Exclusively on PC and Xbox Game Pass, Pentiment is the new title from Obsidian Entertainment and Fallout: New Vegas director Josh Sawyer. Set in the 16th century, Pentiment is a narrative adventure that sees players taking the role of Andreas Maler, artist, and amateur investigator, who must unravel the mystery surrounding the murder of a wealthy elite, for which his friend stands accused.
The game is almost entirely about players' narrative choices throughout the adventure. There is never a true resolution to the mystery of the murderer's identity. Instead, players must collect evidence and choose who they believe is the most likely culprit. Then they must trust that their detective skills are up to snuff. With a game designed in such a way, certain choices players make early on can be a huge help - or a huge detriment - later in the game. Avoiding these next mistakes will help players ensure they accuse the correct suspect.
10 Choosing Flanders As Andreas' Past Residence
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Right at the start of the game, players will make a host of choices to fill out Andreas' background. These decisions will influence certain abilities or dialogue options he will have going forward. One of these choices - Andreas' past residence - will affect which languages he can understand.
The primary languages Andreas will encounter throughout the game are Italian and Greek. Therefore, the best choice here is "Italy," which grants an understanding of both. However, "Basel" will still give players the ability to understand Italian. The only option that unlocks neither of these languages is "Flanders," which gives an understanding of Dutch and French. These languages aren't useless, but they are by far the least prevalent of the options players will have available.
9 Not Choosing Occultist As A Favorite Subject
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After choosing Andreas' past residence, players will then have the option to choose his two favorite subjects. These are the things Andreas likes to study during his time at University, and will open up certain abilities and dialogue options throughout the game.
There aren't really any bad choices on this list, but the most useful one is probably "Occultist." It combines well with two of the three areas of study that players can also choose for Andreas, and there are some Pagan undertones throughout the story that can be accessed much more easily if Andreas already has an interest in the topic.
8 Not Eating With Smokey, Lucky, And Agnes
At the end of every day, players will have the opportunity to choose people to eat dinner with. These people will provide conversation while they eat, and can reveal certain details or pieces of evidence that would be inaccessible otherwise.
There are no wrong choices when choosing who to invite to dinner. Everyone will have information of value for Andreas. However, arguably the most important information will come from Smokey - who is found at his camp in the Forest - and Agnes and Lucky, who are found at the Midwife's House.
7 Ignoring The Food Different Characters Eat
Regardless of who Andreas decides to have dinner with, they will each provide a different meal to share. Typically, the conversations they share with Andreas - and the information they provide - will not refer very much to the food on the table. However, that food has information for the player to make use of as well.
Wealthy characters, for example, will offer smaller portions of fancier food on nicer dishware. Across the spectrum, poorer characters will offer larger portions but will take very little of it for themselves. These details can offer clues about the occupations and lifestyles of more secretive characters, or reveal mistruths that would otherwise go undetected.
6 Not Petting Mausfanger
In act 1, when players are exploring the Convent Garden, they will come across a cat names Mausfanger. Mausfanger is a good cat and deserves to be treated as such. Not petting him is a terrible decision to make.
There isn't a significant story progression acquired by doing this, but come on. Pet the cat. In fact, pet all the pets. There are 5 of them in act 1 and 2, and two others in act 3. Petting all of them will reward players will an achievement, if the cuteness of the animals themselves wasn't enough motivation.
5 Skimming Readings
This may be obvious to some, but oftentimes in video games picking up some collectible readings won't always make them the most pressing thing for a player to look at. Some people love collectible pieces of lore, while others skim over them and get back to the gameplay. That second option is a poor choice to make in Pentiment.
Unlike other games, every piece of information players receive is valuable. That includes lore readings. Even though there is no voice acting to make all the reading go down smoother, not only do these pieces of lore flesh out the world, time period, and history of the town of Tassing, but they are just as likely to contain clues as any of the game's conversations and explorable areas. Players would be wise to pay attention to them.
4 Forgetting About Andreas' Journal
With a game like Pentiment, sometimes the flow of evidence will come steady and strong, and other times it will dry up. Players will find themselves scratching their heads about whom to talk to next, and with time working against them, that can be a stressful experience.
Thankfully, Andreas has a very handy journal which he updates throughout the game. It won't provide concrete answers, but it will help players remember certain crucial pieces of information. More importantly, it will keep a list of all the characters Andreas meets on his journeys, including what they look like and some about them. With a cast as broad as this one, sometimes a certain person's face can get lost in the shuffle. The journal can help alleviate that issue.
3 Wasting Time
As stated earlier, time is very actively working against the player throughout Pentiment's narrative. There is a day-night cycle, and Andreas will need to sleep every night and eat twice a day. That leaves the morning and afternoon when he can work on his paintings, or proceed with his investigation.
The thing is, there is a set date for which Andreas needs to have settled on a suspect to accuse of the murder. This date will not change, and even if players aren't fully prepared to make a choice, when the time comes they won't have a choice. Therefore, it's best to waste as little time as possible. Gather more information at every opportunity, because the hourglass continues to empty no matter what.
2 Not Fully Exploring The Crypt
When he finds himself in the Kiersau Abbey, there will be two directions for Andreas to explore. He can go to the Tower, or descend into the Crypt. Both options will yield new information, but there is an extra secret to be found in the Crypt.
Once there, players will need to explore all the way to the Crypt's left side. There they will discover a large stone with a detailed engraving of a mother and child on it. Once they're close enough, players will have the option to "Investigate" the engraving. Doing so - and singling out the key held by the child - will reward the player with an achievement and unlock a secret room.
1 Stopping After One Playthrough
The fact is, players could do the exact opposite of every suggestion on this list and still have a great and rewarding playthrough. That's just how much variety and player choice exist in the world of Pentiment. No matter how players choose to play the game, there is a rewarding narrative to be found.
All this means is that there are dozens of reasons why players should consider a second playthrough of Pentiment. Even if they manage to uncover who the true culprit is, there are still plenty of different choices they could make that will change how the story plays out, and what they learn about the world. From Andreas' background to his choices of dinner guests, all these decisions play into how the narrative concludes. It's absolutely worth seeing how different those conclusions can be.
Pentiment was released on November 15th, 2022, and is available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.