Pentiment - Released

[HiddenX]

The historical adventure Pentiment has been released:

Pentiment

From Obsidian, this game is a historical narrative-driven game focusing on character development, heavily stylized art, and choice-driven storytelling in early 16th century Bavaria. Players will play as Andreas Maler, a clever illustrator caught up in a series of murders in Tassing and Kiersau Abbey over the course of twenty five years. Players will be responsible for conducting their own investigation to decide the fate of the community, but each decision will have lasting consequences and inexorably draws Andreas closer to the center of an underlying conspiracy.

Illustrated world
Experience 16th century Europe as the master artists of the time saw them. Art inspired by great illuminated manuscripts and the earliest printed books becomes a living, breathing world in Pentiment.

Uncover mysteries
Choose different academic and social backgrounds and meet a colorful cast of characters as you discover the stories and secrets that lie within the small Bavarian town of Tassing and nearby Keirsau Abbey.

Impact a changing world
In an era of great religious and political change, each decision you make can have a profound impact on the community's future. Find your own way through this turbulent time and see the consequences of your choices play out over generations.

More information.

 

[Pladio]

Anyone try this ?

 

[Moorkh]

I took the tumble and bought it after just a couple reviews. Mostly to support this kind of bold approach to game development, though - I'm still tied up in a number of unfinished games and loath to add another just now.

 

[Drithius]

Their first game developed under daddy Microsoft, and so I hope it does well so as to garner them some leeway. However, I personally have no interest in it - the setting doesn't appeal to me.

 

[Arhu]

It's on Gamepass, so easy enough to try out. I did, though only for 10 minutes. It seems rather refreshing. Good vibes.

 

[Couchpotato]

I still can't get past the graphics but that's just me. Hopefully Obsidian shares more news about Avowed and Outer Worlds 2 next year. As it's been quiet on the news-front.

 

[Redglyph]

I've played a little. I like the original presentation with the late medieval / renaissance omnipresent theme, the stylized graphics don't bother me (I'm actually glad it's not more sophisticated since it's on Unity).

I stumbled on a number of minor issues though, mainly related to the controls (mouse disappearing and the like), but also QoL issues. So maybe it's worth waiting just a little bit.

 

[ChaosTheory]

I hope it at least makes its production costs back, but nothing about this appeals to me. Art style, setting, story... It's a courageous attempt at doing something different. I can appreciate that.

 

[Pladio]

I got it, tried it and it's not for me. As with GameDec, I can't just play text games so much anymore. It seems to have some nice elements etc., but it also just feels bland to me in terms of the fun element.

It's making me think Disco Elysium really did have something special, because I played that one till the end...

 

[mbuddha]

Surprised to see such a unique idea as their first release with none other than Microsoft.... Looks neat. But if it's mostly text based as Pladio says, I don't think I'll vibe with it.

 

[Redglyph]

Surprised to see such a unique idea as their first release with none other than Microsoft.... Looks neat. But if it's mostly text based as Pladio says, I don't think I'll vibe with it.

It's not an entirely text-based game but the dialogues are not spoken, they're only written. The graphics are 2D with 2D sprite avatars moving on them, areas scrolls a little bit but they're not big; there are icons to go to other places, to interact with the world and to speak with NPCs.

The dialogues are not high walls of text, but there are often many exchanges.

The presentation is quite polished, with the characteristic style we can see in screenshots or on the game's page.

There are quite insistent background sounds, it's hard to ignore it when a pig or a flock of sheep are nearby. That and the scratching noise of the pen on parchment may sometimes become irritating after a while, I just remove my headset when it's getting too much.

 

[Couchpotato]

Hence why Josh Sawyer said in bold words in interviews it's not an RPG but an interactive adventure game. So tamper your enthusiasm if this is not your cup of tea.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1536346111505338375

Anyway the amount of ass kissing by reviewers is hilarious as they trash Obsidian's true RPG's. Don't believe me look at the Pillar of Eternity, or for any past RPG game review.

 

[Redglyph]

It's "RPG lite" if you will. In some conversations at the beginning, you get to choose your character's traits. They add dialogue items or help with convincing people and so on. I'm not very far in the game but I don't think there's much more to it, which is fine by me, it serves its purpose and there's no combat or actions that require attributes, a lot of abilities and so on.

It looks like there are many choices that are remembered later, which is nice. Since it's not too long, it's well made for multiple runs.

 

[Redglyph]

There's an update with a new volume setting for the writing sound and a few fixes. Unfortunately no fix for the M+K controls.

Steam :: Pentiment :: Hotfix 1.0.1215

Over the next few days, we will roll out a hotfix patch for Pentiment on all platforms. This patch includes the following changes

steamcommunity.com

 

[Arhu]

I played for a few hours. Like the mystery. Reminds me of the film The Name of the Rose. Good game for a comfy evening with candlelight and red wine. Educational too, and very unique in any case.

 

[Ripper]

The whole Name of the Rose aspect is very appealing to me, but then I find the art style not really in keeping that tone. TBH, it just looks like a medieval-themed Flash animation. If it had that right sort of dark, grungy, candlelit vibe, I'd probably be up for it.

 

[Redglyph]

I played for a few hours. Like the mystery. Reminds me of the film The Name of the Rose. Good game for a comfy evening with candlelight and red wine. Educational too, and very unique in any case.

The game is actually inspired by the book, according to Josh Sawyer.

Did you notice that the text you had to erase at the beginning was the first page of Umberto Eco's book in latin? EDIT: the prologue of the book, to be more precise. I hadn't noticed but I saw it mentioned somewhere and could check it was indeed the case.

 

[purpleblob]

I got it, tried it and it's not for me. As with GameDec, I can't just play text games so much anymore. It seems to have some nice elements etc., but it also just feels bland to me in terms of the fun element.

It's making me think Disco Elysium really did have something special, because I played that one till the end...

This will be a hard pass for me - text based gameplay + set male protagonist really isn't for me...

I absolutely agree Disco Elysium was really special. Brilliant game. Altho I won't/can't replay it.