Pentiment

A piece of art through and through if you have the eye (and mind) to appreciate it. First, the art—the art style is thought through with a deep historical relevance in the most minute of details. From the text boxes, how the text appears, to elements dotted throughout the environment. All aspects seek to reflect the time period in layers that unfold to you the more you understand. Secondly, the narrative—the story, likewise, is built in layers. There's the literal happenings, the mystery behind it, the lives of the characters, reflections on choice, consequence, hardship, justice, autonomy, etc. It's not always about satisfying answers or conclusions, similar to real life. Finally, the gameplay. In itself the gameplay presents itself as a narrative mystery and does a fair job of maintaining engagement. It is just walking and talking, so keep that in mind. However, the game makes statements in in the format of the gameplay that, as gamers, we aren't used to. I feel it represents life well in many ways, and so deliberately denies us the hero and escapist fantasies we are used to. It's a game altogether unlike anything I've ayed and is well worth it for anyone with a curious mind.

雅

I would like to start by stating that I highly enjoyed this game. It takes an unexpected twist on the story "choices-matter" genre and does so with great excellency. I have no other major feedback other than I would love to see some more closure. Perhaps an Act 4 DLC? I need closure (more than what we already get) on the future of Tassing and Andreas' future.

My dear Pentiment. SPOILERS AHEAD Outstanding art and a 10/10 story give birth to one of the most compelling narratives I've seen. So many things to praise in this game. Act 1. Andreas is a great protagonist; not being from Tassing made me much more connected to him, feeling as if we both are visitors. Getting to pick who to eat with was so much fun, and the small detail of choosing what food to eat first is such a genius idea, making you a part of the table. The ambiguous morality of the baron at first really managed to fool me, and later discovering he was a horrible person and finding the culprit felt like a very important task. 10/10 Act 2 also felt pretty good with the introduction of Caspar. I enjoyed his presence and getting to see the town change with the new ideas of the times was another fantastic experience. Also, the image of the struggling artist feeling disconnected from his art by intoxicating it with work was great. Act 3 was the only thing I did not enjoy as much. For me, in games like this where the only gameplay is the dialogues you get to choose, getting to this part and watching Andreas burn and the city getting invaded when I literally picked the most peaceful option was a bit disappointing. Now, I understand that sometimes in real life you can't change things with just words but "killing" the main character no matter what you do really threw me off, and even understanding that it's necessary for the story to develop the way the creators intended, I still think it's a bad choice. Magdalene is good, a bit weird in some of her dialogues. The Andreas comeback and the part where he speaks to Caspar in his memories was GREAT; I was jumping out of my seat when it transitioned into the sister in the ruins. The ending was amazing, a really powerful and emotional scene with the music and the paintings. Edit: Time has passed, and I still think of this game from time to time. The themes and the emotion of waking up every day, waiting to see what's new in town. It's a wonderful game, and even with the downsides I said, much more time would be needed to properly write about how beautiful it is. Also, shoutout to my girlfriend; I had the privilege of showing her this game, and she really loves it. Meaningful and artistic, lots of love was poured into this game, and my only critiques are the things that keep it from my top top but still, it's 100% a masterpiece and I wish the best to Andreas Maller.

它一定会在21世纪的游戏史和艺术史上留名

I enjoyed playing this game multiple times with different out comes every time. I played on Xbox and PC. The story is rich and charming. I love the art style. Keep up the great work Obsidian.

What to say about Pentiment? It's different, but in a good way so far. Will add more later when I progress in a story. --- EDIT after complete playthrough, which took my slow ass 19 hours. It's an awesome game as a whole. Controls are a bit wonky, but it doesn't really bother me that much. The story is supreme. Despite it's totally different in almost all regards, it somehow reminded me of Disco Elysium. There's a lot of talking and your answers do matter. And that's great because I have a temptation to start over right away and see how different the story would be with different choices. The game is divided into 3 acts where 1st is the most non-linear and broad, 2nd is somewhere in the middle and 3rd is much narrower than both previous ones. This pace change fits the story though, so it doesn't feel crippled towards the end. The ending is quite emotional, or at least it was with choices I made through the game. Solid 5/5 from me and big thumps up for everyone considering to play the game. --- EDIT 2 after second play through, roughly 14 hours more into the game. Second play through was a bit let down for me. I tried to pick very different choices through most of the game to see how different outcomes will get. Well? Not that much. Sure there are differences like [spoiler]when you get arch deacon to kill someone at the end of Act 1, he's obviously not present in Act 2, some characters get different personalities later depending on that choice, etc.[/spoiler] or [spoiler]painiting mural very differently with very visible difference[/spoiler], but [spoiler]even though I tried to make the mural as shocking as possible it had zero impact anywhere[/spoiler] and also when I tried to pick every possible answer there was to [spoiler]keep Magdalene in Tassig and marry Ötz[/spoiler], but it just did not happen. Looks like the ending is pretty much scripted with just some minor tweaks. Don't get me wrong, it's still very enjoyable game, but I hoped for more impactful choices given this is Obsidian. Would I recommend the game? Yes. Would I recommend to play it multiple times? Probably not.

Absolutely fantastic game. Never played a game like this where every single choice felt so impactful, and realistic in that I could not always or even often predict the exact impact my actions were going to make. I felt the genuine weight of consequence when I made decisions that turned out poorly and genuine joy when they turned out well. And amongst those two poles was also the growing understanding that there were things that were simply out of my control, no matter my effort. Which is also true of life! I found the whole experience really riveting, and the ending really threw me (in a good way!). I'm sure you'll see this advice elsewhere, but if you decide to play here's my advice: don't look up guides, don't try to cheat to save system, just make the best choice that you can see available to you in any given moment and see what the game offers you in response. It will not always be kind to you, I definitely stayed up later than I should some nights agonizing over what decision I should make in this game, but the experience is a truly unique and worthwhile one all the same. 10/10