Pentiment

I love the style of the game, it is much longer than I was expecting which is nice. Highly recommend turning up the dialogue speed in options if you feel it is going too slowly

can't really put into words how deeply this game touched me and how much i related to the main character (that's a cry for help), but i can say that you should not go without experiencing this outstanding work of art.

Beautiful game with a beautiful story. The depth of history and writing is unmatched in most games today.

A game about people, the flow of time, God, and the relationships between the three; Pentiment is a beautiful game both in it's visual design and as a story to be told. It is not an experience everyone will enjoy, and someone who is disinterested by a game that some might describe as an interactive novel will likely not find this game holds their attention. In my opinion however, it stands tall among other contemporaries in it's genre like Disco Elysium as a testament to the fact that video-games can move us, shape our minds, and leave us changed for the better as much as any literary classic or renaissance painting. In short, it was a pleasure to play this game.

Pentiment is not what I expected. What it is is an engaging visual novel with lots of interesting choices to make, and some cool history to learn about. It's a bit slow at times. And I was occasionally frustrated by sections of the story which put me on rails, but overall a well-written story. The main focus of a lot of the hype was the font-system, which is a neat gimmick, but ultimately pretty inconsequential, and at times I forget it even existed until it exerted itself.

I admit that it was double interesting since I'm a relatively recent transplant into Bavaria, so a lot of the places and history the game goes into is still that I'm just starting to become familiar with in my adopted home.

Absolute art of storytelling. I did't read it word to word but the worldbuilding and design of this game are mesmerizing. This is some exquisite experience. If you're asking yourself if you should give it a try, the answer is YES

Great art, great story, and characters to fall in love with!

Excellently told story. I felt my choices really mattered, maybe even more than they actually did. They really make you feel and care about the characters.

Visual and textbased storytelling of high quality. Beautiful to look at, well written and good sound design. The games story is also designed in a way that kept me engaged for the 20+ hours it took to complete. Glad to have experienced this.

Great story, highly accurate depiction of life in the Holy Roman Empire at the time.

Formidable game. And as a typography, print and medieval history fanatic, it scratched just the right itch for me. I felt this game quite deeply, grew attached to all of the characters - no exception. Good writing, good type design, great art direction. This game makes you face the consequences of time, too. It makes you ask the right questions. Pentiment's extremely great.

This is not a game for everyone. It's has a slow pace and it's very narrative heavy. It took me a while to get into it but once I did, I was completely engrossed. The game looks beautiful and I just fell in love with the world and all of the characters. Overall, a fantastic experience.

Pentiment is amazing. but it's a big reading game. Understandably people that aren't in to reading, character drama and far less action packed games may not enjoy Pentiment. However for me, I have had rare experiences with books that have treated the history of the time, the hardships of its people and murder with such depth.

Pentiment Review (No Spoilers)

Just finished Pentiment after 22 hours, and it’s truly a bizarre yet fascinating experience. The game delivers a rich, layered story with well-developed characters who evolve over time. The art style, inspired by medieval manuscripts, is a joy to watch, and the '2.5D' animations between characters add charm to the experience. Some of the cut-scenes are spectacular, bringing the world to life in a unique way.
The choices you make feel genuinely meaningful, shaping the town and its people across decades. The mystery at the heart of the game is thought-provoking, and there are plenty of twists to keep you engaged.
That said, Pentiment isn’t for everyone. It’s more of an experience than a game, with a slow, deliberate pace. Much of the game-play involves walking around and talking to people, and the game only gives back as much as you invest into it. But, if the art style and historical setting appeal to you; it’s absolutely worth playing. I’m looking forward to a second play; to see how different choices affect the story.

The most thematically complex game I've ever played with one of the best endings for a game I've ever played. Fundamentally: a game about history and how history is told, or how it is not. An extremely profound story.

As a game, it does have significant flaws-- a lack of real challenge, a limit to the importance of your choices-- but it's hard not to trust the game until its destination.

Narratively, Pentiment will intentionally infuriate you from time to time, but by the end, it won't disappoint you.

More than anything, this is a living and breathing piece of fictional history.

This game is incredible. Thoughtful art style - I love how characters look different based on their background, age, etc. and the art is inspired by real styles. Beautifully researched (there's legit a bibliography in the credits). Empathetic & compelling storytelling. Starts out as a murder mystery in an abbey and becomes so much more. If you're a history nerd who loves the idea of a surprisingly cozy murder mystery that turns into a game about the way we shape the stories we tell about our past... this game is for you. One of my favs.

