The Dark Cave
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Game
Game2024
War Hospital
Developer Brave Lamb Studio S.A.
War Hospital is a 2024 strategy video game developed by Brave Lamb Studio and published by Nacon. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
201 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 31, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
66
Fresh
128 positive · 65 negative
95% range 59–73%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 128 | 65 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 1 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
326 of 510 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
67% recommend · 127 yes, 62 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 189 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (786 of 1,296 positive).
Players compare War Hospital to Frostpunk and This War of Mine, praising its unique WWI setting. [1][2][3] Many reviewers note the game is buggy, especially with ambulance pathfinding, and consider it unfinished. [4][5][6] Some players recommend buying on sale due to short length and low replayability. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
DONT BUY IT The studio no longer exists; its website was bought by someone else. There are several reports online that it was dissolved because any leadership left immediately after the game's release. The developers have also stopped any work on their new game because they were no longer being paid. Now to the actual reason why you shouldn't buy it. It is full of bugs! At a certain point in the game, the ambulances …
- [6]
This game is quite a lot of fun: a gritty personnel and resource management sim that doesn't shy away from the tragedy of war. Unfortunately, bugs have rendered this game unplayable (after the two-hour time limit for you to get a refund). Even worse, those bugs aren't going anywhere anytime soon: the developer's CEO and board of directors have all left the company, and with no one to sign the paychecks, no new …
- [1]
Frostpunk with simpler and more addictive game loop. Like crack cocaine to me. I enjoyed this title very much. I finished this in 4 consecutive 8-12h sessions :D Gotta cure them all! I started playing after patch #7, still a somewhat buggy and lacks a bit polish (very much playable). Not all the game mechanics fit together perfectly. I do hope they still apply a bit love to this game. Scouting was for most parts …
- [17]
War Hospital, developed by Brave Lamb Studio S.A. and published by Nacon, is a rare kind of war game—one that strips away the spectacle of the battlefield and replaces it with the relentless grind of medical triage, human fragility, and administrative burden. Set during World War I, it places you not in the trenches but behind them, in command of a field hospital struggling to survive as the front line shifts, …
- [14]
I really enjoyed this game—it’s the first one I’ve finished in a long time. As a fan of This War of Mine, I found this title to be in a similar genre, offering a deeply emotional and thought-provoking experience. Heart-wrenching and full of tough choices, the game constantly confronted me with ethical dilemmas. At times, it was genuinely painful—especially when I was running low on medical supplies and HQ would call …
Summarised from 34 of the 199 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 9, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
67% of the 189 Steam reviewers we collected recommend War Hospital. The complaint that keeps coming up: game has game-breaking bugs, especially with ambulances. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
War Hospital received mixed reviews on Metacritic. PC Gamer praised its focus on saving lives during a war rather than killing people. Though they enjoyed the gameplay and emotional moments, they felt the management aspects were "a bit clunky and inelegant". Tech Radar liked the moral ambiguity and difficult choices inherent in triage, but they criticized War Hospital for having occasional bugs and lacking an autosave. Though they said the game succeeds in its goal of making players feel overwhelmed and helpless, Sports Illustrated found it "quite repetitive" and "too punishing".
