Through the Darkest of Times

As one of the first few games making real use of the new opportunity to release games with nazi symbolism, Through the Darkest of Times is even better than it needed to be. Not only does it retell a terrifying narrative, based on even more terrifying true events; it also manages to wrap said narrative into a light strategy game which perfectly fits the narrative premise of planning and organizing a resistance movement. The parallels to present events in Germany (or around the world) only make Through the Darkest of Times more gut-wrenching and relavant. It is the first game of 2020 everybody should have heard of.

Neat short game with simple game mechanics but deep insights into German history during the Nazi regime. There is a lot of historic background packed into small stories with effective animation sequences that accompany the main part of the game: Planning actions for the resistance. Some of these actions are repetitive, but the combination of different skills from random characters, that can be evolved, and random incidents, the game stays interesting. It is not really hard to advance in the game while taking easier quests, but there are quite challenging special quests. The artwork is really great and together with a lovely soundtrack, the game creates a convincing atmosphere that helps to understand the struggle of the people in the darkest of times.

The very fact that the far-right is pushing bad reviews on this site and others goes a long way to show just how much Paintbucket got right. Ridiculing this derisively as an "antifa simulator", on the other hand, goes an equally long way to show certain "reviewers'" lack of even the most basic grasp of, well, anything - because guess what, that's exactly what this is, an antifa simulator! You're literally put in the shoes of a member of an antifascist cell, so that's pretty much the very premise of this game. The core gameplay loop may feel somewhat repetitive, but the plot doesn't - and that's where the game shines. Its historical foundation is thoroughly researched to the point that I'll be using this game in class. What some reviewers decry as cheap shots at our current batch of populists should actually be seen as clear warning signs: we've been here before, and this is how it started. That doesn't necessarily equate Trump with Goebbels and Hitler, but it shows that some current populist tactics come from the very same rulebook.

This game is not "fun" to play. But it succeeds very well with the question: What would you have done at these times? In its core it is a round-based strategy game as you move along the timeline from 1933 to 1945 in Nazi Germany, where you react in a counter party to true events in Berlin. Do you play it safe and stay alive with your party against Nazi oppression? Or do you take the risks to save innocent lives, but get threatened with death penalty as well? Of course you can say "it is long time ago, nobody cares anymore", but since the mechanisms of oppression and terror stay the same, you may gain the core of the game. It is hard to say I "liked" the game - but I felt pretty impressed and it left me thinking. This game is your chance to try to play like a "Schindler" or just to be an anonymous Non-Nazi, who made it through the darkest of times... My first result - in which I mostly cared for survival of my group than spectacular actions - left me thinking, whether I should have risked more. Aesthetic of graphics and sound contribute very well to the setting. The stories are well told, but could have been somewhat more detailed or divers. Result: A fine shining and important gem of a game, but not for people, who "just play for fun".