A brand-new video game seeks to recreate the horrors millions of Jews experienced during the Holocaust.
“The Light in the Darkness” seems to be the first video game to date to make an effort to depict the Holocaust accurately.
Players can take on the roles of members of a Jewish family who were uprooted from their home during the Holocaust.
“Video games can depict profound, important, and universal stories of tragedy and victory that are more realistic and gut-wrenchingly impactful,” reads a description of the game online.
We aim to share the experiences of individuals who went through one of the worst crimes in human history with each new generation.
The lack of Holocaust references in many video games with World War II themes infuriated game maker Luc Bernard.
The Los Angeles-based developer told AFP that saying it doesn’t exist is similar to saying it never existed.
To preserve the legacy of the Holocaust, Bernard stated that his goal is to pique the interest of other developers.
Based on actual events, the game allows players to follow a Jewish family as they experience life under the Vichy dictatorship in post-World War II France before they are detained in 1942 during a large-scale roundup in Paris and taken to the Pithiviers detention camp.
From there, thousands of Jews were HY”D transferred to concentration camps like Auschwitz.
The Holocaust has a special meaning for Bernard because of his family history. He grew up hearing stories about his grandmother, who lived in the UK, caring for Jewish refugees saved from Nazi Germany as part of the “Kindertransport” rescue effort just before World War II began.
His passion only increased after learning about his family’s history as a teenager.
Bernard said it caused many things to change when that was out.
And I began to conduct my investigation into the Holocaust as a result.
And the information I discovered on my own was far worse than what we were taught in class.
They showed us Schindler’s List, which affected us, but that was about it.”
Bernard said, “I was watching all these World War II games, but they always forgot to include or talk about the Holocaust, practically like that period in history didn’t occur.” This was after he began working as a video game director.
In the past, individuals have worried that these games might trivialize, oversimplify, or make people less sensitive to the Holocaust.
The Holocaust museums in Los Angeles and Washington’s archives were consulted as part of Bernard’s research for the game.
He also spoke with Holocaust survivors and intended to include some of their accounts in a game update.
“The Light in the Darkness” is not only freely accessible through Epic Games, but it is also on display at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle.
The game is already out for PCs; console versions will follow soon.
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