The Ratline puts you in the shoes of a Nazi hunting sleuth

The Ratline opens, as most good mysteries do, with a dead body. It’s 1971, and a Catholic priest has been murdered in the city of Budapest. Someone has scrawled two words above his corpse: the Ratline. The priest’s murderer pinned a stack of papers to his chest with a knife. This devout man has been hiding a terrible secret: he’s been smuggling Nazis away from investigation and prosecution. 

Now, I’m playing as Saul Perlman, an American sleuth who’s been hired to track these Nazis down. I sift through clues, look up documents, and uncover their new identities. It’s easier said than done, especially since I’m limited to the tools of the time: a rolodex filled with numbers and a phone with which to call them, a library archive database to look through, and a corkboard covered in key documents.

That’s a great premise, and developer Owlskip Games follows through with a very satisfying puzzle experience. Saul is limited to working from his desk, working from the rainy city with a dog napping nearby. (Pro tip: if you check the settings, there’s a “dog” volume meter, and if you crank it, you can hear soft dog snoring while you work.) There’s soft jazz music playing while I look at old photographs, read letters from family members, or call a police station about a cold case. My mission is noble and the vibes are immaculate.