The Berlin Apartment, by btf and Byterockers’ Games(Beat Slayer), is an absolutely delightful narrative-driven tale about a father and daughter who renovate an apartment with some truly wholesome storytelling about the human condition. Yes, a little bit deep and corny to begin with, but a very touching tale.
As always, I tend not to get too bogged down with press material or be swayed by hyperbole, so my anticipation of the game would be a first-person point and click – a little pedestrian, but perhaps mildly feel good with a fair amount of puzzles. It was wonderful just how much better it is than that.
We begin with Malik and his daughter, Dilara. As the title would indicate, The Berlin Apartment is located in modern-day Germany, and Malik has been tasked with renovating the living space into something suited to a clientele with a disposable income. As a one-man show, Malik will ask Dilara for help along the way, and there are some interactive aspects to feel part of the space, but the real draw is the flashbacks.
The first tale begins when Dilara rips off some wallpaper to reveal a letter dating back to the late 80s. We then go back in time to an unexpected relationship between two parties that begins with a paper aeroplane. The apartment we’re in is in East Germany, and looking across the street past the wall is West Germany, where the object of our affection resides.
For a game limited to one space, quite similar to As Long As You’re Here, the various chapters include some bespoke experiences – again, the heartwarming storytelling is the standout, but it’s also the minigames, too, such as folding various planes and then directing across the street to avoid an increasing environment of wind and rain. The Berlin Apartment isn’t challenging, but the pace at which it moves and their respective tales are wonderful.
For each episode, we look at new inhabitants over the century, each with a story to tell that is often influenced by the time it takes place, and limiting the experience to the apartment without being overly restrictive. Every minigame fits in well with the stories and gives it a very bespoke story, all the while having similar themes. Remember, this is Berlin, and the apartment is just as much of a character as those who live in it.
Wholesome titles get thrown around a lot, usually shrouded in pastel palettes and sleepy, low-demand interactions. While this applies here as well, with some really lovely visuals and soundtracks (choosing my own music for date night early one was brilliant), all the interactive elements feel incredibly natural and a mild extension of my investment in the stories. And, as you might expect, after tapping into the threads of strangers throughout the years, we soon come full circle to Malik and Dilara.
Whether or not you’ve heard about The Berlin Apartment or not, I encourage you to seek this out if you are also narrative-driven and want a series of tales that you can truly invest in for whatever manner of time you spend on them. Granted, the experience is a linear one, but there’s something timeless about the way everything is interconnected, and this might quite one of the highlights for 2025.
