When rumours abound in the lead-up to the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase earlier this year that a new game from Obsidian Entertainment was about to be revealed, few would have expected Pentiment. With a unique art style that stands out from most other games out there, Pentiment see you playing as a young artist who finds himself embroiled in a murder mystery in n the small 16th-century town of Tassing in the south of Germany
While it’s not a role-playing game in the vein of their past titles, Obsidian appears to have infused all they’ve learnt about narrative choices into this game which is potentially going to feature on a lot of people’s games of the year lists. With the general consensus being that it is a game worth trying, even if it won’t be forever one, it is a great Xbox Gamepass title to give a go.
Here’s what Australian critics are saying about the game
KOALATY CRITICS – AUSTRALIAN CRITICS
AusGamers – 9.2/10 (Steve Farrelly)
You won’t play a game like it this year, or even from the past few years lest you dabble in the narrative adventure field, and even then Obsidian’s new opus is pretty distinct. Its writing is among the best I’ve experienced for this style of game, while the cadence of its unfurling mystery is such that the game draws you into its world ever so slightly, you’ll barely realise how deep you are into it before it snags you in its binding.
Read the review.
Checkpoint Gaming – 9/10 (Pedro Cooray)
The game gracefully balances serious themes, soap operatic twists, and some very funny moments, revolving around a large cast of diverse, complex characters. Obsidian may have taken a risk making a game so unlike anything else they’ve made before, but the gamble has well and truly paid off. It’s not just a game for lit nerds.
Read the review.
Game On Aus – No Score (Royce Wilson)
If you enjoyed books such as The Name Of The Rose or Ken Follett’s The Pillars Of The Earth (which, incidentally, was also made into a game a few years ago), I think you’ll particularly appreciate what Pentiment is offering. Pentiment isn’t going to be for everyone, but if you have patience for it and can appreciate what it’s trying to do (and I certainly did), it’s a rewarding and enlightening experience which I’m very glad I’ve had the ability to play and enjoy.
Read the review.
GamesHub – 5/5 (David Wildgoose)
Through interactions with these people and many others – the insights into their lives gleaned from talking to them while they work, or the hopes and fears they reveal around the dinner table as you share pottage and bread – Tassing comes to feel like as real a place I’ve ever visited in a video game.
Read the review.
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Maxi-Geek – 8/10 (Luke Henderson)
Pentiment is a game that is so unique, I am not sure that it fits into any single genre. It offers up an intense, multi-year mystery that will shape itself based upon your choices. Once you have made a choice, your actions will have consequences and sometimes watching them play out can be heart wrenching. The games lack of other things to do, other than talking to people and solve the occasional puzzle will likely frustrate gamers looking for some classic Obsidian gameplay, but even with that sticking with the game is worth it.
Read the review.
MKAU Gaming – 8/10 (Writer)
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.
Read the review.
Player2 – B+ (Jess Zammit)
The historical and religious setting won’t be for everyone, but the moral and philosophical questions it poses are important ones for anyone to consider, at least on some level. This game provided me with some clever twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, and the way it plays with time and the consequences of our actions is commendable.
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PowerUp Gaming – 9/10 (Leo Stevenson)
Pentiment is a rumination on the lives we live, the stories we tell and the history we forget or rewrite to better suit our present. It’s a focused look at human nature and the desire to create a legacy built upon that which came before, even if the foundation is being built on shaky ground.
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Press Start – 9/10 (Brodie Gibbons)
Although there’s nothing by way of spoken dialogue in Pentiment, it’s carried along by a performative medieval score that couples together with the almost-woodcut illustrations to capture the turbulence and dark undertones of the game’s whodunnit narrative. It’s a first-rate role playing game from a team who knows a thing about making them, though even all of the beautiful, stimulating writing is swiftly undercut by Hannah Kennedy’s art direction.
Read the review.
Stevivor – 8/10 (Courtney Borrett)
The sound design in Pentiment is also masterfully done. There is no voice acting and not much music. Most of the sounds you’ll hear while playing are birds chirping, footsteps, wooden spoons hitting wooden bowls during mealtimes and, my personal favourite, the sound of quills scratching parchment each time a character has dialogue. This collection of sounds makes for an experience that can be both calming and, at times, unnerving.
Read the review.
WellPlayed – 10/10 (Nathan Hennessy)
The 13-person development team has adopted stylings of art typical of western medieval Europe, with a text-heavy adventure penned in various fashions of the time that would denote status and education. The fantastic presentation is visually stylised in late medieval woodcuts, and mistakes abound in the written dialogue which are then scratched over in a delightful modernist inclusion of flaws and corrections. The details and trappings that summarise Pentiment read as mundane at best, but it’s nonetheless a thrilling murder mystery that sparks intergenerational complications for the people of Tassing.
Read the review.
