Battalion
A DLC for The Darkest Files
The Darkest Files returns – with its biggest case yet
Battalion is the new expansion for The Darkest Files and features the game’s darkest case yet, once again inspired by true events. Players piece together fragmented witness testimonies, reconstruct chains of command, and uncover how a large number of men became complicit in one of the most severe crimes of the Nazi regime.
The Game on Steam:
About the DLC
The DLC adds the biggest case in The Darkest Files to date and introduces new gameplay elements. The Hierarchy Board gives players an additional investigation tool alongside the existing Blueprint, helping them trace chains of command, responsibilities, and connections between suspects. New locations and additional office interactions with colleagues are also included.
The base game The Darkest Files is a historical investigation and courtroom game by Berlin-based indie studio Paintbucket Games, in which players take on the role of young prosecutor Esther Katz, uncovering unresolved Nazi-era crimes in 1950s West Germany - working alongside Fritz Bauer, who as Attorney General in Frankfurt investigated such cases in real life.
New Features
The Darkest Files is a narrative investigation game. In the DLC, players once again take on the active role of a prosecutor and make decisions that influence the outcome of the trial.
- Gameplay Mechanics: Trace relationships, responsibilities, and chains of command using the new Hierarchy Board.
- Interactions: Experience additional conversations and moments with the Bauer team.
- Locations: Explore new places and uncover more details of the story.
The outcome is not predetermined: Depending on the decisions players make, convictions are just as possible as acquittals. The game confronts players with the consequences of their investigative work.
Education & Use
The Battalion can be purchased in addition to “The Darkest Files” and adds a new case to the game. It explores power structures, conformity within a regime, and the mechanisms behind Nazi crimes. It shows how ordinary people could become perpetrators.
The Darkest Files is a fully-fledged, multi-award-winning and critically acclaimed commercial computer game that has already won over tens of thousands of players worldwide with its appealing graphics and captivating gameplay (Metacritic: 80%, ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ on Steam). At the same time, it tells an important story about the attempt to punish the crimes of the Holocaust through the rule of law.
It is these qualities that make it particularly well-suited for educational use.
Learning objectives
Players actively engage with key questions:
- Crime and responsibility: When is someone guilty? What does ‘following orders’ mean?
- Rule of law: How does legal accountability work? Why is it important?
- Culture of remembrance: Why is coming to terms with Nazi injustices still relevant today?
- Critical evaluation of sources: How do you assess contradictory statements? What can be proven?
The game promotes historical judgement, the ability to see things from different perspectives and moral reflection through active experience and decision-making.
Areas of application
- History (Secondary Levels I/II): The Nazi era, post-war Germany, coming to terms with the past
- Ethics / Religion: Questions of guilt, moral dilemmas, dealing with historical trauma
- German: Language analysis, narrative perspectives, rhetorical devices in interrogations
- Social Studies / Politics: Jurisprudence, democratic institutions, the rule of law
Target audience
Age rating: 12+. Recommended from Year 8/9 (pupils aged approx. 14 and over), suitable for individual and group work as well as for whole-class play sessions with group discussion.
Release Date
The Darkest Files - Battalion is currently in development. A release date will be announcement soon.