PC (Microsoft Windows)2017

The Painscreek Killings

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.

Community

Storyline

As Janet, a young and upcoming journalist, you have been asked by your editor to investigate the mysterious abandonment of a once lively town. Based on the information released by the media about the deaths of the townspeople, you set foot into the town thinking you would find an interesting story to publish, only to uncover secrets that were meant to stay hidden forever.

Trailers

Screenshots

Very Positive

6,009 Steam reviews

Review History

Reviews

6,009 total

≥h

Steam User 3200STEAMRecommended

This is a game that takes a neat core idea, that the player will get no in-game tools to help them investigate, and doesn’t totally ruin it. That’s the best I can say about it.

If you consider the constraints of the tools used to develop the game, it’s pretty good and kind of crazy that it still holds up.

The key to enjoying Painscreek is to lower your expectations, then dig a basement and lower them even more. With one or two exceptions, there’s only three things players can be confronted with: locating a key, locating or deducing a code, and getting progression gated by tools (shovel, wrench, hammer, and a car theft tool lol) that apparently every single person in town played hot potato with.

There are a few points where apparently the developer abandoned some storylines but didn’t remove the incomplete content which isn’t great. Also towards the end there’s a really dumb puzzle where you required to look for some text on a building. This isn’t a spoiler but if you don’t want to be super annoyed trying to find them, they’re [spoiler] on the very bottom of the buildings, typically near a corner. [/spoiler]

Absolutely not worth $19.99, not even a remote chance. wait for a sale.

Mar 27, 2026·17h·Verified

Steam User 3405STEAMRecommended

A 7/10 detective game with a good amount of genuinely memorable moments. I think everyone complaining about it being too hard might just be stupid, because I didn't find it difficult at all to find where the keys went or where the game obviously wanted me to go next. Honestly I was a little disappointed at how much signposting there was after hearing so much about how supposedly difficult it is to find where to go. Overall though, still very much worth a play.

Mar 27, 2026·7h·1·Verified

Steam User 9619STEAMNot recommended

Ich hasse dieses Spiel. Kein Spiel hat es bisher geschafft mich soooooo extrem wütend zu machen, dass ich aus Rage-Quitt den PC herunterfahre. Alt F4 hat nicht mehr gereicht. Nicht ADHS Freundlich, hier und da würden kleine Hilfestellungen helfen. Absolutes Nemesis Spiel für mich.

Mar 27, 2026·3h·Verified

Steam User 8509STEAMRecommended

Very fun and well-designed game. It has a very nostalgic feel to it. The puzzles are intuitive yet challenging, and although there is some hand-holding to help you reach the right answer at the end, the journey is fun and the story is engaging.

Mar 26, 2026·17h·Verified

Steam User 1665STEAMRecommended

had to google some stuff bcs theres like keys in random spots such as the johnson key card being on like a random seat in the hospital but game was pretty enjoyable aside from that. I did get a glitch where i would phase through the floor a couple times tho

Mar 26, 2026·9h·Verified

Steam User 9823STEAMRecommended

Bought this back in 2018 and barely touched it at the time. I stumbled across it again while scrolling through my library and finally decided to give it a proper shot. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much—but I ended up enjoying it way more than I thought I would. It completely surprised me in the best way. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a slower mystery game.

Mar 26, 2026·10h·Verified

Steam User 2147STEAMRecommended

Pretty good, I wish you could run faster especially in the mansion

Mar 26, 2026·7h·1·Verified

Steam User 5458STEAMRecommended

Un bellissimo gioco investigativo

Mar 25, 2026·35h·Verified

Steam User 8371STEAMRecommended

Terrific mystery game that requires a slow paced and thoughtful approach. Dripping with atmosphere and a truly interesting story make this a must play for detective and mystery game fans.

Mar 25, 2026·42h·Verified

Steam User 2613STEAMRecommended

I loved the sleuth in this game! Difficult enough to be challenging, but not BS

Mar 25, 2026·16h·Verified

Steam User 4376STEAMRecommended

Lo empecé como algo para pasar el rato y terminé atrapado en una historia increíble. Me encantó.

Mar 25, 2026·11h·Verified

Steam User 6891STEAMRecommended

First of all this game is a 10/10. Its amazing! But... i think its impossible to solve it without a walkthrough. Also there arent hints if you would like to play without walkthrough, and i think that the devs have to add them in the gameplay, and also in the end there isnt any hint to escape from the killer. The game is huge, if you play it without a walkthrough maybe you need months to understand the solution. And is not very easy for non-native english speakers.

Mar 24, 2026·8h

Steam User 6240STEAMRecommended

That was incredible. I would LOVE more mystery games of this type.
Make sure you do EVERYTHING you want to before leaving Painscreek!
Like a lot of games of this nature... it's easy to miss a few things and leave some stuff on the table, so to speak.

Mar 24, 2026·18h·Verified

Steam User 5955STEAMRecommended

与其说是一款推理游戏，倒不如说是一款解谜游戏，不知是否解释了其中的微妙区别。
游戏整体的体验基本可以被视为一个循环：到达地点——使用钥匙——推动剧情和获得钥匙——前往下个地点，缺少了些推理的过程。当然，游戏本身的质量还是可以的，适合喜欢带入的玩家游玩。
以及，有两处恐怖元素，但整体基调并不是恐怖风格的。

Mar 24, 2026·10h·Verified

Steam User 7948STEAMRecommended

ótimo jogo, parabens aos envolvidos

Mar 24, 2026·21h

Steam User 8890STEAMRecommended

quite good - quite tough

Mar 23, 2026·8h·Verified

Steam User 2668STEAMRecommended

PHENOMENAL mystery game! My partner and I adored this, playing it blind after a truly amazing recommendation from Volt 4 Holt on Youtube. We were addicted from the first minute, and were so into it we had poster boards, notes, and talked about it on our bike ride! I loved the non-linear storytelling and the way you could just wander around on your own to put things together. When we finished I IMMEDIATELY bought the devs other game, it was that good! While there were two puzzles we needed a hint for (the wording was unfortunate on one, and the other was accompanied by an equally mystifying "score sheet" (that dart puzzle!) we did the rest on our own. While I have mixed feelings about one part of the final sequence, overall this game gets a HUGE recommendation from me and a glowing review just from the sheer originality and refreshing nature of the gameplay. I would play 382342423 more games like this -- it's incredible if you're a fan of mysteries. The best moment? The sighting across from the house, which I'm leaving vague because it's so, so good. Standing ovation for this one, can't wait to play the next!

