hopelessness.
  • gameplay
    166 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game is characterized by a mix of innovative mechanics and resource management challenges, which can be both engaging and stressful. While many players appreciate the depth and originality of the core gameplay loop, they also note issues such as repetitiveness, poor balancing, and a lack of effective tutorials, leading to frustration and a sense of tedium over time. Overall, the game shows potential but is hindered by bugs and design flaws that detract from the overall experience.

    • “The gameplay is a bit stressful but very satisfying, and it ticks all the boxes for the 'make interesting decisions, suffer consequences' urge for me.”
    • “The setting is interesting and the gameplay is challenging in a good way so far.”
    • “There is a depth of gameplay here which sets it apart from other great war games which appealed to me.”
    • “But it is from a gameplay standpoint that I cannot recommend this game.”
    • “It forces a gameplay of balancing everything, and because it is forced so much it is not an enjoyable challenge; you will be struggling the whole time to keep everything balanced: your resources, your personnel, your patients, and anytime you start to feel like you’re getting somewhere, it throws something at you to screw it all up, keeping you on that brink of collapse.”
    • “The gameplay, to which there is little in all honesty, revolves around putting patients into a line and waiting to see if they live or die.”
  • story
    130 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is generally perceived as underwhelming, with long cutscenes that add little to the narrative and a lack of engaging challenges throughout the chapters. While it offers a unique perspective on World War I and the struggles of wartime medicine, many players find the storyline repetitive and lacking depth, leading to low replayability. Despite some interesting events and mechanics, the overall execution leaves much to be desired, with technical issues further detracting from the experience.

    • “It is a management and triage game with a driven story that offers some glimpse into the horror of the Great War and the everyday struggle to maintain humanity.”
    • “This game is not meant for everyone; it reminds me of 'This War of Mine', a game that was not graphically pristine but was made to show the horrors of war and drive the player into difficult decisions. If you immerse yourself into the story plot and each soldier, your heart would break.”
    • “This game has excellent core mechanics, story, and atmosphere.”
    • “The storyline is very short, there are no challenges, and you can't build things, only upgrade an existing set of buildings.”
    • “The story is weaker though.”
    • “The cut scenes are too long and add little to no story, so those really should be shortened or fixed. I just started skipping all of them, and unless you check the scouting map very frequently, you will miss scouting opportunities because there is no easy notification to tell you a mission is available.”
  • graphics
    76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the unique art style and atmospheric visuals that effectively convey the war theme, while others criticize the quality of cutscenes and graphical glitches that detract from the experience. Many players appreciate the game's aesthetic appeal and optimization, noting that it meets expectations for its genre and budget, but there are significant concerns about performance issues and inconsistencies in visual quality. Overall, the graphics are seen as a blend of strengths and weaknesses, with a clear emphasis on artistic intent over technical perfection.

    • “The graphics are also very well done.”
    • “The visuals and music are outstanding.”
    • “Came for the beautiful stylized graphics, stayed for the serious subject and interesting gameplay.”
    • “Full of bugs and ugly graphics.”
    • “By the time the graphic glitches dropped off the whole map and left only un-interactable UI elements, I had to call it quits.”
    • “Once major drawback is the graphics, not sure if it is not optimized or what is happening but in between chapters and during gameplay it is lagging like crazy.”
  • stability
    54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely reported to be plagued by numerous bugs and UI glitches, making it a frustrating experience for many players. While some patches have improved playability, significant issues remain, particularly after extended playtime, leading to a consensus that the game is still too buggy for a smooth experience. Players are advised to save often due to the instability, with some finding it ultimately unplayable beyond certain points.

    • “Pretty much bug free.”
    • “The game is currently a buggy mess and becomes ultimately unplayable after chapter 2.”
    • “War hospital is a very cool idea, showcasing the horrors of war from the perspective of the medical corps, that's let down by how buggy and sloppy the entire experience is.”
    • “This game is extremely buggy, and the bugs don't really start until you get 6 hours into a run.”
  • optimization
    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including stuttering and frame drops, particularly on high-end systems. Some users noted that the game defaults to inappropriate settings, while others experienced no major optimization problems at all. Overall, the consensus suggests that the game feels under-optimized, resembling an early access title despite some players having a smoother experience.

    • “It's also a well optimized project, no issues playing on a laptop with a dozen things open in the background.”
    • “Also, I did not encounter any game-breaking bugs or optimization problems, which is also a plus.”
    • “All in all, I have nothing against hard games, but they have to be fair, such as Last Train (also a WWI game), which is much better handled in terms of the game itself, optimization, and all other aspects.”
    • “Tutorials that don’t tell you the camera controls, weird optimization bugs like the game defaulting to max settings - 720p/60 on a PC with a 7900X, 4080 and a 240Hz display, poor voice actor performances, and pre-generated soldier bios that are so wrong it takes the immersion out completely.”
    • “Looks like an early access game, although I played early access games with much fewer bugs and a whole lot better optimization.”
    • “All of that is excusable; what isn't is the terrible optimization and performance.”
  • grinding
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a double-edged sword; while the resource management can be engaging for fans of the genre, it often becomes tedious due to clunky user experience and repetitive tasks. Many reviews highlight that the gameplay loop starts strong but quickly turns monotonous, with some tasks feeling overly cumbersome and time-consuming. Overall, the grinding is seen as a significant but frustrating part of the experience, with hopes for future updates to improve the user interface and reduce tedium.

    • “Hopefully an update makes this part of the game less prominent because it gets tedious very fast.”
    • “This game is great but incredibly tedious.”
    • “Unfinished cutscenes and repetitive grindy gameplay with no frills.”
  • atmosphere
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its strong presence and art style, drawing comparisons to titles like "This War of Mine" and "Frostpunk." However, some players feel it lacks dynamic elements and sound effects, leading to a static experience that detracts from immersion. While the atmosphere is a highlight, many reviewers believe that improvements in quality of life and bug fixes are necessary to enhance the overall experience.

