The Painscreek Killings

Well done indie, investigation game that tries to be very realistic with little to no mechanical assistance in your discovery. Probably only one instance of moon logic I would complain about.

Highly recommend this game for anyone interested in whodunits and mysteries. The puzzles were great! Really enjoyed this game. I was soon hooked I couldn't stop playing it!

Really good story telling but do not play if you have motion sickness or heart/stress issues.

It requires extensive checking of environment to obtain all items and the clues are scattered, which is really interesting and immersive but very straining on the eyes. As suggested at the start of the game, i also recommend taking notes so you can keep track of things, specially since it mimics real-life detective work where you will not be able to do a "word search" or the likes, so you will have to be able to remember where your related clues are in documents.

Since i had to push through motion sickness i had to at some point do a web search for pointers to specific things - this unfortunately lead me to a spoiler of sorts and ruined the final stages of the investigation. All forums i found for pointers where marked for spoilers properly, users where very aware of how easy it is to spoil the plot (Thank you! <3 ).

If you are going to attempt this game with motion sickness - Check graphics settings first and remove anything that is straining your eyes, i only left v-sync on to avoid screen tearing - you might not be able to complete it but if you do play, i suggest check every room carefully and making your own maps to know exactly where things are in order to minimize the camera panning/moving around.

I adore the puzzles and exploring the village, piecing together evidence and clues.

HOWEVER, I CAN'T finish the game, it keeps crashing and bugging out CONSTANTLY, sometimes I can't load in, other times leaving houses causes a flashing screen, or just crashes the game. It's gotten to the point where I can't play for longer than 5 minutes without having to restart the game at which I then have to retrace my steps because the game didn't autosave.

I had no problems for the first few hours but it has gotten progressively worse the longer I have played the game.

It was an OK detective-y game. Game engine was a bit finicky at times, might be bad for motion sickness. Some annoying pixel hunting. Overall: Decent? 7/10, maybe.

Good game. Noticeably cheap, but a promising glimpse of what adventure games might still be. It's not perfect, but hopefully someone takes the concept and runs with it.

Use your graphics driver's Vsync, not the one in the game settings.

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!!

A really fascinating experience that is a must-try for anyone that likes detective/puzzle games. Not everything here lands, but enough lands hard enough for me to solidly recommend it. I did as the game suggested and broke out a notebook, and it made the experience quite rewarding. By the time I had figured out most of the story's twists, I started resorting to guides to find the last few key items I had missed, because unfortunately it's quite easy to miss little things and have no idea that you did or have any reason to check many of those places again, and that becomes an issue when I was locked out of progression despite being quite positive about my suspect. I can't say it's for everyone, this is definitely a niche product, but if it's already piqued your interest, I think you might be the target audience.

Started playing it as son as I bought and couldn't stop until I finished it.
It's an amazing experience, I made TONS of notes and this was the most fun I had in a while. It's really what it advertises itself as, it's a detective game where you actually need to work for it, at least for the most part.

Loved this game, it's been a long time since I last managed to get this immersed.

This is by far one of my favorite investigation style games. The story is cool, the setting is creepy and the puzzles are challenging enough to make you think, but not enough to keep you from moving forward. 10/10

I think it has a solid story line and it definitely keeps you on your toes! Highly recommend taking notes, it helps SO MUCH

its wildly unique. detective sandbox with zero hand holding

everything seemed rlly well thought out, everything tied in to everything else as u gathered more information, and it rlly felt like a genuinely good mystery. I felt rlly satisfied whenever I'd get on a streak of clues or find/solve something on my own only to later find the information telling me how to do what I'd just done. overall this was a very unique and incredible game especially for a smaller game, there are so many little details that seem unimportant or just environmental until you get a clue later on and have a bunch of pieces fall together in your head and everything just ends up feeling very natural and open. the game doesn't really hold your hand and you're free to investigate things pretty much in whatever order you want, which ends up making it that much more satisfying to get predictions right or find that one missing piece of the puzzle. also, the open world sort of design of the town is really nice and, as someone who grew up in a small town, navigating with just street names and a paper map makes it feel more realistic for the whole town dead/missing/moved away and rlly helps w the atmosphere, even if it is set in the 90's and that would've just been the only option
my only real complaint was that the "true" ending
felt a bit rushed and out of nowhere, I liked the involvement of the killer but I really wish it was a bit smoother in terms of the change of tone, or that there was some sort of stealth/hiding mechanic. I ended up getting lost at several points during the chase and was lucky I had toggle sprint on, so if anything a hiding mechanic would've been very useful and probably more intense for when a player gets lost or is gonna be cornered

Excellent atmospheric game. As many pointed out, not really a investigation/detective puzzle game. More of a walking simulator with investigation/detective elements. But a bloody good one at that! What a ride.