(But y'all, there's one place you need to fix how the date is entered! Dates in this game are all mm/dd/yy, not m/d/yyyy?)

I will say that one thing that threw me out of this game? Is Father Matthews a catholic, or a pastor? The crucifix didn't have a figure on it, so it's not Catholic. But there's a confessional -- this isn't a big deal, that's how good this game is, this is all I have to point out!)

Mar 23, 2026·17h·Verified

Steam User 6121STEAMRecommended

Je n'ai jamais joué à un jeu pareil, et je ne sais pas si j'aurais la chance de revivre une telle expérience un jour ! J'ai passé des heures à fouiller une ville fantôme, avec ma manette, mon carnet et mon stylo (vous allez devoir prendre des notes, oui oui !), pour résoudre un meurtre dans la ville de Painscreek.
9/10 (j'ai enlevé un point pour la fin qui ne ressemblait pas au reste du jeu).

Mar 23, 2026·16h·Verified

Steam User 7379STEAMRecommended

The Painscreek Killings is a deeply engaging experience that immediately pulls you into a tense and unsettling atmosphere. From the very beginning, the game builds a sense of isolation and mystery that keeps you constantly on edge.

The overall design is thoughtfully crafted: its architecture and puzzles are well balanced, rewarding careful observation, note-taking, and sustained concentration. It truly feels like a genuine investigation, where every detail matters and nothing is handed to you.

If there’s a minor flaw, the soundtrack can become a bit repetitive over time. However, this does little to detract from the overall experience.

This is exactly the kind of investigative game I’ve been looking for, and I would love to see more titles like this in the future.

Mar 22, 2026·14h·Verified

Steam User 6292STEAMRecommended

"where does that key fit" simulator

Mar 21, 2026·6h·4·Verified

Steam User 8273STEAMRecommended

Good game with a good story. I enjoyed the freedom

Mar 21, 2026·10h

Steam User 1602STEAMRecommended

♥♥♥♥♥ im lost

Mar 21, 2026·4h

Steam User 4712STEAMRecommended

Затягивает. Бродишь, собираешь записки-бумажки, и узнаешь о скелетах в колодцах. Своего рода детектив, посещаешь место преступления, где последний свидетель, толь цветок в горшке. Занимательно.

Mar 20, 2026·17h·Verified

Steam User 9535STEAMRecommended

Amazing!

Mar 20, 2026·14h·Verified

Steam User 0261STEAMRecommended

deletaria a memoria que tenho desse jogo so para jogar de novo.

Jogo muito bem construido e historia sem buraco algum
Recomendo super, vale cada segundo, minuto, hora ou centavos e reais.
Quem gosta do genero vai amar

Mar 17, 2026·10h

Steam User 7694STEAMRecommended

A very good detective game. There aren't many out there like this. That said, this is an early EQ Studios game and their next one, Scene Investigators, improves in EVERY SINGLE WAY.

This is buggy, feels a little janky, and doesn't have a whole lot of polish (no in-game note taking is especially egregious). At the same time, it's forced me to play in a way I haven't had to play in many games. Taking IRL notes is interesting and I feel more intrigued knowing that no in-game system is going to hold my hand and tell me I got something right or wrong.

It's also reliant on puzzles and a lot of back tracking for keys and codes. That's a little lame to me. Their newer game is really all about collecting information and putting it together like a puzzle, which is what a detective game ought to do. This has you running around a large map doing actual puzzles. Fun? Sure, but not what I was looking for. It's a good detective game, but it really does pale in comparison to their latest release.

If you're a fan of detective games, DO NOT MISS THIS. It's amazing. But you'll understand after a few hours (and especially after the ending) that this is a studio's first shot at the genre. A solid 7/10 and worth your time.

Mar 16, 2026·6h·Verified

Steam User 3552STEAMRecommended

Excelente jogo de investigação e enigma, me fez fazer varias anotações e teorias sobre os eventos do jogo, me sentia aqueles malucos dos filmes que tem um quadro de investigações e teorias num quarto escuro na sua casa. Realmente te deixa envolvido na trama.
A profundidade da historia, o sentimento de descoberta dos mistérios do lugar, teria jogado as 13 horas seguidas disso se tivesse tempo!!! E como um bom amante de fofocas, achei incrível como essas tramas vão sendo reveladas ao longo do jogo. Joguem sem pressa e sem ajuda de ninguém ou nenhum guia, vai valer a pena passar por tudo isso.

Mar 16, 2026·14h·Verified

Steam User 5801STEAMRecommended

consegui zerar/platinar em 15 horas de gameplay praticamente, gameplay flui bem, voce fica querendo desvendar o mistério da trama, bom pra quem gosta dessa pegada mais "detetive"

Mar 16, 2026·15h·1·Verified

Steam User 0509STEAMRecommended

One of the greats.

Mar 15, 2026·7h·Verified

Steam User 3519STEAMRecommended

que jogo surpreendente

Mar 14, 2026·7h·Verified

Steam User 3818STEAMRecommended

Gut, Sofia my beloved. I love she,

Mar 14, 2026·13h

Steam User 4661STEAMRecommended

It's a fun mystery with moments of genuine discovery and surprise. You will for sure want a notebook of some sort to jot things down as you go. The ending is.... a bit unusual for the rest of the game, and I didn't love that bit, but everything up to that point was excellent.

