Review: Pentiment
Pentiment’s story and unique gameplay moments expertly mix the mundane with stretches of riveting conversations and impactful decisions. It all comes together to create a world that feels malleable, realistic, and lived in.
What is Pentiment?
Genre: Detective RPG
Release: 2022
As a 16th century artist, Andreas, is caught in the middle of rising drama between a Bavarian town and it's neighboring Abbey. When a series of murders takes place, Andreas is thrust into a detective role to help restore peace to the region.
Choose Your Own Murderer
Initially, I was desperately trying to solve the case "properly" only to learn that Pentiment is less about finding the culprit and more about finding enough evidence to convict the person you want to be the culprit. This distinction creates a world full of characters permanently altered by your influence.
Manage Your Time Wisely
Various times throughout Pentiment you will be constrained by time. Do you want to go hunting with a key suspect? Or would your time better be spent eavesdropping on the afternoon confessions? I constantly had things I wanted to do and rarely could do it all.
Making The Rounds
There's a lot of reading in Pentiment as there are numerous characters to learn about and interact with. Some conversations are dull while others are dripping with intrigue. You never know when you're about to hear a case-altering morsel of gossip, or a more subtle clue that may nudge you somewhere new.
An Imperfect Journal
Rest assured, when you do something important your journal will be updated. This log of your quests does a good job of hitting the big points, but it's clunky to move through and won’t contain every bit of info you may want. At times, I took notes of my own to remind myself where I wanted to go at a particular time.
Review Score: 8.5 - Loved It
Completion: Beat Story
Played On: PC
Playtime: 23 Hours
Price Paid: $15
More Screenshots (Mild Spoilers)…