Harder than most mystery games I've played, would recommend

brought out a pad paper for this shit. never had a game blow my mind with its plot twists. cool stuff.

After 4 hours of going to a very limited number of places and hardly ever knowing where to go next, I gave up. Most of the time is spent wandering around a town of locked doors. The clues that are gathered usually don't provide enough enough on what to do next - super boring and not at all engaging.

Equivalent to having the most wonderful long flight over the sea, with comfy seats, delicious food and great in-flight entertainment, only for the plane to crash while landing at the airport.

Imagine having 20 pages of handwritten notes of investigation, only to accidentally stumble upon a horrible out of place "bwahaha i'm the murderer"-ending after reading item description too closely.

Despite the fun I had with the investigation for most of the game, the ending was just too bad for me to recommend this at all. It just made the whole investigation feel completely pointless.

Had a wonderful time solving the mystery with my GF, but I'd imagine it'd be just as fun with a group of friends or buddy. Wish I could wipe my memory and play it all over again for the first time definitely gonna be one I remember for the next decade.

The best game I've ever played. It absolutely hooked me from the very beginning. I played it for 7 hours straight from start to finish. The way the clues and hints just keep getting deeper, and pulling you in...just WOW! It's not too hard for someone new to detective games. I'm just blown away!! Buy it now!!

Up there with Case Of The Golden Idol and Sherlock Holmes: Crimes And Punishments as one of the best investigation games I've ever played. The story in this game is fantastic, and I loved how I genuinely needed to take notes. I ended up with 5 A4 pages full of notes for anything that could be relevant and my current theories as to what could've happened to the different characters. It had me guessing up until basically the end. I also love when a piece of media can make me feel so certain about something only to throw one last curveball that completely recontextualizes a lot of things. And the sound design is also really good. Crazy immersive. I'll definitely be playing this dev's other game whenever I can afford it. The world needs more games like this, seriously. This is almost everything I've ever wanted from a detective game.

Great little game. Some of the puzzles were quite unituative and confusing, but over all it was a great detective game.

Great game, puzzles were amazing, really made you think. i even wrote down my own notes irl, looked like a right old detective me. Story was amazing imo, loads of twists and turns, you never knew who was who they said they were.
wish i could experience this game again as if it was the first time playing it!

Excellent game! Worth every penny. The controls take a little acclimation, but they are straightforward enough. This game definitely requires a real-world notebook/sketchbook to help you keep track of all the locations and characters, but I find that adds to the fun. Definitely an immersive experience. The game has a spooky atmosphere and covers adult topics (just in case the title of the game didn't signify that enough for you), but can also be played in a leisurely pace if you so choose. The game play is enjoyably non-linear without feeling directionless. My only complaint about this game is that some crucial items can be very difficult to see, but that is the only reason I needed to consult a walkthrough for this game, as all of the puzzle solutions are provided in the game if you look carefully in the right place.

Great game, While the ending is a touch goofy, this is probably one of the best mystery/detective games

Easily one of the best puzzle games I've ever played. The whole eerie vibe and challenging puzzles mix incredibly well together and made me excited to continue exploring the town. The last 15 minutes might be the scariest and intense sequence I've experienced in a puzzle game. But bring a notepad!

Fantastic detective game. Not too hard that it's ridiculous, not too easy that it's hand-holdy. Story is excellent, and uncovering it bit by bit was amazing. Highly recommend.

The game seemed promising but it glitches out on newer systems

A genuine thrilling narrative, where there is a lot of investigation and puzzle-solving involved. Absolutely loved it as I played it with my friend.

Unlike other knowledge based games like Obra Dinn, Outer Wilds, and Tunic to an extent, The Painscreek Killings is a more linear affair. The first half of the game is pretty decent, you're free to explore and find notes, clues, and keys. But about the halfway point it starts railroading into find key, find door, find key behind door for another door, and becomes a long chain of back and forth without necessarily giving you any more useful or interesting information. You figure out what the general motivation is pretty quickly and then the game just keeps feeding you more diary entries reiterating the same things, I guess assuming you can skip/miss some of them. The game just hard falls apart at the ending and it becomes less satisfying following clues when you already know the answer and you're just running across the map again. And also if you do miss a key or clue, you have no idea where to go next, so you'll end up looking up a guide for some of the worse puzzles.

I did not know what I was signing up for when I bought this game a few years ago, but it sat in my library, untouched. Until, I saw a video series about the game by Vote4Holt, and I can say that this is probably the only time I've ever stopped watching a video essay to go play the game first. I was not disappointed in doing so.

