Pentimentis a narrative adventure game set in the 16th century, all about a young artist named Andreas Maler as he deals with the consequences of a murder in a small Bavarian town. A game premise like this is certainly quite a departure forObsidian Entertainment, known for its isometric and 3D RPGs; however, it’s a breath of fresh air for fans that love a narrative experience.Pentimentkeeps a lot of its story under wraps, but even before players decide to get their hands on it, they may be fascinated by its real-life journey to release.
BehindPentimentis an intriguing story spanning thirty years, all about a passionate game developer and his vision for a great historical fiction game that suffered some setbacks and reworks. It starts with the now-ancient MS-DOS and a game calledDarklandsand continues up to today as his vision is refined with influences from contemporary games.Pentimenthas been a long time coming forJosh Sawyer of Obsidian Entertainment. It is a passion project that has finally come to life.
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The Origins of Pentiment
Pentiment’s story starts all the way back in 1992, in the days of bulky consoles and even bulkier computers. Upon playing the MS-DOS RPG,Darklands,Pentiment’s future game director Josh Sawyer felt inspired by the game’s unique 15th-century setting and found it a compelling backdrop for a video game. The idea of a historical fiction RPG stuck with Sawyer throughout much of his youth. He even received a degree in history before working in the games industry and winding up at acclaimed studios like Black Isle Entertainment. While working atBlack Isle during the development ofIcewind Dale 2, Sawyer pitched his idea forPentimentas a historical fiction RPG to former-president Feargus Urquhart but was unfortunately rejected.
At the time, Black Isle figured that a historical game set during the Holy Roman Empire wouldn’t appeal to mainstream audiences. High fantasy was where Black Isle was focused at the time, along with much of the industry, as classics likeMorrowindandBaldur’s Gatewere on the horizon. SoPentimentended up shelvedin Sawyer’s mind for many years as he continued to work at Black Isle and eventually found himself at Obsidian Entertainment. Sawyer’s shift to Obsidian would be the inciting incident that would bringPentimentback to life after years of reworking the project.
Pentiment is a Passion Project Come to Life
As luck would have it, Sawyer and Feargus would find each other again at Obsidian Entertainment, Feargus now as CEO andSawyer working as a games designer for titles likeFallout: New Vegas. While working at the studio, Sawyer once again pitchedPentimentto Feargus, but this time reworked as a narrative adventure with a murder mystery premise and an RPG-lite approach to gameplay. Sawyer cited games likeNight in the Woods,Mutazione, andOxenfreeas influences while keeping the vision of a historical fiction setting thatDarklandsinspired back in 1992. This time, Feargus gave the green light to Sawyer’s pitch, but a reworked pitch and a more ambitious Obsidian Entertainment weren’t be the only reasons forPentiment’s green light.
Pentimentis available now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