Mar 13, 2026·11h·Verified

Steam User 3754STEAMRecommended

Mar 13, 2026·23h·Verified

Steam User 6345STEAMRecommended

아직도 이런 게임류에서 얘만한 게임을 못만남

Mar 12, 2026·11h·Verified

Steam User 8075STEAMRecommended

挺好玩的，一点点收集线索接近真相，正反馈很足。但可能有一部分人（比如我）对这种第一人称搜索的适应性不是很好，总觉得很恐怖，尤其是废弃医院，一度寸步难行（…）故事其实没有很特别，就是小镇狗血伦理大戏，人均法外狂徒，不过一切的起因竟是[spoiler] 重男轻女 [/spoiler]有点出人意料……
[spoiler] ps.最后做了攻略才敢进追逐战，果然自己跑的时候看到索菲亚就一点不害怕了。虽然整件事情很难评，但也许像索菲亚，还有雇佣私家侦探的女佣多萝西这样的人，终究也有不希望任何人受伤的一面吧。 [/spoiler]

Mar 12, 2026·10h·Verified

Steam User 1590STEAMRecommended

Conheci o jogo por causa do Alanzoka. Na época eu assisti umas 4x ele zerando. Dito isso, eu decidi adquirir o jogo só para ter a platina dele no meu perfil. É um jogo maravilhoso, a história é intrigante e te prende do começo ao fim. A progressão da história é sensacional. A imersão que o jogo traz é fenomenal. Eu necessito de mais jogos como esse, mesmo já tendo zerado o Scene Investigators. Realmente adoro demais esse game!

Mar 12, 2026·5h·1·Verified

Steam User 6940STEAMRecommended

enjoyable and a little creepy

Mar 11, 2026·9h·Verified

Steam User 6191STEAMRecommended

entretenido juego de investigacion, para distraerse resolviendo pistas y rompecabezas a traves de deducciones

Mar 11, 2026·27h·Verified

Steam User 7399STEAMRecommended

Melhor jogo desse gênero q já joguei

Mar 9, 2026·17h·Verified

Steam User 5670STEAMRecommended

superou todas as minhas expectativas (que eram altas!!!)

Mar 9, 2026·16h·Verified

Steam User 0577STEAMRecommended

me senti o sherlock holmes

Mar 7, 2026·11h

Steam User 7935STEAMRecommended

Probably the best "true" murder mystery I've ever played. I had fun playing, but this game for me has a stronger place in my heart for what it stands for rather than what it does. An open-world murder mystery that doesn't hold your hand is a terrifying idea executed really quite well! (Except for that one darts puzzle, I hate that thing with a burning passion)

Mar 6, 2026·6h·2

Steam User 4686STEAMRecommended

I really enjoyed the game (the story, the documents, the characters etc), but the numbers of the houses drove me crazy.

Mar 5, 2026·13h·Verified

Steam User 8266STEAMRecommended

Gra ma swoje wady, ale nie da się ukryć, że oferuje jedyne w swoim rodzaju doświadczenie. Odkąd ją ukończyłam, szukam czegoś podobnego, ale jak do tej pory tylko jeden tytuł zbliżył się choć trochę do "The Painscreek Killings" (konkretnie chodzi o "The Suicide of Rachel Foster"). Gra daje nam około 10 godzin rozgrywki, więc zdecydowanie jest warta swojej ceny.

Mar 2, 2026·14h·Verified

Steam User 2877STEAMRecommended

The Painscreek Killings is a wonderful game, that proves that to make a game scare you don't need to make it super dark. So many game developers think that by leaving out light, and giving you a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ non functional flashlight is what consititues as "scary". Instead it just becomes annoying to play.

Here the developers got it right. Plenty of light, and still very tense! A flashlight that works and yet...

Very well done!

Mar 2, 2026·12h·1

Steam User 4427STEAMRecommended

Este videojogo é excepcional, inescrutável e repleto de mistérios cujas origens são completamente verossímeis.

Deixo aqui minha balsâmica recomendação.

Mar 1, 2026·7h·1·Verified

Steam User 7740STEAMRecommended

one of my favourite mystery games games ever

Mar 1, 2026·13h·Verified

Steam User 6298STEAMRecommended

Es war nicht die Art Detektiv-Spiel, die ich erwartet hätte, hat mir aber letztlich doch Spaß gemacht.

Feb 27, 2026·14h·Verified

Steam User 1372STEAMRecommended

Sehr spannende Story!! ich spiele solche Spiele eher selten aber ich habe es mit einer Freundin zusammen gespielt. Das war großartig. Wir haben uns immer besprochen und sind gemeinsam echt gut durch gekommen. Man sollte sich Zeit für das Spiel nehmen, alles genau lesen und anschauen. Sich sogar eigene Notizen machen, weil alles am Ende wichtig wird. Man wird also für Neugier und Erkundung sehr stark belohnt. An sowas muss man spaß haben sonst wird man schnell frustriert sein von dem Spiel. Wir fanden es genial.

Feb 27, 2026·17h·1

Steam User 0940STEAMRecommended

Muito bom, meu jogo favorito

Feb 27, 2026·13h·1·Verified

Steam User 6025STEAMRecommended

excelente jogo pra quem gosta de mistério e jogos de detetives

Feb 26, 2026·9h·Verified

Steam User 6808STEAMRecommended

Bites off more than it can chew right at the absolute final part, but I still very much enjoyed the experience. I saw one negative review say that this is a glorified scavenger hunt and I see where they are coming from but I don't mind as strongly. There were times where the puzzles and stuff felt slightly less grounded than I think they should've been but it's fine. In the end the story doesn't have to be the greatest thing ever or entirely unique, it's really about how you navigate the means to put the story together in your head. That's what makes this worth it, It's just you and your thoughts in an American town that absolutely does not feel American in the slightest.

