Pentiment Cheats and Tips
You Don’t Have To Be A History Buff
One of the draws of Pentiment, and perhaps one of the aspects that makes it more intimidating than most adventure-style games, is its extreme attention to historical accuracy. As a result, you may feel like you won’t be able to keep up with it or may fail to grasp some conventions and customs of the period.
Don’t fret. Pentiment does not want you to feel lost in the weeds – at least, not when it comes to its setting. Any words or phrases that may have specific contexts are highlighted in red, and with the press of a button, you’ll be given a brief explanation of whatever it is and its importance. Don’t be afraid; you’ll know what you need to. Obsidian wanted the game to be approachable, so they’ve given you all the tools you need.
Get Ready To Read
Do you like reading? Well, hopefully, you do. Pentiment is built on text – for a good reason, too. It is a game that centers on a monastery illuminating manuscripts, after all, with all the beautiful calligraphy that entails. Of course, a lot of reading is definitely not a negative. We’re fans of text-heavy games, especially ones with such rich history – like the town of Tassing and of 16th-century Europe.
Still, you should know going into the game that it is very reading-heavy – it expects you to engage with it on its level and terms. You should, though, as you don’t want to miss out on such a unique aesthetic experience if nothing else.
Talk To Everyone
Do not ignore townsfolk, whatever you do. There is plenty to learn from even the idle chatter of local people – they can dish out petty gossip, tell you historical background on the town, or point you in the right (or wrong) direction for your investigation. It’s not unlike an authentic, small town in that way – if you want the lowdown on the relationships, personal beefs, and scandal, all you have to do is find the right person, and they’ll tell you whatever they know.
You must make the rounds every day and speak to everyone you can spot. Maybe they’ll just say, “God bless you,” but there’s always the chance they may give you some invaluable information. If you want to figure out whodunnit (this is a detective game, after all) then the best course of action is to actually get to know the “whos” who could have “dunnit.”
You Can’t Do Everything
You can promise to have dinner with multiple people, but that doesn’t mean you’ll actually go. It’s not exactly your fault – sometimes, someone with much more power than you or your original hosts wants you in a specific place, and how will you refuse? Still, you may be missing out on information if you make one choice over another.
This isn’t the kind of game that allows you do-overs, and it automatically saves, so your choices are permanent unless you want to start a new file. Don’t stress about it too much; just try to do whatever you think is best.
