Introduction to The Berlin Apartment
The Berlin Apartment, a novel video game, is set in 2020 in the German capital, which was in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Developed by Berlin-based indie video game studio Blue Backpack, the game begins with second-grader Dilara accompanying her father Malik to work because schools are closed. Malik has been commissioned to renovate an apartment in an old building in Berlin.
Discovering the Past
As they begin to remove wallpaper and tiles, they discover traces of the former residents. Players can take on the unique perspective of these diverse Berlin residents as they embark on a four-hour journey through over a century of German history. The game involves exploring the apartment and uncovering clues that gradually come together to form a more comprehensive first-person perspective.
Exploring Germany’s Dark Past
The key historical events covered in the game include the persecution and murder of Jews in Nazi Germany, the struggle for survival in post-war Germany, and state oppression in the former GDR. In all these eras, the atmosphere is gloomy. One of the episodes takes place in the winter of 1945 and is about Mathilda, an apartment resident who misses her father. He was a decorated German soldier who did not return from World War II.
Fictional Stories, Factual History
The residents’ stories are fictional, designed to be entertaining but always taking place against a historical backdrop. The game tries to convey the story in a way that doesn’t require too much knowledge. As players meticulously search the apartment, they uncover clues that gradually come together to form a more comprehensive first-person perspective. Users learn to appreciate the privilege of living in peace and freedom.
Ordinary People Instead of Heroes
The game’s stories are not about heroes; the characters are just trying to get by. Many question the system, like the GDR author who wrote a space novel with a strong protagonist. Due to the regime’s censorship, she has to rewrite the text again and again. The game deliberately avoids judgments about who is good or bad – or who supports the regime. It’s about experiencing life under different political systems and often dealing with restrictions on personal freedom.
A Rapidly Changing Cityscape
The game’s art director was inspired to create The Berlin Apartment while standing at the window of his old Berlin apartment and wondering how many people had stood in the exact same spot before. The game involves a view from a window of a street intersection that changes significantly over the decades. In 1933, trams flew under swastika flags. But in the post-war years, it was a so-called death strip that separated East and West Berlin from walls and fences.
Gameplay and Release
The game belongs to the genre once derogatorily referred to as “walking simulator,” in which players simply find and collect items to develop a narrative. They can easily put themselves in the shoes of the residents and ask: What would I have done? Which side would I have been on? Would I have submitted to the political system or would I have rebelled – and risked the loss of my livelihood or even death? The Berlin Apartment was released on all platforms in November 2025 and is available in German and English with subtitles in numerous languages.
