The Painscreek Killings

If you're tired of games with quest markers that constantly tell you where to go or what to do - a miracle they don't do it for you (wait, sometimes they do, but we won't be pointing fingers), then it's strange you haven't heard of The Painscreek Killings. Well, you aren't alone. Until recently, I couldn't even guess such a treasure existed. Why? Don't know, but we certainly have to fix that and bring the game to the masses.

Plot - 10/10

The biggest merit of the plot is its presentation to the player. You play as a journalist who travels to the abandoned town of Painscreek, far from civilization, to solve a long-standing murder of one of its inhabitants. And... that's it. Everything else is completely up to you. It's your job to figure out how to do it - there's no one guiding you. In the beginning, you can't even get into town because the gate is locked and you have to find a key - on your own, without any backup or support. Good luck. And that's the whole game. If you can't do it, you have the option to just sit in your car and drive away without solving the crime. Or you can bear with it till the end. You can find out every little secret Painscreek has to offer. Or just find out who the murderer was. Or who you think it was. After all, you are not a policeman. You are a journalist. You don't make arrests; you write articles. You can write anything you want. Let your imagination fly. Circumstantial evidence or even personal antipathy can be enough in this case.

Moving on to the plot itself. It's interesting, mysterious, and captivating. While playing, I changed my thoughts about who could be the murderer not once and not twice. And I was very careful in my judgments, expecting to have been tricked by the early clues. Also the characters! Not one NPC throughout the whole game, but they're so well-written that it's like you've known them for ages. And new pieces of evidence kept showing them from new, often entirely unexpected but completely logical sides.

The devs went so far for the plot that even sacrificed a little bit of gameplay for the consistency of the story, about which we'll talk later.

Gameplay - 8/10

The game is a typical walking simulator. You go around the town gathering clues, such as newspapers, diaries, letters, etc., as well as various tools and keys that allow you to access new locations. In that regard there really isn't much gameplay going on. Far more interesting is the need to think and connect the dots. You don't always know which lock the key you just found would fit - but the hints are there. You can find out. Plus there are real puzzles sometimes. To figure them out you'll have to rack your brains and maybe even change your way of thinking to get out of a dead end.

Because you're a journalist, you've got a camera and can take photos of everything you like. That makes it much easier to access any puzzle-related data without having to go to the opposite end of town. Besides, this way you won't forget where you've seen any useful piece of information - it's already with you and that's what matters. But even with that, I suggest you get yourself some paper and a pencil or at least prepare notes on your phone - that may come in handy.

In addition to all that you've got maps (they won't show you the marker with your current location, they're just good old paper maps - and you've got to find them first), an inventory with tools and keys, a journal with all written materials, etc. There's not much more to add. It all works well. But there are a few cons which I have to name.

The first one is the ending. As I mentioned, it's good for the story, but completely disrupts the tempo of the gameplay and, in addition, introduces a new mechanic at the last possible moment. Not the most pleasant experience. The second one - the controls sometimes felt a bit clunky, at the very least when playing with a controller. Not too much to complain about, but I still felt it was worth mentioning.

Graphics & Visual Design - 7/10

The overall impression of the graphics remains mixed. While the general look of buildings or some individual things may be crude, other things, especially small objects you can interact with, such as keys or books, are very well-designed. While it's hard to immediately distinguish any obvious visual design choices, they exist, and the game adheres to a distinct palette in every vial, brick, stem of grass, or locked gate.

Soundtrack - 8/10

The soundtrack here is just okay. It won't offer you something grand you'll be listening to over and over without stopping. It's flawlessly integrated into the game and the atmosphere - but that's it. There are only a few tracks for different situations. At least, that's what I recall.

Atmosphere - 10/10

While the music and visual design may not be top-notch, they have more than enough quality in them to create a strong atmosphere that wonderfully combines with the plot. Thanks to the effort the authors put into creating a good atmosphere I always had the feeling that someone else was in the abandoned town - the feeling that someone was just around the corner... But there was never anyone. And still, the feeling persisted. Marvelous work.

Verdict - 9/10

The Painscreek Killings may not be a masterpiece on its own, but it offers an experience unlike any other. Is it mentally challenging? Yeah. It's a case the police couldn't solve for a reason. But it's worth it. It feels real. More real than any game I've played in the last few years. So grab the notebook, pack the camera - and go solve some murders!