Although there have been a huge number of video games set during the Second World War, the scope of these games has often been quite limited. All too often things slip into the pulp action of shooters like Call of Duty or recentMedal of Honor, or give the player the chance to be a strategic mastermind in tactics titles like Hearts of Iron, meaning that the personal stories of the war are often lost. This is not the case with Gerda: A Flame In Winter, from developer PortaPlay and publisher DONTNOD.
Gerda: A Flame In Winteris set towards the end of World War 2 in Tinglev, a small town in Denmark close to the German border. Gerda, our titular character, is a half-Danish, half-German nurse in the town who has seen first-hand the impact of the Nazi occupation, and must make choices of who to support as resistance activities begin to grow in strength. The player must choose how Gerda acts in these times, who to support, and whether protecting her loved ones is more important than enacting change.
Related: Citizen Sleeper Review: A Soulful Sci-Fi RPG
One of the most impressive things about the preview build of Gerda: A Flame In Winter is the way that it ties into the history of Denmark during World War 2. Tislev was once part of the German Empire, and this historical proximity between Denmark and Germany is seen in its characters as German-Danish families intertwine — Hjalmar Schacht was born in Tislev, for instance. It's a complicated game for a complicated situation, and Gerda: A Flame In Winter makes Danes, Germans, Resistance, and Occupation Forces different factions within its game systems.
Of course this comes with its own potential pitfalls, and Gerda: A Flame In Winter is careful not to 'both sides' the Nazi occupation.
Read more on screenrant.com