The Painscreek Killings
WHO IS THIS GAME FOR This game is for anyone who likes to read, loves good stories and enjoy whodunit detective games. The game plays 10 to 20 hours on average, depending on the player's playstyle. STORY As Janet, a young and upcoming journalist, you have been asked by your editor to investigate the mysterious abandonment of a once lively town. Based on the information released by the media about the deaths of the townspeople, you set foot into the town thinking you would find an interesting story to publish, only to uncover secrets that were meant to stay hidden forever. GAMEPLAY The Painscreek Killings borrows mechanics from a walking simulator but goes beyond it by making the players think. It mimics real world investigations with logical puzzles that do not hold your hand, allow you to explore wherever your investigation lead, and a captivating story waiting to be discovered.
Game Discussion
Steam User 25
Requirements: A notepad or something similar for taking notes.
Caution: Contains horror elements, including jump scares.
- 메모장 필요.
- 깜놀 주의.
Steam User 26
I absoloutly loved this game - MAKE YOUR OWN NOTES AS THEY ADVISE - i felt like a real detective trying to link all the pieces of the puzzle together, figure out who was linked to who - every step of the way you were figuring something else about someone, you were lead in different directions and had you doubting yourself - played all day couldnt stop until i solved it!
Steam User 24
The Painscreek Killings is fun if you like:
- taking several pages of notes during a game (I would recommend having different lists for persons, hints, locks, etc.)
- getting desperate more than once, because you forgot a small hint that was mentioned in a letter two hours ago
- a game that is completely logical, once you figured it all out
- a very detailed world with several houses which have individual features fitting the story
- developers who clearly spent ages on creating their own assets
- a game handcrafted by a small team with a vision, who love the genre and did their research
- developers who still write patches five years after the release of their game and who are the first to help you when you ask for a hint
Though I enjoyed The Painscreek Killing I really fell in love with it, after I read the developers' "Postmortem" on gamedeveloper.com (may contain some spoilers): These folks were completely new to game development and learned everything on the go. They didn't even have a programmer!
Steam User 21
As a former Nancy Drew game lover, this game offered the best sleuthing experience I've had in a while! I thoroughly enjoyed the need to take notes (I took about 6 pages!), and I thought the story was well done. My one suggestion to any future gamer is DOUBLE-CHECK DRAWERS. Make sure you're not leaving anything behind! I spent a lot of unnecessary time retracing my steps because it is EASY to overlook clues/helpful tools. That said, I HIGHLY recommend others get this game, especially since it's on sale.
Steam User 14
As a person who was stuck in the game for 3 fruitless hours because missed 1 ******* bench but complete it and love it anyway, I take a risk to suggest why you could like/dislike this.
You could be a fan for following reasons:
You like scrupulously exploring each room and alley in a search of clues and you are ready to make notes about it because you definitely need it here. As I said, I missed 1 thing, but what an incredible feeling it was when I finally found it!
You prefer stories about complicated relationships and skeletons in the cupboard, because your main goal here is to build a full picture of each character’s circumstances and probable reasons for killing. There are not so many straight answers, but if you find all the information, the story in your mind will look very clear and complete (thanks authors).
You are searching for a story and an atmosphere because the tense that you are not alone in this town and harmonic storytelling are strong sides of the game but not puzzles and…
Reason why you might dislike this game:
You are waiting for puzzles. Here are two types of riddles: guess where a key is and guess what a safe code is. Sounds boring? Trust me, you will want to know who the killer is so bad, that you will explore each town corner in search of keys harder than the pockets of your winter coat in search of coins. But this is not about puzzles anyway.
You are that type of person who have a butthurt when you are stuck and need to explore the same location for the fifth time, but thoughts about hints on the internet cause moral outrage. Sooner or later you will be in a deadend, and in that case you will leave the game and never return, because you need to keep in mind all things for investigation.
You prefer ambiguous storylines with the possibility to make a mistake like in Sherlock Holmes for example. This is a direct story without any option. You can choose a door that you want to open, but the main line stays the same.
Steam User 13
This game isn't technically perfect, but in my head it basically created a brand new game genre. Between gaming sessions I could not stop thinking about it and would jot down ideas about motive, places to explore or re-explore now that I'd learned something, or make lists of things I needed to do once I figured out the next step. The gameplay might be mostly walking around opening doors and entering numbers, but the puzzles and plot lived inside my head rent free for the weeks I played this game. The open world aspect, the puzzles, the narrative - this game takes some bold swings and they're almost all home runs. My biggest problem is now I don't know what to play because I just want more of this!
Steam User 13
I absolutely adored this game. Although it's single player, I played on discord with one of my friends and we worked together to solve the mystery. It was unbelievably fun and satisfying, and I made so many pages of notes it's ridiculous.