The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person story-driven mystery. Purchase this game to get both the original and the Unreal Engine 4 remaster called The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Redux.
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The Painscreek Killings on Steam
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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?
The Painscreek Killings is a investigation, mystery and detective game
developed and published by EQ Studios.
Released on September 27th 2017 is available on Windows, Steam Deck and Steam Machine.
It has received 5,217 reviews of which 4,753 were positive and 464 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.8 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 19.99€ on Steam, but you can find it for 6.78€ on Eneba.
The Steam community has classified The Painscreek Killings into these genres:
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System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows 7/8/10 64-bit
- Processor: i3-2120 @3.3GHz
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 745 (or AMD equivalent)
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 11 GB available space
- Additional Notes: *Subject to change after updates
Steam Price & Best Deals
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
I bought this game when it was on sale. (Best time to buy is when it's 75% off.) I thought this game was great for what it is. You play as a detective that must figure out an unsolved murder from years before. This is a limited open world type of game and the majority of what you learn is through reading. You are also the only one in this village... Though I don't know if this counts as a spoiler so I will cover it up.. There is a supernatural element that jump scared me a couple of times as I wasn't expecting it and also there is a small chase sequence in the game. Neither of these things were mentioned in the reviews I read but it is something I would have liked to know before buying. I did find the the mechanic for unlocking doors by opening your inventory each time slightly annoying but I got used to it pretty quickly. I wouldn't say there are 'puzzles' either. Almost everything needed are for combination locks. The main game play is walking around the same places to find things to unlock and reading letters/diaries to continue the story. Overall, I did like the game. I got in under 8 hours of game play. I thought it was fun piecing together the story to see if to see if I could figure out who the killer was way before the ending
I have good things, bad things, and advice to share. The good first: The game leaves you to explore, uncover clues, and find items and codes, revealing the story as you go. I would absolutely recommend this to fans of The Outer Wilds. I was very eager to continue exploring and progressing, so if that's what you're looking for in a game, give this a try! Now the bad (NOTE THAT I PLAYED USING AN XBOX SERIES S CONTROLLER): The menu that records written records you've found is a little janky. Prompts to pick up items and open and close drawers are also awkward, sometimes disappearing. Turning away and back to the object seems to help. Although the studio is based and the game is set in the US, I found the architecture to be quite European (however, I have not visited the States so I could be wrong in finding it inauthentic). There are A LOT of English mistakes which further undermine its setting in a native English-speaking country (they're minor, though. Things like, "My friends David and John is being nasty lately." The game successfully communicates what it needs to). Some (if not all) of the voice actors are not native either. A few of the puzzles are not very clear or natural in how to format or infer their solutions. The music is simple and repeats a lot, but it's quite ambient and moody. Next, my advice: You can use the camera after you've accessed (zoomed in to) documents so just take photos of everything. I would suggest taking notes on where locked things are (doors, drawers, chests, etc). It could also be an idea to make notes about information you learn, but I would consider that optional; you can always access written documents in the aforementioned janky menu. The game does not record EVERY document so be prepared to take photos of some, as I advised above. Some characters have multiple diaries so you'll need to highlight their name on the left side of the documents menu, and then navigate right to the sub menu on the other side of the screen to access them separately. Finally, despite the drawbacks, I LOVED playing this game. It's very common at my age to abandon a new game after just a few minutes so the fact that I spent most of my entire weekend clearing this one is hopefully testament to its appeal.
I enjoyed this game and its mystery, but I don't feel like it sets out what it wants to do. It doesn't feel like you are a detective piecing things together, it feels like you are a gremlin stealing keys and reading every note you come across. Like I said, it is still fun to unravel the mystery and see things in a new light as the story unfolds, but it isn't what I would recommend as a true "detective" game. You may have to figure out where a key goes, but usually the notes beside the key give you a pretty good idea on where that is. I also thought some of the twists were predictable (especially the one involving Scott), but it was still fun.
This is one of my favorite detective games. What I love most is that the game trusts you to investigate on your own. There are no objective markers or constant hints telling you what to do next. During my first playthrough, I didn't use any guides—I kept my own notebook, wrote down names, dates, and clues, and slowly pieced everything together like I was investigating a real case. It's not a game for everyone. It requires patience, observation, and attention to detail. But if you enjoy solving mysteries through your own deductions instead of being led by the hand, I highly recommend it. Even years later, I still haven't found another detective game that gave me the same feeling.
I adore this game. You have to like challenging investigations, and the game is not going to hold your hand. In the beginning I thought the town map was just for the atmosphere and you would stay in the mansion, but once I realized the extend of the clues and stories, I started to do what the game recommends at the beginning, which is taking your own, physical notes. By the end of the game, I had several pages including a table with all characters and related dates and relationships, a timeline of events, and family trees. You can also always reread any letter or diary entry in the menu, and for everything else you have a camera and can take pictures of any location or items and look at them later. My favorite thing about the game was that I kept discovering new secrets, passages and hints in places on the map that I had passed many times and never noticed before. A very immersive experience. After the first playthrough, I have half of the achievements and I will definitely go back. Also, after finishing, you can just reload and pick up again just before entering the last location, so I appreciate not having to start again.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Painscreek Killings is currently priced at 19.99€ on Steam.
No, The Painscreek Killings is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 19.99€ on Steam.
Yes, The Painscreek Killings received 4,753 positive votes out of a total of 5,217 achieving a rating of 8.80.
😎
The Painscreek Killings was developed and published by EQ Studios.
Yes, The Painscreek Killings is playable and fully supported on Windows.
No, The Painscreek Killings is not playable on MacOS.
No, The Painscreek Killings is not playable on Linux.
Yes, The Painscreek Killings is playable on Steam Deck, though it might require a few minor tweaks. Make sure to check the Steam store page and community feedback on ProtonDB for exact compatibility details.
Yes, The Painscreek Killings is playable and fully supported on Steam Machine.
No, The Painscreek Killings does not support VR.
The Painscreek Killings is a single-player game.
Yes, there is a DLC available for The Painscreek Killings. Explore additional content available for The Painscreek Killings on Steam.
No, The Painscreek Killings does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
No, The Painscreek Killings does not support Steam Remote Play.
Yes, The Painscreek Killings is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for The Painscreek Killings.
Data sources
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Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 10 October 2026 22:50 UTC |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 15 October 2026 12:02 UTC |
| Steam price | 27 October 2026 20:07 UTC |
| Steam reviews | 22 October 2026 17:48 UTC |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about The Painscreek Killings, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about The Painscreek Killings
- SteamCharts - Analysis of The Painscreek Killings concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck The Painscreek Killings compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
29
Developer
EQ Studios
Publisher
EQ Studios
Release
27 Sep 2017
Platforms
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