Investigate the real crimes in the Nazi era

BERLIN (DPA) – A horrible case that prosecutor Esther Katz hopes to resolve early in the Federal Republic of Germany: A retired man was executed in the last days of World War II, allegedly for high treason. However, in the first case, many things are solved in the game's “darkest file”.

Esther Katz is the team of real-life prosecutor Fritz Bauer, one of the most enduring investigators of Nazi crime in the 1950s and 1960s.

Bauer is the attorney general of Frankfurt and convenes a group of young, uncontaminated prosecutors to investigate. In this game, you will investigate the case based on the actual crime at that time, thus playing the role of Katz.

During the investigation process, many traditional research work is required. First, there are documents: these form the basis for invitations and interviewing witnesses.

During the interview, the game's most unusual features played a role: From the Frankfurt office where Katz and the team were located, players were actually teleported to their respective crime scenes.

There, the events of that time unfolded before their eyes, but were always a little different, depending on how witnesses told their stories. Using specific objects in the crime scene area can ask more questions, which may lead to further insights and evidence.

Within a few days, the document was filled with statements, documents, photos and other evidence. Then, using the crime scene floor plan, you can develop a theory about how crime actually happens.

Next, the suspect will be tried, Esther Katz has proposed her theory in court. Then, objections are opposed to the relevant documents and statements so that the real culprit can be convicted.

Despite the cruelty of the crime, the legal factors are still interesting. Depending on the difficulty level, players may just need to emphasize the correct documentation, or even key paragraphs during the trial period to prove their theory.

Needs brain power and puzzles to solve

This requires a lot of brainpower and can lead to lengthy puzzles relative to the details of each case file. Unfortunately, the game doesn't make this easy.

All documents are available, even if the exact transcript of an interview with a witness, you can only see up to two pages at a time, and you need to bookmark it to classify it.

According to how many prosecutors Katz can prove, different judgments were made on the defendant. In the subsequent video sequence, Ball evaluated the success of the trial. After that, the player can see what is really going on, because as mentioned before, everything in the game is real.

The “Darkest Document” also deals with the conditions that Fritz Bauer and his team must work and the resistance they face. Esther Katz received a threatening letter, the newspaper wrote a derogatory article, and one day a stone flew through an office window. As a young woman, Katz is repeatedly ignored and sometimes subject to gender-discrimination.

Fritz Bauer's quote clearly shows the game's message in the introduction: “Nothing belongs to the past. Everything exists and can be the future again.” The game studies certain atrocities of the Nazi era, making them personally tangible, and warns: Never again.

Like a graphic novel that is fascinating gameplay

It also criticized Germany's silence during Nazi crimes after the war and explored the extent to which the young judiciary and police in the young federal republic remained infiltrated by Nazi members.

The theme is visually supported in the game's compelling visual style. Everything is dark, almost black and white, with the environment and characters reminiscent of a dark graphic novel.

Paintbucket Games creates impressive work between visual novels and lawyer games. It is emotionally fascinating and has a compelling gameplay.

The game can use more cases. Katz solves two of them during the game, followed by a brief ending. These cases are challenging and can only focus on details after a few attempts, but are usually only studied in 10 hours of gameplay.

“Darstiest Files” are available for PCs and Macs on Steam Platform. It costs about 20/20 euros and is higher at ages 12 and older.