War Hospital Review (Xbox Series S)

For this War Hospital Review, we take charge of a WW1 field hospital on the Western Front and make all the decisions necessary to help the soldiers recover and to support the war effort. In this narrative management game, we are the last bastion of humanity.

War Hospital Review Pros:

  • Decent graphics.
  • 6.8GB download size.
  • 1000 Gamerscore.
  • Graphics settings – gamma correction, and brightness.
  • Three chapters along with a chapter selection.
  • Ten save slots.
  • Cutscenes are a mix of in-game and hand-drawn animated art sequences.
  • Good voicework.
  • A full 3D game world with 360-degree camera control complete with zoom in and out.
  • Worker management gameplay.
  • Constant tutorial pop-ups as you play. (can be turned off)
  • Three game speeds that can be changed at will.
  • Day and night cycle along with different weather.
  • Events will pop up where you have a multiple-choice scenario, you get all the facts both good and bad. In this time you can view the Dr and patient records.
  • The morale bar is front and centre and your actions determine if it goes up or down.
  • The goal of the game is to heal people, repair the war hospital, and manage everyone’s well-being and health.
  • You must assign people to jobs and locations, as they perform their duties they can get tired, exhausted, and then collapse. Ordering rest times can help.
  • The train station is where you can order supplies and receive goods.
  • Improvements for every building type can be made by earning the necessary materials and time and then using the upgraded trees.
  • When receiving patients you have the choice to assign them to a doctor or deny them care if they are too far gone.
  • All actions have consequences.
  • Hire and fire personnel.
  • A handy train schedule helps you plan deliveries and hires.
  • Quick access radial menus, one for staff and buildings with the other used for important actions and more general ones.
  • Once rehabilitated you choose what happens to the soldier based on their stats/abilities and you can send them to the trenches, send them to HQ, or have them released from duty.
  • There are four types of personnel – doctors, nurses, medics, and engineers.
  • As it is a war game, you may at times have to help defend the trenches, this involves assigning personnel and filling up the numbers.
  • A handy bar shows at the top of the screen showing your defense and the enemy’s offence.
  • You can watch improvements and buildings happen in real-time.
  • An easy to get to grips with a system of dragging and dropping personnel into slots under the marked areas.
  • Good solid soundtrack.
  • Clicking on buildings will bring up all the info and any news on what’s currently happening in them.
  • You see the people walking around and carrying the injured.
  • The cemetery is where you bury the dead.
  • The compendium is where all the help and tutorials are stored.
  • Save and load when you want.
  • You see the fighting play out as cutscenes and then you get a breakdown.
  • A thinking man’s war game.
  • Rations have to be managed at all times.
  • Improvements, resting, and anything like that happen in real-time.

War Hospital Review Cons:

  • Cannot rebind or tweak any controls.
  • Only the one-game mode.
  • Small game text and no options to change it.
  • So much to take in.
  • The tutorial prompts are very pushy and if you don’t do as instructed quickly enough then they keep banging up on the screen.
  • Slow burner.
  • There is a lot of menu juggling and remembering what goes where to do this and that.
  • Individual personnel management is not always easy or particularly quick.
  • Even after the lengthy tutorials, you still get lost or confused by it all especially noises, alerts, and icons.
  • There are no difficulty options or game settings to help break you in or make it a bit more manageable.

Related Post: Terra Nil Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

War Hospital:

Official website.

Developer: Brave Lamb Studio

Publisher: Nacon

Store Links –

Xbox

  • 8/10
    Graphics - 8/10
  • 7/10
    Sound - 7/10
  • 6/10
    Accessibility - 6/10
  • 8/10
    Length - 8/10
  • 7/10
    Fun Factor - 7/10
7.2/10

Summary

War Hospital offers decent graphics with a manageable 6.8GB download size and a chance to earn 1000 Gamerscore. Players can adjust graphics settings, including gamma correction and brightness. The game features three chapters with a selection option and provides ten save slots. Cutscenes are creatively presented as a mix of in-game and hand-drawn animated art sequences, complemented by good voicework.

War Hospital immerses players in a full 3D world with 360-degree camera control, zoom capabilities, and worker management gameplay. Tutorials are constant but can be disabled. Players can adjust the game speed and experience a dynamic day and night cycle with varying weather conditions. Events with multiple-choice scenarios pop up, allowing access to Dr and patient records. The morale bar is a central feature, influenced by player actions.

The core goal is to heal people, repair the war hospital, and manage the well-being and health of everyone. Assigning personnel to jobs and managing their fatigue is crucial. The train station functions as a logistics hub for supplies and goods. Players can make improvements to buildings by gathering materials and using upgraded trees. Patient care decisions are critical, with the option to assign doctors or deny care based on severity.

War Hospital includes four types of personnel: doctors, nurses, medics, and engineers. Strategic defense of the trenches is occasionally required, involving personnel assignments and resource management. A defense bar at the top of the screen indicates the balance of power between your defenses and the enemy’s offense.

War Hospital offers quick access radial menus for staff and buildings, and another for important actions. Rehabilitation decisions for soldiers are based on their stats/abilities. However, the game has limitations such as non-rebindable controls, small text size, and only one game mode. The tutorial prompts can be intrusive, and the game is described as a slow burner with complex menu navigation and personnel management.

Overall War Hospital is a thinking man’s war game that requires careful ration management and real-time decision-making. Despite its immersive gameplay, new players might find the learning curve steep due to the lack of difficulty options and game settings for a more manageable experience. The game demands attention to detail and strategic planning, offering a unique take on war-themed gaming.

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!