Svoboda is a village in the Czech-German borderlands many Sudeten Germans used to live there from generations owning the Czech nazionality. Developers at Charles Games are very good at focusing on “thorny” ethical and moral dilemmas! This time they focus on the dramatic expulsion of Germans from Czech. As in Attentat 1942, micro story and macro history masterfully intersect each other creating an engaging narrative experience. Just as in Attentat 1942, you are personally involved, because it seems that your grandfather was in Svoboda when German people were expelled out of Czech, so you have to investigate about his past. It’s up to you to decide at the end of the investigation. Other villagers believe that it is instead a site of national historical interest and should be preserved. Actually a local entrepreneur would like to turn it into a farm. It was the set of some meaningful and dramatic historical events at the end of WWII. In short, you work for the heritage institute and are commissioned to survey the school institute in Svoboda. Materials are meticulously organized and edited, such to underline the didactic nature of the project. As you proceed through the story, you access documents, documentary films, newspaper articles, encyclopedic insights, etc. Svoboda 1945 is a human choral drama, focused on fears, feelings and behaviors of an entire population facing the drama of the end of WWII, between the fall of Nazi dictatorship and the rise of Communist dictatorship. All in all, it’s a deep analysis of sociological interest. Contents goes well beyond Czech history local events and characters are just opportunities to talk about universal contents related to WWII, Nazism and Communism. Aim of the title is to convey in an easy and interactive way important and dramatic pages of history to students or people interested in history. The eight actors are not professionals, but they do their job very well, respecting the narrative mood. Characters and stories are fictional, but they are based on archived testimonies and real historical events. Everyone should be interested in history, especially when you can learn it by playing! FMVs have the style of TV documentary fictions, don’t expect for something romanced and dramatic as Schindler’s List! They are filmed in Svoboda, a village on Czech-German borderlands. Svoboda 1945 is a game with clear educational intents, well suited for schools or people interested in history. It’s built with the Charles Engine based on Unity. In short it’s a mix of FMVs (full motion videos), multiple choice dialogues, interactive comics, mini games and digital documents about real historical facts. The format is essentially the same and it works fine for educational purposes and for stimulating deep reflections about History and Life. If you played Attentat 1942, you know what to expect from Svoboda 1945. The free key did not affect this review in any way! And now I’m writing this review because the game is inspiring. I feel in tune with them! I took it easy and played Svoboda 1945 during a long travel. I’m so honored! I think that developers at Charles Games create games for contributing to a better world games that make you think, games that teach you something about History and Life. They liked my review so much, I was very happy! Evidently even after so many years they remembered me and my little blog and sent me the key of Svoboda 1945 on day one. Luckily someone understands me and sustains my “no profit” project! I remember a brief exchange of emails several years ago, when I asked for and got the key of Attentat 1942 (same developers). What a lovely surprise! It was on my wish list but I didn’t dare to ask for the key! They sent it to me asking nothing in return! Thank you guys for the wonderful present! That’s when you think that despite everything, there are many good people in the world and it is worthwhile to write under the illusion of contributing to a better world without reaping economic profits. One day I wake up and see that developers at Charles Games have submitted spontaneoulsy their latest game to my curator page on Steam.
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