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Penelope Pendrick and the Art of Deceit

Penelope Pendrick and the Art of Deceit

Default Cube Games · released Nov 18, 2025

AdventureIndiePC

Pick up your magnifying glass as writer-turned-detective Penelope Pendrick in this first-person point and click mystery adventure! Three people have suddenly vanished from the sleepy town of Carlisle. Follow the clues, interrogate suspects, and solve puzzles to end this case - before it ends you.

88
VGC Score
Stablehigh confidence

anchored at patch: “Patch v1.12.5” (9mo ago)

91%
At launch
97%
Steam all-time
n/a
Press
96%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)0
All-time Steam reviews97%93291
Metacritic user ratings0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)96%91560
Calibration prior (typical game)7250

Acclaim gate: the raw blend lands at 90.6, but scores above 88 must be earned in front of a mass audience; this verdict rests on 581 player reviews, a largely self-selected fanbase. As more players weigh in, the ceiling rises (full scale unlocks at 100,000 reviews).

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Nov 25, 2025) · 300 reviews sampled · 560 total reviews in window · weighted 265.1 up / 10.6 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (1)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 92
    trust 82Feb 9, 2026

    There’s nothing dishonest about Penelope Pendrick and the Art of Deceit. As advertised, it’s an homage to the classic Nancy Drew series, both a masterful emulation and an exciting evolution. Featuring challenging puzzles and a gripping mystery, you won’t need a magnifying glass to see that the era of a new girl detective has begun.

    read full review ↗

Patch history

  1. v1.13.5 Notes
    Jan 25, 2026
  2. v1.13.4
    Jan 14, 2026
  3. Patch v1.12.9
    Dec 5, 2025
  4. Patch v1.12.7
    Nov 30, 2025
  5. Patch v.1.12.6
    Nov 26, 2025
  6. Patch v1.12.5
    Nov 25, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  7. Notes for v1.12.2
    Nov 22, 2025significant · resets scoring window