The Darkest Files

What an outstanding game. I very much recommend it to anyone who enjoys investigation and mystery games. I played on the highest difficulty from start to finish, so if some of the mechanics I describe don't apply if you play on lower difficulties, I wouldn't know. [b]TL;DR.[/b] Loved it, give me 14 more. I'm actually sad I finished the game and there isn't more of it for me to enjoy. [b]SOME NOTABLE HIGHLIGHTS:[/b] + [b]The investigative process.[/b] You get acquainted with the many (so many) documents very organically. The sorting system is pretty intuitive: by the time I had to compile conclusions for the prosecution, I could recite the important paragraphs by heart. + [b]Witness testimonies.[/b] Getting several versions of the same events, deducing who's lying, who's telling the truth, and who's simply misremembering --- I had a blast going through the same couple of rooms over and over again. + [b]Art design.[/b] The game is gorgeous. I appreciate the darker tones and the lack of vibrant colours everywhere, so my eyes only focus on what's actually important. The art style really helped things stay cohesive. + [b]Voice acting.[/b] Every single character was cast and directed perfectly. Every voice actor involved deserves nothing but praise. + [b]Esther Katz.[/b] I appreciated the authenticity of Esther Katz. She's a woman of her time, but she demands respect, she's assertive, and she knows what she wants in life. I love a strong female protagonist that isn't either sexualized or treated like a passive accessory to the events of the story. + [b]Simon Peters.[/b] Shout out to my boy Peters. I loved their dynamic with Katz. The progression from petty university rivals to true partners who trust each other to share the burden of their job and watch each other's backs. All that without shoehorning a romantic plot between them just because they're a man and a woman. Much respect for that alone. + [b]Epilogue.[/b] With an asterisk, I appreciate the last part of the game where the narrative shifts directly to Esther. Without spoiling anything, I figured out where the story was going pretty early on and I think they handled it very well. Even if I found that chapter disappointingly short. [spoiler]+ [b]Cat.[/b] We get an office cat, and I think that's delightful. Best girl Marlene.[/spoiler] [b]WHAT WORKED LESS WELL:[/b] - [b]Memory search.[/b] I can see the logic of "I interrogate witness --> witness remembers more --> can see more detail." I swear I'm with the developers on that one. But by god looking for the smallest changes of scenery in the sea of grey that is witnesses' memories is a task and a half. Pressing the button to make the clickable object gleam for half a second works only every fifth time and you still miss stuff! Honestly, I didn't really want to search for clues that way because it felt like cheating. - [b]What am I missing?[/b] You only need a few documents in total to prove guilt: not everything you find is gonna be used for anything other than context. Both times on my first playthrough I managed to miss ONE important document. Both times, ONE. I got the achievement for "hey, you found everything!" and then it turned out I didn't. Had to reload from the very first witness both times. - [b]Esther's colleagues.[/b] I wish we got more from both Wohlmuth and Fischer. Paula almost gets there, but Christoph falls a bit short. And I'm only putting this in the negative part of the review because I loved the characters and wanted more of them.

Very good and well done, just wished it was longer

An important historical game that immerses you in the fight against the remnants of the Nazis and an effort to bring them to justice.

My only complaint is that I wish it had one more case

Щира рекомендація всім хто любить глибокі історії і детективи Справи базуються на реальних розслідуваннях. Історії небанальні, заслуговують щоб ми їх пам'ятали і не допускали (на жаль, у нинішній час війна - це не щось абстрактне і багато злочинців будуть прикриватись наказами від нового фюрера) Жаль що справи лише дві, здається що гра могла б розказати більше Візуальний стиль доволі простий, але приємний Ігровий процес підібраний вдало. І допити свідків, і порівняння фактів і свідчень, щоб вибудувати теорію, і сам судовий процес цікаві, потребують дедукції і уваги + тримають певну напругу На жаль, у грі відсутня українська, але англійська локалізація потребує середнього рівня знань (крім певних більш специфічних слів), тому можна грати на ній

I've played pretty much every game in the detective / mystery / investigative genre. The Darkest Files is in my top 5. The Darkest Files is a wonderful example of how a game can be educational, intriguing and addicting to play. The storyline made me feel very uncomfortable at times, and it should. I finished the game over a month ago and I can't stop thinking about it. The developers deserve all their flowers and more. I appreciate that the developers implimented three different game modes: Story, Investigator and Prosecutor. If you have experience with these types of games, I'd recommend choosing the Prosecutor mode for a more challenging experience. What I loved: 1. You get your own office! You can't customize it, but it's nice to have a "home base" to sort through evidence. 2. There's a CAT! 3. The art style. I was hesitant at first, but my gosh. It truly is a piece of art. 4. You have a daily "agenda" to help you sort through your tasks before end of day. It's a great way to help the user navigate gameplay without too much hand-holding. What I'd like more of: 1. More cases. This game took me about 10 hours to complete and I just wanted more. 2. The archival system was fantastic. I feel the old fashioned "sifting through paperwork" is underrated in a lot of these games and The Darkest Files executed this perfectly. I just wish it played more of a role in the casework. 10/10, Bravo! I hope the developers make a sequel.

I found this game very interesting. Looking through the cases and discovering new information felt very engaging, and being able to prove your theories is very satisfying. From a historical aspect, it is very interesting to learn more about the time period and the "smaller scale" things that were happening. The second case in particular actually made me want to cry which is pretty rare for me when consuming media. Not to mention the music and art style are very lovely as well. Despite the subject matter, the game is very cozy. The only cons I'd say are that the way the court segments work can feel a little unfair at times, with some "proof" not being viable despite telling the same information as others. Skill issue? Possibly. My only other criticism is that the game isn't longer, while both cases do take a decent amount of time to complete, I was left wanting to do more by the end of it. Also the twist at the end was weird and pointless and we were for some reason given a choice that seemingly didn't matter, but this is a very minor issue in the grand scheme of the game. Anyway, relative to other indie games it's an 8/10

Ein fantastisches Spiel. Und die Rätsel sind tatsächlich eine Herausforderung, wenn auch eine faire, zumindest meiner Einschätzung nach.

开了离线，时间不是很准。 英文算不上特别难，六级过了基本没问题。但是人名比较恼人。好在游戏设置上难度设置得比同类细致。还是能按照自己能力来玩的。 这篇评测就当作是为中文情愿了。

Amazing and incredibly emotional and immersive story. Highly recommend it