The Painscreek Killings is a masterful experience where you, a investigative journalist, are sent to a now derelict town in order to uncover information regarding the killings that have occurred throughout the town over the last few years, with the chief one being the murder of Vivian Roberts. At the start of the game, you are given three goals: who killed her, with what weapon, and why were they killed? From that point on, the game lets you explore the environment and locales to your hearts content, only preventing you if you can't figure out the puzzles and clues left behind by the cities previous occupants.

In interest of those that haven't played it, I won't go much further, but I will say that this game was beautifully written and very well executed. Along with that, the atmosphere is definitely something that cranks up the further you get in, and there were plenty of times where the shivers ran down my spine as I read notes and made connections. It kept me guessing as to who the eventually culprit was throughout my play-through up until the very end. I must have had four or five different suspects in mind, and it was rewarding to see some of my earlier theories get proven, or seeing them be disproven and coming up with a new one to fit what new information I had.

Music was a looping track that changed rarely, and dependent on location, and if I had to pick something that was the game's worst quality, it would be that. That said, the writing, pacing, atmosphere and surprises defintely made this game worth playing. For a score, I would give this game a 8/10, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone that wants to put on their detective cap.

Writing: 9/10
Atmosphere: 10/10
Pacing: 8/10
Music: 3/10
Swerves: +2

A mixed bag of a walking simulator. On the plus side, the characters and backstories are well-developed and fleshed out. The few puzzles in the game are mostly intuitive. Uncovering backstory and figuring out the killer's identity is well-paced. That being said, even though you can go anywhere in this tiny burg, the story is pretty linear. You're going to solve the case in the end, there is no ambiguity. Also, any holdups in progress (at least for me) were due to not thoroughly exploring every nook of important rooms. Miss an item here, or a drawer there and you might be stuck for a while, revisiting one of about five different locations. But, as long as you keep track of your inventory and any padlocks, tumbler locks, safe locks, electronic locks, and car locks, you should be fine. (This game suffers from useless door syndrome. A lot of locked doors can never be unlocked) In the end, it's just a good story where you bounce between finding locks and finding ways to unlock them.
Also, interacting with drawers is a pain, assets are bland and repetitive, there's AI art everywhere, and the voice acting is nothing to write home about. ESPECIALLY the killer's confession. Hire a proper voice actor guys. These things stick out.

This is possibly the best investigation game I've played, no hand holding, no quest markets, you follow the clues and investigate the town of Painscreek. The only issues I have is that some of the later codes become a real pain to find and the last 5 minutes of the game go in an...interesting direction.

Outside of some small issues this is a fantastic if niche game, the lack of direction will likely frustrate a lot of people but for others that's the whole appeal.

The Painscreek Killings is one of the first games that made me want to 100% complete it. It’s a truly unique mystery game with an incredible atmosphere and a strong sense of realism. I loved how you're completely on your own—no hint system, no map markers, just pure detective work using logic and deduction. Every storyline and twist kept me genuinely hooked. While this style of game design isn’t for everyone, I’d still recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in detective or mystery games.

That said, it’s not perfect. Missing a key or clue can leave you wandering around aimlessly, unsure of what to do next, which can get frustrating. I wouldn’t personally recommend using an online walkthrough, since solving the mystery yourself is a huge part of the experience, but I understand why some players might need one.

Overall, The Painscreek Killings is a one-of-a-kind mystery that had me engaged from start to finish.

This is one of the best mystery game on here. The game let you investigate through ghost town freely without indicator (similar to Shadows of Doubt) to uncover the death of the mayor's wife. The story is good everyone have their own motives and reasons for their actions. 9/10 minus the ending gameplay is straight up goofy which could've been made better.

This was a very fun game and such a delight to experience! I want to see so many more games with this premise of being able to play detective in such an immersive way

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.

Great game. Fun puzzles and very spooky atmosphere. The dart puzzle is BS though.

As someone who has recently entered into PC games I really enjoyed the simplicity of the point-and-clink experience that somehow avoided a completely linear story line.
The graphics are beautiful and comparable to Bethesda.
This small genre was done wonderful justice with this great story line. I was hooked the entire night.
There were some bugs but the reload page actually does an amazing job and none of my work was lost.
For the negatives:
I felt like there was too many hints and finding hints before I could solve them ended up with me googling them because I thought I was stupid and ruining the story line. I understand they were teasers but as games age so does their information and now there is a high presence of information on this game.
Also.... the end really pissed me off and I was highly disappointed honestly. Felt like an insult to all the notes I took :(

one of the best games i have ever played. basically a walking simulator but truly sucks you in. I was on the edge of my seat desperate to find out who the killer was 10/10 likely the best detective sim on the market.

Warning for those entering this game: it is a huge scavenger hunt and ALL READING.

However! If you like that sort of thing as well as a good mystery, terrifying vibes (/p its giving a more silent Silent Hill), and a really good storyline that isn't straightforward with many interesting side plots that aren't necessary but always worth investigating, then you should spend your hours playing this. Its a really good time.