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 201 · most liked firstDONT BUY IT The studio no longer exists; its website was bought by someone else. There are several reports online that it was dissolved because any leadership left immediately after the game's release. The developers have also stopped any work on their new game because they were no longer being paid. Now to the actual reason why you shouldn't buy it. It is full of bugs! At a certain point in the game, the ambulances get congested, or the paramedics' animation breaks, and they get stuck and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Before you go any further, stop. You are buying an abandoned AND unfinished game. Specifically, it has a gamebreaking bug that ruins your gameplay within 2 hours. Ambulances get stuck and you cannot do anything about it because of unpolished code that doesn't allow medics to transport the wounded. The game had a lot of potential and the idea is very engaging. There's no point on buying it on this stage.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I thought you could actually watch the doctors perform surgery or go into the casualty control center but you just see the buildings, not what’s going on inside like it shows in the gameplay footage
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was really looking forward when War Hopistal was announced. The premise looked promising and there are not many games out there depicting horrors of war in the genre of base/resource/staff management. We could talk about This War of Mine and Frostpunk from which War Hospital takes many features and similarity is resembling, especially for the latter. The game is spread around 3 chapters and while the initial steps around your hospital seems interesting, after a while it becomes click/drag…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you can pick this up for at least -50% then I'd say it's okay. I got mine for -70%, completed the campaign and got a weekend out of it and that's probably fine. It is disappointing to see such a great game concept presented in a really half baked way which is mostly why it's definitely not worth full price. If the devs can't be bothered to finish their game then definitely don't pay full price and considering the game came out over a year ago it looks like they'll never finish it so we're…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is abandoned. The developer's only two games (this game and Enemy of the State) are both in poor state. This game is clearly unfinished, the quality of mechanics, graphics, and narratives are mediocre at best and abysmal at their lowest point - which shows up near the end of what bit of 'game' is actually here. Their other game was slated to come out in 2024. It has not. Do with that information what you will. Do not buy. If you do, despite the mixed reviews being ample warning, then you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its not really bad, but a bit depressing and dark. Its also too difficult. They have added a section where you have to keep sending soldiers back into battle or the enemy will overrun you. Well I lasted less than 3 hrs of game play before that happened. It took ages to build up my camp and start recruiting more doctors, nurses etc then I die. Its already a depressing subject. I'm also an Ex Army Rescue Medic and have first hand experience of how medical hospitals work. and historically used…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is quite a lot of fun: a gritty personnel and resource management sim that doesn't shy away from the tragedy of war. Unfortunately, bugs have rendered this game unplayable (after the two-hour time limit for you to get a refund). Even worse, those bugs aren't going anywhere anytime soon: the developer's CEO and board of directors have all left the company, and with no one to sign the paychecks, no new updates are anticipated at time of writing. I hope one day we'll get to see this…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bugs that stops you from progressing. Don't buy this (not even) half finished "game".
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sadly I can't recommend this game despite how much I want to love it. The game has game breaking bugs that frankly make it unplayable. This game had the potential to be my favorite game of all time and it is disappointing to see an amazing game abandoned by its developers.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really want to like this game because it does 2 things that I like. It covers a time period which I find interesting and it covers it from a perspective that I find interesting. I like both medicine and history so I was really interested when I saw this game especially since they seemed to take history very seriously. And at first I really liked the game but there are serious problems. First the game has a bunch of bugs that should have been fixed by now. It really seems like the developers…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As you can see, I've played 25 hours of this game and completing it. I would LOVE to give a neutral review, but there are some problems that just puts it slightly less than recommended. The game is generally a management game where you manage resources and people in different locations to do different games. It's a pretty fun management game overall, but these things just makes it impossible to outright recommend: 1) The game has an interesting system built in that will eventually let you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I went into War Hospital really wanting to like it, and overall I’d say it was… okay. The concept is strong and the setting has a lot of emotional weight, but the experience didn’t fully come together for me. The biggest issue was the UI it feels underdeveloped and creates a lot of unnecessary redundancy. Simple tasks end up taking longer than they should, and over time that friction turns what should be tense, meaningful decisions into something more tedious than engaging. The tech tree was…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is an amazing game, i really wish it was updated at all, the studio is defunct and the players are left without any information, it has been undeveloped for a LONG time, i wouldn't recommend because of this and this only, but there is 3 lots of play increasingly harder than the rest, buy it if its £1, other than that dont buy it :( im sad because it has immense potential.