It’s barely been a month sincePentimentwas released, but already the adventure game has been causing some interesting conversations within the gaming community.Obsidian Entertainment’s highly original RPG follows the fortunes of a small town in 16th-century Bavaria and its various residents, exploring the process of solving several mysteries over the course of twenty-five years. Its unique format, premise, and design have helped to makePentimentstand out, but it’s also had some unexpected results.
Historical games don’t tend to be released too frequently, with many titles preferring other fantastical (and more fictitious) settings. If releases do center on a historic premise, like the popularAssassin’s Creedfranchise, they tend to combine this with plenty of fabricated elements or even some aspects of science fiction to make them more appealing to a modern audience.Pentimenthas proved that its niche setupcan find an audience, and its creative combination of mystery-solving and decision-making has shown what heady heights choice-based games can reach.
RELATED:The Toughest Choices in Pentiment
Pentiment’s Choice-based Gameplay
Pentimentis hardly the first game to highlight decision-making within its gameplay, and there have also been other thoughtful, well-crafted RPGs where players have a hand in shaping the narrative. Games that are rooted in choices and strong storytelling have proven popular over the years, like many of Telltale’s series or Supermassive Games' interactive titles, and there have even been similar games that have utilized a distinct painterly aestheticlike INTERIOR/NIGHT’sAs Dusk Falls. These examples all use decisions to shape their stories, drive the action, and create tension, butPentimenttakes this to another level.
There are a variety of ways that gamers are askedto steerPentiment’s gameplay, from shaping protagonist Andreas' background and skillset to accepting or rejecting romantic overtures from an NPC. Some of these decisions are momentous and clearly have a sizable impact on the story, like picking which character to accuse of murder, whereas others can seem deceptively commonplace like choosing who to share a meal with. The genius ofPentimentpartly lies in the variety of choices that it asks players to make, as well as the unexpected impacts they have.
How Pentiment Sets The Standard For Future Titles
Nothing inPentimentis straightforward, and that includes the decision-focused aspect of its gameplay. Even the smallest decisions close off storylines in clever ways, and some everyday choices can have the most unforeseen consequences.Pentimentmasterfully builds its narrativealongside the myriad of mysteries and murders that Andreas and his allies are trying to solve, and the richness of the story comes from the complex relationships and histories that exist within the community of Tassing and the nearby Kiersau Abbey. The decisions play into this, as players are often presented with choices with only a fragment of information before more is revealed later on.
Some similar games can use their decision-based gameplay to force players into instinctual pressurized choices as a way to up the tension, rather than in the much more considered wayPentimentdoes.Pentiment’s choice-based gameplay feels organic, creative, and engaging. As the game never canonically fully reveals the true mystery that binds the events and various plotlines together,Pentimentis very much about the journeyand the process, instead of the destination.Pentimenthelps pave the way for how sophisticated and complex decision-based gaming could be, and how players can be part of a living, breathing story instead of merely a passenger within an established narrative.
Pentimentis available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It is also available on Xbox Game Pass.
MORE:Pentiment Proves a Great Point About Diversity in Historically Grounded Games
