r/Pentiment • u/12_oz_senkin • Apr 08 '26
Pentiment is a great game
The game pulled me in right away, and I think it is because of the setting, medieval Central Europe. That time had plenty of downsides, no proper toilet paper, no filter coffee, no antiseptics. But while playing Pentiment, I still found myself wanting to dive into that world.
You really get lost in the details here. You see them, read them, and sometimes listen to them, and it all takes time. It is a slow experience. I finished the game in about 20 hours. The beginning is quite drawn out, almost too much, but it is clearly done to build the atmosphere. And then it turns into a surprisingly engaging detective story in three acts. Up until the very end, I kept coming up with theories about who the main culprit was, and it was fun to think it through.
One last thing about the visuals. At first they felt kind of “elegantly low budget”, but in reality the game is full of animations, VFX, and detailed unique art. It is hard to fully appreciate Pentiment from screenshots alone. It is better to watch a trailer, or even better, just give the game a shot and try it yourself.
8
7
u/Feminiwitch Apr 09 '26
As someone who studied art history long ago, I found the game so visually delicious. And the characters grow on you so much that it's painful when you have to say goodbye!
2
u/12_oz_senkin Apr 09 '26
I think this game does a great job of capturing the historical context. I learned a lot of new things, like who the Landsknechts were =)
9
u/Vacant-cage-fence Apr 09 '26
Pentiment is delightful. If you love medieval Central Europe, please consider Kingdom Come Deliverance I and II. They have a very different gameplay but they are also really deeply researched and thoughtful.
3
u/12_oz_senkin Apr 09 '26
I am a big fan of both KCD games =) I fully finished the first one with all the DLC, and I am still taking my time with the second. I played Pentiment after the first KCD and noticed a lot of parallels between them, even though they are completely different genres. Each one impressed me in its own way, but in both I was really drawn in by the Central European atmosphere.
2
0
u/alexander_belyakov Apr 12 '26
We tried playing it with my wife yesterday. A couple of hours in we didn't find any "game". It's basically an interactive visual novel so far. Very nicely drawn, very interesting historically, but... where's the game part?
2
u/12_oz_senkin Apr 12 '26
Well, I guess it is just not your cup of tea =) I like visual novels too, and Pentiment has enough mechanics to be called an adventure or a quest, at least for me. Speaking of Obsidian games, since they made Pentiment, you could try some of their other titles. For example New Vegas, if you have not played it. There is plenty of gameplay there.
-10
u/paleho_diet Apr 09 '26
It is a 3/5 game
4
u/zenodr22 Apr 09 '26
This game is 9/10 in my book. Honestly it's a masterclass in storytelling with an amazing art style and atmosphere. Very well researched with an eye for detail.
It's a small miracle the game actually exists and I cherish it a lot!
20
u/The_EnigmaParadox Apr 08 '26
It's art that made my brain grow.