When my heart rate returned to mostly-normal, I took to the internet to see if The Painscreek Killings had any jumpscares, because I was ready to quit my career as a detective and return to the wholesome farmlands of Stardew Valley instead. Today I learned: I don't have a fight OR flight instinct.I freeze.Īs soon as I looked away and back, Ghost Lady was gone. As I walked out of a half-burned building, I was greeted by this staring at me from across a river: It turns out, in several ways, I wasn’t wrong. At first, I thought my imagination was getting the better of me when I kept convincing myself that the town wasn’t completely abandoned, that someone was going to appear and come after me. #The painscreek killings guide fullFull disclosure: I don’t deal well with horror or anything even slightly scary. The only sounds were the wind in the trees, my shoes on the ground, and the occasional piano as the simplistic, atmospheric soundtrack drifts in and out. The little town of Painscreek immediately established itself as a creepy place. With that mystery casting a shadow over everything I would note, I began my investigation. Even though I was sent to solve one murder, it was clear from the moment of purchase that more deaths had occurred, and they were likely connected in some way. It’s no spoiler, it's right in the title of the game: The Painscreek Killings. I don't want to be told where to go or if I've missed evidence - if I mess up, it's my own fault!īefore I took two in-game steps forward, I became suspicious that there was something far bigger going on. The lack of hand-holding made the game more realistic to detective work, and it's a rare treat for people like me who love solving mysteries. I was dropped into an unsettling town and had to pick a place to start randomly, hoping it would lead to more and more clues. What I liked about Painscreek from the get-go was the semi-open world quality. Janet is charged with using her camera and wit to glean from the clues left behind in the ghost town the answers to three questions: who killed Vivian, how, and why. The town had since been abandoned by all residents and was scheduled to be demolished to clear the land. Vivian was a beloved figure in Painscreek and her death came as a shock to all. Years prior to Janet's arrival in the town of Painscreek, Vivian Roberts - the mayor's wife and all-around do-gooder - was murdered, and nobody was ever convicted for her death. The Painscreek Killings opens with an introductory exposition voicemail introducing me to Janet, the up-and-coming eager journalist who serves as our first-person protagonist. In a world where things are rarely where they should be and everything is important, it's easy to get lost without old-fashioned notetaking. Having my notebook allowed me to make connections and wrap my head around things I could not have kept straight otherwise. The semi-open world is chock full names, dates, missing evidence, locations, and happenings. I cannot recommend enough that future detectives heed this message. The notebook remark was no exaggeration right after I started a new game, a message popped up that encouraged players to have a notebook with them during the playthrough. There began my journey through The Painscreek Killings. So, when a game popped up in my Steam recommendations that promised to be akin to solving an actual cold case, where evidence must be gathered and my hand wouldn’t be held if I missed anything, I dove right in with my notepad at hand to test my gumshoe skills. My video game library includes the Ace Attorney series, Hotel Dusk, Why Am I Dead At Sea, and many other intriguing mysteries. I fancy myself something of a detective based on the erroneous number of cold case shows and British crime dramas I've consumed.
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