Video Game Review: Pentiment by Obsidian Entertainment

A beautifully painted Renaissance whodunit.

I heard a positive, albeit quiet, buzz surrounding the release of Pentiment and was intrigued by its very existence. A new Obsidian story-based murder mystery game set in the Renaissance era with a story-book art style? Yes, please. Unfortunately, I didn’t own either of the platforms on which it launched, but thankfully that has been fixed by the kind folks over at Xbox Publishing. The first in a new wave of Xbox-published games on PlayStation has been happily received, and I have to say, Pentiment is a treat.

Andreas Maler, like the paintings he creates, is an intricate canvas of possibilities, fleshed out by the player. The character has certain staples to his personality that transcend the options given to the player, but on the whole, player choice feels like just the right touch of impact for a game this size. Choosing between rapscallion and bookworm will open very different dialogue choices. His areas of study at university and previous locations also open up even more dialogue and problem-solving decisions. Particular problems, like reading script in Italian for instance, become simple if Andreas knows how to read Italian. Otherwise, Andreas must hunt someone down who could help with his specific problem. This adds a bit of replay value to this little gem, and even better yet, keeps the dialogue fun. I’ve almost completed Pentiment twice and can see these small tweaks affecting each playthrough.

The visual aspect of this game is a breath of fresh air. A unique storybook style paints characters in vibrant hues, bringing life to these two-dimensional theists. Almost every character is memorable, a combination of brilliant artwork and writing. The animations are clean and simple, and the game always looks fantastic. Pentiment is a treat for the eyes.

On par with the artwork, the dialogue is king here. With witty writing, the characters pop off the page. Especially Andreas. His ability to thread his way between pious and respectful or sacrilegious and scandalous always created engaging options. I loved the sarcastic lines, and loved it even more when other characters picked up on my sarcasm and called me out (much respect to the ever-intuitive Father Thomas). The game lives by the dialogue, as there isn’t anything else here. Players looking for anything outside of the narrative need to look elsewhere. There are small mini-games throughout that bring in a bit of a distraction (a card game, fixing horseshoes, etc.), but they are ever only distractions and don’t add much to the game. Thankfully the writing is strong enough to hold the rest of the title upon its shoulders. Sitting around and having dinner with the townsfolk is just as engrossing as solving murders (well, almost).

All is not perfect in this picturesque storybook though. The game begins at a dawdling pace, creating a bit of a slog. It’s unfortunate because the game isn’t particularly long. I can see how the absence of a varied list of sound effects and music in combination with a slow start could turn people off. Stick with it and you'll be rewarded, but I admit some of the gameplay choices create a monotonous air. For instance, the entire game sees the player backtracking to find out more information or spend time with specific people.

Pausing the game brings up a book-like menu that allows the player to view the town/abbey and what is available to do in these areas, but it’s not always accurate and doesn’t always show who is currently available to have a discussion. What follows (if you want to be thorough in investigating the murder) is that I found myself going into every house in every area of the game to see if the townspeople or clergy members had something to say. Sure I could have just talked to a few people and gone off of inconclusive evidence, but how could I condemn an innocent person to death without as much information as possible? The system for traversal was inconvenient, even if it didn’t take long to get from place to place.

As dialogue exits characters’ mouths in Pentiment, a quill scratching paper makes a sound. It’s a nice touch, but over time I desired more. The music is lacking, and as much as I enjoy the silent aspect, the game’s clever writing had me hoping for some fantastic voice acting. The music is so ambient as to be absent (though it does flare up during important revelations). A more prominent soundtrack or voiced dialogue would have elevated the experience for this reviewer.

Regardless of these annoyances, Pentiment paints a brilliant picture of life in a small town connected to an abbey in the 1500s. Taxes raised on the peasants create cruel times that force bold action. Most characters are fleshed out and are worth learning more about. Deciding who to accuse when the time comes feels like a hefty decision and actions taken in Act I play out in Acts II and III, so the player must choose wisely. Will you ignore the abbot and investigate the abbey against his wishes, thus drawing his ire in Act II? Would you accuse a character you didn’t have enough evidence to convict but simply didn’t like them? The choices are in the player’s hands, and regardless of how the story goes, Obsidian manages to make the hefty decisions feel incomplete. Reminiscent of the actual convictions cast in the Renaissance era with insufficient data, the weight of a character’s life is in the balance, whether you have enough information or not. Spoiler: you never do, and that makes the game all the more brilliant.

