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- EQ Studios
- EQ Studios
- EQ Studios
- EQ Studios
The Painscreek Killings
Released On: Sep 27, 2017
Metascore
Available after 4 critic reviews
8.1
All Platforms
The Painscreek Killings is an engrossing, complex, challenging murder mystery that makes you feel like a real investigator. Dig out your notepad; it’s time to uncover the secrets this sleepy, abandoned town is hiding.
An adventure game that, instead of holding your hand, gives you the freedom to figure things out yourself. Unraveling mysteries through information you’ve gathered by yourself brings a unique type of satisfaction.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 User Ratings
8.1
71% Positive
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
21% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
7% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 User Ratings
8.1
71% Positive
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
21% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
7% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Best game ever! it's also the best detective game I've played, plus it's translated into Hungarian (which is rare) Its mood and atmosphere are wonderful as you explore the history of the abandoned city, I've played a lot of A-rated games, but maybe it beats even those!
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PC
This game is incredibly well written and is unique.
When you finish it you will say: "I want to make another game like this" but... unfortunately you won't find it.
Obviously it has several (it's an opinion) flaws: the game mechanics are very simple and the graphics aren't the best.
But being able to finish it will excite you, and will give you satisfaction.
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PC
It’s a commendable effort to make a mystery-solving adventure without narrative structure but the game simply lacks pizzazz for anyone but the keenest investigators. Even I, who utterly love detective stories and games, was often frustrated by how little the game is willing to help the players wanting to solve its case. The Painscreek Killings has an exciting murder mystery hidden somewhere but it’s buried under all the extra baggage of technical issues and awkward game design.
Not a perfect game, but a game you can love. The best thing about it is the atmosphere. The village where this game takes place in, has a vibe that makes you feel warm and curious at the same time. I don't know why but when I played this game, I didn't feel like I was a journalist investigating, rather, I felt like I came back home where I don't even remember growing up in. That's what I'm talking about. I felt like a someone with Alzheimer's came back home to gather the memory that I've lost. Each notebook, each house I came across helped regain my memory. I know I might sound a bit weird right now. But this game has that certain vibe to it. And I suggest you try it too.
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PC
This is an amazing game with an interesting story. You know nothing at the start, but with every place you visit in this lost town, you will learn something new. At first, I thought I don't need to write notes for myself, but then I realized that there are a lot of unique characters in this story, and everyone has their own thoughts and motives.
Although the game has no hand-holding at all and you can explore a story in the any way you want, the truth is revealed step-by-step. You can not access the information stored in place D before you know how to access places A, B, and C and collect all the information needed.
The game itself contains a lot of hints. Usually, there is one or even two hints that would suggest you go and explore this place and look for that particular information there. Thus, you just really need to read everything carefully and to make notes of everything you see.
There are two drawbacks in the game for me, but these are minor ones:
1. You MUST make notes, but there is no built-in notepad in the game, so you need to switch between game and external resources all the time.
2. There are a few places that can not be unlocked and explored at all, but the gameplay itself suggests that you actually can. So I have spent some time trying to find the keys, but there were no keys at all.
The story is great, the soundtrack is good (but the same sounds during 17 hours of the game make me sick of it eventually), and the overall experience really makes you a detective.
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PC
This game is the pinnacle of world building and mystery, as soon as you get into town there's no objective or mission telling you where to go. Every single progress depends on you finding hints and figure out where to go, this game doesn't hold your hand one bit which is why it's so satisfying to finally put the dots together. Very immersive experience.
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PC
I don't know why the game has such a large map. For someone who hasn't played this genre of game, it's hard to see why the map is so large, because games with maps of this size have a lot of interactive things laid out on the map, but this game is just a bunch of locked houses. There's also a lack of motivation about how the game is progressing. I can see how a gamer with experience in this genre might be intrigued by this non-linear puzzle structure. I wasn't, and the feeling of walking around the map and solving puzzles simply to collect pieces of text or keys was, quite frankly, like doing the dishes.
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PC
Summary The Painscreek Killings is a first-person, explorable mystery solving game set in a fictional town of United States in the 1990s. As a young and upcoming journalist, you are to uncover the secrets behind the town killings and publish the truth in the city papers.
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date: Sep 27, 2017
Developer:
- EQ Studios
Publisher: EQ Studios
Genres:
