The Berlin Apartment Review | History, Secrets, and Solyanka Soup

I’ve always loved games that tell stories from history. They solidify how video games can not only be fun but educational. The Berlin Apartment from developer btf follows the stories of inhabitants who lived in the same apartment in Berlin over the course of a century. Told episodically, the game has an interesting way of storytelling, switching between each character during one of their days living at the apartment. And while I found the game interesting at first, I had quite a few issues as I progressed through. 

The main story that hooks all of them together, takes place in 2020. You play as a young girl named Dilara who is helping her father renovate the apartment so that a new tenant can move in. Along the way she finds hidden secrets left behind by the previous tenants and insists that her father tell her stories about who each person was. 

The first story takes place in 1989 just before the demolition of the Berlin wall which had been built to split East Germany and West Germany. You play as Kolja, a botanist living in East Germany in Berlin, sending messages across the wall to a neighbor. In 1933, you play as Joseph, an older gentleman attempting to say goodbye to the apartment before fleeing the country. In 1945 you play as a young girl Matilda, decorating the dilapidated apartment for Christmas with her family and finally, in 1967 you play as a writer named Toni who attempts to write a futurist novel while constantly being berated by her editor with absurd changes and suggestions to the story. 

You’ll play through most of The Berlin Apartment without having to do too much in terms of gameplay. You’re there mostly to experience the story with gameplay simply being a way to progress the story. As Kolja, you’ll throw paper airplanes across the Berlin wall to communicate with your neighbor, in 1945, you’ll gather objects from around the house in order to decorate for Christmas. While during some of the games, I found the story to be enough, other times it simply wasn’t engaging enough to hold my attention. 

One example of what I mean by this, is the amount that you’re simply standing around while the characters are speaking. Normally, you might be able to wander the room, interact with objects, etc. in The Berlin Apartment, especially in the first story with Kolja, I often found myself glued to the spot for a LONG time, unable to do anything but look ahead or move a letter in my hands. It makes for these awkward moments where I was unsure if the game was frozen or glitched. And this persists through each of the game’s stories where it would have benefitted from at least allowing the player to move around while waiting for the next bit of progression. 

Additionally, the game isn’t without its minor technical issues, some of which caused me to have to reload at the start of a checkpoint. There were also many moments when voice lines would overlap with one another. For example, if the character was narrating their thoughts and then I interacted with an object, they would begin their line about the object at the same time. Sometimes, the character would cut themselves off during these moments and cause strange cuts in the middle of sentences. 

The only other thing that bothered me during my playthrough was Toni’s story. It felt a bit disjointed compared to the other three inhabitants' story. By the time I finished her section, I was thoroughly confused by her inclusion in the game. Toni, while living in the apartment working on her book, imagines herself inside of her own story which takes place on a spaceship. Players wander around the ship while receiving calls from her editor making absurd suggestions for her book. While as a standalone story, I connected with Toni’s plight, overall it didn’t feel as strong as the other three. 

The Berlin Apartment is a game that does well to tackle five different years in the life of this single apartment in Berlin. It made me think about the people those that might have lived my past apartments before me. And, it made me interested to learn more about Berlin’s history and some of what was discussed in the game. In terms of gameplay, it’s rough around the edges, with some awkward moments and game-breaking glitches, but it wasn’t enough to keep from finishing the game. If you’re looking for a game with a lot of heart, The Berlin Apartment has clearly had a lot of time and passion put into it.

Breakdown

Game Name: The Berlin Apartment

Developer: btf

Publisher: btf, ByteRockers’ Games, PARCO Games

Availability: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

Game Length: 3-5 hours

Reviewed on PC

Final Thoughts

The Berlin Apartment tells of an important, albeit very dark time in our world’s history. The team at btf have created only a quick glimpse at a century worth of time gone by in a single apartment. Despite its shortcomings in terms of gameplay and controls they should be applauded for gracefully and respectfully tackling a subject that others might have been afraid to take on.