When the credits roll on Pentiment, it is easy to consider pressing New Game right away to see the other options. To see how the peasants and townsfolk react to the accusations of different characters. And to see how your choices will play out differently through the acts. The beauty of Pentiment, despite my issues with its traversal and sound, is that it isn’t a long game, so experiencing it more than once is a feasible option. Any fan of a highly story-focused game should give this a look-over. Clever writing and beautiful artwork steal the show and is a great example of what an established developer could do with a smaller side-project. Pentiment is a polished, highly memorable experience.

--

The Math

Objective Assessment: 8/10

Bonus: +1 for witty dialogue. +1 for the beautiful storybook art style.

Penalties: -1 for endless backtracking. -1 for lacking some sound effects.

Nerd Coefficient: 8/10

Posted by: Joe DelFranco - Fiction writer and lover of most things video games. On most days you can find him writing at his favorite spot in the little state of Rhode Island.

We Rank 'Em: New (Retro) Adventure Games!

Since the first time I played King's Quest at a friend's house, I've been in love with adventure games - or "point and click" games as they'd come to be known once every computer came with a mouse. Adventure games are puzzle based, in most cases featuring little to no twitch action. They also emphasize character and story - hence their appeal to this here book nerd.

The best iterations of the style feature challenging but intuitive puzzles, immersive and atmospheric worlds, relatable characters and gripping narrative arcs. Unfortunately, many of the '80s and '90s classics used cheap and unforgiving puzzle design to paper over the fact that they were very short and simple games. Plus if you wanted to know how to proceed, you'd need to call the handy - and expensive - hint line provided in the manual.

The style fell by the wayside with the emergence of 3D rendering and the more immediate thrills provided by FPS and RTS games in the late 1990s. But now, thanks to Steam, GOG, mobile gaming platforms and our seemingly unquenchable thirst for all things retro, adventure games are back!

Here are a few of the best new adventure games on the market:


6. Thimbleweek Park by Terrible Toybox (2017)

Do you like weird what is even real anymore mysteries like Twin Peaks or Wayward Pines? How about the LucasArts model for point-and-click games? If the answer is yes to both, then I'm guessing you'll dig this Twin Peaks-inspired entry by the creators of Secret of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion. It also happens to be very good. Oh, and play it on Hard - it's not an authentic retro experience if the puzzles don't feel cheap at times. Steam | GOG.

5. Stasis by The Brotherhood (2015)

Unlike most of the entries on this list, Stasis is not an homage to the glory days of Sierra and LucasArts. It's more like a puzzle-based take on Dead Space, where you wander around a spaceship trying to make sense of what happened and not get killed by scary-ass shit. Atmospheric and gripping, Stasis features absolutely gorgeous environments, solid gameplay and intuitive puzzles. Steam | GOG.

4. Oxenfree by Night School Studio (2016)

Oxenfree is arguably the most stylish and high concept adventure game ever made. It centers on a group of teens in a weird Pacific Northwest town notable for its supernatural and just plain weird activity. Sound familiar? That's because this one also falls into the what is even real anymore category of game fiction. But it's not a retro game the way Thimbleweed Park is. Rather, like Stasis, Oxenfree represents a wholly modern take on this retro genre. Featuring gorgeous graphics, memorable characters and inventive gameplay mechanisms, Oxenfree stands apart from the pack. But it does fall short in a few areas - the dialogue can be quite tedious at times, and the game feels too short for another. It's still great, though, and well worth your time. Steam | GOG.

3. Whispers of a Machine by Clifftop Games (2019)

My two favorite literary genres are science fiction and crime noir. Whispers of a Machine has the honor of being both (full review here). The game takes place in a future Sweden, where anything remotely close to AI (including computers) has been banned. You don't know exactly what happened, only that it was bad - this serving as metaphor for a fairly sophisticated meditation on our relationship to machines. The game also features smart, Sierra-esque graphics and some cool gameplay innovations, courtesy of protagonist Vera's cybernetic augmentations. Oh, and there are multiple endings - each of which you'll want to experience. The downside? There are other games that do all this better, like...  Steam | GOG.

