The Berlin Apartment

There is a lot to unpack with that one, and it's a really, really good one! Just for a bit a context, I am currently living in Berlin (and have been for a few years now) and I always had family there, so I've known this city and its history for a long time (+ I did study German history in college). First of all, this game was 100% made by people who live in Berlin. It's so accurate: the architecture, the furniture, the layout of the rooms, the shapes of the windows, the landmarks, even the accent of the voice actors ('cause of course, I played the game in German). It's an amazing portrayal of the Berlin I know and the one I've studied. It reached a point where I truly wondered if I didn't know the street the game took place in. I loved seeing this lovely city be a central part of this game! Congrats on the accuracy, y’all! As far as the historical elements are concerned, it's pretty much flawless. Each era is very accurately depicted, and the game goes into very "niche" details that I believe many missed. (I would have 100% missed them if I hadn't spent years in college studying German history). The constant censorship of the book -alongside the comments Brüno- was very real (and very close to what the game shows). The way the neighbors treat the old man in 1933 truly happened for almost every Jewish households in Germany. The fact that a nazi family took the flat afterwards (something that truly happened, it was called "Entjudung" which aimed at stealing very possessions that Jewish families had) is a very subtle but smart to show the horrors committed by the nazis during WW2. But more than these accurate historical facts, I truly liked how nuanced the game is. It has a clear anti-nazi stand but does not need to be too explicit for us to understand it. Via exploration, a few dialogue lines and deduction, we understand why this 1945 family is the way it is, and why they occupy this flat. We also clearly understand what happened to the photographer, why he had to leave everything behind and why his theater was burned down. It’s soft, it’s subtle and yet very accurate. The same can be applied for the way the GDR is portrayed. The game does not dive into Ostalgie, but doesn’t show the GDR as the evil country that West-Germany needed to free either (propaganda which to this day is still very present, especially in West-Germany). We can assume that the 1989 roommate fled the GDR (which could explain the map on the wall and the defaced poster of Ulbricht) and based on the comments made by the goldfish, our protagonist is not a fan of the GDR. And yet, he’s not overly critical of it, and does not spit the lies that the anti-communist propaganda from the West used to claim. Same for the censorship, it is shown more like a challenge or an inconvenience than an actual threat to the artistic creation. Now don’t get me wrong, the GDR was far from perfect: no real free election, mass surveillance (just like we have today with the GAFAM -don’t forget that-), political police, censorship, no freedom of movement nor press. However, let us not forget that the social systems were very efficient: the schooling system was one of the best in the world, everyone has access FOR FREE to a decent place to live, school, food and medical care. And most importantly, everyone belonged to the society, no one was left behind (something that was quickly lost after the wall came down). And I believe that the 1989 chapter shows just that: how life in East-Germany was really like. Comfortable but with little liberty. And let’s forget that all of this is told from the point of view of father and child renovating a flat which has seen oh so many things. It’s moving, and it’s a very interesting way to tell this story. It oscillates between whether or not these events were “real” (I mean, they are all fictive stories, but you get my point), but because of the accuracy and the details, we believe them because of how grounded they feel. Anyways, I highly recommend this game, especially if you live in Berlin! I made me appreciate this city even more and it’s always great to play anti-fascist games! FCK NZS and rebuild communism y’all!

I'm 50/50 on this game. The atmosphere and story telling are very cool but the way you interact with the world is very slow and tedious. Might have needed a bit more tweaking to smooth out moment and the little mini games. I would NOT pay full price, wait for a good sale.