Through The Darkest Of Times: Sensitive topic games usually seek to loosen your grip on the concept further, by saying little more than cleanThrough The Darkest Of Times: Sensitive topic games usually seek to loosen your grip on the concept further, by saying little more than clean out the bad guys. This most defying game, while still failing to communicate the scale, opens your eyes in a very interesting manner. It's more of an emotional journey than anything else. You and your group of resistance are German citizens; names, attributes, and appearances randomly generated during play. The story begins with Hindenburg appointing Hitler Chancellor in 1933, and runs right through until the aftermath of the war in 1946. The story is firmly grounded in reality, so there's no chance of preventing WWII or having any effect at all on historical events. It's all about doing what little you can for the persecuted, trying to spread the truth of what the Nazis are doing… and looking on helplessly as huge amounts of the populace cheer Hitler on. Each turn represents a week, and you need to decide which tasks to assign to each of your members. Success in each is determined, in part, by the total value of the relevant attributes offered by the characters you assign (e.g. Secrecy, Strength, Propaganda). Things aren't nearly as simple as that though, and not only because bringing certain items along can make things slightly easier or harder. At the beginning of each week, I'm presented with three newspaper headlines. The news is historically accurate, and ordinarily details successes of some kind for the Nazi regime. My group's morale is reduced accordingly before I've even done anything, and I know that I'm almost certainly due for a little more morale reduction at the end of the turn unless I get some wins for the group. Even if an action is successful, there's a high chance that at least one member will start to gain the attention of the authorities. If I leave this unchecked, the Gestapo will arrest them, taking them out of action. Heat on any members assigned to a task starts to increase the risk of failure. I need to select tasks to keep my ever-depleting supply of supporters up, too. If I lose too many supporters, or group morale hits zero, it's all over. The mechanics are solid, and ultimately stat-based, but they melt into the background thanks to the storytelling. There are occasional stumbles with the text translating, and the art and swift pace prevent emotional bonding with any single characters emotion in the game. Paintbucket Games refuses to flinch from the realities of life in Nazi Germany, and it's the uncomfortable complexity of the situation. Friends, neighbors, even children absolutely no person around me can be guaranteed immune to the toxic charms of Hitler and his all powerful army. Most of these supporters of fascism, rather than being cartoonish villains, are otherwise unremarkable and appear to be "nice to you". They bake cakes, host parties, chat to me politely. There are vocal and angry critics of the Nazi regime, but they risk not only arguments with their peers, but the potentially deadly wrath of the authorities. I need to watch what I do and say. The steady drip-drip-drip of Nazi horrors through newspaper headlines pierces me with cold reality again and again. When I come across strangers, I don't know whether I can trust them or not. How could I? Even when I find somebody that seems to offer peace. Yet I'm emotionally invested enough to try my best. Early on, I come across a man being beaten. There's an option to ignore the situation but, even on a second playthrough, there's absolutely no way I can bring myself to do that. The first time around, it's all extremely powerful. The steady drip-drip-drip of Nazi horrors through newspaper headlines pierces me with cold reality again and again, while seeing people suffering in the story sequences urges me on to do whatever I can during turns on the map. Multiple play throughs however shows that the story's strength and impact it was meant to have, and the choices made often have little or no effect on the situation. I soon begin to skip huge swathes of text, and the emotional impact is reduced to a fraction of what it was. There are a few rare occasions where the wording of the script strongly references politics, and I really wish the developers hadn't added this, largely because it really isn't necessary to make the game what it is. At times, the parallels are so strong, you would have to cover your eyes not to see them. Each chapter has a few major blows to the Nazis available; getting a message out to the world, say, or a major act of sabotage. I found the game worth a recommending on your Xbox One just be warned of the sensitive nature in game.… Expand