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was hyped despite the mixed reviews...bought it for 2.99€ on sale...and only 14 minutes in I realised it was a mistake....too bad...concept of having field hospital in WW1 is great...they just implemented it poorly.... Isn't worth a money, and since developtment stoped in 2024, there is 0 chance it will ever improve. Strongly recommend not to waste time...negative reviews are true this time...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While the game is overall a fun mannagement game, unfortunately it also has very annoying bugs that severely hinder my playing experience.... I have been encountering bugs where surgeons simply stopped working, resting up.. even giving me mesages the surgeon is ready and waiting for work to be assigned... But it ques up and they simply don't do anything. Sometimes clearing the que, exit, go in again and try again restarts them to continue working.. Sometimes it just doesn't work,and you keep…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DO NOT BUY game breaking bug didn't get fix last update was in April (3 month ago) can't refund since you will probably encounter that bug after 6+ hr
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Frostpunk with simpler and more addictive game loop. Like crack cocaine to me. I enjoyed this title very much. I finished this in 4 consecutive 8-12h sessions :D Gotta cure them all! I started playing after patch #7, still a somewhat buggy and lacks a bit polish (very much playable). Not all the game mechanics fit together perfectly. I do hope they still apply a bit love to this game. Scouting was for most parts unnecessary. I for one didn't much care about the backgrounds of patients, just…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No real depth, would label this a mobile game. You are kept busy with manual, repetitive activity caused by unhelpful UI - 90% of your time goes there, and the 10% you spent on actual choices is not about what to do but solely about the sequence in which to do it. On top of that, as many others have already said: very buggy. Even got a game breaking one, where a truck got stuck, preventing all future trucks to move, killing dozen of patients who had the great misfortunate to be in an…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game eventually devolves into a click fest of repetitive decision making. It feels like I'm a human playing as a robot to complete this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I Purchased this on May 13th 2024 and played through with no issues or bugs, so don't let earlier pre-patch reviews discourage you. I really enjoyed all of the different mechanics and challenges presented by the game. The last chapter was a marathon of a meat grinder with most of the improvements already completed, but I suspect that may have been the developer's aim and it fits historically. Others have mentioned replayability is low and I would agree, but I enjoyed it enough that I think it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a shame that such a unique concept is left so under cooked.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Buy on sale. Unique perspective on a resource management game but gets buggy in mid/late game. Fun until the cracks become unavoidable and you fall through.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not game for everyone, not for winners, not for perfectionists. However it is pretty close to the tragic reality of a field hospital - the decisions are between bad and worse. With the worst happening. Edit: ohh.. and for me 13 hours in game without any bug.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gameplay wise, the other reviews here are accurate. It gets very redundant very fast, and it soon gets too hard to really progress. If the difficulty was natural, it would help drive the narrative that the game is trying to push (ie. war is hell), but it does it very artificially instead. For example, at one point I had everything together working smoothly and suddenly lost all of my accumulated food to a random theft. Otherwise there's not much about the gameplay I can say that other reviews…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really like the gameplay part of managing a war hospital. But the bug of the ambulance getting stuck is really removing all fun from this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is mostly good, and most of the bugs from the opening have been fixed. However, the replayability of it is very very low to nonexistent and other than scout missions beyond the half to two-thirds mark of the game it is autopilot. Do not recommend without a significant discount from the RRP
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Uninteresting gameplay and it gets repetitive very quickly. It was not a fun game and not a challenging game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →so strictly matched to storyline, that you dont really feel like you are playing - more like one long tutorial that you are forced to follow, or you loose. its sadly a very bad game. that leaves you very few options for play...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Love this little game and I replay it every once in a while. Sure, you can breeze through without caring... or you can also try to save everyone, read patient files, prioritize treating civilians based on who has children when you're low on meds, and all sorts of roleplay that adds depth. The story events, albeit fixed and expected on second play through, are interesting and varied. The setting itself is fascinating as WW2 has been explored countless times, but WW1 not so much and this was the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game had a rough start with lots of bugs and issues, but I'd say it is now in a very playable state. It is challenging but fun to play, someone compared it to "This War of Mine" and I really agree. It is a fairly unique setting and story for a game, few concentrate on WW1 and even fewer on the medicine, worth a try if you have an interest in that area.