This game could've used a more focused art pass but frankly that odd physicality and aesthetic of it all adds to the charm. Kudos to the devs.

Feb 26, 2026·10h·Verified

Steam User 0346STEAMRecommended

absurdo de bom! só jogue.

Feb 26, 2026·12h·Verified

Steam User 7428STEAMRecommended

Voce sabe que esta sozinho e ainda sim sente um medo absurdo! Plot sensacional, investigação imersiva do começo ao fim e a cada descoberta era um palavrão novo! Simplesmente incrivel

Feb 26, 2026·1h·2·Verified

Steam User 8280STEAMRecommended

Just absolutely awesome! A few years ago watched one YouTuber play this game and loved the atmosphere. Recently decided to play it myself and it still was as awesome as years ago just watching it. The music is great, especially the "main" village theme - it is so relaxing, discreet and unintrusive, that I'd use it as background for working at the computer.

Feb 25, 2026·25h·Verified

Steam User 8345STEAMRecommended

This is an older game but I was told to get it by Ingerdingus so I had to play it. I'm glad I did! It's a really fun detective game with a creepy feel. I'm pretty stupid so I had to look up a few things in my playthrough but It's so satisfying to spend time doing it for real, type a code in or try a key and hear that *click* of approval. There is a LOT to read, but it's interesting and keeps you wanting to learn more about the characters.

Feb 25, 2026·8h·3·Verified

Steam User 9178STEAMRecommended

따봉 다현아 고마워.

Feb 24, 2026·21h·Verified

Steam User 1904STEAMRecommended

bom jogo de investigação, bons personagens, história muito boa e uma ótima atmosfera

Feb 23, 2026·15h·Verified

Steam User 0978STEAMRecommended

Very immersive sleuthing experience. The slowly unraveling story of the town is tragic and makes you wish there was something to be done to help these people, but it was all years ago and done. Great game.

Loading times can be oddly long for a graphically simple game, but I think that has to do with the way autosaving is done.

Feb 23, 2026·6h·Verified

Steam User 1286STEAMRecommended

joguin bom de verdade. não é demorado e é muito foda descobrir o que realmente aconteceu por conta própria. se vc curte puzzles e questões mais investigativas, pode ir sem medo.

curti também que pra mim foi um jogo bem relaxante, apenas escutando o som ambiente e procurando desvendar o mistérios.

BOMMMMM DEMAIS

Feb 22, 2026·13h·Verified

Steam User 5079STEAMRecommended

Bom

Feb 22, 2026·10h·Verified

Steam User 8370STEAMRecommended

In the current landscape of murder and mystery games, The Painscreek Killings is truly a one of a kind. The premise of the game is a unique and refreshing approach to the genre and I believe EQ delivers on most their aspirations going into development.

In the end, it is the most true adaptation that I've seen to date to put you in the shoes of a detective. YOU must find the clues, YOU must read the clues, YOU must make the deductions about the clues to posit whatever relevance they may hold so that YOU can solve the mystery.

The game makes a great job at pointing you in the right direction without making it overtly obvious, so that with a proper deduction you can solve the mystery early - which is as a mystery game should be. However, I will say, if you hadn't solved it early, or even on time, the amount of documents detailing every grueling detail in the last act is almost too much. During this last act, the flood gates open and there's a stupendous amount of redundant information that should have already been solved - either through moderate deduction or through other documents which detailed the contents. It's almost as if EQ trusted the player as they should in the beginning, but didn't at the end of the game and had to include as much information as possible to make sure any player could figure it out before the "official reveal".

My other largest gripe with the game is the finish early prospect. No matter what you do, if you do not go through the final sequence of the game - even despite having found all documents and so on - you will not receive a great grade. Receiving a C, despite finding the murderer, the motive, the weapon, AND snapping a picture of it is a genuinely maddening prospect. This feature could have been flushed out to more accurately represent the information uncovered and deductions made, without necessarily effecting a bad grade for simply guessing.

Some minor issues I have are that I would feel the game would be more enjoyable if you could actually interrogate or question people and the town itself wasn't so empty. This would also fix my other issue with the fact that every single character has a diary detailing their thoughts. How many people do you know with a diary? None? Okay, point proven. The fact that every single character has a diary and most major developments come from these diaries just feels off - even if it doesn't detract from the mystery itself.

Either way, the game is extremely tight aside from some minor missteps and a minor plothole in act 2. It single handedly has me wanting much more games like it.

Feb 21, 2026·8h·Verified

Steam User 3807STEAMRecommended

I loved that this game was immersive and has such a strong storyline. Take your time and i suggest taking your own notes as you move along the game. This is by far the best mystery / puzzle solving game I have played so far. The whole set up is intriguing from beginning to end. The story, and the clues, weave together and it is frankly addicting. Love it!!

Feb 21, 2026·34h·Verified

Steam User 1953STEAMRecommended

This is a GREAT game. There were a couple things that might stump you, but it makes sense if you read everything. This honestly is the most fun I have had with a murder mystery game yet. Story is really interesting. And just when you think, OH this is who dunnit! No, theres a lot more to see. 10/10 I would play again for the first time. The multiple endings were a nice touch as well.

Feb 21, 2026·13h·Verified

Steam User 1140STEAMRecommended

Execelente jogo pqp

Feb 21, 2026·22h·Verified

Steam User 8499STEAMRecommended

I played this game with my girlfriend and it was an incredible experience for us. thank you so much!

