Amnesia: The Dark Descent

**Monk** · 09-12-2010, 18:48

It's rare for me that games feel scary, that's why i'm kicking myself for not having the money for Amnesia, the latest from Frictional Games the developers of Penumbra. Has anyone had a chance to play this one yet? It looks incredibly disturbing just from the trailer, which I'll link below.

There's a demo available but I make a habit of never playing the demo for horror games, since i feel something might be spoiled or ruined for me. Even if it's a small spoiler, i'll always regret that moment where something was supposed to scare me but it didn't.

**Meneldil** · 09-12-2010, 20:39

It looks awesome in every single way, but I'm too much of a chicken to play this game.

I find Eternal Darkness and Stalker terrifying, and this looks approximately 10 times scarier. I'll pass but gladly read anything the Orgah have to say about this game.

**Justiciar** · 09-13-2010, 05:07

Never played any of their games before, but this looks absolutely fantastic. Like Meneldil I may not have the constitution to play it myself. I struggled to get through Call of Cthulhu with dry pants and found Stalker pretty creepy at several points, both being decidedly mild compared to the trailer alone. Yet I'm sorely tempted. What's the point of a horror game if you aren't horrified, after all?

**rajpoot** · 09-13-2010, 11:43

If you have any trust in the reviews on Gamespot, then according to them this is one of the best horror games out there.....not my cup of tea really.

**Raz** · 09-16-2010, 12:19

I played The Penumbra series which was very enjoyable, and I was following this title for some time but I forgot about it until about 4 or 5 days ago. Though, I am definitely going to try this out.

**Fragony** · 09-16-2010, 12:58

The Penumbra games proved that the raw talent of indie developers can outshine big budget productions. Very atmospheric games that reward thinking out of the box, obvious fans of the lookinglass/irrational games. They are really worth your time, especially because of the very modest price. Will be getting this one for sure it sounds great.

**Veho Nex** · 09-16-2010, 21:02

Very spooky game. My buddy and I were playing through the same parts over vent and just hearing him scream every once in a while was bad, but when i met up with what he screamed at I even jumped while trying to run away.

**Meneldil** · 09-18-2010, 09:02

That's it. I'm gonna buy the whole serie on Steam and play it until I can't sleep anymore at night. The trailer is enough to scare me to death, but I want to play this game.

**Fragony** · 09-18-2010, 10:41

This isn't part of the Penumbra series, you should try them though excellent games. If it makes you feel better, STALKER and Eternal Darkness freaked me out as well. But so did Halo, I get scared pretty fast. Which is good

**naut** · 09-19-2010, 02:01

Ok. This game is amazing, dare I say better than Penumbra. The ambiance and level designs are downright scary. Similar concept to Penumbra, but one major difference, the "Sanity" stat. The longer you spend in the darkness and the more weird stuff you observe/hear the more your sanity drains, which results in distorted vision and hallucinations, until you finally go completely insane. You do not want to run out of oil for your lantern.

**Hooahguy** · 09-19-2010, 08:03

If I got scared fighting husks in the ME series, then its safe to say im going nowhere NEAR this game.
I hate scary games...

**Monk** · 09-19-2010, 08:20

I've had the game for a little around four hours, played it off and on in that time and i've got enough information to make a few statements on it. From my understanding, i've reached the level that the demo allows you to play through. I wanna be very careful with my words because I don't want to say anything that will spoil something, not only with the plot but with the overall atmosphere. So here goes.

I'm big on atmospheric games, and those that go out of their way to make you feel like you're in the world you're percieving. It's a rare thing that games achieve total immersion, but allow me to say Amnesia is probably as close as you can possibly get. From the moment the game begins, you're struggling to get a grip with the sights and sounds of a strange environment, grasping at clues, and watching your character desperately cling to his sanity.

It's.. a strange journey to be sure, and the overall atmosphere is incredible. It's a game based solely on inspiring paranoia in you, as the player, and trust me it does it well. I've never jumped at shadows before in a game, and I've never caught myself looking over my shoulder every time I walk through a doorway convinced something is following.

I wish I could talk more in-depth about the plot and the tactics the game uses to achieve this immersion, but I don't want to spoil it. I'll probably make a spoilerific post once I've finished this game for people who want to discuss the guts of the game. The one point I do want to discuss, however, is the total lack of weaponry. A lot of horror or survival horror games give you a weapon and an objective. "Find out what's going on and defend yourself." Amnesia takes a different route, it gives you a lamp and tells "Find out what's going on, and stay alive." Even if that gun or hammer or crowbar (or what have you) is useless, there is a placebo safety effect that takes hold of me as a player. I have a gun, I can shoot stuff, I can be defiant, and maybe I can take a few of them with me.

Nope, not in Amnesia. I've got a lantern, I'm vulnerable, I may be going insane... And I love it.

**Veho Nex** · 09-19-2010, 09:02

That is exactly my feeling Monk. Main reason why I only posted so little. There were points in the game where i found my self cowering in a corner hoping to god that im not found out. Only to get up when i think all is safe and realize that my bane had only been waiting for me to come out of hiding.