2. Primordia by Wadjet Eye Games

It's no understatement to say that Wadjet Eye Games rule the roost of new (retro) adventure gaming, and Primordia encapsulates exactly why that is. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic junkyard; its protagonist, Horatio Nullbuilt, lives peacefully with his robot Crispin until his power core is stolen. Their quest to get it back serves as a vehicle for exploring what happened to the humans who once populated the dead world. Primordia features a deeply compelling narrative, great characters, beautifully rendered retro graphics and a haunting atmosphere. And the puzzles are highly intuitive - no cheapness here. All in all it's an extraordinary adventure game, one highly recommended for fans of the genre. It's melancholic tone will give you the feels for sure. Steam | GOG.

1. Gemeni Rue by Wadjet Eye Games

Like Whispers of a Machine, Gemini Rue is also a cross between science fiction and noir, but in this case, features alternating hard SF and SF-tinged neo-noir narratives. These come together brilliantly at the end, but not before presenting gamers with one of the most seamless, artful and pleasing puzzle-based adventures ever made. Gemini Rue is a near-perfect example of what the genre has to offer, simultaneously paying homage to and surpassing the Sierra and LucasArts classics. I can't recommend this one enough - it may be the most gratifying adventure game I've ever played. Steam | GOG.

Microreview [game]: Whispers of a Machine

In the future, there is no more IKEA...

Whispers of a Machine is a retro point-and-click adventure game in the Sierra/LucasGames mold. It features gorgeous VGA pixel graphics, a strong protagonist, engaging story and some neat gameplay innovations. But it also suffers from the genre's endemic weakness: namely, a reliance on unintuitive "fetch this for that" puzzles.

Whispers of a Machine bills itself as a science fictional take on Nordic noir, and the shoe fits. It is part of a growing movement of works across multiple media that asks what could happen when if the digital tools we increasingly rely on were to progress on their current trajectory, and then fail en masse. We are not told what happened, exactly, only that artificial intelligences have been banned as a result.

It is also a moody and atmospheric crime story. Vera Englund is an Operative - a kind of super agent with cybernetic enhancements - who has been sent to the small town of Nordsund to investigate a pair of gruesome murders. We are introduced to the town and its inhabitants, including a well-liked police chief, an enigmatic member of the Town Council, an eccentric robot mechanic and, of course, the murder victims. Slowly but surely we come to understand that the murders are linked to the worldwide ban on AI.

Gameplay is mostly what you'd expect - talk to various inhabitants of the town, search drawers for items of note, then use said items on said inhabitants or on other items. Go from A to B and then back to A. There are some innovations, though. Vera has a gun, which you can use occasionally; and she has cybernetic enhancements, which are quite cool. One is a forensic scanner, which you can use to uncover physical evidence and clues. Another is a biometric scanner, which allows you to detect when a witness is lying.

Then there are powers you develop over time - six in total, though you would have to play through multiple times to try them all out. The ones you get are determined by the dialogue choices you make - each conversation gives you analytical, empathetic and assertive options; pick one and you get different powers, which then determines how you solve various puzzles. I really like this idea, and it helps distinguish Whispers of a Machine from other retro-adventure games. It also adds replay value, as there are three paths to choose (as well as two choices at the end of each path). This is also a plus given that Whispers of a Machine is, like the genre classics it's modeled after, quite short.

All of this makes Whispers of a Machine an worthwhile experience. As an adventure game devotee, I'm very happy I picked this one up. That said, the game replicates some of the old school's major flaws. A lot of the puzzles are basically "fetch this for that" - a fact made worse when the connection between this and that is wholly unintuitive. That means you either solve the puzzle through trial and error (which is tedious) or through a cheat guide (which defeats the purpose of playing a puzzle game).

Old school adventure games used these kinds of puzzles because they were typically coded by one or two people and severely limited by storage size, neither of which applies in 2019. So if there is a sequel, I'd love it if the developers could lengthen the game and deploy more sophisticated puzzles.

