Ukraine War Stories

Ukraine War Stories is a set of three text-based interactive novels about civilians caught in the early months of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. You play people on Russian-occupied territory, trying to protect themselves and their loved ones and escape. The stories portray civilians as survivors, not fighters, and draw on eyewitness accounts and real events recorded in the places where they take place.

Stories and setting

The novels follow the invasion from the first attacks on Hostomel, through the occupation of Bucha, to the siege of Mariupol. Each is a dramatization that condenses real events and eyewitness accounts into one story. Music accompanies the text, and illustrations use authentic war photographs taken in the areas depicted.

Hostomel

On February 24, 2022, air raid sirens and rocket strikes announced the invasion, followed by a large Russian airborne attack on the outskirts of Kyiv. Hostomel was among the first targets. You play retired aviation engineer Oleksiy Borisov, who must manage survival resources and attend to his group’s emotional needs. The aim is to get his loved ones to safety, not to win the war.

Bucha

After a week of intense fighting, Russian forces took the north-western outskirts of Kyiv on March 5, 2022. Bucha endured a month-long occupation. Yarik Kravchenko and his sister Vika came to the town to wait out the assault on Kyiv, while their mother Yana, a medic, defends the capital. The siblings are unable to escape on their own as the occupation grows more brutal. You face difficult choices, and a happy outcome is not assured.

Mariupol

Mariupol had already been attacked during the eight years of war, but that earlier assault ended quickly. This time, the city faces one of the biggest and bloodiest sieges of the invasion. You play Dima Kornienko, a talented surgeon and Mariupol native, working on the front line with other medics. As the situation worsens and supplies run low, you must monitor the hospital’s readiness and your own mental state to try to save as many people as possible.