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The Painscreek Killings

PC (Microsoft Windows) • 2017

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Quick resume

Investigate an infamous cold case in the eerie, abandoned town of Painscreek. Search for evidence, connect the dots and uncover who killed Vivian Roberts. Can you expose the truth behind this town’s dark secrets?

Global score

91/100

Genres

Adventure, Indie, Puzzle, Simulator

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    Pros

    • Immersive mystery and story
    • Freedom to explore and investigate
    • Challenging puzzles and deduction
    • Atmospheric sound and setting
    • Multiple endings and replayability

    Cons

    • Some backtracking and pixel hunting
    • Minor bugs and clunky controls
    • Abrupt tonal shift with chase sequence
    • Lack of in-game note organization
    • Some obscure puzzle elements

    Motivations

    • Autonomy

      Game with the same Autonomy vibe

      4

      "Players have freedom to investigate, choose clues to follow, and decide how to solve the mystery."

      Capsule for Doll Impostor Doll Impostor

      "Players have freedom to explore the town and investigate clues at their own pace without hand-holding or quest markers."

    • Competence

      Game with the same Competence vibe

      3

      "Engages players in puzzle-solving and clue gathering that require attention and logical thinking, though not highly difficult."

      Capsule for This Bed We Made This Bed We Made

      "Requires skill in observation, note-taking, and puzzle solving; players feel effective when piecing together clues."

    • Competition

      Game with the same Competition vibe

      -4

      "Focus is on personal investigation and story progression without competitive elements or leaderboards."

      Capsule for Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer

      "Focuses on individual investigation and personal progress without competitive elements or leaderboards."

    • Continuation

      Game with the same Continuation vibe

      3

      "Players report being hooked and spending multiple hours exploring and replaying to find secrets; some grind for upgrades."

      Capsule for Hellpoint: The Thespian Feast Hellpoint: The Thespian Feast

      "Players report being hooked and spending long sessions exploring and solving the mystery, with some replaying for achievements."

    • Cooperation

      Game with the same Cooperation vibe

      -5

      "Single-player experience focused on individual detective work without multiplayer or cooperative gameplay."

      Capsule for Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter

      "Entirely single-player experience focused on individual detective work without multiplayer or cooperative gameplay."

    • Creativity

      Game with the same Creativity vibe

      1

      "Players create their own notes and piece together clues, but game content and puzzles are predefined."

      Capsule for Dark Fall: The Journal Dark Fall: The Journal

      "Players create their own notes and organize clues, but game world and puzzles are predefined with limited modification."

    • Domination

      Game with the same Domination vibe

      -5

      "No social dominance or power over others; experience is solitary and self-directed."

      Capsule for Drop Alive Drop Alive

      "No social dominance or power over others; experience is solitary and self-directed."

    • Escapism

      Game with the same Escapism vibe

      4

      "Strong atmospheric horror and mystery provide immersive distraction from real life."

      Capsule for TELEFORUM TELEFORUM

      "Immersive atmosphere and mystery provide distraction and escape from real life, with some horror elements enhancing tension."

    • Expectation

      Game with the same Expectation vibe

      -4

      "Players engage voluntarily out of intrinsic interest and curiosity; no obligation or external pressure reported."

      Capsule for Subnautica Subnautica

      "Players engage voluntarily out of intrinsic interest and curiosity; no obligation or external pressure reported."

    • Experimenting

      Game with the same Experimenting vibe

      2

      "Players explore clues and test puzzle solutions, though within a structured narrative."

      Capsule for Blackwell Epiphany Blackwell Epiphany

      "Players explore the environment and test clues in different orders, though puzzles and story progression are somewhat linear."

    • Exploration

      Game with the same Exploration vibe

      4

      "Game encourages exploration of abandoned town and school to find clues, secrets, and items."

      Capsule for DreadOut DreadOut

      "Game encourages thorough exploration of an abandoned town with many secrets, clues, and hidden items to discover."

    • Expression

      Game with the same Expression vibe

      -4

      "Limited customization or personalization; players mainly interact with fixed visual and gameplay elements."

      Capsule for Cell to Singularity - Evolution Never Ends Cell to Singularity - Evolution Never Ends

      "Limited customization or personalization; players mainly interact with fixed game assets and story elements."

    • Fantasy

      Game with the same Fantasy vibe

      -2

      "Game is grounded in a realistic, plausible scenario without supernatural elements."

      Capsule for Blameless Blameless

      "Grounded in realistic investigative scenarios with some minor supernatural/horror elements that some players found jarring."

    • Fellowship

      Game with the same Fellowship vibe

      -5

      "No social or community features; experience is solitary without meaningful social connection."

      Capsule for Zombeer Zombeer

      "No social or community features; experience is solitary without meaningful social connection."