I also have to say that Whispers of a Machine didn't pack quite the emotional punch of recent classics like Primordia or Gemini Rue, which explore the same narrative territory. The story is good, mind you - and certainly has its emotional touchpoints. But it felt like there are a more impactful message to send about our relationship to and reliance on technology.

Overall, I'd say Whispers of a Machine is a strong entry in the revitalized point-and-click genre. Adventure gamers should definitely pick this one up, but in the end it's one step short of greatness.


The Math

Baseline Assessment: 7/10.

Bonuses: +1 for gorgeous pixel graphics; +1 for gameplay innovations.

Penalties: -1 for unintuitive fetch-this-for-that puzzles; -1 for just missing the mark on story.

Nerd Coefficient: 7/10. "A mostly enjoyable experience."

***

POSTED BY: The G--purveyor of nerdliness, genre fanatic and Nerds of a
Feather founder/administrator, since 2012. 

Microreview [video game]: Batman - The Telltale Series Episode 3: New World Order by Telltale Games

The Villains, Revealed

Reviewer's note: Welcome to the second part in our five-part series reviewing Batman - The Telltale Series, an episodic adventure game. Part one can be found here, part 2 here. This review will contains spoilers for episode 1 and 2!

Picking up after the fairly surprising ending to episode 2, episode 3 continues to tighten the vise on both Batman and Bruce Wayne. Though Falcone and Hill are gone, the antagonists that truly threaten Gotham are revealed; the Penguin, and the leader of the Children of Arkham. But in the real world, Bruce Wayne faces just as much pressure in his support of Dent and the revelation that his father was involved in much of Gotham's corrupt past and the institutionalization of Cobblepot's mother.

Episode 3 is very much like episode 2. More of Bruce's life crumbles around him, and you spend the bulk of it doing damage control. It's split fairly evenly between Bruce Wayne segments and Batman segments. There's a really thought-provoking segment that questions what Batman can do for the everyman. I love seeing that sort of questioning of the role of superheroes in the real world.

However, as we get deeper into the game, I'm starting to notice some of the seams in the story. The decision between Dent and Catwoman near the end of episode 2 seems to be one of those illusory choices that come with offering two obviously different choices that lead to the same outcome. I chose Catwoman over Dent, but given the way episode 3 plays out, it would have to be a radically different structure if I had chosen Dent instead. This is not a complaint per se, but something we live with in Telltale games.

While I continue to enjoy the game and look forward to the next episode, they still haven't ironed out the performance problems. There's one scene in particular that got real choppy. It still doesn't make sense.

In classic Telltale style, episode 3 ends with another significant cliffhanger and teases an episode that I'm very much looking forward to. Despite the technical problems, Batman - The Telltale Series Episode 3 is great and it would take a really particularly bad episode to spoil the whole series at this point. 

The Math

Baseline Assessment: 7/10

Bonuses: +1 asks tough questions of what Batman does for average citizens

Penalties: -1 some weird frame rate hiccups (continuing)

Nerd Coefficient: 7/10 (an enjoyable experience, but not without its flaws)

***

POSTED BY: brian, sci-fi/fantasy/video game dork and contributor since 2014

Reference: Telltale Games. Batman - The Telltale Series Episode 3: New World Order [Telltale Games, 2016]

Microreview [video game]: Batman - The Telltale Series Episode 2: Children of Arkham by Telltale Games

Wheels in Motion

Reviewer's note: Welcome to the second part in our five-part series reviewing Batman - The Telltale Series, an episodic adventure game. Part one can be found here. This is the second episode, and if you've made it this far, you're probably in for the long haul. This review will contains spoilers for episode 1!

Let's kick this off the right way with technical difficulties! When I fired up Batman to play this new episode, I discovered that the game had lost/misplaced/overwritten my save game. It was just gone, as if I'd hadn't even started episode 1. Doing some quick googling revealed that the problem may be related to Telltale Games cloud save system. I disabled it and replayed episode 1 and didn't have any problems, but reader beware! I'm playing on a PC through Steam. If you're doing likewise, you may want to disable cloud saves if you haven't already encountered this problem.

Replaying episode 1 gave me a chance to do things different, but I mostly stuck to my original choices. The big one that I changed was that I did not shake Falcone's hand at Dent's fundraiser. The game rubbed my face in that one on my first run. However, it still placed the blame on me for Falcone being at the fundraiser to begin with. So it goes.

