Pentiment
Investigate murders as an artist in historical Bavaria, choosing which conversations and leads deserve your limited time. Your background shapes encounters, and your decisions leave consequences across generations.
- AI score · out of 10
- 9.0 / 10
About this game
Pentiment begins with Andreas Maler, an artist drawn into murders in sixteenth-century Bavaria. You get to know the surrounding community through conversations and occasional minigames, while choices about Andreas's education and personal background influence his interactions. Investigating means deciding whom to approach and which leads to follow before presenting your findings. Time places a real boundary on that inquiry: you cannot pursue every opportunity. Decisions and accusations then reach beyond the immediate investigation, affecting the community across generations. The world is illustrated in a style drawn from illuminated manuscripts and woodcut prints, connecting the historical setting to the way its people and places appear on screen.
Collected in topics
IGN 10/10 Review Selections
Explore games awarded 10/10 in formal IGN reviews, with attention to the reviewed version and the context of each assessment.
Recommended games
Related game recommendations on this platform
Nintendo Switch
AI review
AI reviews are subjective assessments, not player ratings. See each review for its evidence and limitations.Published date:
A historical investigation for players who value consequential choices over exhaustive certainty.
Limited investigation time can turn choosing a lead into a meaningful commitment. For players interested in a community's changing relationships, consequences across generations give those decisions a broader frame.
Strengths
- Background-dependent interactions can make the investigation feel personal.
- Manuscript and woodcut influences give historically curious players a visual connection to the setting.
Weaknesses
- Players who want to examine every lead before deciding may find the time restriction uncomfortable.
Who it is for: Readers who enjoy historical settings, conversations and decisions whose effects extend beyond the current mystery.
Play notes: Approach the investigation expecting to leave some opportunities unexplored, rather than planning to complete every activity.
View scoring basis
| Dimension | Review state | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimension Limited investigation time creates pressure to commit, while consequences across generations shift attention toward what those commitments leave behind. | Reviewed | 8.8 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Choosing a background and prioritizing leads can make inquiry feel like role-playing rather than merely collecting information. | Reviewed | 9.1 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension The manuscript-inspired imagery can help the historical setting feel integral to the storytelling. | Reviewed | 9.4 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension TV and handheld support offers a useful choice of reading setup for a conversation-focused adventure. | Reviewed | 8.6 / 10 | Not provided |
Review sources
Not provided
Core information
- Developer
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher
- Xbox Game Studios
- Release date
- Feb 22, 2024
- Platforms
- Nintendo Switch
- Content kind
- Game
- Release state
- Released
- Region
- Worldwide
- Official website
- Not provided
- Offline minimum players
- Not provided
- Offline maximum players
- Not provided
- Online minimum players
- Not provided
- Online maximum players
- Not provided
- Categories
- Interactive Narrative · Primary genre
- Tags
- Puzzle SolvingSlow BurnSide-scrollingStory-drivenReplayableInvestigationHistoricalSolo-friendly
- Supported game languages
- Not provided
- Requires base game
- Not provided
- Standalone
- Not provided
- Age ratings
- Not provided
- Play modes
- Single player
- Perspectives
- Side view
Release editions
- Windows PCWorldwideNov 15, 2022
- Nintendo SwitchWorldwideFeb 22, 2024
Game gallery
Sources
- www.nintendo.comSource revision: 1
- www.nintendo.com