Michael Moorcock dice que la identidad es el enemigo del tiempo.

Nosotros percibimos este como un antes, un ahora y un después. Mientras que a la identidad como las cualidades individuales que nos caracterizan. Entonces… si el tiempo esta apelmazado, se podría decir que la identidad real de algo es la unidad total a través del tiempo.

En los humanos es mas fácil porque tenemos una fecha de caducidad. ¿Pero que hay de la historia? ¿Qué hay de las comunidades y las ciudades que se vuelven a forjar por encima de otras completamente distintas a las actuales.?

Bueno, de esta manera sucede y ha sucedido, dejando solo retazos a interpretar de lo que fue en algún momento. Josh Sawyer, creador de Pentiment, piensa que la historia no son hechos ni verdades, sino aquellas cosas que fueron quedando hasta nuestros dias. De esta forma, unas pocas miradas con distintas propósitos fueron prevaleciendo, haciendo que lo que ahora tenemos sea la única ventana al pasado además de nuestra propia imaginación.

Pentiment significa esto mismo. Cuando por la erosión gradual de la pintura a través del tiempo, va desenmascarando anteriores trabajos sobre un lienzo. Pero a diferencia con estas pinturas arrepentidas, en el juego no se busca tapar lo que siempre estuvo detrás o al menos nosotros no somos los que lo intentamos. Sino que se reescribe la historia de forma natural, manteniendo de forma arbitraria aquellos datos útiles o reinterpretando otros con nuevos significados para el futuro.

Esto no solo es aplicable a la historia o las comunidades, sino a la identidad de las personas. Extremadamente maleables y en constantes contradicciones que solo se agravan con el tiempo. Cambios en las profesiones y en las formas de encarar la pasión (Andreas), de filosofías y prejuicios con las que son criados (Werner o el Diacono), las relaciones familiares que transcienden enemistades (Paul y Anna) y si me presionan mucho hasta la suplantaciones (Matías). A veces llegamos a un punto donde lo que nos precedió esta muy lejos del resultado de todas nuestras acciones. Otros directamente viven en los recuerdos. Estancados en otros momentos previos donde eso era lo que los representaba. Pero nunca en el acá, nunca en el ahora. Aunque no por eso tiene que sentirse tan negativamente melancólico. Else explica en la importancia del sentimiento de imaginar un recuerdo como ella lo cree correcto en contra la veracidad de un hecho imposible de comprobar. Esta idea se une con las capas religiosa de los distintos pueblos que alimentan Tassing y la fe que mantiene vivos a los habitantes. Abrazando el sentimiento de comunidad que brinda la sumatoria de todas las creencias, dejando de lado el origen de las mismas.

No hay juego mas temáticamente idóneo para borrar y volver a arrancar, pero cuando me di cuenta que había que putear a Caspar para tener otra rama narrativa, así preferí quedarme con mi versión inmutable de Pentiment…

…al menos hasta que me olvide todo...

This is the perfect exmaple of what the videogame industry needs more of. Games made with smaller scopes, and budgets, but that still deliver the quality of a AAA game. It's one of the only sustainable paths forward for the games industry.

From art design, to story telling, to sound. It fires on all cylinders to deliver such a specifically crafted work of art. A creative masterpiece that I recommend to everybody. (And try to play it through within a reasonable amount of time lol, do not spread it acorss years like I did. This game deserves every bit of your attention, and it rewards you for it with a wonderfully cohesive tale)

Excepcional. Pentiment entrega uma experiência narrativa e visual única, onde nos detalhes mostra que esse jogo foi feito com um carinho enorme. Desde o início a sensação que Pentiment traz é excruciante, onde você vê que o que eles mais veneram e vivem por está sendo a causa do período difícil em que se encontram, o fanatismo e a ganância atrelados com boas intenções faz com que o peso das suas escolhas alterem totalmente o rumo a ser tomado, chegando a ser nada anormal você tomar a causa do assassino para si. Pentiment traz muitas emoções, um visual impecável e uma trilha sonora que consegue expressar tudo o que o jogo passa.

"No se puede acabar con las historias mientras haya personas que las cuenten"

"Generación va y generación viene; mas la tierra siempre permanece"

Uno de esos juegos especiales que aparecen una vez cada lustro.

Pentiment é a realização com primor de uma das obras mais autorais que eu já experimentei. Tudo é feito e apresentado de forma extremamente verossímil, a pesquisa do estúdio na hora de tratar sobre os mais diversos assuntos e dilemas presentes na sociedade retratada é fascinante. Pentiment é aquele jogo que incomoda o jogador por tratar de temas delicados e recorrentes na sociedade humana, incomoda por colocar um peso importante e rodeado de incertezas na mão do jogador, e principalmente pela forma como usa a Religião como temática principal da história. Sinto que o jogo poderia ter trabalhado melhor o seu ritmo(principalmente no último ato), no entanto os seus méritos fazem com que Pentiment seja uma experiência única, uma aula de como fazer um videogame.

✨️: 9,5

Medieval Twin Peaks with a twist of The Name of the Rose! This game absorbed me. I started yesterday in the evening, I played until three in the morning, and today, after breakfast, when I sat down, I played until the very end. Because I simply wouldn't be able to function without knowing the ending of this compelling story about a village that hides more than one secret.

First of all, fantastic visuals. I was already charmed by the trailers, but I only fully appreciated it when I saw how well it fits with the local mechanics. It's obvious that this is a game for narrative fans. There's not much gameplay here, although the mini-games are really satisfying. However, I was completely captivated by this seemingly inconspicuous story, which attracted attention from the very beginning with its very colorful characters and extraordinary humor. It is also a great meta commentary touching on those times. But above all, a fascinating crime mystery. The creators do a fantastic job of guiding the player through an engaging investigation, providing plenty of various clues, intriguing personalities and surprising plot twists along the way. Because this game really won't let us predict much. He won't let us know too much. This makes us even more driven by curiosity to check every possible lead, talk to everyone and check every location.

The game is divided into three acts, which I didn't know before. However, after playing the whole thing, I must admit that it was structurally very good. The first two are absolutely unbeatable for me. In the third one, in my opinion, there was a certain repetition at times. However, this does not change the fact that the ending is satisfying and I think that I will recall this game many times in my memories, and today I probably won't be able to get it out of my head even for a moment. Because it is also a game that raises many interesting social issues and leaves us with many interesting reflections.

I will certainly come back to it one day to try to play this story in a different way, and for now I will think about it while listening to the great, very atmospheric soundtrack.

In terms of "heavy on reading" narrative game, this is not as dynamic and interactive as a Telltale game like The Wolf Among Us nor as richly built and in-depth as Disco Elysium. It is its own thing, but not always for the better.

My main issue is that the game is to grounded in reality, trying to portrait what's authentic and how life was like in this period. This results in a myriad of conversations and small talks about villages, farming, food, religion, faith, family, etc. If this sounds like your thing, than you're in for a treat. I, on the other hand, would've liked a more fantastical approach to the narrative. The dream sequences and the inner monologues are a great starting point, but it needed to expend in that direction.

The pacing is also quite tedious. I ended up getting used to the flow of the game near the middle of the second act, but without spoiling anything, it changed back up in the last act and made thing so slow once again.

If you're a medieval history nerd or are interested in diving deeper into a religious setting, than you'll probably enjoy this a lot. I certainly respect this game for what it was trying to achieve, but I don't think it'll succeed for everyone.