A new town built on the ruins of the old, a fresh wound atop a faint scar, an odd game informed by genre classics. It's palimpsest all the way down, and I loved spiraling down with it.

The murder mystery itself isn't terribly interesting, but for me it worked perfectly well as an excuse to traipse about a quaint medieval town and chat with the inhabitants. Really appreciated how sharing a simple lunch, miles away from the central plot, could end up being one of the most fraught and memorable parts of the game.

This is such a beautifully crafted game, a narrative masterpiece. A game has not filled a hole like this since Disco Elysium. Do not go in expecting Disco Elysium however, very different in many ways - just the depths it reaches I think parallel. If you are interested in European Medieval History and love character driven narratives like DE, then this game is a MUST play.

Taking place in Germany, 16th century during the Peasant's War. It is an overall solid story-driven game with lots of, well, stories to tell, and thousands of words of dialogue. Act 1 and 2 in particular were great, with lots of intriguing characters and an overall mystery that keeps you engaged. Act 3 however, at least in my opinion, felt a lot less interesting with some missed opportunities. As with most games like this though, its very subjective. Bought it on sale, it is also free on xbox pc gamepass I believe, so if you like dialogue-heavy games, the artstyle and/or its historical setting, i'd recommend this game.

"Pentiment" had an impact on me like very few other games have. It's deeply human and beautiful. The characters were obviously created with love and great care. I was completely immersed and invested. I laughed, I cried, I had an existential crisis or two. I also learned a ton about medieval history, all rendered in a glorious period-accurate style.

The "detective" label is accurate but a bit misleading. You do investigate and solve crimes, using mechanics that are standard to the genre. However, the solutions matter less than the lives of the people involved and the ethical/moral moral dilemmas you face. Once the investigations are concluded, the accusation portions are much more like Choose Your Own Adventure(TM) branches that influence the rest of the story, NOT definitive answers that provide full closure in and of themselves.

It's been 2 years since I last played this game, and I still think about it often.

actually fuck martin. might have to do a whole other playthrough spent solely on figuring out what the fuck his deal is

great game!

Amazing character-focused story told in a unique way. You really warm up to the townspeople by the end.

Solid narrative adventure game/RPG. Many of the choices you make early on affect later chapters, albeit IMO not in ways that necessitate multiple playthroughs unless you're a completionist. The art and writing is fantastic as well.

A great slow-burn mystery game and a showcase of the kind of storytelling only video games are capable of.

The writing is strong, both on the literal and meta level. Since it's impossible to meaningfully discuss without spoilers, all I'll say is be patient and attentive. Some story themes and plot threads are also rather underbaked, but they don't detract much from the overall narrative.

For better and worse, reading text boxes will be your primary interaction with the game. There's investigation/exploration elements, some time management mechanics, light RPG mechanics, and the occasional minigame, but this game is very much more read than played. If you dislike that style of game, Pentiment is unlikely to change your mind.

I don't think Joshua Sawyer completely escaped the curse of "potential feedback editor" even in this game (I.e., "we/publisher person believe(s) that this element here is something that may not garner positive gamer engagement, and therefore it should be removed". There is also a segment in the middle of the game that doesn't even attempt to present itself as anything but an on-rails segment (but that was not expertly structured as that, like the cinematic end to the game).

But for almost the entire duration of the game, we are presented with a moderately interactive book-narrative told in the present tense, where you as the player will nudge the main character towards actions that you may or may not regret woefully. And where time-constraints and the uncertainty surrounding the events in the game, by design, play an important role.

In a game we are typically presented with a specific solution, even if you are given choices. So to play an adventure game where you are not given that luxury by default is not just refreshing, but an interactive story-telling feat.

Josh Sawyer is, as he always was, an excellent game-system engineer as well as an incredible story-teller. And it's perhaps a little bit of a problem that Obsidian needed to be in the xbox subscription sphere to finally let Josh do his own thing. Nevertheless, a very good interactive narrative game - well researched, and very creatively written.

This game is gorgeous and very well done. The plot is interesting, the characters are interesting. I just got so worked up about the story that I couldn't finish because I was afraid for it to end.

an absolute must-play for anyone who likes choice-driven games, an really good mystery story, and a amazing tale about community and legacy and stories themselves.

Fantastic game—more of a visual novel disguised as an RPG, much like Disco Elysium. Beautifully crafted and it does a very good job at presenting 16th-century Bavaria, and I actually found the eat-work-sleep cycle of the first few days comforting.

