A long time ago, I got a master's degree in medieval literature. This is going to be a very niche review for a very niche game. My degree is basically unhelpful and I never use it, but I can say definitively, this game is extremely well-researched. Amazingly so. I think pretty early into the game, I realized I was in for an experience when my hedonist character name-dropped St Augustine expecting me, the player, to be like Ah, yes, haha!

One thing that I love about medieval literature is the loss people endured at the time and the imagery people used to cope during this time period. While Pentiment is not strictly medieval (more the time period where late medieval slides into the Renaissance), a lot of the imagery is from late medieval works, including Beatrice, the dream vision guide coping with the loss of a child.

Aside from the blow your mind fonts that are *also historically accurate,* I was really shocked to realize I was playing a choices matter game that was delving into the politics of literacy, Martin Luther, the advent of the printing press, and how this related to the Great Peasants' Revolt (or a mini version anyway).

I did enjoy thinking about this message again, though, because it had been a while since I had thought about the importance of literacy, the control of access to knowledge and critical thinking. I realize this is far too thinky of a review on Steam, but this game is special and I think it deserves to be noted that this game reminds us that tens of thousands of people died for our ability to share books not only in the vernacular language, but in accessible fonts and in mass production. The danger was evident to the ruling class and you can see the control of information and access to education again today. Pentiment reminds us that a society where ruling groups control how education and freedom of certain rights are doled out to the other classes is a form of bondage that restricts upward mobility and change.

It also reminds us of how many people died so that we could write stupid reviews like this. At least on my play-through, in the credits, it showed me of two characters who ended up being burned at the stake as heretics. While we do not have this danger nowadays, I hope it reminds us of the luxury we have of reading in the vernacular, and of having the right to move freely around the world no matter of our gender or race. This game also reminds us to consider how we should fight to keep these rights accessible to fight for better days.

As a medievalist (I wrote my PhD dissertation about a manuscript produced in the twelfth-century), I _really_ appreciate this game. The attention to detail is superb and I want to commend the development team for not falling prey to tiresome stereotypes about medieval life. Honestly, if I were still in the profession and teaching, I would include this on my syllabus for enrichment. :D

As a teenager, I would play the Monkey Island games all over again. When I was a freshman English Literature student, I was asked to read 'The Discarded Image', a compelling overview of the the Medieval consciousness written by C.S. Lewis. In my free time, I devoured 'The Name of the Rose' while listening to Ancient Music.

The wheel of time kept turning. I completed my Master's degree but did not stay on at my Alma Mater to write a PhD thesis [yes, the hedonist trait kicked in]. I pursued earthly pleasures, plied my trade, got married, lost the point of it all.

Why am I talking like Andreas?

Because that precious jewel of a game rolled all my youthful interests into one three-day binge and threw it at me when I could not imagine such a work of art could be conceived. Who'd bother?

Yet it happened. The point-and-click stuff without the hassle of inventory, without getting stuck. The exquisite artwork and animation. The period-correct music. The narrative that will haunt you for days, The countless plot options that will make you revisit Tassing tomorrow, next month, next year penchance.

Andreas dreamed of the perfect city, and I?

I have my perfect game.

I can’t sleep right now because I genuinely regret choices I made in this game as if I had made them in reality

I don't post on things. I don't write reviews ever. I've been playing video games for 25 years. Maybe its just me getting older but here I am, writing something for the first time so that someone might see this and become curious.

Because this game deserves it. I feel enriched after playing this. I feel inspired and hopeful.

I feel so grateful to have been able to participate in something that approximates what beauty and life aspire towards. Together they can connect and bind and nurture and educate us, and I think Pentiment achieves this.

If you're a human you should play this at least once.

Even with over 500 years difference between us, Andreas is one of the most relatable characters I've played this year because I too would rather try to ineffectively solve random mysteries than directly confront my depression.

Do you like the art style?
Do you like incredible branching narrative?
Do you like 1500's Europe?
Are you okay with making bad choices and living with the consequences?

If you said "Absolutely!" to at least 2 of these things, you want this game.
If you said "Most assuredly my good man! And God Bless You!" to all 4 of these things, then you are a character who has escaped from the game, please return post haste!

