Pentiment Reviews
Whilst Pentiment promises to give players a fascinating narrative that takes all choices and actions into account, whilst exploring the themes of Politics and Religion in Europe in the 1500s, the uninteresting introduction, as well as the countless meaningless interactions throughout the title, makes itfeel much too long for what it is trying to achieve. There is an interesting plot to uncover here, but you will have to sift through quite a few hours worth of tedious dialogue with the occasional unnecessary minigame thrown in for ‘good’ measure.
While such digressions, to be fair, are optional, the game does encourage you to poke around every corner of its vibrantly rendered world to ensure that you’ve got the facts straight. In the end, though, Pentiment excels less as a mystery game and more as a portrait of a community. Because as a mystery to be solved and a mediation on how stories evolve over time, its focus wanders and ironically comes to fixate on elements like presentation and background lore that can all too easily overwhelm the basic tenets of telling an engaging story.
Pentiment too often limits its most enjoyable pieces to reach an ending that makes sense but is still unfulfilling.
Pentiment is probably the most interesting, uninteresting game I’ve ever played.
Still, while Pentiment doesn’t make the best first impression, and the lack of music robs it of atmosphere and character, it’s well worth digging into if you’re a fan of well-written narrative adventures or games that require you to conduct investigations. You’ll soon come to love – or loathe – its cast of characters, and with plenty of fun puzzles to solve, minigames to engage in and meaningful choices to make, it’s rewarding in ways that other games in the same genre space rarely ever manage.
Pentiment's unidimensional gameplay might not appeal to everyone.
A lumbering historical murder mystery with little regard for tension or pacing, but one that packs in such dense detail you can't help but respect it. Pentiment immerses you in 1500s Bavaria and that's the main event.
Pentiment is not a bad game, it’s just not one that I have no real interest in; It’s more along the lines of an interactive, mystery novel than a video game. While I loved the storybook art style, the overly stylized font was just too much to look at for long play sessions. And Pentiment tends to drag on a bit too long for my taste, but for those that have a love of history, murder, religion, betrayal, secrets, walking from left to right/right to left and reading your video games; then I think you should try Pentiment, especially at the price of $19.99 or included with your Game Pass subscription.
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 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
Obsidian's Pentiment is not for everyone, but this RPG does offer a fascinating look at the religious and political unrest of the early sixteenth century. A variety of backgrounds and a time limit that doesn't allow you to pursue every plot thread in one playthrough, it also offers good replayability. Unfortunately, it also somewhat overstays its welcome when the last hours repeat a lot of what you already know. The Switch port isn't flawless, but will suit you just fine if this is your platform of choice.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Pentiment is a beautiful art piece that offers immersive visual style and complex story. It has its lows, but they don't spoil the overall picture.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Pentiment plays like a living storybook. You walk, talk and act in a medieval style book that is written as you progress. The game leans heavily on storytelling and its historical background. The game is special in a good way. It's not for everyone, but if you're remotely interested in this turbulent times or a good murder mystery, you should really try this one out.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Pentiment is a game from artists for art lovers. This is a crafted honestly made game, which, of course, has flaws. Some of them also left a bigger aftertaste in my mouth. But what work of art does not have them? And, although I'm afraid that the title won't impress ordinary gamers too much, I still firmly believe that this unique work by Obsidian will eventually find its fans.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Contrary to what it seems, the longevity is quite long for a title of this genre: you will need 15 to 20 hours to complete the main story, if you want to discover all the secrets of the title you could even reach over 30 hours. There is no "shooting," no killing anyone, Pentiment is peculiar and should be played for its artistic and narrative inspiration, the intent in this review is precisely to make the reader understand what kind of work he is going to play: but is it worth it? Absolutely yes!
Review in Italian | Read full review
I found myself wanting to keep coming back to it for the next step in the story, eager to find out who I would meet next. I do wish there was more of a voice-over side of the game, as it would’ve made it easier for me to advance the story, but all in all, it was a fairly good title to play, and it is clear that Obsidian Entertainment did their research when it comes to portraying the 16th century.
While this game is unlikely to appeal to people who prefer a fast-paced plot with more interactive elements, those who enjoy a narrative-driven story with a truly tangled mystery at its heart will find so much to love.
Pentiment isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste and will divide its audience. Some will love it and some will hate it. No doubt some will sit somewhere in the middle.
Learn to move at Tassing’s sedate pace and patience will be rewarded as a seemingly simple murder mystery makes way for a rich portrait of village life and the difficult choices that come to define it.
Pentiment might just be one of the weirdest AAA-games released this year. By stripping gameplay down to little more than walking and talking, this medieval crime drama feels like a visual novel that took the genre’s title a little too literal. The graphical style is heavily inspired by the illustrations of medieval books, which ties directly back into the main character’s background story as an illustrator. With an excellent story, great dialogue and too many mysteries for just a single playthrough, this odd little gem is one that may take some getting used to, but will reward you for your patience with a story more interactive and deeper than most.
Review in German | Read full review