However, it's a bit too much of a Reddit game; you can pet the dog, you can pet the cat, and you're frequently slapped over the head the struggles of social groups that are mostly irrelevant to the region, usually through modern lenses. Social commentary isn't bad in itself, but Pentiment does it in a very unnatural way (with the exception of the main story) that reminds me of those stiff educational videos and "interactive experiences" museums like to waste their money on.

This game makes it feel like it was made for the Steamdeck. I had tried playing previously and gotten sidetracked, but playing this game again on the Steamdeck has been a great experience. The use of font / handwriting to convey tone, emotion, speech patterns etc is brilliant. Like a modern point and click adventure with more depth.

Good game, I played up to Act 3 at some point, then totally dropped the game, then completely replayed it about two years later, so going into it a second time, I wasn't super-hyped but I was expecting something good, and while the game didn't disappoint, it didn't exceed expectations either.

The first act was fun, I enjoyed playing as a young Andreas, meeting and befriending the townspeople, engaging in various activities throughout town, although nothing really interesting happens until Act 2, when Otto dies. This act is really the meat of the game, the most extensive detective work really happens here and you uncover more and more and the end is pretty climactic and engaging.

However, at this point I already had a pretty good idea that Father Thomas was the killer, which sort of reduced the impact of the reveal. Playing through as [spoiler]"Mags" in the third act was fun enough, I was genuinely surprised that Andreas was still alive and thought for a second that I was wrong about Father Thomas when they were trying to false-flag me into thinking that Sister Amalie was the killer.

I really appreciated some of the themes of the game, but they felt a little undercooked most of the time, which left me characters and story, and while I did like most of the characters, it felt like Act 2 was the only time where I really cared about any of the character drama or what was happening to them. The story itself is good, it's interesting enough, but it wasn't engaging *throughout*.

An interesting game about medieval European life. Initially I just buy it because of the developer's brand, which already famous for Fallout New Vegas, however this game contains richer choice within the game play, and the it's not too long so that you may replay more often to explore each interesting plot stories. The presentation gives you more knowledge about the art of bookmaking in medieval times, also the debates about the thoughts of that time, between catholicism, protestantism, folk paganism, and emerging science.

Things that I don't like is the story of the third part of the game, which is so illogical, that a sane person would choose to hide away from society for many years without any reason. And also the motive of the characters at the endings (that I know).

I've never played anything like this before, but I love Obsidian's work so decided to give it a try. It was little overwhelming at first with all the names and faces, but game does an amazing job at giving you notes on everything. I was hooked from the first second and couldn't stop playing. Act 3 was little weak for me, but in the end it picked up the pace and my eyes were glued on the screen! Art style, sound and music is absolutely gorgeous ^-^

Clearly a labour of love. This historical murder mystery is not a detective game. If you're looking for a typical whodunit, where you find solid evidence and alibis, you'll be disappointed. Pentiment is deliberately ambiguous in the storyline and tries to use the murder theme as a way to explore moral grey zones. And it works - I've been stuck on an answer selection screen numerous times, thinking about all the possible outcomes many steps down the line, constantly doubting myself. If this puts you off, fear not - even though some of the crimes may not have a canonical perpetrator, you can still reach satisfying conclusions in the investigations.

Gameplay-wise it's more like a point-and-click adventure game without the puzzles -- or a walking sim with dialogue trees. The trademark Obsidian nonlinear narrative is present here as well, so it's up to par, if not better than any of the best RPGs out there. It's rooted in a believable historical context and focuses on the storytelling and character development through dialogue choices. You might even learn a thing or two about 16th century Europe or Christianity.

The only downsides I could point out are a couple of bugs -> looping dialogue trees, NPCs forgetting the choices I made a minute ago, etc... Luckily none of that was really game breaking. Also, the game operates in a typical Point-and-click timeflow - where time passes only when you perform a special predetermined action. The investigations are always a race against the clock here, and you won't be able to follow deep enough on every clue or line of evidence. This would be fine, if the game was much more clearer and warned you when you are about to advance the clock by doing X and let you back away without repercussions. While sch heads up were showing up later in the game, it was not clearly communicated at the start of Act I.

The game is more of a point and click adventure / visual novel experience. Keep in mind that I only played it one time too (so I am not sure how each play through differs).