Feb 20, 2026·19h·Verified

Steam User 8684STEAMRecommended

너무너무 재미있습니다

Feb 20, 2026·22h·Verified

Steam User 4916STEAMRecommended

pqp que jogo bom mds, te deixa aflito e é tão gratificante quando finalmente acha a senha, jogaço dms

Feb 19, 2026·29h·4·Verified

Steam User 9524STEAMRecommended

Let me begin by first saying, I'm a grandfather who is nearly 60 that very much enjoys "cozy" games where there is not a huge amount of pressure on me to have conflicts or quick-time events in games. I do love immersive 1st person games like Cyberpunk 2047, Starfield, and the Fallout series. I do, however, very much prefer games that are heavy with "story" and in which I get to slowly understand through discovery the entirety of what is going on.

This is my second review on Steam and realize I obviously have a pattern. Find a game you can play casually, one where you feel like you can make continuous progress, and one that is very story driven. My first review ever was for the game "What Remains of Edith Finch" and I put this game right up there for the power of it's story telling.

A few things I really enjoyed about this game (no spoilers). You play in first person and get to explore and experience the Village of Painscreek and some surrounding properties. The visual detail of the environment is superb and by the end of the game I knew the streets of Painscreek better than I remember my childhood streets growing up. Who needs a map anyway? :)

What really sets this game apart is how carefully the developers tried to prevent this game from being too linear. They provide you with many opportunities to go from point A to point B through deduction, but they do not hold your hand. I took copious amounts of notes. Much of the information you get is in the form of "diaries/letters/newspapers" which is a great way to do two things: you get to see a narrative spoken with timelines from the point of view of a single individual, and you also get to start identifying with individual people.

There is no surprise here, this game is about identifying a killer and the story does a masterful job of revealing people in the village and their relationships with others, their inner thoughts, their concerns, and gives you deep insights into them. I want more games like this where the hand-holding or narrow game-path design is minimized and you are not forced to follow a linear path to the end, but it's a delicate balance to get right.

I would be lying if I said I always found myself completely certain through deduction how to get from A to B. I think I took 5 hints from the Internet on very specific scenarios to "unblock" myself. All I needed was the barest "hint" and I was unblocked. (Hint to developers: if it were possible, having a mechanic in game that could provide these hints would have made me feel better than going online where it's too easy to get "too much spoiler" information).

In summary, I was blown away by the story telling, saddened by the haunting sadness of some of what was revealed, and amazed at the craft of the team that put this together to do so in such a delicate balance (not too linear, but enough "connective information" to allow you to figure it out). I rarely complete a game completely, and this is the most ambitious game that I've managed to complete 100% achievements for. I don't think I'm done playing though. For every piece of information I received in the game, I created a chronology that included the date/time (in order) what the summary of the event was, and the source I received it from. It allowed me to slowly read from start to finish the entire story line and see the grand narrative play out.

Just like when you have a favorite book, and rereading it does not diminish your enjoyment but only brings up anticipation of things you love and want to re-experience, this game has you.

I don't write many reviews, but when one of them moves me enough through artistry, I want to call it out and this gets my highest approval. Well done.

Feb 18, 2026·33h·27·Verified

Steam User 8409STEAMRecommended

bão!

Feb 17, 2026·7h·Verified

Steam User 3060STEAMRecommended

[h1]Quem matou Vivian Roberts? [/h1]

Em The Painscreek Killings, assumimos o papel de Janet Kelly, uma jornalista enviada para investigar uma série de assassinatos, especificamente o de Vivian Roberts, em Painscreek, agora uma cidade fantasma. O jogo não oferece guias nem dicas, é apenas você e sua intuição em uma cidade abandonada no final dos anos 90. A construção da narrativa e dos personagens depende inteiramente da nossa capacidade de dedução. A solidão desse jogo junto com sentimento de "Eu estou realmente sozinho?" é inexplicável. Amei explorar cada canto e desvendar as motivações, os mistérios e os segredos de cada habitante. Esse jogo me causou tantos sentimentos. A trilha sonora e a ambientação são impecáveis. Não quero me alongar demais pois acho que já está óbvio que eu recomendo totalmente The Painscreek Killings. Pegue sua caneta, seu bloco de anotações, sua coragem de estar em uma cidade abandonada e responda: Quem matou Vivian Roberts? Como e por quê?

Feb 17, 2026·12h·Verified

Steam User 3162STEAMRecommended

Definitivamente o melhor jogo que já joguei no estilo investigação, me prendeu completamente, eu ia dormir pensando no jogo e acordava pensando nele também, o jogo tem uma dificuldade boa, e te da muita margem para deduções, e também não é só uma forma exata de evoluir com as pistas no jogo, recomento muito para quem ama jogos de investigação e enigma.

Feb 17, 2026·1h·Verified

Steam User 2773STEAMRecommended

오브라딘호의 귀환 느낌! 어떻게 이 휑하고 으스스한 마을을 혼자 조사하러 다니는지 자넷이 정말 대단한 것 같다

Feb 17, 2026·14h·Verified

Steam User 5232STEAMNot recommended

야 이 시발아 퍼즐 게임 이거 준나 어렵네 가이드라도 하든가 뭐 몰입감보다는 지루함 셜록이랑 왓슷도 절레 절레 하겠다 샤갈 것 들아

Feb 17, 2026·Verified

Steam User 2453STEAMRecommended

Great mood, nice mystery, fairly grounded and enjoyable to solve.

