The Painscreek Killings

This game had an interesting story. Discovering it and seeing it through was the sole thing that kept me going by the end. That and the need to get the trophies. It boasted the idea of not holding your hand, so I had my notebook ready and wrote pages upon pages on everything I found. But then it started losing it's shine. The characters were a little flat, I could never emotionally connect to anyone. The music was the same couple of tracks, looped again and again until it drove me crazy. But it was fine. Because I was solving the mystery right? By the halfway point, I knew who the killer was and wanted to get into my car, input the answers which I knew were correct. But apparently, I couldn't do this and also achieve a satisfying ending, despite having the correct answers. I had to reach a ridiculous end sequence. Let me tell you a little how to get there: In order to reach the sequence, I needed a key. This key is hidden inside a grate which I only know because of a hidden note, which I find thanks to a key that was inside a box, for which I needed a key inside a cabinet, which is locked with an access code given in another note inside a briefcase. The key to the briefcase is in a basement, which I can only access from a sewer, for which the key is in a hidden room, which I can only access with a key that's inside a drawer inside a locked room but the key for it is in a locked office which has a key card lying around here somewhere. And hey! That's just how to locate the key! There's also how to access the grate, for which I need a tool, for which I need a key... Yeah I think you get the idea. That's really the loop of the entire game. Find this thing to find that thing to find this thing. No deduction and no sense of unique player experience. Everything is written out clearly for you in diaries and letters. And reiterated again in case you missed it the first time. Why did people even leave their diaries and letters behind? No idea. It gets worse. The devs cant handle the idea of you possibly getting the wrong answer or conclusion, so in the last few hours of the game especially, they clobber you round the head with the answer in case you may have missed it. And if finding the note saying 'hmm.. this person's lying. Wonder why? Oh well...' isn't enough, you come across the literal bloody weapon, which they kept for years for some reason along with a confession tape clearly admitting they did it. And hey, if that isn't enough, [spoiler] the killer then chases you around [/spoiler]... for some reason. Just to be certain you know who they are. But remember, they don't want to hold your hand. Compare this to games like the Return of the Obra Din, which wants you to make deductions using a mixture of clever visuals, audio cues and comparing notes, scenes, and understanding relationships. Or Outer Wilds which doesn't lock anything away from the player with frivolous keys but only with lack of knowledge. Or Edith Finch, which has great visual storytelling and some interesting gameplay mechanics. The Painscreek Killings comparatively fell short in almost everyway. The mystery was laid out too obviously by the end. Every important note or letter was gated off by needing a key or code. The randomly implemented [spoiler] chase [/spoiler] sequence at the end which came out of nowhere. Surely, being a journalist, as soon as I figure out the answer, I can leave with full marks? [Spoiler] I'm not playing a police officer, I don't need to apprehend, confront or come face to face with the killer myself? [/spoiler] It feels very much like they had an interesting mystery to share and then realised suddenly that they ought to implement game mechanics to prolong your experience. A painful prolonging. I felt as if I wasted hours of my life playing this game when there's much better out there. Please don't waste your time.

This is one of my favorite detective games. What I love most is that the game trusts you to investigate on your own. There are no objective markers or constant hints telling you what to do next. During my first playthrough, I didn't use any guides—I kept my own notebook, wrote down names, dates, and clues, and slowly pieced everything together like I was investigating a real case. It's not a game for everyone. It requires patience, observation, and attention to detail. But if you enjoy solving mysteries through your own deductions instead of being led by the hand, I highly recommend it. Even years later, I still haven't found another detective game that gave me the same feeling.

I enjoyed this game and its mystery, but I don't feel like it sets out what it wants to do. It doesn't feel like you are a detective piecing things together, it feels like you are a gremlin stealing keys and reading every note you come across. Like I said, it is still fun to unravel the mystery and see things in a new light as the story unfolds, but it isn't what I would recommend as a true "detective" game. You may have to figure out where a key goes, but usually the notes beside the key give you a pretty good idea on where that is. I also thought some of the twists were predictable (especially the one involving Scott), but it was still fun.

I adore this game. You have to like challenging investigations, and the game is not going to hold your hand. In the beginning I thought the town map was just for the atmosphere and you would stay in the mansion, but once I realized the extend of the clues and stories, I started to do what the game recommends at the beginning, which is taking your own, physical notes. By the end of the game, I had several pages including a table with all characters and related dates and relationships, a timeline of events, and family trees. You can also always reread any letter or diary entry in the menu, and for everything else you have a camera and can take pictures of any location or items and look at them later. My favorite thing about the game was that I kept discovering new secrets, passages and hints in places on the map that I had passed many times and never noticed before. A very immersive experience. After the first playthrough, I have half of the achievements and I will definitely go back. Also, after finishing, you can just reload and pick up again just before entering the last location, so I appreciate not having to start again.

