History VideoGame / WarMongrels

* AllGermansAreNazis: Averted. Manfred WAS a Nazi, but by the beginning of the story has become disillusioned with their propaganda. Ewald is not and never was a Nazi, and identifies as a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silesians Silesian]] rather than a German, being conscripted at a gun point. It's discussed in-story at one point between Manfred and Lead, with the former claiming that most Germans are simply ignorant of the extent of the Nazis actions, while Lead argues back that the German people are ignorant because they ''want'' to be ignorant.

* EvilVsEvil: As far as the Poles are concerned, the Soviets are just as worse as the Nazis when it comes to their actions toward Poland and its people. The mongrels, bar Joachim, see the Soviets as just taking advantage of the war with the Nazis so they can play 'liberators' of Poland when in reality, [[MeetTheNewBoss the Soviets are just taking over Poland for their own.]]

* MistakenNationality: Ewald is erroneously referred to as German several times. While he is an ethnic German, he hails from the Silesia region and identifies as a Silesian (A nationality that has been alternatingly recognized, disputed, and denied throughout history to the modern day).

* AllGermansAreNazis: Averted. Manfred WAS a Nazi, but by the beginning of the story has become disillusioned with their propaganda. Ewald is not and never was a Nazi, and identifies as a Silesian rather than a German. It's discussed in-story at one point between Manfred and Lead, with the former claiming that most Germans are simply ignorant of the extent of the Nazis actions, while Lead argues back that the German people are ignorant because they ''want'' to be ignorant.

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Unlike most other games in this genre, most of the seven members of the titular Mongrels can barely put up with each other due to their past background and trauma. The three Polish mongrels (Lead, Rubble, Greta) and ''especially'' the Jewish Joachim despised Manfred because he's a former Nazi, while there are also tensions between Joachim and the Poles as well due to their different outlooks about the Soviets. Only Ewald seems to get along with everyone [[spoiler:and after he dies, the group promptly breaks down with Joachim selling everyone out to the Soviets and the rest of the mongrels go their separate ways after Manfred freed them from a Soviet camp; some of whom perished in the years that followed]].

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Unlike most other games in this genre, most of the six members of the titular Mongrels can barely put up with each other due to their past background and trauma. The three Polish mongrels (Lead, Rubble, Greta) and ''especially'' the Jewish Joachim despised Manfred because he's a former Nazi, while there are also tensions between Joachim and the Poles as well due to their different outlooks about the Soviets. Only Ewald seems to get along with everyone [[spoiler:and after he dies, the group promptly breaks down with Joachim selling everyone out to the Soviets and the rest of the mongrels go their separate ways after Manfred freed them from a Soviet camp; some of whom perished in the years that followed]].

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Joachim's lust for revenge against the Nazis crosses well over into obsession, and he takes a perverse delight in the deaths of anyone even remotely associated with them, be it the SS, German soldiers, or even just civilians who happen to work for them in any capacity. [[spoiler:This reaches its breaking point in the final mission, where his misguided attempt to toast the Soviets as saviors who saved them all from Nazis hit the BerserkButton of the Polish mongrels and Joachim got beaten up badly, after which [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal he decided to turn traitor and sold the group out to the Soviets in exchange for an officer positon in their army.]]]]

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Joachim's lust for revenge against the Nazis crosses well over into obsession, and he takes a perverse delight in the deaths of anyone even remotely associated with them, be it the SS, German soldiers, or even just civilians who happen to work for them in any capacity.

* EvilVsEvil: As far as the Polish is concerned, the Soviets are just as worse as the Nazis when it comes to their actions toward Poland. The mongrels, bar Joachim, see the Soviets as just taking advantage of the war with the Nazis so they can play 'liberators' of Poland when in reality, [[MeetTheNewBoss the Soviets are just taking over Poland for their own.]]