Feb 16, 2026·14h·Verified

Steam User 1150STEAMRecommended

遊戲最大的特色是:非線性關卡會需要邊作點筆記邊玩
搜查地點是整個小鎮，然後小鎮又是個無人的鬼城。
基本上就是在沒有NPC可以互動的狀況下，一邊記錄甚麼門跟箱子還沒開、這棟房子是誰家，一邊推理新拿到的線索跟道具可以用在哪邊
線索跟道具的提示還算明顯，反而是搜索的時候要特別仔細，一旦漏掉某個東西就有可能會卡關
覺得是款比一般推理遊戲還更有沉浸式體驗的佳作

Feb 16, 2026·7h·1·Verified

Steam User 5265STEAMRecommended

engaging and unique...not having any guides makes it more real and equally frustrating..but in a good way

Feb 16, 2026·3h·Verified

Steam User 9852STEAMNot recommended

I really got into the game at first but eventually it just turned into an annoying tedious mess. If you decide to play this game know this:

1) You will be walking back and forth across the map dozens if not hundreds of times. The load times, slow pace, and the fact that the hundreds of various things that unlock other things are all in weird spots in a giant chain of **** you makes this boring. I don't want to run across the map 3 more times to open this box because all the characters knew the most inconvenient spot to put their keys or whatnot. Give me back my several hours of walking simulator time.

2) When it says you should take notes, it means it. Be prepared to write down every possible number/date someone might find important. Take screenshots of everything that looks important. Make a list of things you need to do. Otherwise you will be adding another several hours of you just rereading the hundreds of pages of text they give you in the form of diaries. I genuinely thought about restarting the entire game just so I could write stuff down properly.

3) If you miss something, you may have to search the entire map again. I missed a drawer and thought I was just missing some clue in the diaries. I had to use a guide to figure out that there was an item I missed. There really is no good way to get back on track when you are lost like that. This game is seriously missing some sort of information tracker.

I'm going to try and finish it but I basically know the story and I feel like I'm going to walk across the town another 20 times to find that chain of specific items and codes I need all placed far away from each other, being fed a bunch of plot that I already know, until I finally get that last bit of info I'm waiting for.

Feb 16, 2026·9h·2·Verified

Steam User 1829STEAMRecommended

Esse jogo é uma obra de arte investigativa, indico fazer as anotações ir colocando print das coisas pelo site "Miro".

Feb 15, 2026·42h·Verified

Steam User 2833STEAMRecommended

The end credits just rolled and my words were "wow, f*****g wow".

I wholeheartedly recommend this game. There's freedom for your brain, no hand holding, creepy atmosphere and a lot of exploring and satisfaction working things out.

I'm blown away by how into the story I got and how captivating this was, thank you!

Feb 13, 2026·26h·Verified

Steam User 5543STEAMRecommended

Купил, почти прошёл и только понял что-это хоррор.Только после этого я почувствовал гнетущею атмосферу и там ещё будет один скример, не буду говорить где, но там будет просто громкий звук. А ещё в некоторых локациях можно увидеть тень

Feb 12, 2026·6h·1·Verified

Steam User 7661STEAMRecommended

Sufocante, arrepia ate os pelos do boga, fofoca, picuinha, cidade fantasma mas você não está só e precisa ter no mínimo experiencia com 6 temporadas de o mentalista. Ainda me recuperando da luz apagando DO NADA no hospital. 10/10

Feb 12, 2026·11h·Verified

Steam User 0043STEAMRecommended

Great investigative murder mystery game 7.2/10 (the first one i've played) - Ill admit that I got stuck at a few points and did glance at a guide for a couple of hints but mostly I was able to complete this game without external assistance. It took me 22 hours to complete the entire game with many many steam notes of every single peice of information that I obtained. and as my first experience with this genre I have to say that I had fun.

If you are considering getting this game beware, there will be zero hand holding and you will mostly have to discovery everything for yourself. I enjoyed it.

Feb 12, 2026·23h·Verified

Steam User 7819STEAMRecommended

LEGAL

Feb 11, 2026·11h·Verified

Steam User 4055STEAMRecommended

Despite all of the shade I'm about to throw, I thought this was super immersive and fun to play and probably worth it if you're into detective stuff. You piece together the story of the Painscreek killings through diary entries and ephemera hidden around town with the help of lots of very unsubtle hints about how to access certain locations and documents. The character work is sort of shallow, the diary entries lack sufficient narrative flavor for me to really get a sense of anyone's character or read between the lines. There aren't many opportunities to infer things, most events are plainly written out for you and its simply a matter of finding the correct diary entry to piece the story together. Even so, I was drawn in and enjoyed learning about the story as it unfolded.

This process felt rewarding for most of my 13 hour run... [spoiler]I was having fun right up until the endgame, at which point the absurd amounts of notes I had been taking were rendered obsolete by an unmarked tape recorder. You listen to the killer's confession which triggers an unavoidable chase scene that ends the game.[/spoiler] Pretty disappointing considering the game opens with a note from the studio telling you that you'll need to use your brain to solve this thing. I think there was a lot of potential for a really cool game but despite billing it as a realistic murder investigation simulator, the creators still wanted to hold your hand a little and that was where she fell flat. At least you get to enjoy playing through the whole game before it spoils itself at the very end.

Feb 11, 2026·19h·Verified

Steam User 0315STEAMRecommended

A ambientação desse jogo é surreal, vc constantemente se sente observado, e acaba entrando em paranoia, é uma história onde todo mundo é um suspeito em pontecial, cada carta, cada livro te conta pequenos detalhes que altera sua percepção dos personagens envolvidos, junta isso com a liberdade que vc tem de ir pra qualquer lugar pela cidade, fazendo com que cada experiência seja única. Um dos melhores jogos de investigação já feitos.

Feb 11, 2026·23h·Verified

Steam User 7421STEAMRecommended

The Painscreek Killings was a genuinely interesting mystery thriller for me. It was the first game I've ever played that made me sit down and open a Google Doc, and write notes. I have fifteen pages of notes on this game. The tension upon arriving in the town and discovering more and more horrific secrets, realising just how interconnected everything and everyone is, built up so much anticipation and fear in me. [spoiler] What happened to the P.I? Why is there a bloody handprint on his glovebox? Who left fresh flowers at the unmarked grave? Are they still in the town? [/spoiler]. And upon arriving at the second largest location, that tension was paid off. Not with a jumpscare of sorts, but a fright that genuinely got me and my partner sat with me.

