Obsidian’s Pentiment is part historical RPG, part murder mystery

Obsidian Entertainment has a reputation for creating sprawling, role-playing gaming experiences like New Vegas, Fallout Pillars to Eternity, but the studio’s next adventure is a big swing in the other direction. PentimentThe team, led by Josh Sawyer (game designer), is very small. About 13 people are working on it, Sawyer says, and the historical narrative adventure features only “light RPG” elements. It’s designed to be easily played by anyone, not just those who crave a hundred-hour game with deep and robust role-playing mechanics.

Pentiment is visibly different from Obsidian’s other fantasy and sci-fi video games. The 16th-century inspirations for its design are apparent in the game’s appearance. It draws its distinctive aesthetic from late medieval illuminated manuscripts as well as early modern woodcuts.

This visual design influences an aesthetic element. Pentiment that I can’t stop thinking about: the fonts.

Pentiment’s narrative adventure plays out in dialogue between characters, including the playable center of the story, Andreas Maler, and the residents of the fictional town of Tassing. Maler describes himself as a skilled artist, who is drawn into the intrigues of a murder mystery. Not quite a blank slate, Maler’s background will be decided by players, and the decisions and dialogue players pick from will determine his story over the span of some 25 years.

Now, back to the fonts. Pentiment’s dialogue and decision-making plays out in word bubbles on screen, scribbled (with attendant scratchy sound effects) by an invisible quill. As the ink dries, it seeps onto parchment. Sometimes, it can splatter. It is sometimes crossed out and corrected as in real-life manuscripts. In order to avoid uneven application, the quill can dry halfway through a sentence. First, black ink will be used, followed by red. This is reserved for religious terms such as God and Hell. Different fonts are used to convey profession, status, and religious piety. It has a captivating dynamic.

You can disable it if you are bothered by it or unable to read it. While Obsidian’s art team, lead by art director Hannah Kennedy, have laboriously recreated the style and feel of manuscript writing in video game dialogue, it is completely optional. PentimentSawyer also stated accessibility was a priority, keeping in line with the broad appeal of its audience. For players who want to read the text in a more readable format, there are two fonts that can be used.

“Our focus has been to make it simple and easy,” Sawyer said in a video presentation attended by Polygon last week. “We want a lot of people to play it. We want it to be approachable to people who have done no gaming at all, and may just like history or the art style.”

As such, Pentiment errs on the side of “minimal and forgiving,” Sawyer said, and beyond investigation and character interactions, there will be minigames designed for “vibes and immersion,” not challenge. Sawyer says there’s nothing too complicated that needs precision or reflex tests to be solved. All of it is intended to help the story.

Sawyer displayed one of these minigames along with a game-altering action: Andreas was challenged by her widowed mom to rearrange several framed objects, artworks, and manuscripts that were hung on the wall. The widow is now more skeptical than ever about her religious beliefs after the loss of her husband. She asks Andreas if she can remove the cross from the wall. The widow can choose to comply or request her reconsideration.

A second component is PentimentIts Wikipedia-like glossary is what fascinates and intrigues me. The equivalent of hyperlinks in dialogue is that they point to the notes at the margin of the manuscript where the game plays. If you’ve forgotten the face or role of a certain character, in-dialogue text will offer a helpful reminder.

Image: Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios

PentimentWhen it launches in late 2012, Obsidian will have a large following. Obsidian’s new adventure will launch day one on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, and will be available on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on Nov. 15.