Name: Pentiment by Obsidian Entertainment
Genre: Adventure
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series S & X, Xbox One
Pentiment, Latin for painting within a painting, is not your run-of-the-mill type of RPG. Produced by Obsidian Entertainment, and written and directed by Josh Sawyer, Pentiment came through as his history passion project in 2022 following the launch of the more classic RPG Pillars of Eternity 2 in 2018. It prides itself in its striking historical accuracy, while blurring the lines between what we call an RPG and what, at first glance, seems like a point-and-click adventure.
The game starts off with a simple enough premise. You play as Andreas Maler, a journeyman painter, working as an illuminator at Kiersau Abbey, Tassing, in 14th century Germany. Soon, however, a visiting Baron gets murdered, starting a mystery spanning 25 years. As Andreas, whose background and history you decide, you try to solve the murder but know that every choice you make and the person you accuse will shape how the town of Tassing moves forward, all the while influencing Andreas’ character.
Pentiment’s core gameplay loop is centred around solving this murder mystery. There’s a time limit to solving these, with in-game days being sectioned according to the medieval concept of work hours.
Investigating major clues progress you onto the next section of a day. The investigations involve engaging in various minigames, in order to confirm your suspicions regarding a person.
The only issue is that some of these minigames disrupt the narrative flow, but it’s few and far between. Then, at the end of each act, you’re tasked with casting your suspicions on the person who you think has committed the crime, or is the most deserving of punishment. The kicker, however, is that you never have the time to explore all of the clues, which leaves you always questioning your choices, while adding a ton of replay value.
Before progressing major clues, however, you can explore the town and talk to everyone. These moments of exploration are where Pentiment shines its brightest. You get a surprisingly accurate picture of life in those times. Slowly, you start to feel like a part of the town, as you see it develop, and see the villagers live their lives. You read what they have to say, while listening to the game’s amazing sound design bringing the farmlands to life, and having no background music for these conversations really adds to the realism. The game cleverly uses the fact that it has no voice acting to its advantage, by using fonts to denote a character’s social standing. Farmers have scribbly handwriting, while monks and nobles have more sophisticated writing. And oh, you also get to have historically accurate lunches with all of them!
VERDICT: If you’re craving a medieval murder mystery Name of The Rose style, with some introspection thrown in, Pentiment will absolutely be up your alley. Minus a few moments where the mini games don’t fit, it is a masterpiece that displays the narrative calibre of video games as a medium. I give it a nine out of 10.