That being said, it also comes with some criticisms.

For one, the "Supernatural" tag on this game is doing a lot of heavy lifting, and is also quite deceptive. This game succeeds by allowing your imagination to fill in the blanks, and not having any in-your-face horror till the very last sequence of the game. So when [spoiler] Trisha's ghost appears in front of you after exiting Andrew's house [/spoiler], I wasn't scared, so much as confused about what it had to do with where I had just been. Also, it was a little off-putting that [spoiler] Trisha's ghost, the ghost of a blonde white teenager, was a seemingly generic Sadako Yamamura sprite EDIT: I've since realised that's actually Sofia's ghost. Threw me for a loop that Sofia's ghost is the one to take us to where Trisha killed herself[/spoiler].

Regardless, this game is a masterclass in building tension and puzzle-solving, and I can proudly say I solved the mystery. That 100% Completionist achievement is lost to me however, because I deleted my save file before collecting that last achievement. My fault.

Feb 10, 2026·10h·Verified

Steam User 9647STEAMRecommended

fui ficando cada vez mais gag a cada documento que eu lia. jogão!

Feb 10, 2026·23h·Verified

Steam User 3111STEAMRecommended

Precisa de muita atenção e paciencia, dito isso, jogasso da porra

Feb 10, 2026·10h·Verified

Steam User 4507STEAMRecommended

Um dos melhores jogos que ja joguei, muito bom os plots

Feb 9, 2026·8h·Verified

Steam User 5086STEAMRecommended

Good game if you like solving mysteries and puzzles

Feb 9, 2026·14h·Verified

Steam User 2512STEAMNot recommended

This is a solid "meh." If you really like this style of game you'll probably enjoy it, but if you don't you will probably find it to do only things you dislike. I found it to drag, personally, and it didn't do anything I found interesting, but I certainly wouldn't call it bad.

A couple years ago, while on a plane, I watched the Death on the Nile movie with Kenneth Branaugh because the idea that they were trying to do 'Agatha Christie but gritty realism' was fascinating to me. This decision caused a lot of problems, but the biggest one ended up being a tone issue. It's really, really hard to make a gritty-real Golden Age mystery because the ironic tone covers for the fact that the premise of the Golden Age detective story is kind of inherently ridiculous. Why does Miss Marple keep stumbling into conspiracies? Why does Cabot Cove have the most murders per capita of any place on the planet? Even when the topics and critiques this type of story makes are serious, the story has to be aware of how absurd its premise is in order to carry it, has to nod and wink at the audience. The biggest problem Death on the Nile had was that when they wheeled the body of the third victim into the kitchen freezer I laughed out loud, because it was so ridiculous and being presented so, so seriously.

This game had this same problem. Before I played it, I saw a lot of reviews complaining about how many journals are left lying around for you to find in this town. At the time that felt not entirely fair, since the central conceit of these type of games is always that people are meticulously documenting their lives and leaving that documentation in findable places. But I actually think what those reviews were identifying is the tone problem. The sheer amount of incriminating evidence left in people's houses after they've moved out is truly bonkers, but the far larger issue is that the game tries to play it straight. On top of that, the game keeps adding new murders and new culprits. There's like 25 people who live in this town and like 7 of them are murdered, across like 5 different culprits, and apparently no one cares? Like at a certain point so few people are left alive that you'd think they could just take everyone not dead into an interrogation room and tell them no one gets to leave until this is sorted out. But instead apparently everyone just collectively shrugs and is like, c'est la vie!

The game's insistence on trying to cultivate a horror atmosphere coupled with its extremely bland and empty visual style meant that as things progressed, the tone of the story and the tone of the setting diverged really sharply and created a huge suspension of disbelief problem, which is then compounded by trying to add in supernatural elements,* because of course it does. The plot here is ridiculous. Everything about it is absurd. And when the game pretends it's not, suspension of disbelief just falls apart. I've honestly been laughing about how over-the-top it was for days now, which is definitely not the intent, but is the inevitable outcome when you try to ignore the genre you're working in.

*(You're apparently supposed to get jumpscared by a ghost at multiple points but I just... didn't notice, lol? I saw screenshots and I was like, "Oh, I thought that was a tree." I got through the entire game without getting ghosted. I'm not sure if this is my stupid self or a thing that's happened to other people but it felt pretty silly.)

And then... I can't justify this, but this game takes place in Small Town USA (TM) and everyone is named like John Doe but then for some reason at the end the culprit whose name is also like Jim Blandman and was apparently born and raised in this town has this really thick Eastern European accent and it just sent me? I went from being really tense and waiting for the denouement to utter confusion, it vaporized my involvement in the scene. I assume the guy was just someone on the dev's staff but could they really not find someone who sounded like they were born and raised in rural Iowa or whatever? Like it's literally a plot point that he grew up in the town, why does he have this thick accent no one else does?? Wild.

The gameplay is solid. The puzzles worked well for me, though they weren't ever more complex than "figure out where to put this string of numbers", and I liked rifling through people's houses, although I felt letdown by just how many reused assets there were. Small things like different china patterns and tablecloths really would have made the place feel lived-in; the whole town was samey and sterile in a way that made it feel extremely artificial and it seems like an easy missed opportunity.

I think the game did a good job of leading you through it and I didn't have any trouble finding everything. My main complaint from a UX standpoint is that I don't understand why they archived some evidence automatically and made you manually screenshot others. It feels like it would have been pretty straightforward to just do a reference journal that updated whenever you found anything. This also would have allowed for searching, which would have been really, really nice considering the sheer amount of documents you end up with. The way this was halfway implemented makes me wonder if that was the original intent and they ran out of time. I think a game telling you upfront that its design is so bad you need to have a pen and paper handy to play the game is completely unacceptable, straight up.

