The Darkest Files

Long-story short: Good lord this game is VERY procedural, I'm not even sure if I had fun(?) Like, I did the thing, I solved the case, but did I enjoy myself? Ehhhhhhhhh? I wish Steam had a middling review option, as many others have. Maybe it's the subject matter at hand, that's very possible, but it turns out taking witness testimony from three different Nazis and trying to sus out who is lying and who is telling the truth is in fact less enjoyable than doing the same with three Ace Attorney NPCs. The interrogation portions themselves are moderately interesting but the investigation portions within those interrogations are mind-numbingly boring. You build up the same thought palace of an underground prison, get everyone's perspectives on what happened, but also walk around and click on random ♥♥♥♥ to get one-off lines or potentially open up new lines of questioning. The problem is the interactive items themselves are VERY poorly pointed out to the player. Some are obvious, but others required I spend literally 10 minutes walking back and forth trying to find the right thing to interact with. Even with the setting that makes it so they flash interactables, this was still the case. Then you're parsing through legal documents, testimonies, old Nazi letters, etc. trying to sus out specific one-liners that could contradict or reinforce a point. It's almost like The Roottrees Are Dead or The Incident at Galley House just without any of the charm, tension, or intrigue. I think I'd only recommend this if you're in the mood for a very serious procedural legal game, and even then, I'm not sure it felt like much of a fun experience.