Through the Darkest of Times

About

"Through the Darkest of Times" is a strategy game set in 1930s Berlin, where you lead a small resistance group against the Nazi regime. Your mission is to undermine the regime through sabotage, recruit followers, and spread awareness, while avoiding detection by Nazi forces. The game offers an immersive historical experience, showcasing the struggles and risks of those who opposed the Nazis.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+11

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 400 reviews

story57 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

The game provides a powerful and immersive experience of living through the rise of the Nazi regime, effectively conveying the moral dilemmas faced by individuals during that time.
The storytelling is compelling, with well-written narratives and character interactions that evoke strong emotional responses.
The art style and atmosphere enhance the overall experience, making the historical context feel vivid and impactful.

Gameplay can become repetitive and lacks depth, with many actions feeling inconsequential and leading to a sense of futility.
The game resets progress between chapters, which can be frustrating and diminish the sense of achievement.
Some mechanics are poorly explained, leading to confusion about how to effectively manage resources and complete missions.

story
261 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
75%
3%
The game's story is highly praised for its emotional depth and historical accuracy, effectively immersing players in the harrowing experiences of a resistance group during Nazi Germany. While the narrative is compelling and features meaningful choices, many players feel that the gameplay mechanics detract from the storytelling experience, leading to repetitive missions and a lack of impactful consequences for decisions made. Overall, the game is recognized more as a storytelling experience than a traditional strategy game, with its poignant themes resonating strongly despite gameplay frustrations.
- “The way the story is written here is almost impeccable.”
- “Through the darkest of times empathetically tells a fearsome but beautiful story of bravery in the face of war, hate, and inhumanity.”
- “The storyline is poignant and beautifully written, and you learn a couple of things about WWII as well.”
- “After a while, I realized that it doesn't matter what I do; the story doesn't change, so I lost interest in it.”
- “Each of the four chapters houses several text-driven cutscenes where you make dialogue choices, but about halfway through you'll end up figuring out that no matter what option you pick, nothing really happens.”
- “The story, which presumably is the core element of the game, feels like it’s too much written from a modern perspective and the characters are pretty one-dimensional.”
gameplay
156 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
72%
10%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it shallow, repetitive, and frustrating, often feeling more like a narrative experience than a strategic game. While some appreciate the historical context and story-driven elements, the mechanics are criticized for being simplistic, poorly explained, and lacking meaningful impact on player choices. Overall, the gameplay is seen as a weak point, overshadowed by the game's narrative and artistic presentation.
- “The gameplay consists of coordinating resistance activities from an overworld map, gaining supplies, organizing strikes, and sabotaging fascist infrastructure, interspersed with artistically designed choice-based cutscenes that detail the story of the game.”
- “The gameplay is engaging and keeps the player attentive as the tragedy that was the rise to power of the national socialists is depicted in events that affect both the player's comrades and average Germans that one encounters on the street in historical events.”
- “Through the darkest of times is a fine example of a game where you've seen all gameplay mechanics elsewhere, but it's still absolutely enjoyable to play.”
- “The gameplay is shallow and boring.”
- “The gameplay loop gets repetitive and isn't very compelling.”
- “The core gameplay of sending agents to accomplish missions is a bit repetitive, which wouldn't be so bad if you felt like you were actually making some kind of progress.”
graphics
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
30%
8%
The game's graphics are generally praised for their unique and appealing art style, which effectively complements the dark atmosphere and storytelling. While some users noted occasional glitches and a minimalistic approach, the visuals are often described as beautiful and immersive, enhancing the overall experience. However, opinions on the art style's appeal vary, with some finding it less engaging.
- “The graphics are great and blend perfectly for the dark setting; the characters are realistic and likable, and the cutscenes are amazing and can emotionally tear your heart out at certain scenes.”
- “The game's abstracted art style is a breath of fresh air.”
- “The art style is extremely unique and fits the dark atmosphere of the game and the heavy subject it is covering.”
- “The game offers some okay graphics, although there are some ugly glitches here and there; it is pleasant all the same.”
- “I'm not a big fan of the art style, but your mileage may vary on that point; I'm sure it's appealing to someone.”
- “Regardless of politics, I wasn't impressed by the personality-free art style, the dull music, and the entirely RNG-based game loop.”
emotional
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is profoundly impactful, with players reporting a range of feelings including anger, sadness, and helplessness as they navigate the harrowing narratives set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany. The storytelling, rooted in historical events, evokes strong emotional responses and personal connections to the characters, making the experience both challenging and rewarding. While some critiques mention a lack of interconnectedness in emotional episodes, the overall consensus is that the game effectively conveys the weight of its subject matter, leaving players moved and reflective.
- “But what makes this game great is the narrative writing (some events will make you very emotional) and the historical facts that this game provides.”
