“Pentiment” may seem difficult and daunting at first glance and in the first minutes of the game. The graphic style is straight out of an illustrated book from the boring Middle Ages and this adventure really requires a lot of reading. But the first hurdles are worth it, because “Pentiment” has become a wonderful video game in which you can even get many historical facts for free.
murder in the monastery
We are in the 16th century and wake up in a cozy village in Upper Bavaria. As artist Andreas Maler, we go about our daily business, talk to all kinds of residents and solve the first small problems that want to keep us from our artistic work.
The path eventually leads us to a monastery, where an important personality we met earlier is promptly murdered. After this event, Andreas slips into the role of an investigator for personal reasons to clarify who shed blood here and especially why.
Long investigations follow and additional crimes make the case more and more mysterious. There are tough story twists, many surprises and the possibility to influence the further course with your own decisions.
Who am I?
In a charming 2D world, we move our character through separate image sections and always interact where possible. We have a lot of dialogue, need to read a lot and solve simple puzzles to advance the story.
During our investigations, we repeatedly make decisions about possible answers in the conversations, we delve deeper and deeper into the personalities of our interlocutors and try to shed light on the darkness.
It’s interesting that we can always create our own backstory during the dialogues. Have we studied at a university, are we more of a craftsman or a bookworm who always sticks his nose in literature? The hero image is free in our hands.
Pure minimalism
The showpiece of “Pentiment” is undoubtedly its extraordinary look. The use of book illuminations from the Middle Ages creates the right atmosphere. The rest also remains minimalist. Animations, sound design and generally all audiovisual components run on the back burner.
This fits perfectly with the Spartan game idea. That may scare many, but those who have had the first hours and appreciate the design idea of the developers will be rewarded with a lot of atmosphere and an exciting story that lulls us to sleep in the best possible way.
Learn playfully
“Pentiment” is much more than just a video game that aims to entertain. Between the lines it also conveys a lot of historical knowledge. Both the Reformation and the Boer Wars in Germany, to name but two subjects, are skillfully woven into the plot. In addition, you learn a lot about the society of that time and the importance of religion, which permeated all social classes.
Please hold on!
Conclusion: Obsidian Entertainment’s “Pentiment” scared and fascinated me in the first few minutes.
However, the audiovisual minimalism became more and more of an asset. Even though there is a lot to read and combine here in this medieval crime thriller, the story with its many characters captivated me more and more.
As the first kill happened and the story picked up momentum, I became unstoppable and sank deeper and deeper into this extraordinary video game, which also spoiled me with plenty of historical context.
“Pentiment” is available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC. Not for persons under the age of 16.
Source: Watson
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