The story is slow-paced by very engaging and makes you think. It is ultimately about the layers of memory and history. Because of this, it is a unique topic that I do not feel like gets explored often. They way that this game portrays the religion and faith too is fascinating and enriching as well.

Please play this if you are enjoy history (both social history and archaeology ) and it is a rewarding experience,

This game is an incredible work of love. The art, the writing, the details, the historical accuracy are absolutely brilliant. Your decisions matter and impact the flow and history of the location and the people therein.

A beautifully crafted narrative-driven game that transports players to 16th-century Bavaria with its stunning visual style inspired by illuminated manuscripts.

Rich with historical detail and nuanced characters, Pentiment weaves themes of religion, class, and morality into a deeply engaging experience. Its dialogue and branching narrative invite thoughtful exploration carefully planned in a sidescroller mechanic, making each decision meaningful. For anyone who loves a well-told story and immersive world-building, Pentiment is a must.

Absolutely fantastic. Beyond impressive to weave a compelling dramatic story with this level of historical nuance in a video game.

Disco Elysium but in medieval Europe. Also focuses more on story than RPG elements. Would recommend if you liked Disco Elysium.

I wish more games like this existed. Historically inspired, and although it intentionally sacrifices accuracy at times to create more story opportunities (see Josh Sawyers talk available on his YT channel) it gave me lots of topics to look up on Wikipedia after the game, such as the peasant revolts during this era. Don't expect anything profound, but it is noticeable that the devs did their research.

In portraying the different kinds of characters, the pace is deliberately slow and grounded, but this helps the atmosphere a lot if you have the patience.

The game art is gorgeous, the sound design is solid, Lingua Ignota's song for the game was great and fitting.

The acts differ significantly in their feel, I have to say that my enjoyment of the crime stories peaked early. The conclusion to the crime stories was not as satisfying as I had hoped for. Regarding the ends of Act 1 and 2, I felt like not all motives were created equal. Act 1 had me scratching my head as each individual motive felt too weak. Maybe I find stronger evidence in later replays. Apparently the devs intended that there is no confirmed murderer.

The RPG-options were limited but tastefully integrated. I suspect atleast one replay would be enjoyable, I'll wait a bit though.

Finally, I would have appreciated some QoL-features such as the option to reread previous dialogue.


Strong 8/10, amazing game.

Well worth your time if you like point-and-click, late medieval history, whodunits and this type of artstyle.

I've never felt compelled to write a review for a game, but this is a special game. I just finished it and I know this experience will stay with me for a long time. Being into the historical setting helps, but surely isn't necessary to enjoy this game. It evokes feelings in me like a good book would, or a special work of art. It makes you think, it makes you feel. And it is thrillng at that! Not wanting to put the game down, to see how the story ends.

The story is the best part of this game, together with the characters. It is special to see characters change over time in a video game. To see them age, to see them live their lives. At the end I really feel like I know the people of the village and the place they live in. After completion, I know I will go back to do a second playthrough with all different choices. Because the choices you make actually matter! The story and your relationship with the characters change, depending on your choices.

My only gripe with the game is it's persuation system. I would love to know what dialogue choices I make will effect my relationship with the characters. Yet this vague system has it's own charm in a way, so I don't even know if it's a negative (this is how it works IRL lol).

I can't believe I haven't yet mentioned the design of the game, because it is absolutely stunning and unique. Every historical element (people, places, events, etc.) are all explained in a beautiful glossary system that doesn't break emersion or slow down the game. I generally don't like lots of dialogue and reading in games, so since I love this game, that should say something (I keep thinking of videogamedunkey's video about persona 5, since he doesn't like turn-based rpg's but loves that game, if you're familiair with that).

Anyway, this has been a bit of a rant. Thanks for reading. If you're interested in this game, it is definately worth it, especially on sale. 9/10 would recommend!

If the phrase, "The path to hell is paved with good intentions", were a game, it be this one.

A beautiful game that somehow makes your decisions feel like they matter, while simultaneously making you, in an abstract and beautiful way, that your choices have no meaning. The game really does an amazing job at making you question your decisions the whole way through.

Pentiment is that kind of game where the phrase "Medieval Europe + monks + murder" hooks you, and you can't quite figure out why it sounds so cool. But Obsidian managed to turn this into not just a historical tour but an actual interactive novel.

You play as Andreas Maler, an artist who gets caught up in a murder investigation at a monastery. The story feels like your favorite TV series — it’s gripping, and the choices make you question your own morality.

