Nanking 1937: Breath Beneath Bayonets

In the vein of *This War of Mine* — a gritty blend of survival management and branching narrative set during the 1937 Nanking Massacre.

Step into the lives of ordinary survivors caught in the fall of the city. Sneak through ruined streets after dark to scavenge food and medicine, craft tools and ration supplies in your hidden underground shelter. Evade enemy patrols, make impossible moral choices, and fight to endure one of the darkest chapters of wartime history.

Survive the Fall of Nanking City

Winter 1937. The city has fallen. You lead a ragtag group of survivors — soldiers, nurses, children, farmers, and resistance fighters — hiding out in a hidden underground shelter.

By night, you sneak through ruined streets to scavenge food, medicine and supplies. By day, you craft tools, ration resources, and tend to the wounded — all while evading Japanese army patrols and blockades. There are no heroes here. Only people trying to make it through another day.

Every Decision Weighs Heavy

Hunger, injury and danger never go away. There is no perfect choice.

Do you share your last rations with a starving stranger, or hoard them to keep your own group alive? Do you surrender to avoid bloodshed, or stand and fight for the dignity you have left? Every call you make shapes who lives, who dies, and what your survivors become.

Stories of Ordinary People

This is not a story about armies or generals. It is a story about civilians.

With nearly 300,000 words of original writing, the game weaves together multiple interlocking character storylines. Each survivor has their own past, their own fears, and their own reasons to keep going. As their paths cross in the darkness, you will see a full portrait of life — and death — in Nanking, 1937.

Rooted in Real History

This game is a work of fiction, but it is built on truth.

We have woven roughly 100,000 words of real survivor testimonies, oral histories and memoirs into the experience. These are not stories of glory. They are quiet, painful accounts of what people endured. We include them to honour the victims, and to show the true human cost of war.

Game Features

• Dual-core gameplay: Survival management + deep branching narrative, balancing strategic choices and emotional immersion.

• Multiple character arcs: Independent storylines across a diverse cast, with outcomes shaped by your decisions.

• Scavenge, craft, survive: Resource management, item crafting and night-time exploration for an authentic desperate survival loop.

• Intimate human perspective: Experience the war through the eyes of ordinary people, their will to preserve dignity, and their reverence for life.

• Firsthand survivor accounts: Built around real testimonies to commemorate an unforgettable tragedy and bear witness to the horrors of militarist aggression.

Historical Note:

In December 1937, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japanese forces captured the Chinese capital of Nanking. Over the following six weeks, an estimated 300,000 unarmed civilians and prisoners of war were systematically killed in what became known as the Nanking Massacre. This game is a fictional survival story set within that real historical tragedy.