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Review
Fires blooming everywhere, September 10, 2025“Good morning, dear. Has anyone ever told you how handsome you are?”
Penthesileia begins with Penny, our protagonist, informing her husband, Achilles, of his good looks before seeing him off to work. It’s a wholesome life.
But the next day, she falters. And he notices.
Gameplay
The gameplay is centered around Penny investigating funky moments where she acts out of turn, forgetting her lines in a script that she doesn’t remember reading. Things like pausing before telling her husband- who is hated by many- about his handsomeness or muddling up his coffee or asking questions. There are no puzzles, only a compelling narrative to sink into.
The author has such a precise, effective way of writing, at leaving the player transfixed about what would happen next without lengthy paragraphs. Some scenes are like being doused in ice cold water. The wham moment in the game is when (Spoiler - click to show)a dinner party is held for high-ranking officials. I won’t spoil it, but the characters did something that made my blood go cold. And then you are asked to participate. Do you? Or will you refuse in a room full of powerful people?
Eventually, you are required to choose between (Spoiler - click to show)sticking with the repetitive luxury of your current life or biting the hand that feeds you.
While the gameplay is mostly linear, you must dig around to reach each ending. I found five total with two of them being nearly identical.
Story
But onto the story.
Penthesileia is a dystopian thriller with political undertones. And perhaps even science fiction since it takes place in the 2060s. Every aspect of daily life revolves around the existence of a Prefect and the Regime. High-ranking officials clamber over each other to gain favor, and restaurants have names such as “In Honor of Our Everlasting Prefect.” And of course, a resistance, named only as “the opposition.”
(Spoiler - click to show)When Achilles takes Penny to a fancy restaurant, she notices a staff member staring at her in shock and recognition, kickstarting her doubts about the world. He later introduces himself as Cal and provides backstory… and the awful truth. He tells Penny about her death. Her death?
He once worked at a restaurant that was a hotspot for opposition members. The Prefect conducted a raid of the restaurant to wipe out potential members along with any witnesses. An important-looking man walked in- Achilles- to oversee the raid. But then Achilles saw Penny’s dead body, an unfortunate witness. Despite being a stranger, he falls in love and goes to great lengths to make her his wife. But for Cal, who also saw Penny’s body, seeing her reappear is a surprise.
This is where Penthesileia leans into the science fiction genre. It doesn’t focus on the technicalities because it’s not necessary to tell the story. But there is room for curiosity.
(Spoiler - click to show)Initially, I thought Penny was an android.
Achilles found a doctor named Antiope who could bring Penny back to life. We meet Antiope at a surgical facility to correct Penny’s behavior. Antiope is… unsettling. She gleefully notes that Penny has been “gaining independence from my original programming,” referring to the mistakes Penny made with her interactions with Achilles. There is also a path in the gameplay that shows Achilles using his watch to “deactivate” Penny, almost like an android (whether he succeeds depends on the player’s previous choices).
Does this mean she’s an android? Ultimately, I don’t think so. I speculate that Penny's body is one she’s always had, but her brain has been rebuilt or copied to replace the one that would be nonviable from brain death. The programming? Implanted memories that command her to speak and act the same way every day. Erasing her original identity meant Penny wouldn’t notice or give these changes any thought. Until she noticed.
Oddly enough, Antiope does not care if Penny knows the truth, only that Penny behaves. She doesn’t seem to even “fix” Penny, though she warns her that if she acts out, Antiope will not hesitate to end Penny’s second life. In fact, the “Antiope ending” is terrifying.
The story of Penthesileia ultimately explores the idea of second chances.
(Spoiler - click to show)Both Penny and Cal received a second chance. Cal managed to escape the raid without being killed as a witness. Meanwhile, Penny’s second chance is the literal second life she receives at the hands of Antiope.
Cal wants to use his second chance to hold the Regime accountable. Penny lives a life of luxury as a member of society’s elite. But the truth of her existence and the Regime’s lack of humanity shatter the illusion of a perfect life. Her husband’s high-ranking status means he has access to the Public Dissemination Network. She’s just what Cal needs. All she must do is upload a flash drive of evidence where it would be broadcast everywhere. This action is left up to the player.
So: Are second chances something we’re given or something we make for ourselves?
Characters
The game’s characters are borrowed from figures in Greek mythology. Even if you are familiar with Greek mythology- Achilles being a more recognizable name- you may not make the connection right away. Let’s look at Achilles first.
Some may recognize the name Achilles from “Achilles’ heel,” which refers to a single weakness capable of bringing down something difficult to destroy. A fatal flaw. In the game, Achilles laments how the Prefect isn’t giving him the recognition he deserves. To him, the Prefect and its Regime are invincible, all-knowing, powerful, and immovable. Unflawed. Except (Spoiler - click to show)he unwittingly becomes the Regime’s “heel” through Penny, if she chooses to bring down the Regime with the flash drive.
The title, Penthesileia, is a slight misspelling of Penthesilea. Penthesilea was an Amazonian queen who brought her army to Troy and fought the Greeks. It’s said that she killed Achilles only for him to be resuscitated by Zeus to allow him to kill her in return- and this act greatly saddened him because he also loved her. Despite this tragedy she is seen as a symbol of triumph amid conflict and great loss. To exhibit strength as a female in a realm dominated by men and encountering love- in a twisted way- while participating in war. In subtle ways, we see this in Penny.
Penny’s connection to Penthesilea is only clear once you start digging for details. The misspelling of Penthesileia and Penthesilea appears to be deliberate. We do get opportunities to learn about Penny’s (Spoiler - click to show)previous life. Examining the photo in the office drawer reveals that Penny’s name was originally Leia. Take a closer look at the title again: PenthesiLEIA. And in the ending where she leaves and takes on a new identity, she tells a customs officer that her name is “Penthesileia,” quietly regaining her past identity as she reaches for a brighter future.
I was curious as to why the author chose to (Spoiler - click to show)model the doctor on Antiope, an Amazon and sister of Penthesilea. There are other Greek figures including Theseus and Diomedes, though they are featured more superficially.
Visuals
Penthesileia uses a basic Twine appearance. Black screen, white text, blue links. Text is easy to read and is gradually revealed as the player clicks on the screen, creating suspense as the player waits for what's next.
Conclusion
In case you read this far, I apologize for the length. I was excited to review this game because it left such a memorable impression.
Penthesileia is a chilling narrative about finding choice while living inside an oppressive system. Penny is a protagonist full of poise and quiet determination. We feel the fragility of her existence as the wife of a powerful man- a man who lives with a target on his back. Her despair at the knowledge that those who create you can destroy you in equal measure. And her exhilaration at discovering the impact, or perhaps chaos, she can make.
If you like dystopian stories that are character focused and force the player to question said character’s status quo, play Penthesileia. It has potent writing mixed in with Greek mythology symbolism. With several endings, it is worth multiple playthroughs.
Maybe there’s more than one way for this to end.
