Through the Darkest of Times is a game about history, specifically one of the worst points in human history, the rise of the Third Reich. But instead of commanding the armies of a nation like in Hearts of Iron, your goals are much more narrow, and all the more harrowing. In this new PC and MacOS title, you take control of a small band of passive resistance fighters in the throws of a Fascist revolution. Berlin is beset by chaos and bigotry, and your ragtag group of survivors must do anything they can to undermine the rise of Fascist power.
Through the Darkest of Times is a game as much about compassion and humanity as it is about politics. You will learn to fear your enemies, but controlling that fear is key to success. As you recruit new resistance members and equip them, you can leverage what information you’ve gained to undertake various subterfuge activities. Making a mission successful can involve very hard choices.
The game covers the entire time from Hitler’s seizure of power 1933 to Germany’s unconditional surrender 1945, so there’s plenty of missions to undertake. Be careful though, as everything in this game has a consequence. Even going grocery shopping can be dangerous as Fascist thugs attempt to harass and intimidate Jews and other minorities into compliance with their evil aims. This includes driving people away from shops owned and run by these groups. What do you do? Do you stand up to them and risk imprisonment or worse? Do you follow the thugs to gather more intel on their activities? The outcome of your choices is not always visible right away either. Sometimes, you make a right or wrong choice and the flow of the game changes around you.
Your character and the group members are fictional and the game creates them procedurally on each playthrough, so don’t expect the same game each time. With plenty of replayability, this would be a great game to take on the go if you could. I’m personally hoping for a Switch port at some point, but alas, nothing like that has been hinted at. Until then, why not enjoy it on PC instead.