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The simulation side is quite lacklustre. You micromanage workers like you're a shift supervisor and then decide on treatments like you're a doctor. It feels kind of incoherent. The devs must have known it was a bit lame so instead of focusing on the hospital side, they added a weird warfare minigame where somehow the soldiers you're healing are fighting the Germans on the steps of your hospital wards... it's honestly bizarre, even feels a little disrespectful towards the wounded survivors of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Problematic UI. You can't tell what building is what. It would help if buildings had specific LARGE icons over them (able to be also deactivated) so that player can have an immediate idea where is what. Strange menus. Unintuitive. And somehow the conditions feels as more dramatic than it actually is. If the country is so short in medical supplies perhaps just surrender. No point for all this pain and anguish. I got it for 5.99 and still not worth it. I have asked for a refund.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has great potential. It is alot of fun to play and has interesting mechanics. You have to juggle many resources at the same time and, although it can get a bit tedious to micro manage these resources, it is interesting enough to keep my focus as I like management style games. The concept of the game is cool also, running a war hospital during WW1 and trying to make sure you have enough personnel and supplies to keep the hospital operational. However, one thing I cannot get over is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game breaking bug during the tutorial (can't click improve buttons...). That issue seems to be there for over 5 months now. Do you devs expect people to accept this? 5/10 in its current state. Once the issues have been ironed out, the game might become enjoyable
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →War Hospital, developed by Brave Lamb Studio S.A. and published by Nacon, is a rare kind of war game—one that strips away the spectacle of the battlefield and replaces it with the relentless grind of medical triage, human fragility, and administrative burden. Set during World War I, it places you not in the trenches but behind them, in command of a field hospital struggling to survive as the front line shifts, supplies collapse, and casualties arrive in overwhelming waves. Its premise promises…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Definitelly try it, but get in on sale! Overall, I think the last round of fixes worked. I didn't witness any major bugs or crashes contrary to the opinions I've seen. How about the game? It took me 53 hours to get all achievements. Not because the games it that long. Just to get through the campaign it took around 12 hours I think, however in order to complete some achievements I had to replay some chapters a few times. Especially chapter 1 I had to replay like 5 times. The conditions for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I enjoy these types of games, but this one falls in the middle for me. I can't say that I really like it, but I also can't say that I don't. I will say that I did enjoy 2-point hospital more so do with that what you will. The reason that I have changed my review to an down vote is because of the bugs that I had during play. One example was when I started act 3 my engineers did not get exhausted. After I saved and continued later, they were "fixed" and i had to play the shuffle game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →At 20 hours I 100%ed the game. I think its a nifty little indie title, and a fascinating concept to explore. It definitely captures the horror of the era. There are times when the tent is so overwhelmed from casualties from the front, that 2/3 of newly arrived patients will never receive treatment and die before you're able to get to them. Do i think it's worth $30? Probably not. I'd wait for a deep sale, but at the right value, and with the right expectations, I think you could have a great…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →At the moment I'm writing this review the game is unplayable the biggest CURRENT UNRESOLVED BUG is that the surgeons are rested and simply stop operating, this should have already been resolved since it's March and the game came out on January 3rd, how difficult is it? The devs have to fix a bug like this that is so serious that it affects the entire game experience.?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A solid 7/10 game, it is a nice management game with a bit of pressure that will keep you constantly focused on micromanagement of staff, patients and resources. I like this honestly, a lot of management games towards the end game become mostly automated with minimum input, not here and this I liked. There is a small issue with ambulances getting stuck waiting on NPCs to move but it is not a huge issue.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →War Hospital is an odd game. The theme is very appealing, the music and the style is well rendered, but somehow the gameplay feels very rough around the edges. Most staff you control can be affected to 3 kinds of occupations: Medic teams, for example can be assigned to work at the CCS (essentially the triage station), the Advanced clearing station (pulling people out of the ground) or the Graveyard (putting people in the ground). But beyond this, and the shift on which they're assigned, you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do not buy this game at the full price, wouldn't recommend buying even at -50% Bought this game about a year ago and played it to the beginning of Chapter III in the game, then encountered a game breaking bug when an ambulance got stuck and no patients could be moved anymore and I couldn't advance anymore and decided to quit. Now year after that, i saw that game had some updates and bug fixes during this year. I started to play again and realised that this game is one of those that you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I do like the game, but it has too many bugs to justify the price. Also, I'd say it needs a bit more balancing, especially scouting-wise.