The Painscreek Killings

Painscreek Killings is an excellent game, i had a very nice time finishing it, the exploration is wonderful, although you explore a town on your own it's like all the other characters described in the notes you find are there and their motive is crystal clear from their point of view. As the story unfolds you can feel a dark secret coming to light and it gets very intense to the point where you cannot leave the game until you find out what really happened. I didn't need to take much notes as i could memorize the places quite easily but anyone finding the need to feel free to do it, it only adds to the detective feeling the game gives. I recommend this game to everyone who likes hardboiled detective mysteries as this game does not hold your hand you are free to discover the world on your own. The only downside to the whole game is the lack of replayability as the true ending is only one so once you get to it the next time you are going to play it is going to feel already spoiled. Nevertheless, i am definitely going to play it again as the atmoshphere is excellent and the feeling remains the same fron start to end.

This is possibly one of the best detective games I have ever played. It requires you to step back from viewing tasks from a gamer perspective and actually put yourself in the situation and piece together a plan of action.

The Devs masterfully crafted an atmosphere in this game that has you on edge the entire time. I have never been so anxious in a well lit, airy, open environment. I spent almost the entire game acutely aware of just how many windows and viewing angles there were everywhere. They would let the player steep in this feeling of unease until it became familiar and then like clockwork you would find a journal or note with just the right line to send you right back on edge.

They also did a great job in establishing a level of trust with the player that there was a logical next step. Establishing this crucial component was a choice that I think a lot of puzzle games need to be making. It made it so even when I got lost, I never looked up a guide, because I trusted that the Devs had planned it this way. I did feel lost a few times but that is because I was trying to play the game like a gamer completing a checklist. I had to step back and think of what I had done so far and what I thought the logical next step would be. Not once did I feel like a puzzle/next step was unfair, cruel, or too abstract to figure out. Sometimes they just required patience to let my brain connect the pieces I already had.

I will say, one drawback I felt the game did have was how the information and menus were organised. They felt clunky and it was sometimes hard to find things I had read before, especially when not all notes get "copied" for later. This meant if you didn't catch that a note hadn't been copied and remembered to take a photo, you would have to try and find it again. I do understand some of their choices were to add "realism" to the experience but I do wish they allowed for players themselves to organise the information provided. A murder board style menu where you could organise journal entries, documents, newspapers, and photos all together in the way that works best for you would have been amazing!!

One of, if not THE best detective/mystery game I have ever played. Extremely underrated. I will always be looking for another game like this. I love how it's completely open with no quests or guidance. You follow the clues you discover and you better take good notes. One of the games where I wish I could wipe my memory and play again.

Requirements: A notepad or something similar for taking notes.
Caution: Contains horror elements, including jump scares.
- 메모장 필요.
- 깜놀 주의.

Good mystery, be warned some puzzles are NOT very intuitive, but if you enjoy a challenge, you'll love this, and most puzzles are well designed and fair.

Yeah... I sat for 12 hrs straight. Couldn't leave my desk. It was glorious. Get the game!

I rarely write any reviews since I most games don't really need them other than complaining about bugs or poor development, but with this game its a tricky case. Let me elaborate:
-- What is this game exactly?
Well I'm not really sure I can call this a game, because most of the gameplay is reading and going around the place picking up stuff, piecing clues together in your head, or on a piece of paper. What I can definitely say is that this game is an experience that leaves you wanting more, currently I'm searching for similar titles because the experience was just too captivating. However if you want a game with tons of action (or basically any action at all since only like 1% of the game is "intense") this is definitely not for you.
-- What can this experience offer?
1. First of all an amazing story with an excellent mystery.
2. Once you get the hang of it the game flows extremely well (for the most part...) there are some parts which I will mention in the "problems" section
3. A lot of the puzzles are really well thought out and make you feel a sort of self accomplishment when figuring them out on your own.
4. The worldbuilding is amazing and the characters are even better. Even though we only read about them and never meet them all of their goals, lives and intentions are there for us to find out and none of them feel forced or unreasonable, which speaks of excellent writing.
5. I think the graphics are charming and really give off the feeling that you're exploring a once lively ghost town which is great because its a "lonely" experience
-- The Problems
I know I said the game flows well once you get the hang of it, but:
1. Starting out is extremely difficult. I know that there are many points where you can start your investigation and still get to the end since nothing locks you out of anything, but after a while of running around because you have nothing to point you to a specific direction most players will start to get frustrated and like me will have to turn to a steam guide in order to get their bearings and really get into the flow of things.
2. The realism of the game makes it too easy to miss things. The interactable items do not have an outline and therefore will often blend into their surroundings resulting in you missing them and being unable to progress. There are 3 instances from my playthrough where I didn't notice something because I thought it was decoration or just didn't see them because of the giant areas you have to search and many other things you have to focus on. I will list them here with spoilers: 1. The doctor's kaycard in the hospital is just sitting on a random bench in the emergency ward. Note that it was written somewhere that he was there, but since that note was written 4 years have passed in the game and makes no sense for him to leave his keycard there. Also there is nothing interesting going on around that specific bench and most of the other medical equipment easily draws your attention away from it. 2. The shovel in the photo studio. There are many documents in the room where the shovel is located and also a wrench that has its own toolbox, while the shovel is standing in a basket next to many other tools which you cannot interact with. 3. All of the birthday gift hints from Matthew to Sofia. Even if you know where to look for the hints (their favorite places) they are still extremely hard to find and easy to miss because the could be anywhere on house exteriors and most of the time they are in the most unexpected corners that even with a picture as a reference from the internet. They are still hard and frustrating to find.
3. Information overload. Since this is basically a journalism simulation of course there will be useless information which you'll have to learn to ignore, but I feel it starts a little too soon which leads back to problem number 1. Also the game urges you to take your own notes but when starting out as a hopeful new journalist you have no idea what kind of notes to take and what could be important and after noting a lot of useless stuff thinking it would be important and missing a lot of important stuff thinking it would useless you'll probably just give up on taking notes entirely and turn to a guide if you ever get stuck.
-- Conclusion
Even with all the negatives regarding the ease of play I still have to give this experience a 9/10. They deliver exactly what the offer, a brutally difficult journalism simulator. Most of my listed problems could be easily solved by a toggleable internal monologue switch which if you turn on would show what our character who is an aspiring journalist thinks they should do or where to start out, so that the experience would be more accessible and less hardcore for most people. It would also be useful if there was a setting that would give a white outline to interactable objects so they are easier to notice. Thank you to whoever is reading my review and I hope it helped with figuring out whether this is the right experience for you! <3
Final verdict: !