Through the Darkest of Times
Dark times mean fear and risks. The risk to be caught by patrolling National Socialists, looking for people who publicly stand against their point of view. The risk of being beaten up or even killed by the German military because we‘re opposing the regime. The risk of losing everything, including our loved ones. This is how we live. This is how we try to survive. Through the darkest of times. You are the leader of a small resistance group in 1933’s Berlin, of ordinary people, from Jews to Catholics and Communists to Patriots who simply can’t stand aside. Your goal is to deal with small blows to the regime – dropping leaflets to spread awareness about what the Nazis are really up to among the people, painting messages on walls, sabotaging, gathering information and recruiting more followers. And all of that while staying undercover – if the regime’s forces learn about your group, the life of each member is in grave danger.
Game Discussion
Steam User 29
Every American needs to play this game RIGHT NOW. It's a fantastic history lesson in the rise of fascism, and it's a history lesson that every single American needs to relearn. It's actually heartbreaking, even though it's only text. Seeing the historical "stories" play out is actually horrifying.
Gameplay itself is a resource management game, and it works. Works pretty well, even if a bit simplistic. It's just a vehicle to the story, and the story is very well written. I know I haven't played much of it right now, but it's hard to play it and literally see the same things play out in current day America.
Steam User 15
Through the Darkest of Times is a harrowing and poignant strategy-adventure game developed by Paintbucket Games. Set in Nazi Germany, the game places you in the role of a resistance group leader trying to survive and fight back against Hitler’s regime between 1933 and 1945. Rather than relying on combat or action mechanics, the game uses turn-based strategy and narrative choices to reflect the moral weight and dangers of defiance in one of history’s darkest periods.
You manage a small cell of resistance fighters, each with their own traits, backgrounds, and skills. Your weekly tasks include spreading anti-Nazi leaflets, gathering information, stealing supplies, or helping persecuted individuals escape. Missions involve balancing risk, morale, and resources, often forcing difficult decisions where failure can mean death or imprisonment for your team.
The game is divided into four chapters, each corresponding to a major phase of the Third Reich. As history advances, the stakes get higher and options narrower. You're not here to change the course of history—you’re trying to retain your humanity and make a difference where possible.
The hand-drawn, expressionist visual style complements the somber tone perfectly. Stark color palettes, minimal animations, and powerful facial expressions capture the fear, sorrow, and fleeting hope of the era. The soundtrack is subtle but haunting, reinforcing the game’s atmosphere without overwhelming the message.
This is where Through the Darkest of Times truly shines. It blends real historical events with fictional characters, often confronting you with uncomfortable choices. Do you risk your life to distribute flyers, or stay safe for the sake of your family? Do you steal from Nazi collaborators to fund the resistance? Many actions have unintended consequences, and success is often bittersweet.
The game doesn’t pull punches—it’s educational, emotionally weighty, and often grim. But that’s the point. It’s a reminder of what resistance meant under totalitarianism.
Through the Darkest of Times isn’t for everyone, but it’s an essential experience for those interested in history, resistance, and moral decision-making. It doesn’t glorify war or rebellion—it honors the quiet, often tragic bravery of ordinary people who chose to fight back, even when they knew they couldn’t win.
7/10
DISASTER | BAD | MEDIOCRE | OKAY | GOOD | GREAT |AMAZING| MASTERPIECE
Reviewed on: Win11 Home 64-bit, Intel i5-11600K, GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB TUF, 32GB DDR4-3600 RAM, 2 x Kingston NV1 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD, Internet Broadband 1000/1000 Mbit
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Steam User 6
The gameplay is mostly about matching the right people to the right tasks and taking chances on whether they’ll succeed. It’s decent, but nothing special. What really stands out is how the game teaches you about the Nazis. It handles the topic in a powerful and thoughtful way, and that alone makes it worth trying. Just wait for a sale.
Steam User 4
The storyline is a very well-researched history lesson in the rise of fascism (Nazism) in post WW1 Germany. The game itself is immersive and gripping but feels like it suffers from balance issues and possibly some bugs. It doesn't seem like any action you take in the game substantively changes the narrative (because it really is a history lesson)... any victory scored is ultimately a minor one. I would almost call it more of an interactive linear story.
The game has good bones and I hope they keep tweaking it. I'll recommend it in it's current state based on its strengths, but it leaves me wishing for a bit more.
Steam User 3
It's hard to explain how this game is actually comforting to me. Like This War of Mine, it asks you to make trade-offs constantly: what you need vs what you want vs risk. And just like that game, there never seem to be quite enough of anything to get things done. But while This War of Mine - which is great, truly - made me feel the despair of that situation, this game somehow makes me hopeful? Maybe it's just the thought that people can and have survived times like these, that people have always organized against tyranny, that even if you can't do it all you can do *something.*
I think also though, it is a game designed to make you feel hope. For me, at least, it succeeds.
Steam User 5
The storytelling of Through The Darkest of Times is it's strongest asset. It makes the war feel fresh and real and dangerous in a way history books and TV shows never have for me, and it wraps this in an engaging resource management framework. Perhaps most importantly, in a game where we can't change the outcome of the story or the major events that unfold, it asks us "what is the reason for playing if we can't ever 'win'?"; and it gives us an answer in the stories of those who fought for what they believed in during the war.
Although the strategic gameplay lacks enough depth to stay fresh for the duration of it's narrative, TTDoT still offers an engaging and emotional experience for those who play it.
Steam User 2
Really good and gripping narrative. The strategy aspects are very repetitive but do not detract from the overall great experience.