The Game Census
The Painscreek Killings cover art

The Painscreek Killings

EQ Studios · 2017-09-27

SteamGOG

AdventureIndie

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: First person

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?

The Painscreek Killings is a 2017 Adventure and Indie game priced at $19.99, with an owner estimate of 500,000 .. 1,000,000 and a review sentiment of Very Positive (91% of 6360 reviews).

13
playing now
91%
positive of 6.4k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
500,000–1,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
72/100
IGDB user rating (30 ratings)
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$19.99
steam price (US)

13 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 12:00 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)

Trailer

The Painscreek Killings trailer thumbnail

The Painscreek Killings Trailer

≈29,510 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Healthy
  • · 13 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 5% of 28,796 Adventure games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-28

Estimated sales: 159k–382k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 6,360 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

GOG$7.99-60%

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 57 of 87 observed days · $3.00 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

8592026-09-15 13:00 — 47 players2026-09-16 21:00 — 70 players2026-09-18 04:00 — 31 players2026-09-19 12:00 — 47 players2026-09-20 19:00 — 85 players2026-09-22 03:00 — 28 players2026-09-23 11:00 — 26 players2026-09-24 18:00 — 43 players2026-09-26 02:00 — 45 players2026-09-27 09:00 — 19 players2026-09-28 17:00 — 24 players2026-09-30 00:00 — 24 players2026-10-01 08:00 — 9 players2026-10-02 15:00 — 28 players2026-10-03 23:00 — 48 players2026-10-05 07:00 — 19 players2026-10-06 14:00 — 30 players2026-10-07 22:00 — 19 players2026-10-09 05:00 — 20 players2026-10-10 13:00 — 36 players2026-10-11 21:00 — 53 players2026-10-13 04:00 — 20 players2026-10-14 12:00 — 13 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
831Sep 2017Aug 2026Sep 2017 — avg 1 · peak 5Dec 2017 — avg 5 · peak 26Mar 2018 — avg 4 · peak 14Jun 2018 — avg 11 · peak 68Sep 2018 — avg 14 · peak 52Dec 2018 — avg 13 · peak 44Mar 2019 — avg 8 · peak 22Jun 2019 — avg 9 · peak 43Sep 2019 — avg 8 · peak 25Dec 2019 — avg 18 · peak 52Mar 2020 — avg 12 · peak 49Jun 2020 — avg 25 · peak 85Sep 2020 — avg 9 · peak 21Dec 2020 — avg 16 · peak 53Mar 2021 — avg 11 · peak 44Jun 2021 — avg 22 · peak 69Sep 2021 — avg 10 · peak 26Dec 2021 — avg 16 · peak 44Mar 2022 — avg 11 · peak 38Jun 2022 — avg 12 · peak 35Sep 2022 — avg 11 · peak 36Dec 2022 — avg 22 · peak 53Mar 2023 — avg 20 · peak 59Jun 2023 — avg 13 · peak 37Sep 2023 — avg 15 · peak 47Dec 2023 — avg 24 · peak 66Mar 2024 — avg 20 · peak 53Jun 2024 — avg 24 · peak 77Sep 2024 — avg 74 · peak 578Dec 2024 — avg 29 · peak 80Mar 2025 — avg 25 · peak 67Jun 2025 — avg 17 · peak 53Sep 2025 — avg 33 · peak 133Dec 2025 — avg 21 · peak 65Mar 2026 — avg 19 · peak 55Jun 2026 — avg 21 · peak 53Aug 2026 — avg 15 · peak 42
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Price history

$19.99$4.992017-09-282026-10-142017-09-28 — 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 $7.992026-08-31 — best price $9.992026-09-10 — best price $19.992026-09-20 — best price $19.992026-09-30 — best price $9.992026-10-10 — best price $7.992026-10-14 — best price $7.99
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.

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

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 ↗