Penelope Pendrick and the Art of Deceit

Penelope Pendrick and the Art of Deceit

Released Nov 2025

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.

97% positive · 573 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence

Where to buy

Steam $24.99
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Evaluation

Penelope Pendrick and the Art of Deceit is a self-contained mystery adventure game that launched on November 19, 2025. The store description and short description both describe a single, complete story — finding three missing people in the town of Carlisle — with no mention of sequels, expansions, DLC, or ongoing content additions. After launch, developer Julia Holdnack (Default Cube Games) released a series of bug-fix and quality-of-life patches through January 2026, addressing issues like save/load problems, softlocks, and cursor bugs. On January 7, 2026, the developer posted a candid note explaining that a fundamental save/load limitation in the game engine — rooted in an outdated 10-year-old save format — cannot be fully resolved without breaking all existing player saves. This is an honest acknowledgment of a technical ceiling on support, not a statement about future content. There are no unreleased DLC listings, no roadmap, no season pass, and no developer statement promising additional story content or expansions. The game launched as a complete, finished mystery adventure. The post-launch activity has been entirely focused on stabilizing the existing game. The developer's last communication was on January 25, 2026, and the 180-day recently-launched window has already passed as of today's date (June 14, 2026).
Evidence
Developer Julia Holdnack acknowledges a fundamental save/load limitation due to the engine's 10-year-old save format that cannot be fully fixed without invalidating all existing saves — indicates a ceiling on ongoing support
news post · Jan 7, 2026 source development ending
high
Final patch (v1.13.5) adds a time-to-save feature as a workaround for save issues, removes offensive content, and caps FPS — last known developer communication
news post · Jan 25, 2026 source development ending
medium

Content

1 of 1 released · no outstanding content

Media

Details

Publisher
Default Cube Games
Achievements
—
Platform
Windows, macOS
Controller
—
Steam Deck
Playable
Players
Single-player

About this game

A phone call from a small, out of state police force was the last thing writer Penelope Pendrick was expecting that morning. But, it wasn't long after that she was boarding a flight to the quaint old town of Carlisle, Connecticut. When debriefed, Penelope learns her job is to join the search for three missing people; an older man who owns a local bookstore, a mysterious woman who keeps to herself, and a troublemaking teenage boy – the only common link between them being that they disappeared from the same town, within the same week. The Sergeant is stumped.

Once she begins to unravel the case, Penelope realizes that there’s something deeper – stranger – going on here. Unusual ties form between four deceptive suspects, each with something to gain and each with something to lose. Motives and suspicions weave in and out as Penelope uses her wits and penchant for rule-breaking to search for answers; some of which died with an eccentric and mysterious local artist fifty years ago. As the danger escalates, a timer begins to tick down on the lives of the missing. All that Penelope knows for sure is that there’s more to the town of Carlisle than it would appear, and that one wrong move could make this first case her last.

Game Features

  • Explore the town of Carlisle

  • Interrogate four unique suspects

  • Steer the conversation with non-linear dialogue

  • Your choices matter - speak wisely!

  • Solve unique puzzles inspired by a famous artist

  • Don't get caught when you snoop!

  • Check every corner with your magnifying glass

  • Watch the clock to know who's around and when...

  • Use the landline to call friends or order pizza!

  • Examine any inventory item for details

  • Choose between two difficulty levels

  • Read in-game notes and check off your checklist

  • Type in answers to questions to progress the game

  • Join Penelope on her first official case!

Game Characteristics

  • Point & Click Gameplay

  • First Person Point of View

  • Single Player Game

  • Fully Voice-Acted

  • Detailed Environments

  • Complete Closed Captioning

  • Mystery Adventure Genre

NOTE: The game is NOT Steam Deck Verified. Some users with the Deck experience issues with character and cutscene animations, such as blurriness, pixilation, or missing animations.

Last evaluated Jun 14, 2026
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