Pentiment in the test: Careful, an RPG masterpiece!

Away from As Dusk Falls, it was a fairly quiet year from the point of view of the big Playstation competitor Xbox, but 2022 could end all the more brilliantly for the industry giant: The prestige studio Obsidian Entertainment, part of the huge Xbox family since 2018, is one of the most talented RPG developers in general and would now like to build on these successes with the medieval adventure RPG Pentiment. Whether it’s the newly established sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds, the two South Park games developed with Ubisoft, Pillars of Eternity or Fallout: New Vegas, when the nearly 240-strong team unveils a new video game, then excitement and praise aren’t there remote.

Developer great Josh Sawyer, creative director and key figure of some of the games listed, has now fulfilled a dream with a small team that goes back to the 90s: an adventure RPG with a historical touch in the late Middle Ages, with complex stories, difficult decisions , a passion for book printing and lettering and numerous story twists. And which suitably fits visually impressively into the book format.

In our test, including a review video, we reveal why Pentiment is one of the really big titles of 2022 and the best role-playing games of recent years, despite the low gameplay construction, high reading effort and little playful variety.

The big turnaround in Europe in small Bavaria

The plot of Pentiment focuses on the up-and-coming artist Andreas Maler, who has moved from Nuremberg into the big, wide world to fulfill his ambitious dream of becoming a master artist. We don’t wander through various European countries of the 16th century and experience a great, epic adventure, but find ourselves in the small and intimate village of Tassing. Amidst the picturesquely captured Bavarian Alps. The point in time that Andreas chose to work in the scriptorium of the nearby Kiersau Abbey is exciting for various reasons.

Pentiment in the test: Careful, a Bavarian RPG masterpiece!

Source: Obsidian Entertainment

On the one hand, major changes are imminent that are of a political, social and religious nature. The Reformation of the Church, shaped by Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, also provided a lot of discussion and explosive material in Tassing. Likewise, various wars and frictions of large, local power figures are often touched upon in conversations, letters and other sources of information. Although Pentiment relies on a fictional city and a fictitious story, it naturally relies heavily on historical figures, works and facts that helped shape the 16th century. But Tassing is also facing a tragedy that will stretch over 25 years and will have a serious impact on the fate of individuals and the situation of society as a whole.

Uff, another Bavarian thriller?!

How the quiet and peaceful village becomes the center of a murder? Well, at the beginning of the adventure we meet the cultured and privileged Baron Lorenz von Rothvogel. A priory financier who has a notably bad reputation within Tassing. We only find out how frighteningly bad his reputation is later on, so nobody can blame us for the fact that when we first get to know each other, a relaxed and profound conversation about God, astrology and our previous education ensues, in which mutual sympathy resonates. The Baron is a very inquisitive and outgoing man, but as with so many things in Pentiment, first impressions are just the tip of the iceberg.