    • Growth

      Game with the same Growth vibe

      3

      "Players develop deductive reasoning and puzzle-solving skills through gameplay."

      Capsule for PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo

      "Players develop deductive reasoning, note-taking skills, and puzzle-solving abilities through gameplay."

    • Health

      Game with the same Health vibe

      -5

      "Sedentary gameplay with no physical activity or health-related features."

      Capsule for THE ENIGMA MACHINE THE ENIGMA MACHINE

      "Sedentary gameplay with no physical activity or health-related features."

    • Idle

      Game with the same Idle vibe

      -3

      "Requires focused attention and active investigation rather than casual or background play."

      Capsule for Shadows of Doubt Shadows of Doubt

      "Requires focused attention and active investigation; not designed for casual or background play."

    • Intimacy

      Game with the same Intimacy vibe

      -5

      "No close relationships or emotional social interactions; experience is individual and surface-level."

      Capsule for Accounting+ Accounting+

      "No close social interactions or relationships; experience is individual and emotionally self-contained."

    • Leadership

      Game with the same Leadership vibe

      -5

      "No leadership or group management roles; player acts independently."

      Capsule for Outlast Outlast

      "No leadership or group management roles; player acts independently."

    • Progression

      Game with the same Progression vibe

      3

      "Players collect keys, items, and achievements to progress through the story and unlock new areas."

      Capsule for Frankenstein: Master of Death Frankenstein: Master of Death

      "Players collect keys, clues, and documents to progress through the story and unlock new areas."

    • Relaxation

      Game with the same Relaxation vibe

      1

      "Atmosphere can be both relaxing and tense; some players find it calming, others anxious."

      Capsule for The Backrooms: Lost Tape The Backrooms: Lost Tape

      "Atmosphere is immersive and sometimes tense; some players find it relaxing while others experience anxiety."

    • Sensation

      Game with the same Sensation vibe

      2

      "Atmosphere and music provide emotional engagement and sensory stimulation, though graphics are simple."

      Capsule for Labyronia RPG 2 Labyronia RPG 2

      "Soundtrack and atmosphere provide emotional stimulation and suspense, though graphics are simple."

    • Status

      Game with the same Status vibe

      -5

      "No social recognition or status systems; achievements are personal and not publicly ranked."

      Capsule for Bad North: Jotunn Edition Bad North: Jotunn Edition

      "No social recognition or status systems; achievements are personal and not publicly ranked."

    • Story

      Game with the same Story vibe

      5

      "Strong narrative immersion with complex plot, character development, and multiple endings."

      Capsule for Raging Loop Raging Loop

      "Strong narrative immersion with complex plot, character backstories, and multiple endings."

    • Strategy

      Game with the same Strategy vibe

      3

      "Requires logical thinking, puzzle solving, and planning to progress through the mystery."

      Capsule for Nancy Drew®: Shadow at the Water's Edge Nancy Drew®: Shadow at the Water's Edge

      "Requires logical thinking, deduction, and planning to solve puzzles and piece together the mystery."

    • Thrill

      Game with the same Thrill vibe

      3

      "Tense atmosphere and horror elements create suspense and occasional scares."

      Capsule for Lamentum Lamentum

      "Tense atmosphere and occasional scares create suspense and excitement, especially near the ending."

    • Value

      Game with the same Value vibe

      4

      "Players find the game offers good value especially at discounted prices, with engaging story and gameplay."

      Capsule for Binary Domain Binary Domain

      "Players feel the game is worth the price with engaging story and gameplay; some recommend buying on sale."

    • Violence

      Game with the same Violence vibe

      -4

      "Minimal violence; focus is on investigation and puzzle solving rather than combat or destruction."

      Capsule for The Darkside Detective The Darkside Detective

      "Minimal violence; focus is on investigation and puzzle solving rather than combat or destruction."

    • Survival

      Game with the same Survival vibe

      -3

      "Limited survival elements; occasional chase sequences but mostly stable, low-risk environments."

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      "Mostly stable environment; limited threat except for brief chase sequence near the end."

    Analysis

    Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Survival, Violence, Fellowship, Expression. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Thrill. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Fantasy, Relaxation.

    How to use the graph
    Similar games map

    Each dot is a game. They are arranged from the same motivation profile as in the “Motivations” section below. Closer dots usually mean more similar reasons to play (exploration, competition, relaxation, etc.)—not that one game is “better” than another.

    • Larger dot with a light outline: the game you are viewing.
    • Colour: groups of games with comparable motivation patterns (statistical clusters).
    • Hover a dot to see the game name; click to open its page.
    • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom out and see more games.

    Why don’t the axes read like a score? This view uses t-SNE: it only keeps who is close to whom. The scales are not “good to bad” or hours played—they separate groups on the map. Read distance between dots, not the axis numbers.

    Where to buy

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    Last update: 30/04/2026