Pentiment Reviews
Some players may create chaos, others will try to keep the peace, but each will be able to tell the story of Pentiment in their own way. It is interactive choose-your-own-adventure story-telling at its best, and although it feels too short, hopefully, there will be more tales and tomes like this one from Obsidian in the future.
Pentiment is a clever Medieval detective story with a gorgeously-realized world that I can hardly recommend highly enough.
A beautiful and beautifully-written narrative game that makes masterful use of its early modern setting. One of Obsidian's finest.
A brilliant narrative adventure that is filled with intelligence and heart.
It's a magnificent thing, and this story will be lingering in my thoughts for quite some time. Pentiment takes Obsidian's expertise in branching narratives, role-playing, and building evocative worlds, then packages it all up in an exciting and unique way. I was devastated when it was over, and I'm still not over that ending. But now I'm looking forward to playing it all over again, this time with another Andreas. Maybe one who speaks Latin, studied law, and spent his wandering years in Switzerland. There are some bad choices and disastrous consequences I'd like to avoid this time too. That's the beauty of being an artist: you can always scrape the parchment clean and start again.
"Many developments are outside of your control, yet rarely in games does the passage of time feel so intimately significant."
Despite some issues with the audio and the slowness of the third act, Pentiment is a wonderfully unique storytelling experience overflowing with respect for the historical era it strives to recreate. Much like the game’s themes of stories persisting over time, I’ll be thinking about Andreas Maler and the town of Tassing for years to come.
Because even though Pentiment is set in the past, it demonstrates how history is never static, and how it influences places, communities, and individuals. That’s something that’s easily lost when we look back through time, but Pentiment’s living characters and spiraling mystery won’t let you forget it.
Pentiment too often limits its most enjoyable pieces to reach an ending that makes sense but is still unfulfilling.
Pentiment is about that phenomenon, and also a manifestation of it. It's one of the most engaging and accessible works of living history ever commissioned, and the fact that it exists at all - let alone as a major platform holder's first-party RPG heading into the Christmas season - is a miracle worthy of the saints.
Pentiment is a short but sweet adventure from Obsidian, one that plays to their strengths when it comes to dialogue and gives players enjoyable mysteries to figure out.
Pentiment is an enthralling murder mystery that uses the rich backdrop of 16th-century medieval Europe to masterful effect.
Pentiment is a fantastic adventure RPG that revels in a studious approach to history and immaculate recreations of the styles and traditions of 16th-century Bavaria. There's a super smart, funny, and engaging murder mystery to investigate here, but it's how that mystery is so fully rooted in the world that's been lovingly crafted around it that really elevates this experience. It's one of the best games of the past decade, hands down, and to have that experience running and performing perfectly on Switch is a joyous thing - it feels like it was made for Nintendo's console. This is about as essential as games get.
Pentiment is a stunning piece of work, with a rich story, gorgeous artwork, and fleshed out characters that keep you hungry to learn more.
Pentiment is a shining example of committing fully to an idea without worrying about where it fits in today's gaming market. The result? One of the best games of the year, narrative and otherwise.
Pentiment manages to bring a unique experience to a catalog increasingly focused on big blockbusters.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Pentiment is, despite its scarce and more than simple gameplay and its few hours more, a game that shines with its own light in a year with great releases. The new Obsidian manages to hook by its history and all its turns, but without forgetting its social, political and religious context; rich in nuances and depth. A must for fans of both RPG's and narrative adventures, a jewel that you can not miss.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The game’s name refers to the reappearance in a painting of an element that an artist had painted over. As much as characters in “Pentiment” might fight to maintain the status quo, or to turn away from history and heartbreak, they’re no match for the forces that send humanity hurtling forward. While I initially started “Pentiment” hoping for a riveting distraction, what I ended up with was a game about uncovering history and past trauma. In many ways, it is more admirable, brutal and perhaps healing to just face these problems head on.
Pentiment is a different graphic adventure, based on dialogues and with a great story. We love its medieval setting, but it has a slow pace that won't catch all players.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Pentiment is an excellent dialogue adventure that takes all the best aspects of Obsidian's previous titles and marries them to a distinguished aesthetic. The whole game feels like a medieval manuscript brought to life and there is very little out there like it. While an interest in the historical setting would obviously add to the experience, the writing alone is good enough to draw any fans of adventure games in and there are so many superb details that really show the depth of the developer's engagement with their influences. If the past is a foreign country, then grab your passports and get ready to be illuminated.