Since there is one in the reviews that bases the negative rating on blasphemous language in this game, but it is not possible to respond to this claim because comments on the review have been disabled. I have to do this by writing my own review. Regardless of how seriously one should take said review, it could, by the attention it has received and the lack of context, cast a bad light on the historical accuracy of the game.

Anyway, for those who are interested, I would like to point out that the main point of the criticism, the historical authenticity, does not apply. The communication of medieval southern Germany was characterised by blasphemous language. Although in the worst case, blasphemy was punishable by death, the way it was dealt with differed according to the jurisdiction in the Holy Roman Empire. In various regions, blasphemous expressions were an everyday occurrence, and the Bavarian countryside was no exception. The criminalisation of blasphemy even ensured that new expressions were always formulated and incorporated into everyday communication. This can be seen in the constantly growing catalogue of punishable blasphemous expressions. A few examples: "Gotz sweis", "Gotz grind", "Gotz zers". The last in the series refers to a certain phallic object hanging between God's legs. Blasphemy was forbidden and tempting and the game certainly approaches the historical realities.

Since this is a review, I should review something: I haven't played very much of it yet, but I can say: the relaxed and decelerating nature of the game is great. The artstyle, the colours and the attention to detail make this game aesthetically very appealing. I like the dialogue and indeed the language (in this case the German version) very much. I am looking forward to the time I will spend with this exceptionally good game.

This is a game that should not exist. It is so niche that I struggle to understand how a company could have greenlit a project like this. But I'm very glad they did, because it is absolutely incredible.

It is a love letter to history, to writing, to stories, to culture. A gorgeously illustrated and scored, geekly researched slice of humanity, where the fate of the Universe is not at stake, where there are no cosmic heroes to save the day. What there are however, is a cast of profoundly human characters, shaped by where they came from, having to decide where they will go and what will become of their tiny, little piece of the world.

I was hesitant to play this game. I had this in my library since Christmas and always found an excuse to not play it. The reason for this anxiety is that I have devoted a good portion of my now boomer existence to both video games and as a medievalist scholar. The kind of insufferable nerd who reads Latin and Norman French primary sources for fun and bored his ex-wife into a divorce with tales of the myths and allegories of the medieval Church and peasant legends. Needless to say, while I have enjoyed more action fantasy games involving swords and crossbows, I had an overwhelming fear that something in this game that did not have weapons would break my immersion and completely sour me so that I would not either be able to enjoy the game or the storytelling.

My fears were unfounded.

I binged the first playthrough of the game over the course of almost an entire Friday and Saturday, the kind of thing that is reserved for your favorite show releasing a new season. I will not spoil the game, but this not only brought me into a world, but did so with grace, tact, and emotion bringing the characters to life, and even causing my crusty old boomer heart to care. To care about the characters and the lives of this fictional town as the years progressed.

And, obviously, while not completely historically accurate... because who wants to actually play a Chanson of Roland?... this story was not INACCURATE. In fact, I am almost entirely certain that one of the writers on this game read the book the The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century and included an easter egg to this relatively obscure novel very small part in the game.

And I went ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ for it. I legit FanBoyed in front of my computer alone. My ex-wife would have divorced me all over again.

I grew up on the Lucas Arts adventure games. I still play Wadjet Eye games as a break from the usual violence or strategy games that percolate my gaming habits.

Jim Valvano famously said in a speech in the 1990s, "If you Laugh, you Cry, and you Think, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day."

This is a heck of a game.

This game, will stick with me. I will be doing a second or possibly third playthrough. Is there more than that? Not sure. and is there multiple playthroughs for all people for this game? Most likely few people are such a combination of geek that I am, so probably not. But this? I can fully recommend that this game is easily $19.99 USD extremely well-spent for one time through this story.

If you like history, if you like adventure games, if you like some "To the Moon" style emotions and excellent storytelling with unique graphics, you will like this game.

12/10 would get divorced again over this game for squealing like a nut when it nails medieval allegory, myth, legend and theology/philosophy