If you don't mind walking around a lot and zooming in on stuff and just grabbing keys and codes left and right, then you have a cool little detective game to play right here! I think the worldbuilding and the uncovering of the story is the biggest highlight of the game. Seeing how you can discover a lot with just diaries and letters was a fun way of tackling a story. I would say to approach it as reading a non-linear detective novel in which you also solve small puzzles to move the plot along. I do think the ending is a little jarring for how the rest of the game was but it was short enough to not ruin the fun I had playing the entire game.
Highly recommend for mystery and cozy game lovers out there!

Very intriguing mystery. The vibe is eerie, the puzzles are almost all solvable without hints (there's one optional puzzle that's 100% stoppable that has a bunch of incredibly misleading clues). The mystery will keep you invested right up until the last minute.

Well, the last five minutes, where the game spells out the killer's identity and gets kinda... silly.

Easily recommended if you like the journeys of investigation games, but if an unsatisfying ending is a deal breaker I would recommend finding something else.

This game is great for those with a Detective itch, or like games like INFRA or Return of Obra Dinn.

I really enjoyed it, and look forward to more games like it from this creator.

This is one of the few games that I think back to periodically and wish I could experience over again. The graphics and gameplay are nothing special, but this game is shockingly good at drawing you into its world and making you feel like you're actually piecing things together. I can't quite describe what works about this game, other than the narrative, but damn is it compelling. I never expected a walking simulator to be so intriguing and actually moving.

This game is so full of jank, that I just can't recommend it, despite it having some very good ideas

So, there's a lot of different shades of jank, the worst offender being the gameplay - a lot of times you can be hard stuck, not because of the puzzle you can't solve or the deduction you can't make, but because you've missed 1 drawer out of dozens in the game, which contained an item you needed to progress. Happened to me a couple of times, and it's not really exciting to crawl all over town again looking for 1 thing you've missed.

Then there's mechanical junk. Sprint button being absolutely redundant - there's no reason NOT to sprint at all, some quest hitboxes being very hard to find even if you know what you're looking for, a lot of pixel hunting, stuff like that

Up next is artistic jank. All the portraits are AI, the music is repeating a lot, voice acting is meh, writing style is kinda boring and visual style is just "unity store free assets". All of that doesn't help immersion at all

But despite the jank the story was pretty good! Uncovering skeletons in the closets of everyone in the town is pretty interesting and makes the town creepier at every turn. At least until the endgame, where it stopped being interesting and became very silly very quickly. There's ghosts, Benny Hill style axe chases all over town, killer's confession that was just sitting there NOT DESTROYED for 4 years and previous detective uncovering the entire story, getting to every house AND THEN locking all the doors and placing all the keys back to where they were. Or maybe it was the killer who did that, which is still silly.

TLDR: the game does provide some interesting experience, but is heavily held back by the ending and lack of polish

Came here from Vote4Holt's youtube video. Though when I heard this game's premise of getting to the bottom of a murder in an abandoned town, I stopped watching the guy's video before it even started getting into it because I knew that I had to uncover the mystery myself. & I'm very glad that I did!

The story is satisfying to piece together, solving puzzles & finding items generally isn't frustrating (with only a few exceptions, though that may be because I wasn't thinking hard enough haha), & I like that there's no fast-travel mechanic-- walking through the town helps you digest what information you've just gotten & think about the story & characters & your next steps to uncovering the mystery.

My only criticisms is that I wish the story was a little more subtle in its storytelling? Tying up every loose end can feel accomplishing, sure, but having some things remain unconfirmed & only heavily implied keeps you thinking & theorizing long after you've finished reading/watching/playing, which is part of the fun with mysteries (for me, at least). Also it'd be nice if there were better explanations as to why former residents just up & left the town without taking most of their belongings, lol.

Anyways, great detective simulator, had my fair share of very memorable "oh shit!" moments when discovering things, this isn't a horror game but it did creep me out & even scare me at certain points (which i feel really added to the whole experience haha), & I did in fact have my own clipboard & paper to write theories & codes & try to understand people's relationships (which was also very fun).

A very fun game, near the middle I had to look up a good bit because everywhere I went just turned up nothing, but other than that it was a delight. Great story, good twists, great characters and even a lil' spooky to boot. Also it's a pretty short experience, I 100% the game in a day. If you're at all interested, buy it and try it out, you won't regret it

It's a really satisfying murder mystery with basically no hand-holding. The only issues I have with it are that some puzzles are easy to stumble into out of sequence, and other puzzles are a bit too obtuse. Otherwise, I can't fault it for lack of polish because it was a very small team's first game.

Probably one of the best detective games ever made.