Berlin, March 25, 2025 - The Darkest Files, the spiritual successor to the award-winning Nazi resistance game Through The Darkest of Times from award-winning German indie studio Paintbucket Games, was released today on Steam for PC and Mac. The game is available for a suggested retail price of €19.99 / £16.99 / US$19.99. To celebrate the launch, there is a 10% discount!

The Darkest Files is a historical investigation and trial game. Players take on the role of Esther Katz, a young, ambitious prosecutor in post-war Germany, as she investigates unsolved crimes from the Nazi era based on true events.To do this, they interview witnesses, search for clues, and finally bring the perpetrators to justice, where they must try to prove their theory of how the crime was committed.

On her exciting and emotional journey into the 1950s, the protagonist Esther Katz becomes part of the team of the famous historical figure Fritz Bauer, who actually investigated such cases as a public prosecutor in Frankfurt at that time.

"After nearly four years of intensive development, we are overjoyed to finally present The Darkest Files to the public. We are deeply touched by the many positive reviews from the press and they confirm our vision for the game," said Jörg Friedrich, Game Director and CEO of Paintbucket Games. "Our greatest wish is that The Darkest Files will reach a wide audience, entertain them and make them think about the fundamental questions of what we as a society declare a crime and how we ultimately distinguish right from wrong. Fritz Bauer's legacy deserves to be discovered by as many people as possible, and we are proud to be able to make a small contribution through our game.

Game Features
Players interview relatives, witnesses, and suspects to uncover the truth behind meticulously researched historical cases

They delve into the testimonies through Esther's inner eye in first-person mode - they can interactively relive the events from the perspective of the person giving the testimony and understand the actions to confront suspects with contradictions and find additional clues.

Conclusions must be drawn and evidence evaluated.

On a drawing board, a theory of the crime is reconstructed, which players can then take to court to prove.

However, the game also allows them to go to court with any theory and achieve different outcomes for each case. It is quite possible that a culprit will go unpunished.

The lovingly and elaborately designed building of the prosecutor's office can be explored. The player can discuss the case with colleagues or their boss Fritz Bauer, learn more about their backgrounds, explore the archives, or simply exchange ideas in the kitchenette.

Since the successful Kickstarter in April 2024, the office cat Marlene has also moved into the prosecutor's office.

Full voice output (English)

Beautiful 3D graphics with a cell shading effect that makes the game look like a walk-in pulp comic from the 1950s.

Historical Background
Fritz Bauer was a German attorney. As a Jew and outspoken opponent of the Nazis, he was dismissed from his post and sent to a concentration camp. He emigrated in 1936 and continued to oppose the Nazis from exile.

After the war, he returned to Germany and worked as a public prosecutor. He is best known for being a key informant in the arrest of Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann and for initiating the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials in the 1960s.

In Through The Darkest of Times, the spiritual predecessor to The Darkest Files, players organize the resistance in Nazi Berlin. The game has won numerous national and international awards, including the German Game Developer Award in the categories "Best Indie Game", "Best Game Beyond Entertainment", and "Best Story". At the German Game Developer Award 2020 it was nominated for "Best German Game" and won in the category "Best Serious Game". At The Game Awards 2020, it was the first German game to be nominated in the category "Games for Impact".