Turns Out 'Find the Ex-Nazi' Is the Detective Game We Never Knew We Needed – The Ratline Demo Breakdown
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
I've been tinkering with *The Ratline*'s Steam Next Fest demo, a truly unique detective game that tasks you with unmasking former Nazi fugitives in the 1970s, and it's a bloody brilliant brain-teaser for analytical minds.
Right then, mate, gather 'round, because I've been tinkering with a Steam Next Fest demo that's wilder than a rogue spell in a wizard's apprentice class. You know that feeling when you're expecting another pixel-art platformer or a grimdark rogue-lite, and then the universe just… *shifts*? That’s what happened when I dove into Owlskip Games' *The Ratline*.
Imagine this: it's the 1970s, bell bottoms are in, disco's on the horizon, and you get a peculiar knock on the door – or rather, a note shoved under it. Not a pizza menu, mind you, but a cryptic plea from some anonymous source. A priest's been bumped off, and turns out, he was running a secret side-hustle helping ex-Nazis escape Germany after the war. Your new job? Track 'em down. Find out who they are, where they're hiding, and what new identities they've conjured up for themselves. Fair dinkum, right? This isn't your usual 'find the bloody knife and question the butler' sort of caper. This is 'Nazi fugitive Guess Who,' and honestly, my beleaguered Monday brain ate it up.
Now, plenty of detective games out there crank the drama up to eleven, throwing bodies and red herrings at you like a chaotic magic show. You're usually sifting through gore, dusting for prints, maybe even deciphering ancient runes to find a motive. But *The Ratline*? Nah, mate. It’s got its sights set on something far more insidious, and frankly, quite brilliant. Each case unfurls a series of names – former high-ranking baddies – and your mission, should you choose to accept it (and you should), is to peel back the layers of their new lives. Are they now a quiet dentist in Canada? A baker running a small café in London? Or perhaps the bloke with the distinctly dodgy hairline in that faded wedding photo? It's all about identity, location, and visual cues. And I reckon if you’re the sort who spent hours meticulously piecing together the fates of the crew on the *Obra Dinn*, then you’re going to absolutely revel in this.
And no, I'm not just saying that because Lucas Pope himself gets a nod in the game's Steam description. Though, let's be honest, it does make me wonder if there's a secret society of puzzle game designers who meet in a dimly lit backroom, playing advanced Cluedo variants and giggling maniacally. If so, I want in.
What struck me almost immediately about *The Ratline* is its distinctly grounded tone. While it serves up the smooth jazz tunes and the perpetual gentle rain outside your window that seem mandatory for all self-respecting detective games – seriously, is there a global detective union that mandates this aesthetic? – it wisely steers clear of the usual over-the-top noir theatrics. And honestly? That's a clever move. Dealing with the aftermath of historical atrocities, the quiet horror of hidden identities, doesn't need exaggerated drama. The weight of the subject matter provides all the gravitas you need. It makes the methodical process of deduction feel less like a fantastical adventure and more like a quiet, crucial historical recovery project.
From a purely practical wizardry perspective, the act of sorting through notes, scanning photos, and cross-referencing information feels genuinely satisfying. There's a tactile pleasure in it, a bit like arranging your spell components just so before a complex incantation. The phone interface, in particular, is one of the smoothest I’ve seen in a game of this type – no faffing about, just a nicely chunky keypad popping up once you’ve tracked down the number in your rolodex. Efficient. Elegant. Exactly what you want when you’re trying to connect the dots. My only tiny quibble, and it really is a minor one, is that I wished I could stick more than eight pieces of evidence to my investigation board at once. When you're dealing with longer, more convoluted cases, you start to worry those few notes left in your inventory might be the crucial link you're missing, tucked away out of sight like a forgotten ingredient for a potent potion. But hey, it's a demo, right? Room for a little bit of magical iteration!
Even with that tiny niggle, the 40-minute demo snippet of *The Ratline* was an absolute blast, a delightful brain-teaser that left me genuinely excited for the full release. It's not often a game comes along with such a unique, morally complex premise and executes it with such understated elegance. It’s a testament to good design, where the mechanics serve the narrative rather than the other way around. If you're keen to channel your inner cold war detective and unpick some historical nasties, I reckon you’d be bonkers not to check out the demo and wishlist it on Steam right now. The full spell-casting arrives on March 17th, and frankly, I can't wait to delve deeper into this particular rabbit hole. Who knew hunting down old Nazis could be so... analytically satisfying? Bloody brilliant.
Tags: Detective Game, Indie Game, Puzzle Game, Steam Next Fest, Historical Thriller
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun