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The Darkest Files
Germany, 1956. The war is over, but justice is not served. Former Nazis walk free, while their victims lie in unmarked graves. As a prosecutor, you'll unearth long-buried evidence, confront witnesses and hunt down perpetrators. Will you have the courage to bring these "ordinary men" to court?
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-09-02 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-15.
What reviewers agree on
58 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“This game is a little gem. As a World War II historian I can say this game is really realistic. It's not about spectacular cases, but about real life examples of what really happened in Germany during the war. The…”
“I love how this is different from typical detective games where you simply point out contradictory to proceed the story. In this game, you're a prosecutor, and the only task is to present the case in the court. You get…”
“As someone in the US right now, this unfortunately feels more relevant than when I originally kickstarted this game. The stylization gives it a "noir" feeling without being too dark to see. The gameplay can be somewhat…”
50 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“This game is a little gem. As a World War II historian I can say this game is really realistic. It's not about spectacular cases, but about real life examples of what really happened in Germany during the war. The…”
“The Darkest Files is a narrative-driven investigative game that stands out not by spectacle or mechanical complexity, but by the weight of its subject matter and the care with which it presents it. Developed and…”
“As someone in the US right now, this unfortunately feels more relevant than when I originally kickstarted this game. The stylization gives it a "noir" feeling without being too dark to see. The gameplay can be somewhat…”
21 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“As someone in the US right now, this unfortunately feels more relevant than when I originally kickstarted this game. The stylization gives it a "noir" feeling without being too dark to see. The gameplay can be somewhat…”
“Beautiful game and interesting cases. Unfortunately I can't recommend it. The Game is riddled with UI and even game-breaking bugs, requiring me several times to load older saves. Evidence can be extremely circumstancial…”
“My recommending this game comes with one caveat: I would not pay full price for it as it currently stands. The game has beautiful art, and the story it tells is very sincerely a masterpiece. I cannot criticize any part…”
14 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“As someone in the US right now, this unfortunately feels more relevant than when I originally kickstarted this game. The stylization gives it a "noir" feeling without being too dark to see. The gameplay can be somewhat…”
“It so interesting how little we learn about the consequences of WWII for those who were guilty. It's a scary thought that so many of them were pardoned and continue to serve in high ranking institutions. But it…”
“Excellent Game, just wish it was longer. There were only a couple cases, but the story, the art, the gameplay, all excellent, top tier. I played on the hardest difficulty and I honestly recommend it, since the game is…”
7 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“Love this game The game asking you to retract the steps of crime during war. There are so many contradiction in each testimony, and you are the one to choose who you would believe. What I Love 1. The crime scene steps…”
“An interesting game. Love the noir flaie with the jazzy music vibes. The gameplay was simple, but that is all it needed to be for a lawyer game. We don't fight crime physically, but uncover the attrocities of the…”
“The Darkest Files is more of a short game with only two cases to solve. This took me about 7.5 hours, not taking into aspect the progress from the demo. The cases (real cases btw) are very well told to you, but still…”
34 of the 102 reviews raise this · 33 of them still recommend the game.
“Beautiful game and interesting cases. Unfortunately I can't recommend it. The Game is riddled with UI and even game-breaking bugs, requiring me several times to load older saves. Evidence can be extremely circumstancial…”
“Foremost, this game is short, has some odd UI, and depending on the difficulty setting, may be soft locked into bungling your first case if you leave the option for compulsory conclusions on in settings. Despite these,…”
“My recommending this game comes with one caveat: I would not pay full price for it as it currently stands. The game has beautiful art, and the story it tells is very sincerely a masterpiece. I cannot criticize any part…”
14 of the 102 reviews raise this · 11 of them still recommend the game.
“I love how this is different from typical detective games where you simply point out contradictory to proceed the story. In this game, you're a prosecutor, and the only task is to present the case in the court. You get…”
“Beautiful game and interesting cases. Unfortunately I can't recommend it. The Game is riddled with UI and even game-breaking bugs, requiring me several times to load older saves. Evidence can be extremely circumstancial…”
“This is a great game, no doubt about it. However, requiring the player to guess the 3 exact documents to form a Conclusion in court is a weird design choice. Even when you present 2 correct documents plus 1 that is very…”
6 of the 102 reviews raise this · 4 of them still recommend the game.