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just finished a playthrough. I see why people have compared it to Frostpunk, which is one of my favourite all time games. You have to manage a hospital in WW1, and there are many moving parts to juggle: 3 types of treatment wards, supplies and food production, recruitment and roster scheduling. They even throw in a bit of scouting around a mini map with scout teams. And of course underlying it all is a research tree which allows you to gradually get more efficient. There's a clever bit of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is one of those games where you can recognize the faults of the game but surprisingly still found it immersive and engaging. I love that the dev worked with the International War Museum on this. From the standpoint of an interactive museum exhibit, it did the job for me but I did get it on a massive steam sale. Would love to see a future installment that includes medical mini games, more interaction / decisions with the front lines and scouts. Something like Trauma Team interjected into…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really enjoyed this game—it’s the first one I’ve finished in a long time. As a fan of This War of Mine, I found this title to be in a similar genre, offering a deeply emotional and thought-provoking experience. Heart-wrenching and full of tough choices, the game constantly confronted me with ethical dilemmas. At times, it was genuinely painful—especially when I was running low on medical supplies and HQ would call demanding everything. That kind of pressure made even the smallest decisions…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a very difficult game where you really have to think about your next steps. would definitely recommend it
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Disappointing, It's a great concept and could have been something but needs a lot of work to get there.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would say this game is worth a play through. It as some issues but overall enjoyable especially if you enjoy Frostpunk and This War of Mine. The cut scenes are TOO LONG and with little to no added story so those really should be shortened or fixed (I just started skipping all of them), and unless you check the scouting map very very frequently you will miss scouting opportunities because there is no easy notification to tell you a mission is available. Finally, I don't understand the point…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Similar to Frostpunk, but a much easier story. I finished the full game in 11 hours. It was enjoyable, but feels unfinished. The story line is very short, there are no challenges, and you can't build things only upgrade an existing set of buildings. I'd recommend the game, but on sale. I wouldn't have been happy if I paid full price for this, it's too short and the content isn't repeatable.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Far too simple and repetitive to justify the fairly long campaign. * No real difference between the three chapters, each feels like more of the same. * The game is poorly balanced - it's very easy to farm morale, making the morale-increasing option at rehabilitation time pretty much unnecessary, and engineers can be replaced almost entirely by orders. * Some of the parts feel entirely unnecessary (scouting provides very little, cemetery can be neglected entirely with little to no…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game as a great premise. They picked some interesting design choices for the execution. It's going for that Frostpunk feeling and to a degree it gets it. I got it in a sale for 5 EUR and for this price is more than a bargain. Enjoy and remember to Always Be Building! Upgrades are OP.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Repetiv as hell.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Can get repetitive and annoying when you need to micromanage as the shifts make things worse, but I oddly enjoyed playing the chapters. Still some bugs, such as the ambulance jam.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly was cautious buying this given the poor reviews and the news about the CEO etc leaving the game (something about a difference in opinion regarding how the profits would be distributed post release - nothing to do with the quality of the game). If you liked This War of Mine or Frostpunk (or any others in this vein) it will scratch that itch very well. It is historically accurate, stressful and really does a great job of making you agonise trying to save as many as possible against…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →War Hospital: A Gritty Challenge Worth Fighting For Note: While it seems likely that War Hospital has been abandoned by its developers, I still wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of challenging strategy games. Despite its rough edges and unfinished feel, the core experience shines through, offering a gripping, emotionally charged journey worth your time. As someone who revels in the brutal challenge of games like Frostpunk, War Hospital felt like stepping onto a battlefield where every…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game should have been longer in the oven to justify the price. Even for half the price its lackking, cause it has just too many little rough edges which make it not fun to play. It could have been a great game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Personally I didn't have any bugs or issues with the game. Overall the game is fun and an interesting resource strategy game. The story line isn't particularly gripping but then again I have just finished playing Last Train Home previous to playing this.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →War Hospital made a great impression on me. It offers a truly unique experience with an intriguing perspective on war, and alot of tough choices. I highly recommend it to every history buff out there.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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