Pentiment: Review of one of the most exciting games of the year

Before diving into the topic Pentiment reviewThere is one question that needs answering: Who is Josh Sawyer? The author of this title is one of the most talented in the world of video games, a profession in which he has been engaged with an unparalleled passion since the early nineties. Sawyer was the designer of two Icewind Dales for Black Isle Studios and would also be the designer of Fallout 3, which never came to light because Interplay exploded. After an unfortunate stint at Midway, he reunited with his former colleagues in 2005 and officially joined Obsidian. His role here was fundamental to the creation of Fallout: New Vegas and the two Pillars of Eternity, as well as the futuristic but ruined Alpha Protocol and promising Aliens: Crucible, which Sega later decided to cancel.

a magical book

Pentiment is an idea Josh Sawyer has had since the early years of his career, but only started to materialize in 2018 thanks to the success of games like Night in The Woods and Oxenfree (both highly recommended). Moreover Microsoft’s role was fundamental: The Redmond giant acquired Obisidian not to turn it into a highly automated blockbuster factory, but to provide the necessary economic stability to experiment at full capacity. Strategy seems to have worked, as Obisdian has never been more productive and versatile: Grounded is one of the most original and successful action/survival games on the market, while Pentiment, well, Pentiment…

True story

Pentiment is a magical book that tells a story that will be written literally before our eyes, on the wreckage of our choices. As with any magic, this naturally requires the magician to use one or more tricks: in this case, we already have a plot outlined with pre-constructed moments that will inevitably converge to a single ending. It’s not just smoke and mirrors, and the way we act throughout the game will still have huge implications for the narrative. Pentiment is a historical and deductive whodunitThere are murders and the user has to try to solve them, but the gist of the matter seems to be something else: the passage of time and the succession of men.

The new Obsidian game seems to want to explain how layers of human history pile up on the ground, and to do so, it narrows the lens on the fictional village of Tassen, a Bavarian 16th century village. We’ll wake up later, exactly in Tassen. a disturbing dream journeyin the role of Andreas Maler, who works as a muralist in the scriptorium of the monastery, which currently dominates the valley. You can learn what a miniaturist is and what a writing room does right in the game through a comprehensive and interesting glossary that will be enriched with term definitions along the way.

There Historical reconstruction of Pentiment it’s one of the strictest, not just for video game standards. The team that created this experience clearly fell in love with the subject and did all the research necessary to lend credibility to a simple all-encompassing environment. The village of Tassen, the abbey that overlooks it, the monastery at its feet, and the forest that embraces and protects this corner of the Holy Roman Empire, is the home of dozens of unique and quintessential characters. Many names and faces will only be confusing at first, but gradually a valuable and fundamental familiarity will take over the emotional workings of this game.

The story of Pentiment and its cast spans over twenty-five years, a narrative device powered by two great time jumps: we will see children grow up and not only the old die, but families prosper and homes that were once full of life slowly disappear. Melancholy and hope will be tied to a variety of murders that are important to solve but also completely unrelated because it is not the exact narrative line that will change, but the lives of those who will suffer the consequences of our words. More than actions and choices, Slowly in Pentiment’s words.

God bless you

Pentiment has no puzzles to solve, or an inventory full of items and actions, except for some pretty simple little things. Pentiment is not that kind of game or graphic adventure, it’s an experience based on relationships and dialogue. By deciding on the past studies and travels of our Andreas Maler, we will be able to build his background, giving him specific information that will later characterize certain passages of the adventure and above all the dialogues once again. The majority of your time with Pentiment will be spent talking to the residents of Tassen and living your life between the monastery and the village. Preparing for each murder is deliberately slow and meticulous, precisely because the relationships between the different characters are so important: you’ll have to play around a bit, experience Andreas’ daily life, and get to know the large cast to see the first dead. .

THEM dialogues multiple choice, with more or less options depending on our character’s knowledge of the subject; from time to time we will also have access to the inner thoughts of the hero, which will allow us to always make smoky progress on the possible consequences of the chosen words. Do you know how you can tell that the dialogues are masterfully thought out? Unspoken words are also important here, in some cases it is better to remain silent and not say everything or okay. This is something we’ll want to know before starting the game, so it’s also great advice for those of you who will be starting the game soon.

Everything is flowing…

Don’t worry: at Pentiment game over and there is no way we can define right or wrong. In Obsidian, everything flows relentlessly, organically and revolves around our personal interpretation of Andreas Maler, an impromptu actor but already written drama. Throughout the adventure you’ll explore the surrounding areas and more, often relying on your notebook to traverse names and events, You will read our three Fathers and a Virgin Mary in full.

You will experience the daily life of a quiet convent where everything is not going as the Lord wishes, you will even meet a reclusive nun, helping and interacting in long group chats, such as when they invite you to help with the tanning of women’s wool. , an extremely rare moment of normalcy in a video game. However, we don’t want to tell you too much, exaggerate with examples: whether you’re aligned with the experience Pentiment has to offer or not, you’ll probably already understand it, and any additional details will ruin the successive surprise.

an animated picture

The most striking aspect of Pentiment is undoubtedly its graphic designis a crisis between the rarest past and present, transforming every corner of the game into a small work of art. A tribute to Hanna Kennedy, a young artist who had already collaborated on the birth of The Outer Worlds in Obsidian, but here as Art Director naturally played a much more important, even fundamental, role in the success of the project. . The music entrusted to the group specializing in Alkemie period music is also very good, but its use surprised us a little. We appreciated that for most of the game there were only sound effects to accompany us, but that didn’t happen, except in some very rare cases, even if the music had more room to evolve and highlight the most important events.

if this is not weakness It’s always an interesting third act of the play, but certainly less interesting than the previous ones. At this stage, Pentiment changes its face for a moment, shying away from its heinous crimes and pays off a pace that can be described as excellent until then, provided you like the assumptions. This remains a unique adventure of its kind, truly superbly done, it will immerse you in the atmospheres of The Name of the Rose at first, but will not be afraid to distance itself as it begins to close its distinctive veil.