It was only after the adrenaline rush when I realized what we’d gotten ourselves into.
As deserters, we had no future and no home to return to.
Not at least until the war ended… if at all.
We were dead men walking.
I lost my purpose. The dream of freeing the world from Bolshevik ideals… was a lie.
When I joined the Wehrmacht, I imagined myself becoming a hero.
I was to be nothing but a murderer of the innocent.
Ewald didn’t care much where we were going.
For now, he just wanted to get as far away from the Eastern Front as possible.
So we traveled west, for hours on end.
But for me, survival was not enough.
I knew I needed to find a reason to keep going.
These damn bikes! They consume gas like a fucking Panther.
We're lucky some village is close. It didn't happen in the middle of nowhere.
Okay, we have some SS stationed here... It's Einsatzgruppen!?
We're not even trying to talk to them.
See that barn over there? I bet they keep supplies inside.
Yeah, looks like it. I'll try to break in.
Let's move! You still got that booze? Looks like they've started a party already.
Yeah, I refill it anytime I can.
Heh, out of Pervitin?
Uh, yeah. For two days.
I stopped taking this shit back at Lenigrad.
If they didn't re-supply it right after, I would die out of exhaustion, anyway.
Hello and welcome to the first-ever-published gameplay footage from War Mongrels.
This latest project, which is based on historical events,
aims to create a real-time-tactics-action game,
and is driven by its strong story.
Gameplay-wise, it is in the vein of the old Commandos series.
I'm starving, man.
They should have something inside the barn.
The fuck they're shooting at?
Hm, uncle Ernest always said: "there's never enough hooch"
Here is the second map of the campaign.
The two characters on screen - Manfred and Ewald - have recently deserted Wehrmacht on the eastern front.
They stole a motorbike, drove it west and arrived near the Lithuanian capital - Vilnius.
After running out of gas, they
have to find some supplies to be able to continue their journey.
Maaanfreeed!
What?
I'm hungryyy
Huh.. I'm not your mama!
My mama died ten years ago. Are you my new mama?
Whoa, that shooting makes me jumpy.
E-wald, shut up.
"Nobody has ever died because of alcohol..." hm wait, uncle Ernest did.
In regard to the stealth component of the game, our approach was simple
“Don’t reinvent the wheel”.
We are using many gameplay mechanics familiar to the genre that fans will enjoy.
In general, decoys and distracting enemies are common techniques fans are used to.
The field of view is represented by a sector of a circle, which is something we all love.
I wonder what happened to the villagers, there's no one here besides our "comrades".
Heh, I bet they're just getting shot out there.
I don't think so. It sounds like target practice.
One does not exclude the other.
Manfred is our main character and narrator here.
He once was a dedicated German soldier,
who saw national-socialism as the only real opposition to bolshevism.
He went to war, and fought on the front line believing he was “defending the Fatherland”.
However, after a few years on the eastern front,
his eyes opened after he had to shoot several alleged partisans who were just defenseless villagers.
Yet, as the game progresses, his eyes will open wider, trust me.
Our other character, Ewald, is a contradiction to Manfred.
He’s a Polish-Silesian miner, who was forcefully drafted into the German army,
just like the countless others of his kin.
He never believed in German propaganda,
and he was a notorious, rebellious pain in the ass to every one of his commanders.
Needless to say, his time in the army was never easy.
Overcoming any hardship together can lead to a strong friendship,
which is why our two main characters befriended each other on the frontlines.
What you see now is the “planning mode”.
It lets the player create a queue of actions for each character
and then fire up the sequence.
Many places in the game require coordinated actions of several characters
and this is how to prepare and execute them.
Ewald, keep lookout, it'll just take a minute.
Alright!
Shit, this chain looks tough.
Who's there?
Who's THERE?
You're a German?
Tell me there's food inside.
Oh yeah! They store everything here! They got me tied up. Torturing me with the sight of delicious army rations!
Better not lie to me buddy!
Ah, damn, whoever you are.
Ah fuck! What's all that shooting?
Executions. It's been going on for three years. They send transports by train.
Wait, what? Three years?
Yeah, Since '41 the Germans have been bringing people to these woods to kill'em.
For most of the time, my fucking kinsmen were the ones doing it.
But... But three years?
How often does the train come? How many people on these trains?
Tens of thousands. No one keeps track of this, maybe the SS does.
Wait, aren't YOU a German?
Yeah, b-but I'm not… Eh...
Yeah, don't bother explainin', I get it.
If you want to get in 'ere, there's an officer near the trucks. He has the key to the padlock.
Let me out, I have a plan to sabotage their operation.
Wait, you gotta a plan?
Okay, what's your name, anyway?
Lukas.
Lukas, alright, I'll help you out.
What is taking so damn long?
Plan's changed. We're freeing Lukas to help him stop this massacre.
But... W-who? What?! We were supposed to find food and gas, and get the fuck outta here!
SS are slaughtering people out there.
I have to do something about it. There's a guy in the barn who told me he had some plan.
Some PLAN?!
Look, do what you want. I have to do this. I don't expect you to understand, Ewald.
Aaaargh…
What, NOW you've become a "Good Samaritan"?
Ewald, fuck off!
Oh. I see! Did your conscience speak up? Because you did the same thing?
THAT WASN'T THE SAME THING, alright?!
And fuck yes, maybe this is exactly why I am going to help Lukas.
This chapter of the game is called “The Breaking Point.”
This is the first time Manfred and Ewald witness what truly occurs behind frontlines.
Wehrmacht troops weren’t aware of the ongoing genocide machinery ran by the SS, mostly by “Einsatzgruppen”.
Most Germans actually weren’t aware of this and they probably wouldn’t want to know.
This is the moment when Manfred and Ewald find something to drive them forward.
Manfred will be set on redeeming himself for what he did,
and Ewald will throw away his “I don’t give a fuck” shell and for the first time ever.
Ewald will fight for something he feels is important, and for something he genuinely believes in.
I'll get one of those SS uniforms. It'll help get past the guards.
Time to look like Hitler's finest!
One of the biggest challenges we encountered when writing the game’s script was the co-operative mode.
We want players to enjoy the entire campaign while accompanied by a friend,
just like Manfred and Ewald.
This concept ensured that there’s always at least two playable characters on the map.
In turn, gameplay, and the story, were adjusted heavily for this particular feature.
As you may see, getting spotted in this game doesn’t necessarily result in a “game over”.
There’s a special “combat mode” feature, which, when activated,
puts your selected character in a twin-stick shooter mode.
If you have multiple characters selected,
the others enter an AI-driven combat mode and will follow the character controlled by the player.
So, when your presence is revealed, you can at least try to fight your way out.
In some cases, you’ll succeed and other times you won’t,
just like real life.
You also need to keep an eye on your ammo.
If you’re running low, you can collect more from the enemies you shot,
otherwise you may not have enough to get you out of the situation.
That’s all we have to show about War Mongrels for today,
thank you for watching!
We hope you enjoyed the video and that you like what you’ve seen.
If so, don’t hesitate to share it and tell your friends about the game!
It will be out in 2021 on all major platforms.
Take care, folks!
