Thank God they finally let rope kid out of the Pillars of Eternity mines so he could make this.
It is exceptionally easy to get caught up in the idea that the past wasn't just a different time, but a different world. It's a truism, and one that's so obvious that it can muddy the simple fact that people haven't changed all that much. We're a social species who cope with both reality's bounties and hardships in much of the same ways, though the exact specifics continue to change throughout the years. The medieval peasantry were in no way fundamentally different to ourselves. The struggles of the poor and prosperities of the aristocracy under feudalism mirror those of the poor and the wealthy today. They're different, but they aren't that different, and showcasing that is what really makes Pentiment shine.
1500s-era Tassing, Upper Bavaria (a fictional mish-mash of locations throughout present southern Germany) is a tiny, impoverished mud pit with a population of about fifty people, and they're all written like actual human beings. Everyone has their own struggles and their own secrets, and there's so much to dig into that nobody will ever feasibly discover everything by themselves. This is a story to be discussed and dissected; rarely can a narrative stand up to a scrutinous analysis, and I imagine that Pentiment is going to join a very, very small list of stories that actually can. Every game with a story released since 2019 has been inevitably and unfavorably compared to Disco Elysium, but this feels like one of the only games that manages to be in its weight class. It's hard to overstate how good it is.
There's a massive amount of care put into portraying this world accurately, evidenced by the almost hundred texts referenced in the credits. Josh Sawyer's narrative direction is immaculate, but it would do a disservice both to the rest of the team and to the player to lump all praise onto him. Narratively, graphically, and sonically, everything here is near perfect. The art style and sound design can lead to some truly beautiful moments, and the game is a delight to take in. It feels like a spa trip. It's refreshing and good for the soul. Let this shit seep into my pores.
God, I love Pentiment.
It is exceptionally easy to get caught up in the idea that the past wasn't just a different time, but a different world. It's a truism, and one that's so obvious that it can muddy the simple fact that people haven't changed all that much. We're a social species who cope with both reality's bounties and hardships in much of the same ways, though the exact specifics continue to change throughout the years. The medieval peasantry were in no way fundamentally different to ourselves. The struggles of the poor and prosperities of the aristocracy under feudalism mirror those of the poor and the wealthy today. They're different, but they aren't that different, and showcasing that is what really makes Pentiment shine.
1500s-era Tassing, Upper Bavaria (a fictional mish-mash of locations throughout present southern Germany) is a tiny, impoverished mud pit with a population of about fifty people, and they're all written like actual human beings. Everyone has their own struggles and their own secrets, and there's so much to dig into that nobody will ever feasibly discover everything by themselves. This is a story to be discussed and dissected; rarely can a narrative stand up to a scrutinous analysis, and I imagine that Pentiment is going to join a very, very small list of stories that actually can. Every game with a story released since 2019 has been inevitably and unfavorably compared to Disco Elysium, but this feels like one of the only games that manages to be in its weight class. It's hard to overstate how good it is.
There's a massive amount of care put into portraying this world accurately, evidenced by the almost hundred texts referenced in the credits. Josh Sawyer's narrative direction is immaculate, but it would do a disservice both to the rest of the team and to the player to lump all praise onto him. Narratively, graphically, and sonically, everything here is near perfect. The art style and sound design can lead to some truly beautiful moments, and the game is a delight to take in. It feels like a spa trip. It's refreshing and good for the soul. Let this shit seep into my pores.
God, I love Pentiment.