    • “The game has a strong atmosphere, to some extent reminiscent of This War of Mine or Frostpunk.”
    • “This game has excellent core mechanics, story, and atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere is great; I also like the art style and atmospheric music, along with the hard choices to make.”
    • “I love what they are aiming for, I really do, but sadly this game currently has little more than atmosphere to offer.”
    • “The game has no feeling like Frostpunk; it just can't serve the atmosphere through sounds, effects, dynamic feels, and so on.”
    • “The game has a very static feeling, which absolutely kills the atmosphere.”
  • replayability
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game has been criticized for its very low to nonexistent replayability, with many players noting that once the main storyline is completed, there is little incentive to return. While some enjoyed their initial playtime—averaging around 45 hours—many felt the experience did not justify the price due to the lack of polish and replay options. A few elements, such as random events affecting individual characters, offer slight variability, but the absence of a sandbox mode and a linear narrative structure limit replay potential significantly.

    • “It also does not have a 'sandbox' mode, and the overall story plays out on a calendar timeline on top of your screen, a lot like Frostpunk. Although the global timeline events are set in stone, the individuals, their injuries, the severity, and complications are all random, giving the main storyline more replayability.”
    • “However, the replayability of it is very low to nonexistent, and other than scout missions beyond the half to two-thirds mark of the game, it is autopilot.”
    • “In short, for me the game is worth your time, but the price was a little too steep given the lack of polish, the relative shortness of the game, and the lack of replayability.”
    • “Aside from that, it was a moderately fun game that you might get 10 hours out of if you are lucky, with no replay value.”
  • music
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is highly praised for its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many players noting its engaging and dystopian themes that complement the visuals. Reviewers appreciate the music's build-up during critical moments, such as attacks, and find it enjoyable enough to listen to for extended periods without fatigue. Overall, the combination of music and art style contributes significantly to the game's immersive atmosphere.

    • “The visuals and music are outstanding.”
    • “The atmosphere is great; I also like the art style and atmospheric music, the hard choices to make.”
    • “I listened to the music for maybe 20 hours and I didn't get tired of it.”
    • “The atmosphere is great, I also like the art style and atmospheric music, the hard choices to make.”
    • “Got the resource management, the music build up for when the Germans attack, the unpredictable decisions you have to make with patients' lives, staff, and your stationed commander's soldiers.”
    • “The dystopian music is a plus and much of the game resembles Frostpunk in terms of its animation style and game mechanics.”
  • monetization
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game appears to be negatively impacted by poor design choices, particularly in the ads and medic systems, leading to inefficiencies and frustration for players. Users report that medic teams often fail to respond effectively, resulting in wasted resources and exhaustion without accomplishing tasks. Overall, the monetization strategy seems to suffer from these gameplay issues, detracting from the overall experience.

    • “I can have 2 people working ads on a 12-hour shift with no work to do, and they just get exhausted without even doing any work.”
    • “Some parts of the game, like ads or the graveyard, are relatively poorly designed, and you can never handle the barrage of wounded (and also dead).”
    • “Not sure if the medics assigned to ads is just a visual glitch, but they often choose completely different roads from where the wounded patients are.”
  • emotional
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game effectively captures the emotional turmoil and challenges faced by those operating a field hospital during World War I, highlighting the hectic and demoralizing nature of the experience. Players encounter difficult decisions regarding patient care, which adds to the emotional weight and realism of the gameplay. Overall, it offers a poignant exploration of the lesser-known aspects of the war, resonating deeply with players.

    • “A brilliant game about the hectic and demoralizing experience of operating a field hospital in the Great War, with all the challenges and physical/emotional devastation that come with it.”
  • humor
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is highlighted by players who find it amusing that some reviews label it as overly stressful and difficult, especially when they perceive it as easier than similar titles like Frostpunk. This contrast adds a lighthearted element to the overall experience.

    • “It's kind of funny when you look at the other reviews that claim it's too stressful and hard.”
    • “The humor in the game adds a lighthearted touch that makes the challenging moments more enjoyable.”
    • “I love how the game balances serious themes with hilarious dialogue and situations.”
Skip Critic Reviews

74%Critics’ scoreBased on 12 critic reviews
Skip Game Offers

Buy War Hospital

11h Median play time
15h Average play time
5-27h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 20 analyzed playthroughs
Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like War Hospital

Games Like War Hospital

All Quiet in the Trenches Image
92%843reviews

All Quiet in the Trenches

2024Survival Role Playing
LinuxPCWindows
Games like All Quiet in the Trenches
Last Train Home Image
85%3.2kreviews

Last Train Home

2023Survival Management
PCWindows
Games like Last Train Home
Dead State: Reanimated Image
70%2.9kreviews

Dead State: Reanimated

2014Role Playing
PCGog ComWindows
Games like Dead State: Reanimated
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days Image
92%2.4kreviews

Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days

2025Survival Management
PCMac OSWindows
Games like Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days
Classified: France '44 Image
77%629reviews

Classified: France '44

2024Tactical Role Playing
Xbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5+3
Games like Classified: France '44
More games like War Hospital
Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

War Hospital is a tactical city builder game with warfare, economy and historical themes.

War Hospital is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, Windows and others.

On average players spend around 15 hours playing War Hospital.

War Hospital was released on August 17, 2021.

War Hospital was developed by Brave Lamb Studio S.A..

War Hospital has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

War Hospital is a single player game.

Similar games include All Quiet in the Trenches, Last Train Home, Dead State: Reanimated, Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days, Classified: France '44 and others.