* EvilVsEvil: As far as the Polish is concerned, the Soviets are just as worse as the Nazis when it comes to their actions toward Poland. The mongrels, bar Joachim, see the Soviets as just taking advantage of the war with the Nazis so they can play 'liberators' of Poland when in reality, [[MeetTheNewBoss the Soviets are just taking over Poland for their own]]

* DefectorFromDecadence: Manfred was once "The Nazis' golden boy", as described by Ewald, but after three years of fighting on the eastern front and witnessing the many atrocities committed by his countrymen, he deserted and became a partisan.

''War Mongrels'' is a RealTimeStrategy StealthBasedGame developed by Destructive Creations (the developers of ''VideoGame/{{Hatred}}'' and ''VideoGame/AncestorsLegacy'') and published by Surefire Games. It was released for PC on October 19, 2021. A SpiritualSuccessor to the ''VideoGame/{{Commandos}}'' series, ''War Mongrels'' follows the story of Manfred Rauzer, a former Wehrmacht soldier, as he recounts his defection from Nazi Germany in 1944 and the events that followed. Like ''Commandos'', the player takes control of a group of partisans (referred to by the devs as the mongrels) fighting against the Nazis. Unlike ''Commandos'', however, ''War Mongrels'' has a heavy emphasis on the horrors of the Third Reich, and the toll it takes on the protagonists' minds.

* AnimalMotifs: In the animated cutscenes, the Nazis are often depicted as being, or having the shadows of, terrifying and bloodthirsty wolves. [[spoiler: In the bad ending, Manfred's shadow briefly warps into one, symbolizing that he was never able to forgive himself.]]

* BittersweetEnding: All of the heroes survive the events of the game, but several die in the years after (the victims changing depending on which ending you unlock), [[spoiler: Ewald is dead and his body never recovered,]] and the survivors are plagued for decades after by the horrors they witnessed.

* DefectorFromDecadence: Manfred was once 'The Nazis golden boy', as described by Ewald, but after three years of fighting on the eastern front and witnessing the many atrocities committed by his countrymen, he deserted and became a partisan.

* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Ewald is considerably larger than most of his contemporaries, and so cannot disguise himself with stolen German uniforms because they simply will not fit.

* MeaningfulName: The two polish commandos go by codenames that are pretty self-explanatory. Lead is a sniper and Rubble is a demolitions expert.
* MistakenNationality: Ewald is erroniously referred to as a German several times. While he is an ethnic german, he hails from the Silesia region and identifies as a Silesian (A nationality that has been alternatingly recognized, disputed, and denied throughout history to the modern day).
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Manfred was already disillusioned with the Reich thanks to the many warcrimes committed by the Wehrmacht and the SS, but he was horrified when he learned about the mass ethnic cleansings being spearheaded by the party he had once supported.
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Joachim is the only main character to actually sound like he's from his country of birth, with all the others speaking in either an american or english accent. It extends to nonplayer characters as well, with german and american accents thrown in everywhere amongst SS and Wehrmacht soldiers.
* NotHelpingYourCase: Manfred lands himself in deep water with both Lead and Joachim at different points by making ignorant claims based on the Nazi propaganda and historical revisionism he's been fed his entire life in response to accusations regarding german atrocities and his own complicity in them, though he's not trying to justify the atrocities themselves as much as trying to explain his own perspective and ignorance prior to his defection and that of the german people at large.
* NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed: Manfred Rauzer was inspired by real life German-born partisan Manfred Zanker, though with some key differences, mainly that Zanker had always opposed the Nazi party's ideology.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: A former Nazi trying to atone for his past, a [[InsistentTerminology Silesian]] conscript, a Lithuanian partisan, a school teacher, a chemistry major turned demolitionist, a nurse, and a Jewish factory owner. Together they do one thing and one thing only: Kill Nazis.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Averted with Joachim. His obsession and joy in killing German soldiers does unnerve his allies, but considering the fact that he is a Jew who experienced the concentration camps first hand, it's hard to blame him. [[spoiler: Though it's eventually played straight when it's revealed that he was planning to sell the rest of the mongrels out to the Soviet Union all along.]]