“I love how this is different from typical detective games where you simply point out contradictory to proceed the story. In this game, you're a prosecutor, and the only task is to present the case in the court. You get…”
“Beautiful game and interesting cases. Unfortunately I can't recommend it. The Game is riddled with UI and even game-breaking bugs, requiring me several times to load older saves. Evidence can be extremely circumstancial…”
“Foremost, this game is short, has some odd UI, and depending on the difficulty setting, may be soft locked into bungling your first case if you leave the option for compulsory conclusions on in settings. Despite these,…”
5 of the 102 reviews raise this · 3 of them still recommend the game.
“Promises, underdelivers. Falls short. Compared to the overall pacing of the stories and game, ending was so rushed felt like a joke. 5/10 - Had it's moments. Does not deserve the full price.”
“I would not reccomend this game at this price. Maybe for like 9.99 but not 19.99. The game is full of constant bugs that almost make the game unplayable at certain points. The first story was great, the second story was…”
“This was a great game: the cases were very interesting and challenging while not being too difficult, topic is important and moving while not being too on the nose... I loved playing this. However I do regret that it's…”
4 of the 102 reviews raise this · 2 of them still recommend the game.
“Promises, underdelivers. Falls short. Compared to the overall pacing of the stories and game, ending was so rushed felt like a joke. 5/10 - Had it's moments. Does not deserve the full price.”
“My recommending this game comes with one caveat: I would not pay full price for it as it currently stands. The game has beautiful art, and the story it tells is very sincerely a masterpiece. I cannot criticize any part…”
“I would not reccomend this game at this price. Maybe for like 9.99 but not 19.99. The game is full of constant bugs that almost make the game unplayable at certain points. The first story was great, the second story was…”
Counted across 102 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 96.1% positive rating · as of 2026-05-15
“This is a very good—and even more so, a unique and important—game. It sheds light on a specific historical period that hasn’t really been explored in gaming so far: the years shortly after WWII in Germany. In the game, you play as young prosecutor Esther Katz, who works for…”
— a player, Steam review · 10 hrs played“What a lovely game. Strangely, it reminds me of Pentiment, in that they both fit into a burgeoning genre that I'd call “_The Oregon Trail_ for grown-ups.” The fact that you're actually playing a game helps to give you a depth of understanding of historical events that you…”
— a player, Steam review · 10 hrs played“TDF has a lot going for it: a righteous story, incredible writing, a really interesting art style, a great UI that only sometimes breaks down. I played on the highest difficulty and I was sweating bullets though my cases. Really well done spread of evidence and testimony, so…”
— a player, Steam review · 7 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-07 via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-09-26.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-08-12. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-09-25). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
New DLC "The Battalion" Announced!
The Battalion - the brand-new DLC for The Darkest Files and our biggest and darkest case yet. WISHLIST NOW! 🎮 NEW gameplay mechanics 🕵️♀️ MORE Interactions with the Bauer-Team 🗺️ NEW places to explor
Steam Summer Sale is here!
Hi everyone, We're joining the Steam Summer Sale once again this year! After this sale, we're gearing up to announce some big news 🕵️♀️ We can't share any details just yet, but we're already excited
We've won THE German Video Game Award!
Hi folks, We still can't believe it, but The Darkest Files really won THE German Video Game Award (DCP) in the categories Best Serious Game and Best German Game! 🥳 We are incredibly grateful to you fo
We're nominated for THE German Video Game Award!
We have some incredible news to announce! The Darkest Files has been nominated for THE German Video Game Award (DCP) in no less than five categories! 🥳 ⚖️ Best Serious Game 🎲 Best Game Design 🎨 Best G
Watch the devs play The Darkest Files!
Dear fellow investigators🕵️♀️ Something curious is happening on Steam… From March 11–18 , we’re part of the Curious Odyssey Steam Event! With 30% off on The Darkest Files. All the best, The Paintbuck
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-15.
| Genres | Adventure, Indie, Simulation |
| Player tags | Adventure · Historical · Detective · Female Protagonist · Puzzle · Simulation · Atmospheric · Political Sim · Immersive Sim · First-Person · Investigation · 3D (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Achievements · Full controller support · Steam Trading Cards · Captions available · Adjustable Text Size · Camera Comfort · Custom Volume Controls |
| Languages | English * , German, French * |
| Controller | Full support |
| Achievements | 46 |
| Official site | https://paintbucket.de/en |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: OS: Windows 10 Processor: x64 Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: Dedicated graphics card - Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 or equivalent (Onboard/integrated graphics not supported) DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 5 GB available space