Pentiment review roundup: 'a brilliant narrative adventure filled with intelligence and heart'

If you have a penchant for murder mysteries, Pentiment sounds like a must-play

(Credit: Obsidian)

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Pentiment reviews

• 📕 Pentiment has an Opencritic score of 87 after 73 critic reviews

• 🥰 90% of critics recommend Obsidian Entertainment’s new game

• 🆓 Pentiment is free to download on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass

• 💰 Alternatively, you can buy Pentiment digitally for $19.99

The ink is finally dry on Obsidian Entertainment’s Pentiment, and it’s scored highly with reviewers.

Pentiment is a narrative adventure RPG set in the 16th century and sees you pick up the inquisitive paintbrush of artist Andreas Maler, as he investigates the murder of a prominent figure for which his friend has been accused.

The game is currently sitting on an Opencritic score of 87 after 73 critic reviews, obtaining several perfect scores. 90% of critics would recommend the Xbox Game Pass title, which was released on November 15.

Pentiment certainly sounds like a good time, then, but we’ll have to go hands-on before we can decide whether it’s worthy of breaking into our best Xbox Series X games list.

Here’s what some of the critics said about Pentiment:

IGN gave Pentiment a perfect score, saying “Pentiment is a clever Medieval detective story with a gorgeously-realized world that I can hardly recommend enough.”

VG247 felt similarly, also giving Pentiment 10 out of 10, and said the game is “one of the most engaging and accessible works of living history ever commissioned, and the fact that it exists at all - let alone as a major platform holder’s first-party RPG heading into the Christmas season - is a miracle worthy of the saints.”

GamesRadar was also a big fan of Pentiment’s stylistic visuals and gameplay, giving the game 9 out of 10, saying “Many developments are outside of your control, yet rarely in games does the passage of time feel so intimately significant.”

Eurogamer enjoyed their time with Pentiment, too, which earned it a ‘Recommended’ badge. They described Pentiment as a “brilliant narrative adventure that is filled with intelligence and heart.”

PC Gamer gave Pentiment a score of 88/100, saying: “A beautiful and beautifully-written narrative game that makes masterful use of its early modern setting. One of Obsidian's finest.”

GameSpot didn’t wax lyrical about Pentiment, however, awarding the game a 6 out of 10. “Pentiment too often limits its most enjoyable pieces to reach an ending that makes sense but is still unfulfilling.”

Will you be sifting through the pages of Pentiment? Let us know in the comments below.

First published: November 14, 2022

Updated: November 15, 2022