Não consigo expressar tudo que senti nesse jogo em simples palavras... então me contentarei em apenas dizer que é um jogasso do caralho! pqp que jogo foda!

джанет, молодая журналистка, которой дали задание поехать в пэйнскрик и раскопать историю. город застыл в прошлом. когда‑то тут кипела жизнь, а теперь только пыль, тишина, старые газеты и тайны, тайны, тайны.... и вот ты ходишь по пустым улицам, заглядываешь в дома, читаешь письма, дневники и потихоньку понимаешь, что тут не одна смерть, а несколько... игра рассчитана на тех, кто любит не бегать, а вчитываться. в игре ооооочень много текстов, дневников, заметок на полях. я сидела с листом и ручкой, чтоб записывать важные моменты. я прошла игру за 20 часов и время тянется из‑за того, что надо вникать в кааааждую строчку. геймплей без подсказок. нет маркеров, нет «нажмите сюда». ты сам(а) решаешь, куда идти и что важно сейчас. у тебя есть камера, поэтому фотографируй улики. ходи по полуоткрытому миру, подбирай ключи, открывай двери, сопоставляй даты, имена, фразы из разных писем и пытайся понять, кто кому что сказал и кто же убиииийца! плюсы: + есть ощущение, что ты сам(а) раскрываешь дело. + офигенная атмосфера заброшенного места. + много бытовых штрихов (рецепты, записки, старые билеты). + спокойный темп. + реально ооооочень затягивает! минусы: - интерфейс местами неудобный. - некоторые улики спрятаны нелогично. - чувство, что за тобой следят! я не могла играть с музыкальным сопровождением, ибо казалось, что сейчас случится скример. мое сердечко бы не выдержало бы такого неожиданного поворота при такой концентрации внимания... но вот пару раз всё же... в общем, приятной тебе игры))

I started playing this game because I was looking for a detective experience with a strong atmosphere, and honestly, it delivered something much different from most investigation games. Instead of giving you a clear objective every few minutes, the game forces you to actually pay attention, explore, and connect the information by yourself. At first, the game can feel a little slow and confusing. You arrive in the abandoned town of Painscreek with almost no guidance, and your main goal is to discover what happened. There are no enemies, no combat, and no traditional action mechanics. The entire experience is based on exploration, reading documents, finding clues, and creating your own theories. The progression is completely open. You can explore the town in many different ways, and sometimes you will find information that explains something you saw hours ago. This is probably the strongest part of the game because it makes every discovery feel meaningful. The game does not hold your hand, so missing a small detail can make you spend a lot of time searching for answers. The investigation mechanics are simple but effective. Taking notes is almost necessary if you want to solve the mystery without a guide, because there are many characters, locations, and pieces of information to remember. Some parts can become frustrating because the game expects you to manually search everywhere, and walking around the same areas multiple times can get repetitive. The atmosphere is easily the best aspect of the game. The empty streets, abandoned houses, and quiet environment create a constant feeling that something is wrong, even though nothing is chasing you. The soundtrack and sound design are simple, but they help a lot with the lonely and uncomfortable feeling of the town. I didn’t encounter any major bugs during my playthrough. The game runs well, but some interactions can feel a little rough, and the movement speed can make exploration slower than it should be. Getting 100% achievements is not very difficult, but it can be time-consuming. Some achievements require finding specific clues or completing the investigation in certain ways, so a guide may be useful if you don’t want to replay large parts of the game. In the end, The Painscreek Killings is a very unique detective game. It is not for everyone, especially if you prefer faster gameplay or constant action, but if you enjoy mystery, exploration, and solving a case by yourself, it is definitely worth playing.

Eu conheci o jogo pelo Alan, de início logo me prendeu, porque eu adoro jogos de investigação, principalmente quando não te ensinam absolutamente nada. Eu só não tenho paciência para detalhes (e neste jogo, é importante sempre olhar por onde anda). Entretanto, eu fiquei tão viciada pela história (e pela trilha sonora) que eu me permiti olhar TUDO quanto é canto, eu vi o tempo voar jogando.

very good *crime solving* game Scared the ♥♥♥♥ out of me at some places, i wish the controls weren't this clunky but this is what you get by making unity games i guess.