There have always been games with dark or gloomy themes, but with the advent Steam and the aggressive growth of the independent sector more broadly, these kinds of titles are more abundant than ever. Games like Disco Elysium and Frostpunk franchise, for example, serves as a much-needed counterbalance to the more polished and hygienic offerings of the AAA space. Their focus on topics such as war, substance abuse, and poverty mostly avoids mainstream or mass-promoted projects.
Hollow home looks set to follow in the footsteps of these more thoughtful and ethically complex titles, with developer Twigames Inc. Disco Elysium and Planescape: Torment as major influences. The game follows a Ukrainian teenager named Maksym as he copes with the Russian invasion of his home country. It adopts an isometric camera perspective and an art design inspired by an oil painting (perhaps the location). Hollow home is his most Disco Elysium), which lends it a beautiful but suppressed, disturbed atmosphere. Needless to say, the game's narrative and aesthetic elements are only the tip of the iceberg. Hollow home aims to tell a confronting and disturbing story about war and its toll on ordinary people, making it one of the more emotionally demanding games to be released on Steam this year.
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Hollow Home is a choice-based RPG about life during war
In February 2022, Russia launched a siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, returning eight years after first attempting to capture it next to Crimea. Mariupol, a key industrial center and coastal resort, was highly sought after by the Putin administration: not only was the city critical to Ukraine's steel and agricultural industries, but it also served as the land border between the Russian-occupied Donbass and Crimea, making it a high-value target for Russian forces. After a three-month operation that Red Cross officials described as “apocalyptic,” the Ukrainian army surrendered. As of 2026, Russia still occupies the city, which is said to have been 90% destroyed.
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It is against this terrifying, recent background Hollow home is taking place. Beginning on the eve of the invasion of Mariupol, Hollow home lulls the player into a false sense of security – the same fickle feeling that many citizens of Mariupol may have felt during this time – as protagonist Maksym prepares to spend a few days at home without his parents. Young, alone, and without a shred of practical survival skills or meaningful resources, Maksym is forced to explore the hapless city, forming alliances, gathering resources, and solving new problems as they arise.
Twigames said it Hollow homeThe story can take many different directions depending on the player's decisions, suggesting that this kind of choice-based structure will form the bulk of the game's interactive elements. However, Hollow home also gestures towards some other systems and mechanics. For example, you can collect various items, upgrade skills like athleticism and social ability, and manage action points to complete critical tasks like cooking. These ideas are presented in Hollow home demo currently available on Steam, but only a full playthrough will determine how much they really evolve and affect the overall experience.
Hollow Home offers a much-needed alternative to traditional depictions of war in games
One of the reasons I love Metal Gear Solid games is that despite their inclusion of action and violence, they ultimately offer a very subtle, dignified anti-war message. Apart from such anomalies Spec Ops: The LineI can't think of many other video games that actually have anything interesting or worthwhile to say about war. It's not even about a moral stance against war (which I do) – war video game franchises like Call of Duty and Battlefield they say nothing of value about their subject and reduce warfare to cheap and pointless entertainment.
That's not good, and that's why it's so important that the indie scene continues to explore topics like war in an additive and respectful way. War might provide some opportunities for heroism (but with what eyes?), but it's a little strange that the IP likes it Call of Duty identify what military operations seem to be the most involved; it's as if these series think that action, heroism, adventure, and even fun are the most important things you take away from war.
This is demonstrably false and games like Hollow home serve as a poignant reminder of this fact. In modern conflicts, such as those in Ukraine and Palestine, those most affected are often not the soldiers on the battlefield. They are ordinary civilians with jobs, homes, pets and so on who are promoted, disenfranchised and rendered impotent. The first casualty of war is justice for ordinary people. You don't need a thorough, well-researched report to tell you that—an interview with someone who has lived through one of these conflicts will make it clear enough. Artworks like Hollow homewhich specifically focuses on the devastation war brings to an innocent child can prove something similar.