Episode 1 was an introduction. Episode 2 is where the plot starts to really take shape. It continues to put the player in uncomfortable or unwinnable situations, which is something Telltale is good at doing. Episode 2 starts to peel back the skin of Gotham, revealing how deep the rot is. It also continues to challenge what the player knows about Batman by making subtle changes to established characters. Again, if you thought you knew Batman, you can discard all of that except the very bones of the characters. The names may be familiar but the characters are not the same.

No particular complaints about the structure of this episode, but the technical problems linger. The afore mentioned save game problem is a real hassle for some who don't want to spend another two hours running through episode 1. It also hiccups in frame rate in some odd places. They're noticeable but not deal breakers. It's still a good looking game without serious graphical problems, but the frame rate hitches are fairly annoying.

By the end of the episode, some serious stuff has gone down in Gotham and I can't wait to get back into it. However, I don't expect the technical problems to be smoothed out by then. It's just something we'll have to deal with to enjoy the rest of this otherwise good adventure game.

The Math

Baseline Assessment: 7/10

Bonuses: +1 continues to challenge established Batman lore

Penalties: -1 some weird frame rate hiccups (still), -1 lost my save game

Nerd Coefficient: 6/10 (still enjoyable, but the flaws are hard to ignore)

***

POSTED BY: brian, sci-fi/fantasy/video game dork and contributor since 2014

Reference: Telltale Games. Batman - The Telltale Series Episode 2: Children of Arkham [Telltale Games, 2016]

Microreview [video game]: Batman - The Telltale Series Episode 1: Realm of Shadows by Telltale Games

The Batman Cometh

Reviewer's note: Hello! Welcome to the first part in our five-part series reviewing Batman - The Telltale Series, an episodic adventure game. This is the first episode and this review will be completely spoiler-free! However, subsequent episodes will necessitate some discussion of what came before, so they will be spoiler-free for the episode being reviewed but not necessarily for the previous episodes in the series. On with the review!

I love Batman. I've been a Batman fan since I was a kid, and a lot of it was propelled by Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie. Ever since then, anything Batman has piqued my interest. There has been plenty of ups and downs for the Dark Knight, but we've been on a real good streak in the video game world since Batman: Arkham Asylum. Batman - The Telltale Series, though completely different in nature, continues that streak of quality Batman video games.

Batman - The Telltale Series is an episodic adventure game in the same form Telltale Games has been famous for for quite a while. Rather than picking up one of the many interpretations of Batman, such as the movies or Rocksteady Arkham series video games, Batman is a new take on the character. After Batman foils the theft of an encrypted data device from city hall, Bruce Wayne is caught in a political knife fight over his support of Harvey Dent's campaign for mayor. Bruce Wayne and Batman fight on two fronts to uncover who is behind some vicious attacks on the Wayne family legacy and who called for the city hall break-in.

If you've played any recent Telltale adventure games, particularly The Wolf Among Us, you know how this game is going to play. If you haven't, these are cinematic adventure games, where the bulk of your interaction comes through dialog choices. In Batman, you spend most of the game as Bruce Wayne, playing the politics game in Gotham City. Where nearly every other Batman game focuses on punching bad guys, Batman - The Telltale Series takes a refreshing break from the cowl to put some serious metaphorical knives at Bruce's back. There's a point in the early game where I made a choice as Bruce that was supportive of a friend of mine, but looked real bad in the public eye, and the game never let me forget it. It kept coming up, and I could try to explain it away as Bruce, but it wasn't something Batman could punch until it was solved. I liked that it held me to my actions, even if it felt a little overboard, because I made a big decision at a split second. Making you feel like you're in some control over the story is what Telltale Games does best, and Batman is no exception.

Being the first episode in a series, there's a lot of scenes establishing characters. Obviously, Thomas and Martha Wayne (Bruce's murdered parents) are plainly present, but Telltale manages to give some characters an alternative look. They're instantly familiar in many ways, but different enough to give one subtle reminder: what you think you know about Batman doesn't necessarily apply here. Familiar characters, familiar setting, but this is definitely Telltale's game and doesn't have to strictly adhere to comic book, or movie, or TV show, or video game Batman universes. Again, I love this because it's keeping me on my toes.

