Attentat 1942 is not your typical Second World War videogame. It's a "historically accurate adventure" about the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakian territory in 1942, told from the perspective of the survivors. "The game is built on personal memories, interactive comics, and authentic footage," the Steam Greenlight page says. "You will speak to eyewitnesses, live their memories, and discover the untold story of your family."
That story begins when you learn of your grandfather's arrest shortly after the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, a high-ranking Nazi, leading architect of the Holocaust, and Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia, who was killed in 1942. It's a piece of family history that you know nothing about: Was your grandfather involved in the plot? Why didn't he tell his family? And why has he kept it a secret all these years?
"You will hear disturbing stories full of sadness, talk to people who defend their decisions that endangered lives of many, and live through people’s actual memories as you experience flashbacks of real events," lead designer Vít Šisler said.
Attentat 1942 promises dialog-based adventure elements, mini-games, and interactive comics, supported by "cinematic interviews" researched and written by professional historians, as well as archival footage from the war. It's actually a "significantly enhanced" version of the Československo 38-89: Atentát project developed by Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences, which won multiple awards following its release in 2015 including Czech Game of the Year, the Games Learning Society Showcase Award, and the European Conference on Game Based Learning Award.
The developers said on Steam that Attentat 1942 was "not an easy translation project" (German and Russian subtitles will be available) because of its historical accuracy, and I have to think that would apply to the game as a whole: Heydrich's killing led to brutal reprisals, including massacres of civilians and the annihilation of multiple villages.
Attentat 1942 is expected to be ready for release in the third quarter of this year. The video below provides a closer look at how it will actually play, and you can find out more at attentat1942.com.