The one thing I appreciated in this game that I haven't seen very much is that I do think it managed to pull off the lategame One Clue That Puts It All Together. I had a complete !!! moment and it was very satisfying.

I haven't really gotten into the plot because aside from the absurdity of it, it was one of those that wasn't really about anything. It works well enough as premise for a logic puzzle, but there's no larger point. The game seems to realize it at the end and has the narrator epilogue that, "I guess this just shows that actions have consequences!" and like, sure, if that's what you get out of a third of the town murdering another third and then everyone left moving on like nothing happened, okay. Sure, lol.

The game is not very long -- 100% in 6.8 hours -- so as I said, if you love this kind of walking-sim style investigator, you'll probably feel that time well spent. For me it was just like eating celery -- it feels like food while you eat it, but somehow you're even hungrier afterward.

Feb 9, 2026·7h

Steam User 7442STEAMRecommended

É DE PENSAR

Feb 8, 2026·14h·1·Verified

Steam User 8501STEAMRecommended

"The Painscreek Killings" to porządna gra detektywistyczna. Nie jest to tytuł wybitny, wręcz przeciwnie, ale jest to wciąż dobra gra. Tajemnica jest bardzo ciekawa, odkrywanie jej jest wysoce satysfakcjonujące, a o to tu przede wszystkim chodzi. [spoiler] Ostatni segment gry zaś jest bardzo miłą zmianą tempa i zwiększa napięcie, dając na finał miłą odmianę dla dotychczasowej rozgrywki [spoiler/]
Gra ma dość sporo negatywów, ale raczej niezbyt poważnych. Zagadki nie są okropne, nie są zbyt trudne, choć trochę myślenia wymagają, czasami. Są jednak strasznie powtarzalne i z początku strasznie nienatchnione. Mapa gry, za wyłączeniem kilku lokacji, jest całkowicie pusta i nie ma w niej niemal nic ciekawego. Gdyby nie jedna zagadka, w zasadzie to można by ją całkowicie wywalić i nic wartościowego nie zostałoby utracone, zwłaszcza, że tempo poruszania się głównej bohaterki jest porównywalny do żółwia z reumatyzmem. Ścieżka dźwiękowa to jest jakieś straszne nieporozumienie, do tego stopnia, że cisza jest już bardziej interesująca, a sam w pewnym momencie włączyłem OST z Sherlock Holmes: Chapter 1 (Tak się robi muzykę do gry detektywistycznej!).
Mimo mojego niemiłosiernego narzekania, grę polecam, aczkolwiek tylko dla tych, którzy lubią gry detektywistyczne.

PS Oliver Gibson my GOAT

Feb 8, 2026·12h·Verified

Steam User 6452STEAMRecommended

jogaço

Feb 8, 2026·14h·Verified

Steam User 5001STEAMRecommended

Depois de 12 horas de puro hiperfoco finalizei a história, mais uns minutos e tudo 100%.
História envolvente faz você teorizar muita coisa, andar em uma cidade abandonada investigando tudo com aquela sensação de estar sendo observado é agoniante e excitante ao mesmo tempo, vale muito a pena!

Feb 8, 2026·13h·Verified

Steam User 2554STEAMRecommended

THE古典的なメモを取りながら捜査をするタイプのADV
久しぶりに頭をフル回転させた気がする
ボリュームもえげつなくてめっちゃ楽しかった！
引き出し開けるたびにアドレナリンがドパドパ出ました（？）

ストーリーも2転3転してすごかったぜ...

あとネタバレになるので多くは語らないけど、しっかり私の苦手なタイプのホラーだったｗ
あと3D酔いがえげつないので小分けのプレイをおすすめします

Feb 7, 2026·11h·1·Verified

Steam User 0186STEAMRecommended

Скажу коротко. Хорошая игра. Рекомендую. Загадки отличные, атмосфера ПРОСТО НА ВЫСОТЕ, погружение замечательное.

Про игру, кстати, знала давно, но купила в стиме и поиграла сама совсем недавно. И спустя огромное количество времени (знаю то я ее давно), эмоции всё те же. Особенно концовка. [spoiler] Побегушки с Меттью и инфаркт, который он вызвал своим появлением всё еще на уровне. [/spoiler]. Обязательно попробуйте, не пожалеете.

Feb 6, 2026·13h·4·Verified

Steam User 6870STEAMNot recommended

Figure out a murder mystery with an early guess based on the most obvious of tropes and then spend hours sprinting back and forth because the walk speed is so slow it makes you wonder why they even added it, all to hunt down keys for more keys for codes for diaries that keep hammering in what you've already pieced together. Fun idea, decent story, frustrating execution, incredibly loud audio, and some sloppy typos.

Feb 4, 2026·11h

Steam User 1153STEAMRecommended

Jogo muito bom, ele se tornou meu favorito, é legal ter a liberdade de investigar onde quiser, a história é muito envolvente, e fazer as próprias anotações, cara, isso é muito massa. Eu amei muito e recomendo de mais esse jogo, o melhor que eu já vi nesse estilo de investigação, os puzzles são simples, nada impossível de resolver. As vezes dá um medo, e o jogo nem é de terror, kk, mas eu gostei bastante. Muito bom, meu jogo favorito.

Feb 4, 2026·19h·Verified

LANGUAGE	AUDIO	SUBTITLES	INTERFACE
English	Y	Y	Y
Chinese (Simplified)	—	Y	Y
Chinese (Traditional)	—	Y	Y
French	—	Y	Y
German	—	Y	Y
Hungarian	—	Y	Y
Italian	—	Y	Y
Japanese	—	Y	Y
Korean	—	Y	Y
Polish	—	Y	Y
Portuguese (Brazil)	—	Y	Y
Russian	—	Y	Y
Spanish (Spain)	—	Y	Y