I've got two minor complaints about this first episode. The first is that the action is pretty fast (for an adventure game), and the button prompts aren't 100% clear when it came to directional movement. I learned quick that a prompt that looked like a clockwise half-circle moving right to left really just meant push left. It's a minor complaint, but I came off as a very rookie or drunken Batman in my first fight because I was trying to do too much to match the prompt when the actual input needed was much simpler. It's something I caught on to quickly, but it was an annoyance.

The other minor complaint is that the game didn't run great. I'm not running on brand new hardware, but my PC runs much more graphically intense games than this with fewer hitches. It's good looking, but it's still the simple mostly flat style many Telltale games have. I can't really explain why it didn't run better, and the hiccups were largely between scenes, but it was noticeable. Perhaps the console versions run better.

Batman - The Telltale Series Episode 1: Realm of Shadows is a mouthful, but it's easy to recommend to Batman fans and Telltale adventure game fans. Even if you don't fit within those tastes, the political and class machinations are already heating up in this first episode. It's a strong start and I'm very excited to see what comes next. This is what I expected from Telltale; a quality game taking characters I know and giving me an experience that doesn't feel like it's completely retreading well-worn territory.

The Math

Baseline Assessment: 7/10

Bonuses: +1 recognizable Batman characters now in a different universe from what we've seen before.

Penalties: -1 technical performance leaves something to be desired

Nerd Coefficient: 7/10 (an enjoyable experience, but not without its flaws)

***

POSTED BY: brian, sci-fi/fantasy/video game dork and contributor since 2014

Reference: Telltale Games. Batman - The Telltale Series Episode 1: Realm of Shadow [Telltale Games, 2016]

CYBERPUNK REVISITED: Void & Meddler, Episode 1

Bathed and Confused in the Neon Rain

Though our Cyberpunk Revisited series is largely finished, this new release necessitated its revival. After all, it's a: (1) cyberpunk-themed; (2) point-and-click adventure game; that is (3) published by Mi-Clos Studios, who gave us the exquisite space survival game Out There. In some ways, I guess you could say I've been waiting my whole life for this game--or, at least, the thirty-odd years since I first played Manhunter: New York. Could this title possibly live up to my expectations? The answer, as far as Episode One is concerned, is "yes and no."

In Void & Meddler, you star as Fyn--a hardboiled DJ who has lost her memory of the past two years and wants it back. So you search for clues across a city that feels a lot like what New Yorkers might have imagined the future to look like in 1980. In other words, gritty, grimy and bathed in neon rain.

The art design draws inspiration from both the warm, cartoon-like style of Broken Sword and pixelated Sierra and LucasArts classics. But Void & Meddler also features some of the best use of color I've ever seen in a video game--buildings are bathed in the proverbial neon rain, while raindrops pitter and patter on a virtualized camera lens. It is absolutely stunning, and manages to feel nostalgic and progressive at the same time.

Unfortunately, the puzzle design doesn't evoke the same feelings. In the classic point-and-click mold, you basically move Fyn from place to place, picking up and interacting with objects for use in one of the game's many puzzles. Void & Meddler gets extra credit for creating multiple solutions to its puzzles, which means you don't have to spend hours just trying to find that one thing, without which you can't proceed.

On the other hand, there's no narrative momentum--something games like Gemeni Rue, Lost Echo or Stasis all use to great effect. Instead, you just click on anything--in the hopes that you might be able to accomplish something that is, at best, vaguely defined. Simply put, it's never really established why we should care about Fyn getting her memories back, and never all that clear how the things we do in the game relate to that endgoal. That formula might have worked for King's Quest, but it's not 1984 anymore.

Still, the game has enough style to keep my interest. I do, however, hope for more dynamic puzzles and a clearer sense of story from Episode 2.


The Math

Baseline Assessment: 7/10

Bonuses: +1 the color; +1 in the neon rain.

Penalties: -1 for retrograde puzzles; -1 for narrative issues.

Nerd Coefficient: 7/10. "A mostly enjoyable experience."

Our scoring method explained in full.


***

POSTED BY: The G--purveyor of nerdliness, genre fanatic and Nerds of a
Feather editor/blogger since 2012.