The Game Census
The Painscreek Killings cover art

The Painscreek Killings

EQ Studios · 2017-09-27

SteamGOG

AdventureIndie

Modes: Single player

Releases: Sep 27, 2017 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

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?

17
playing now
91%
positive of 6.2k reviews
Very Positive
steam rating
500,000–1,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
72/100
IGDB user rating (30 ratings)
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$19.99
steam price (US)

17 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 02:00 UTC (census sample)

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.(Storyline via IGDB)

Health check

Healthy
  • · 17 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 455 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~57/week).
  • · Review velocity down 30% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 11% of 11,362 Adventure games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-28

Estimated sales: 156k–375k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 6,248 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

GOG$9.99-50%
lowest across shops (ITAD)$9.99-50%

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $4.99 at Steam (2018-06-22) · bundled 2×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $19.99 · on sale 30 of 50 observed days · $5.00 above the all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
19619620182026Week of 2018-01-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 46 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 45 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 62 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 46 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 51 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 62 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 75 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 59 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 52 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 51 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 74 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 53 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 48 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 42 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 75 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 46 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 63 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 42 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 79 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 52 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 48 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 56 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 61 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 67 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 70 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 72 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 75 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 51 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 55 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 53 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 58 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 102 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 64 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 61 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 86 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 53 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 71 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 102 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 196 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 53 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 61 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 90 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 77 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 46 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 67 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 85 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 54 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 174 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 86 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 59 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 45 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 103 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 52 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 45 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 52 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 2 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

3352026-08-06 22:00 — 17 players2026-08-07 06:00 — 9 players2026-08-07 14:00 — 21 players2026-08-07 22:00 — 33 players2026-08-08 06:00 — 10 players2026-08-08 14:00 — 17 players2026-08-08 22:00 — 33 players2026-08-09 06:00 — 11 players2026-08-09 14:00 — 16 players2026-08-09 22:00 — 31 players2026-08-10 06:00 — 14 players2026-08-10 14:00 — 22 players2026-08-10 22:00 — 28 players2026-08-11 06:00 — 11 players2026-08-11 14:00 — 12 players2026-08-12 22:00 — 17 players2026-08-14 06:00 — 7 players2026-08-15 13:00 — 15 players2026-08-16 21:00 — 26 players2026-08-18 05:00 — 5 players2026-08-19 12:00 — 10 players2026-08-20 20:00 — 27 players2026-08-22 03:00 — 10 players2026-08-23 11:00 — 14 players2026-08-24 19:00 — 15 players2026-08-26 03:00 — 14 players2026-08-27 11:00 — 8 players2026-08-28 18:00 — 22 players2026-08-30 02:00 — 17 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$19.99$4.992017-09-282026-08-302017-09-28 — best price $17.992018-04-02 — best price $19.992018-05-16 — best price $19.992018-10-22 — best price $5.992019-01-28 — best price $9.992019-06-26 — best price $7.992019-11-26 — best price $7.992020-04-06 — best price $19.992020-09-10 — best price $19.992021-01-14 — best price $7.992021-05-18 — best price $19.992021-10-18 — best price $19.992021-12-22 — best price $7.992022-02-21 — best price $19.992022-07-07 — best price $19.992022-11-22 — best price $4.992023-01-20 — best price $4.992023-04-04 — best price $19.992023-07-13 — best price $19.992023-09-18 — best price $19.992023-12-05 — best price $4.992024-02-22 — best price $19.992024-05-08 — best price $4.992024-07-30 — best price $4.992024-10-16 — best price $19.992024-12-04 — best price $19.992025-02-13 — best price $4.992025-04-18 — best price $19.992025-06-18 — best price $7.992025-09-01 — best price $19.992025-11-03 — best price $19.992026-01-23 — best price $7.992026-05-06 — best price $7.992026-06-18 — best price $7.992026-08-30 — best price $9.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Completion

33
achievements tracked
83.6%
earned "James Howard's Story"
30.2%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsFull controller supportSingle-playerSteam AchievementsFull controller supportSteam Trading CardsFamily Sharing

13 supported languages: English, Japanese, Russian, French, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Portuguese - Brazil, German, Hungarian, Korean, Italian, Spanish - Spain…

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)4,13221%33

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Player tags

3DHorrorPuzzleMysteryAdventureDetectiveRealisticOpen WorldStory RichAtmospheric

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Gone HomeThe Cat LadyThe Vanishing of Ethan CarterUnclaimed WorldLittle NightmaresTUNICThe Sinking City RemasteredContraband Police

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