Pentiment

I find it ignorant when video games are all lumped together. Some titles are made for entertainment only, and that is fine, but there are also those that can change your perception of the world, of history, or of reality itself. ​The melancholic story of Pentiment will stay with me forever. The entire game was made with so much heart, and so much understanding of the nuances of European history, that I was at times positively overwhelmed. Its story may be small geographically speaking, but it speaks of concepts relevant to every single person on Earth, despite being anchored mainly in Christian culture. It is a masterpiece in more ways than one.

Pentiment looks beautiful and sounds intelligent, but it perfectly captures everything wrong with the Deconstruction Decade of the 2010s (in 2022). The game lets you play detective in a meticulously researched 16th-century Bavarian town. Yet beneath the stunning art and clever writing lies the same tired formula: inherited traditions must be exposed as lies, faith shown as fragile superstition, and old authority figures revealed as self-serving manipulators. [spoiler]A devout local priest turns out to be the secret schemer willing to kill to protect comforting myths. The town's beloved saints are unmasked as repurposed pagan gods. And if you dare accuse the occultist in the first chapter, the game marks it as the worst possible choice and locks you out of the "Do Gooder" achievement (pointing fingers at widows, nuns, and workers is OK!).[/spoiler] And it's so selective, too. Everything Christian and traditional gets ruthlessly deconstructed, while skepticism, postmodernism, and other faiths gets through smelling like roses. There's also a real life warning here for 2026. When artists and writers and academics spend decades teaching people that every inherited institution and sacred story is built on deception, you don't get enlightened progress. You get widespread cynicism that eventually opens the door for populist leaders and movements happy to tear down whatever institutions and norms remain. The art is excellent. The message is exhausted. I'm ready for this "deconstruction decade" to end.

我不了解中世纪的历史，对本作的核心命题也没那么感冒，我也不在意历史的厚重和个人的渺小；我只知道每个人都在用力地活着，大家把家里最好的食物给Andreas，在进食和劳作的间隙交谈着自己的所见所闻，即使这些并不完全是真相；总有人死亡也总有人新生，当大小Andreas在风车上完成壁画的时候，我看到了塔兴的新生，一如百年前的堡垒化为修道院，一如被烧毁的修道院旁盛开的玫瑰

I love politics in games!!! Keep politics in games! The art style and the writing are oh so good, the inventiveness and the art history of it all is truly wonderful.

Pros and cons are down below :) If you wanna, you can check out my vid where I made AI play chapter 1 to see it's decision-making and morality in a game like this: https://youtu.be/AlSuAX-RjIg Pros: 1. THE ART STYLE! Literally was the reason I bought the game, didn't even look into it much at first XD 2. This game is a fun murder mystery for act 1 and act 2. No evidence fits perfectly for the characters we have an option to accuse, so it boils up not only to your investigative and perceptive ability but to your morality as well in a way. A very interesting dynamique for the game. Unlike what I've seen in other "murder mysteries" 3. Act 3 takes place much later than act 2 and act 2 - much later than act 1 meaning not only you have choices that affect characters immediately, you also make choices that affect the life of the entire village years apart. So much fun! It really does feel that your decisions are meaningful and the consequences are sometimes very surprising 4. Replayability. You can't get all the evidence for the murder mystery in one go due to the time limit, so if you want to know all points of view, it's fun to replay the game, picking different options and trying to puzzle all clues together to understand who's the real murderer even if the game doesn't have an option to persecute them. 5. Sound effects and music. I can't explain it but the sound effects of quills writing on paper, footsteps, rain etc it's kind of asmr-ish even. Very satisfying very relaxing and they surpisingly really make a difference. Cons: 1. First hour of the game is REALLY slow. It might be ok for those who love visual novels and reading lots of lore, but I, myself, more on an action and gameplay side of things so to me it was really hard to get past that first hour. Again, might not be an issue for you depending on your personal preferences. 2. Many players find act 3 much slower / not as interesting mainly because there's no murder mystery to solve. During act 3 you mostly conclude characters' stories and get some of your questions answered to witness how some of your choices affected the village throughout times. If that sounds interesting to you then you're looking at 15-hour playthrough. If not - then only 10 (act 1 and act 2). 3. Some achievements require you to play with a very specific background and choose specific options which is kind of ok but will definitely make you replay the game just to 100% the game. I love achievements but to me required replaying to get steam achievements is not cool. So I'm pointing it out in case it matters to you too. Overall: This is a very aesthetic point & click with impactful decisions and fun murder mysteries. If you like reading and art, this is DEFINITELY for you. If you aren't much into reading / visual novels / point & click genres then you won't have fun.

Pentiment tells the story of a small town in the early 16th century, set over a period of 30 years or so. It's a very slow burn and has basically no gameplay to speak of, but anyone who enjoys history (or simply a well told story about the lives of the characters) will find a lot to enjoy. Some of the choices in the game (especially at the climax of the story) made me really think about how I, the player, would even try to approach a complex moral dilemma like the characters are facing. It's not often a game does that, and I have to give props to the writers for pulling that off. I also appreciate that the game shies away from shallow characters: with very few exceptions, everyone is more complex than they appear on the surface, though depending on your choices you may not see the things that humanize those characters. Overall, I highly recommend this game. It's really unique, doesn't overstay its welcome, and has a lot of heart. Just don't expect it to be action-packed, because it isn't, and you won't be disappointed.

I love history but I found this too dull. I am not religious yet I think this game was made by a fedora-hat wearing atheist. I never felt like my character lived in that world - he was a 21st century liberal trapped in a... 21st century liberal's idea of 16th century. The game looks pretty and it definitely has some good points, but it's gameplay is also flawed (basically a walking simulator).

i started this game blind only vaguely knowing that it's a medieval art game. i was so pleasantly surprised to know it was set in the early modern period and even more surprised (and horrified) that this was set in a benedictine abbey because i am studying under benedictine monks! i can never escape them, even in my personal life. this game is incredible, it's really enjoyable especially if you're into art, history, books