The Painscreek Killings

Unguided detective mystery built on exploring and connecting clues

EQ Studios · Released Sep 27, 2017

Reviews: Very Positive; 91% of 6,403
Recent reviews: Very Positive; 83% of 161 in 30 days
Playing now: 17; peak 24h 31
Steam Deck: Playable
Last update: 1 year ago; Dec 1, 2024

What is The Painscreek Killings?

Journalist Janet investigates reports of deaths in an abandoned town. You roam the semi-open town, search for evidence, photograph clues, take notes, and solve puzzles to piece together what happened.

For you if...

+you like keeping your own notes as you investigate
+you prefer slow exploration with occasional scares

Not for you if...

−you want clear directions when a puzzle stalls
−you expect to solve the case through deduction alone

What players say

91% of 6,403 reviews are positive · 83% of 161 in the last 30 days

Players praise the town's atmosphere and the satisfaction of tracking clues without guidance. Common complaints are repetitive key hunts, backtracking, and a story that supplies answers rather than requiring deduction. Some players also criticize the controls and interface.

Screenshots and trailer

The Painscreek Killings system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS: Windows 7/8/10 64-bit
Processor: i3-2120 @3.3GHz
Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 745 (or AMD equivalent)
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Storage: 11 GB available space
DirectX: Version 11
Notes: *Subject to change after updates

PC version details

DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Full controller support
Platforms: Windows
Achievements: 33
Steam features: Family Sharing, Trading cards

Steam Deck: Playable

Some in-game text is small and may be hard to read
All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
Shows Steam Deck controller icons
Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck

Multiplayer and co-op

Single-player

Languages

Full audio: English. Text only: Japanese, Russian, French, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Portuguese - Brazil, German, Hungarian, Korean, Italian, Spanish - Spain, Polish, Spanish - Latin America.