The art style resembles old manuscripts, and the animation is minimalistic, but that’s the charm — it feels like you’re living inside a book. Although, at times, you’ll wish for a medieval mouse to fast-forward through some dialogues. This game could really use a skip the boring monk button.

The humor is subtle, sometimes so much so that you only realize they were joking after the fact. For instance, one character might delve into deep philosophy and then casually ask who stole the cheese. It’s like if Socrates moonlit as a fridge guard.

Pentiment isn’t for those looking for action or drama around every corner. But if you want to immerse yourself in an era where even the choice of font matters and discover that medieval bureaucracy was just as terrifying as dragons, this game is for you.

Came to this one as a fan of Disco Elysium and I'm not disappointed in having found another rpg with a rich story, a great attention to detail put into every character, and some really fun interactivity where your choices influence quite a lot of stuff.

Not to mention the sheer love for history and art seeping out of the entire thing. A real gem this one.

I would criticise the checks system (they appear suddenly and rarely are you able to influence them any or even predict it will happen, nor can you choose when you attempt them or try to retake them) but it's not too bad. The Polish translation also had some mistakes, and I think it could use an update after being presumably created without the translators actually seeing the game in action (gender of verbs is often confused).

Masterpiece of video games as art, specifically made for me: someone fascinated by philosophy, history & historiography, and the intersection between them. This feels like the game Josh Sawyer wanted to make for decades, and I'm so glad he and the team he had got to make it

Wonderful game, carefully studied in all its details, from the graphics to the plot. Super recommended.

*Originally played on Game Pass and later got it on steam to support.

This is probably my favorite setting in videogames. There's a dense, layered history you need to sift, and lots of secrets to discover through the time periods it explores. There are a lot of controversial and challenging themes, but they're not presented with condescension or malevolence. The writing is impeccable, and I was deeply invested in the evolution of townsfolk by the game's end.

What it doesn't quite succeed at is being a detective game. You will not get the satisfaction of a definitive right answer during any of the investigations, and there's no real way to fail. The purpose is to use the investigation to pull back on the town's secrets and better understand their world. And it succeeds with flying colors in that area. Just don't expect The Golden Idol.

Ultimately, this is a story about history and how we interact with it. Do we bury the past when we don't like what it says? Do we warp it to fit our modern beliefs? Does it matter if we choose to believe something simple when the reality is much more complicated? There's a lot this game poses about the lens we look at the past, and I can't think of another game that handles it as deftly.

Don't skip this, history freaks.

Truly a fantastic story game where your choices feel like they matter. Gonna be brief on this one:

The story is great, and the animation/art/fonts are top notch. I loved this and it played fantastic on the Steam Deck, fully docked. Worth playing with a partner/friend if you like mystery games.

It's a point and click adventure game and that may not be for everyone. But for me, this is the perfect story rich indie game with a beautiful art style. I was worried the historically-accurate Medieval setting would took me a second to get used to, but the glossary feature is very helpful and easy to reference. I was also very concerned that a Medieval setting would have lots of cold violence and be dis-compassionate. But now I feel a lot of heart was put into this game.

When I started this game, I kept taking moments to pause and awe at the art style and maps. Once the mystery started unraveling, I almost forgot the alien-ness of the setting. There are few slow moments to worry about, not the least because you always have certain time limits. It's suspenseful and heartfelt and the emotions keep me on the edge of my seat. I love petting all the animals and I especially appreciated the compassionate but accurate inclusion of Romani and Ethiopian travelers and queer monks. But I think what keeps me coming back for more is how invested you and your character get into finding secrets and clues. Genuinely one of the most interesting games I've played through in some time.

I enjoyed this game. Set in the 1500's it has some history mixed in. Good dialogue, game-play, and a story/mystery I'm confident you will not predict the ending of.

8.5/10

Pentiment is a fascinating game. The amount of information about life during the 1500s in a small Bavarian town as well as the political and religious figures and framework surrounding this time in Christendom is enough to make it a recommendation for any history buffs. But it also turns you into a 16th century detective trying to solve a series of mysterious town events that occur. The artistry of the game is absolutely unique featuring at times incredibly ornate script as the dialogue, a compelling 2D style of presentation, and excellent music and environmental sounds. I'd be very curious to try another playthrough to experience how different certain moments in the game might become with alternative choices made. It's definitely a game that would reward multiple playthroughs. It's also the kind of game that requires your attention and commitment to reading but if that's the type of game that you go into this expecting it will provide a compelling experience.