I can't believe I almost skipped over Pentiment. I didn't know Obsidian Games could make something so nuanced and so unhindered by gameplay. If you appreciate Disco Elysium, A Night in the Woods, Fallout: New Vegas, or illuminated manuscripts—or if you've ever imagined what it would be like to live in near-medieval Europe—you owe it to yourself to play Pentiment. Of course, it’s not free of sin; as in a lot of historical fiction, clichés and modernisms sneak in, and the awkward contrivances and jank of video games seem unavoidable. But no other game this big approaches its historical subject—nor the subject of history—as seriously, sensitively, and passionately. It brought tears to my eyes four times. The beautiful soundtrack features a piece composed, written, and performed by Lingua Ignota, and its cover art was painted by Benjamin A. Viering who also painted its explicit inspiration: the cover art for Joanna Newsom's Ys.