Penance

Penance is a slow-paced, contemplative 2D exploration adventure. You play as Elías, a monk at St. Maurice Abbey whose mentor, Severinus, has died under strange circumstances. Guided by Severinus’s voice from beyond, Elías discovers that the Abbey hides a secret society carrying out an ancient dark sacrifice beneath false Christian vows.

The Abbey’s secret

Your pilgrimage unfolds across seven phases based on the Canonical Hours, including Matins and Lauds. You collect 50 Objects of Mystery, each tied to a symbolic concept such as Fragility, Memory or Mystery, to reveal the Abbey’s hidden history. The brothers raised Elías for a purpose, and the journey ends with a choice: your balance of Faith and Guilt determines both your fate and that of all humanity.

Faith and Guilt

Two interconnected bars represent Elías’s moral and spiritual state. His staff detects areas contaminated by Guilt, which block your passage if left unpurified. You pray to concentrate Faith and absorb Guilt from objects, clearing the way forward; a rhythm system asks you to press the prayer key as circles of Guilt shrink toward the staff. Timed hits can be “Perfect” or “Good,” while a miss interrupts your concentration and stops the prayer.

Specters and defense

Ghosts of the sacrificed interfere with prayer and physically push Elías, making you manage Faith and Guilt while surviving the Abbey. Different specters have distinct movement patterns and ways of disrupting you. The Protective Shield sends an expansive pulse from the staff to repel nearby specters, but using it consumes Faith.

Sound and story

The story takes about two hours and centers on prayer and atmosphere rather than action. An original soundtrack and atmospheric sound design use creaks and whispers to deepen the sense of approaching revelation.