this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2024
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I made the what's next after Half-Life thread and received many awesome recommendations, thank you guys! During the Holidays a game caught all my attention: Pentiment. It hooked me and I played it non stop for three days, now that I finished it, I may do another play through to unlock all achievements and try other choices, but in the meantime I am in quest for similar games!

What I'm craving :

  • the mystery / investigation was great, for context I have already played Outer Wilds, Obra Dinn, Golden Idol, Frog Detective, Disco Elysium... they immediately came to mind once I started puzzling what I had to do. What are similar games with a murder mystery at their core, that reward investigation?
  • the effort to provide historical accuracy, this is a time and area of Europe I only briefly learned about in middle school, so it felt nice having a glimpse of what life was like in 15th century Bavaria, are there games that try to portray life and folklore of people I may not know about? For context I am an average western European.
  • the sense of progression struck me, I saw kids become teens, then adults, I got to know these families, attach myself to some of them, saw their evolution as characters, are there games that make you get close to characters and see who they become over multiple years, over generations ? I can't remember any game that made me care that much for NPCs as this one.
  • I enjoyed the art direction a lot, medieval illustrations have this quirkiness that just endears me, I had already played the Rock of Ages games, are there similar games with this feeling of playing through pages of a book? Or any game with a really nice / stylised illustration style? I already played Gris which was beautiful.
  • After finishing the game, I was left unsatisfied with the explanation and wanting more, I mislead myself in thinking the dialogues animation and typos / font switching had a bigger impact and were hiding some 4th wall breaking. Are there games that play with this kind of meta mystery (I don't know what word best describes it) where you have a glimpse that there's something bigger behind the scenes? Inscryption is one of my favourite games for this, I also really liked the demo for 'is this game trying to kill me' and am planning to get it during the Steam winter sale

Thanks !!

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[–] poissonDistribution 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'll recommand Disco Elysium as well. Writing and atorytelling at their finest. Plust an unforgettable cast of pyrotechnic characters.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago

Oh yes, I played it last year, it moved me so much, it felt like what video games have best to offer as an art medium

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago (2 children)

are there games that try to portray life and folklore of people I may not know about?

Kingdom Come: Deliverance might fit this. It's set in 15th century Bohemia (modern day Czechia), and was designed with input from archaeologists and historians. That may present too much overlap with 15th century Bavaria, though. It's an immersive sim with at least some jankiness, though I believe many bugs have been squashed since release. It can also be a bit tough in the early going as your character starts out pretty weak by design. Your character gets better at skills as you use them and the game starts to shine more once you've established some basic competency.

Are there games that play with this kind of meta mystery (I don't know what word best describes it) where you have a glimpse that there's something bigger behind the scenes?

I'd recommend There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension. Chock full of 4th wall breaks and meta commentary on games, game design and game development, plus lots of humour and a ton of heart. There is a bit of a mystery component as well. I'd recommend avoiding spoilers if at all possible, I went in blind and I think it made for a much better overall experience.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 13 hours ago

I'll second Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Absolutely bursting with fun historical knowledge to give context to not only its world but ours. I will admit it's a bit janky at times, and mention that the sequel is coming out in the first quarter of this year I believe.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

I can second There is No Game: Wrong Dimension. One of the best games ever.

[–] SmoothOperator 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Tunic has an incredible mystery element, with many layers and a very satisfying conclusion. The combat is juicy enough but still pretty forgiving, and the meta-narrative of playing that's "already been played" is very interesting and nostalgic. Highly recommended!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Not to mention the most viscerally satisfying puzzles in a game. And also a wonderful ambient soundtrack.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

The only game that felt like Pentiment to me was Disco Elysium. It's set in a fictional world but still has a very rich history aspect to it, and you do play as a detective in a mystery. Also, looots and looots of reading similar to Pentiment.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Also, looots and looots of reading similar to Pentiment

I haven't played Pentiment but y'all might enjoy Planescape: Torment

[–] jabber 4 points 4 days ago

I recommend you check out Paradise Killer. A murder mystery, investigation and setting unlike anything else with a kickass soundtrack and wonderfully weird characters. I think about it every so often and wish I could play it again completely blind.

[–] NOT_RICK 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

While it’s not historically accurate, I’ve been enjoying the new Indiana Jones game. You have a mystery to uncover and beating up Nazis is never not fun. There are lots of hidden items and puzzles to uncover, many of which do have some basis in history or at a minimum in mythology.

The first large area you go to is the Vatican. Being able to walk around the Sistine Chapel just to find a hidden passage the next building over was a trip.

Edit: I just realized I’m in patientgamers, my mistake. Come back to it in a year or two!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

No worries, I'll keep it in mind, thanks !!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

Almost forgot: The Pillars of the Earth is a great adventure game, following a number of medieval people throughout their lives, in the context of the building of a cathedral. It's on sale at GOG right now: https://www.gog.com/en/game/ken_folletts_the_pillars_of_the_earth_season_pass

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

You might also enjoy Four Last Things if you enjoyed Pentiment's style.

Obra Dinn is good if you like mystery games

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

Four Last Things has two sequels. I haven't gotten around to the last game yet, but I really enjoyed the first two. They're puzzle games trying yo get as many fart jokes out of Renaissance paintings as possible.

There's a sale going on on the entire bundle, including a fun earlier game by the same guy: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/47089/The_Games_by_Joe_Richardson_Bundle/

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago
  • the effort to provide historical accuracy, this is a time and area of Europe I only briefly learned about in middle school, so it felt nice having a glimpse of what life was like in 15th century Bavaria, are there games that try to portray life and folklore of people I may not know about? For context I am an average western European.

I know of Never Alone, which is about a traditional fairy tale from the Alaskan native Iñupiaq tribe.

It was a fun little game which introduced me to their folklore.

Regarding the mystery detective work, Lucifer within us is a name you didn't mention yet. While it's not as strong a detective game as those you mentioned, it might help scratch the itch for a bit.

Regarding the meta narrative, without too many spoilers I will just mention names: Undertale , Oneshot , Slay The Princess

Especially the last one could be up your alley, since you like games witha lot of text.