- “As the name suggests, Through the Darkest of Times has an incredible ability to reflect the emotional toll of being part of the resistance in Nazi Germany: trying to progress through self-set challenges where there is no set goal, no reward, and no indication that what you are trying to do is the right thing or will even 'matter'.”
- “The game doesn't try to spin this into a lighthearted experience - it's heartbreaking at times and you do feel for the people being unfairly prosecuted in Nazi Germany.”
atmosphere
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
29%
14%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its haunting and chilling qualities, effectively capturing a sense of hopelessness and the gravity of historical events. The unique art style and music contribute to a dark, immersive experience, although some players note that the repetitive gameplay detracts from the overall impact. Overall, it successfully evokes a somber reflection on the era and the struggles faced by ordinary individuals during tumultuous times.
- “The art style is extremely unique and fits the dark atmosphere of the game and the heavy subject it is covering.”
- “A game with a chilling atmosphere, through the darkest of times offers players a peek into the life of ordinary Germans who fought the Nazi regime.”
- “It does a very good job of creating a sinister atmosphere, and I often found myself thinking 'what would I really do in this situation?'”
- “I get the atmosphere of hopelessness they were going for here, but it would be nice to at least have some small victory after hours of playing.”
- “The atmosphere is appropriately dreary, but the game is repetitive to a fault.”
- “This game starts off strong, the premise, the atmosphere are all set, each decision matters and you have to really replay a lot to understand the game... much to the frustration of some or enjoyment of others... but I think what made me give a negative review of this game is that in the 2nd act of the game you literally start by doing the same missions that you did in the 1st sequence.”
music
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
43%
14%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its quality and atmospheric contribution, particularly the use of 1930s jazz that enhances the game's themes. However, some players feel that the soundtrack could have been more diverse and impactful, with a desire for iconic songs from the war period to better fit the setting. Overall, while the music is generally appreciated, it is overshadowed by criticisms of gameplay and mechanics.
- “The art style seen in the game is also really great, and I couldn't think of a better soundtrack.”
- “Interesting concept with nice soundtrack, artwork, and story.”
- “The visual and sonic artwork is quite good, with a dark, expressionistic, graphic novel feel, along with a great soundtrack of Nazi-banned 1930s jazz music, to which your characters can occasionally spend a night dancing as an act of subversion to Nazi oppression.”
- “Poorly explained mechanics, poor UI, terrible pacing, bland music... this is the police 1 is probably better than this game in every single regard.”
- “Playing this game and listening to the violence in many women and drugs rap is low on my list of all the other games and music I actually want to spend my time with.”
- “The soundtrack seemingly consists of two songs and three trumpet wails.”
replayability
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
65%
18%
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players find it enjoyable enough to revisit due to hidden content and story depth, others criticize it for lacking diversity in events and gameplay, making subsequent playthroughs feel repetitive and tedious. Many reviewers express uncertainty about its long-term replay value, suggesting that while there are elements that encourage replaying, the experience may not significantly change with each run.
- “This game is definitely replayable.”
- “2nd time I finished it but still I didn't manage to do the special things the game offers, so it's definitely replayable and I am looking to play more as well.”
- “I can see by all the missions that I didn't do or that I failed at that the game does have more replay value than I had expected.”
- “That being said, the downside is that there isn't really replayability since all the events are the same and honestly a bit tedious the second time around.”
- “The gameplay is a little too light and lacks clear objectives; yet replayability is rather low and not really fun.”
- “However, the replayability is completely hampered by the gameplay: impossible to tell the result of actions.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a double-edged sword; while it can be enjoyable in short sessions, it often becomes tedious and repetitive over extended play. The heavy reliance on RNG and lack of replayability contribute to a sense of slogging through the game, making progress feel frustratingly slow. Overall, while the strategy simulation has its merits, the grinding can detract from the overall experience.
- “Unfortunately the premise is wasted as the RNG is so heavily balanced against you, even in story mode, that it becomes a tedious and repetitive slog to make any progress.”
- “Interesting game, but it gets difficult, confusing, and tedious after a few chapters.”
- “The game does feel a little grindy since you basically raise money, get supporters, or get items each turn.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is perceived as ineffective, with some users finding the juxtaposition of serious violence and cartoonish visuals unconvincing. While there are moments that some may find amusing, the overall execution fails to impress.
- “I doubt they saw my coverage of the game; I just find that funny.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game generally provides a pleasant experience, but users have noted the presence of occasional glitches that detract from its overall stability.
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviewers highlight that the game's optimization offers a strong price-performance ratio, indicating that players receive good value for their investment in terms of performance and efficiency.
- “The price-performance ratio is very good in this area.”
- “The optimization of resources allows for a smoother gameplay experience.”
- “I appreciate how the game balances performance and visual quality effectively.”