Over the course of Pentiment's three acts, players must uncover the truth behind a string of murders that have gripped the small Bavarian village of Tassing. The entire game takes place over a span of 25 years, and players will have the chance to see characters grow and change during that time depending on how they chose to solve each crime. Obsidian Entertainment flexes its narrative muscles with Pentiment by keeping players in suspense tegarding the identity of the Thread-Puller—the mysterious figure who seems to be orchestrating the events of the game, whose ultimate goal remains hidden until the game's climactic finale.
Throughout each chapter, the player—in the role of journeyman artist Andreas Maler—receives a series of ominous notes written in a script unlike anything produced by Kiersau Abbey's scriptorium. The contents of these notes seem to suggest that someone is encouraging Pentiment's potential murderers to act, as Andreas finds these notes in the possession of several suspects as well as their victims. In act 3 of Pentiment, players take control of Magdalene Druckeryn—daughter of the village printer—who continues to find these notes warning her to stop her investigation into the history of Tassing and Kiersau Abbey. Following the trail these threatening notes leave will lead the player to uncover the true identity of the Thread-Puller and their motives for orchestrating the murders of the past 25 years.
The Identity of the Thread-Puller is Revealed in the Game's Finale
Act 3 sees Magdalene investigate the history of the village and neighboring abbey in order to paint a mural depicting this history. As a part of this investigation, Magdalene must delve into the ruins of Roman structures upon which the town is built in order to uncover the truth of Tassing's history. Along with Andreas, whose choices have led him to be a hermit living in the ruins of the burned-out abbey for nearly 20 years, she sets off into these treacherous ruins in order to find the Mithraeum—a structure which had never appeared on any map of the ruins known to the townsfolk and was only referenced in Latin writings on the walls of the ruins.
Within the Mithraeum, Andreas and Magdalene discover Sister Amalie—a mystic and anchoress who lives in a walled cell next to the town church in devotion to God and the visions He reveals to her. She explains that she has been writing the notes at the center of the conspiracy, though she herself is not the Thread-Puller but merely acting on what she thought was God's will. The true Thread-Puller that has been influencing Pentiment's decision-based narrative is Father Thomas, the town priest and keeper of Sister Amalie who directed her to write those notes under the guise of visions from God.
Why the Thread-Puller Manipulated the Villagers of Tassing
Shocked to find out that Father Thomas was responsible for the murders of Baron Rothvogel, Otto Zimmerman, and even the previous abbot Father Matthias, Andreas and Magdalene question his motives for such violence. Thomas reveals the secret that Tassing's local saints—St. Moritz and St. Satia, the former of which having a shrine containing a relic at the abbey—are not actually Catholic saints, but are the Roman gods Mars and Diana. They have been reinterpreted into saints through the passing down of their legends over generations.
If word of this truth ever got out, it would destroy the town's reputation and status as a destination for pilgrims traveling to see the relic of St. Moritz. Father Thomas murdered any who found out the truth in order to prevent them from exposing that the town's saints are actually derived from Roman gods. He then destroys the Mithraeum so that none can ever find this truth again, killing himself under the rubble of the collapsed cavern. After Andreas, Magdalene, and Amalie escape, the player is left with one of Pentiment's toughest choices: whether to keep this secret to themselves or let the villagers know the truth.
Pentiment is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.