"The Darkest Files": painful memories
On the trail of Nazis: In "The Darkest Files", courageous prosecutors hunt down former Nazis and bring them to justice.
(Image: heise online)
It's not over. That's the message of Paintbucket's detective game "The Darkest Files". No matter how many files you've pored over, no matter how many witnesses you've interviewed and no matter whether the perpetrator has been arrested or not. There is always a next case. As in the award-winning "Through the Darkest of Times", Berlin-based indie studio Paintbucket has dedicated itself to the darkest episode in German history. This time it's not a strategy game, but a minimalist detective game.
Coming to terms with Nazi crimes
The history of the prosecution of Nazi crimes in Germany is linked to the public prosecutor Fritz Bauer. He and his team resisted the cover-up of the Nazi past. He helped to capture the Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann and took part in the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial in the early 1960s. His work forms the basis for "The Darkest Files".
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Players slip into the role of the fictional public prosecutor Esther Katz, who starts work in Bauer's team against her parents' wishes. She quickly gets her first of two cases: The murder of pensioner Hans Naumann, who was innocently executed by Nazis. With the help of her assistant, she collects evidence, interrogates witnesses and ultimately brings the perpetrators to justice.
Detailed search for the perpetrators
In terms of gameplay, "The Darkest Files" resembles a mix of visual novel and lawyer games such as "Ace Attorney". With every witness statement, Esther analyzes the crime scene from a first-person perspective and collects evidence like in a hidden object game, which she uses in her conclusions. For example, she matches the murder weapon to the perpetrator's badge number or uncovers contradictions in the individual witness statements. With each statement, the perspective changes and suddenly other details become more important, opening up a new theory.
"The Darkest Files" angespielt (5 Bilder)
heise online
)Esther reconstructs the course of events on a map of the crime scene. Who interrogated the victim? Where were the people involved? Who fired the fatal shot? There are often contradictions. The answers are then found in the small print, for example when it says that a police officer ended up in hospital after the arrest or that a lung disease indicates a heavy smoker.
Esther defends her theories in court. If the defense objects, the prosecutor must present evidence or withdraw her accusations. Success is not guaranteed. In the second trial, the entire prosecution collapsed during our playtime. If you want, you can restart the whole case from scratch or listen to the true story behind the cases. Only the names have been changed. We recommend that you save after every progress.
Reduced to the bare essentials
Paintbucket has staged this story in a visually minimalist way. We move through the office or crime scene from a first-person perspective. In keeping with the theme, everything is kept drab in black and white. Some scenes are reminiscent of an animated graphic novel. Sometimes it is a bit tedious to walk the same way to the conference room again and again or to switch between the case file or the evidence board on the wall.
The scope of the game is also minimalistic. Esther is allowed to negotiate just two cases, including a short epilogue. After just under five hours, the game is over and the replay value is low. If you choose the easier "Story" difficulty level, you should be through it faster. It's a shame, as there are a few cases in the office filing cabinet that hint at more gameplay. It is currently not known whether "The Darkest Files" will receive any expansions. With regard to the international market, there is only an English voiceover and optional German subtitles. Understandable, but somewhat unusual given the subject matter.
Nevertheless, goosebumps are guaranteed. Denunciators who are upset about the origin of their neighbors; Nazis who torture young women for their inhuman ideology or simply the description of the precarious living conditions at the end of the Third Reich take a shocking look at the German past. Together with the players, Esther reveals the dark soul of the German bourgeoisie, which helped to carry out one of the greatest crimes in human history. A bitter history lesson to play.
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Conclusion
"The Darkest Files" is a painful piece of remembrance culture. The search for the truth requires patience and does not always offer clear-cut solutions. The controls are sometimes awkward and the unconventional visual implementation will not appeal to every player. Nevertheless, the fates of the victims are moving and thought-provoking. These are not the big, spectacular cases, but the individual fates that were commonplace in the Nazi era. "The Darkest File" is a warning against forgetting. A reminder of the past to improve the future.
"The Darkest Files" is available for Windows and macOS. USK from 12. It costs approx. 20 €. We played the Windows version for our text.
(emw)
