Probably shouldn't be writing a review for a game that I haven't played the whole way through but Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a game that showed exceptional quality even if my total play time equalled a brief 1.5hrs.
Available via the Steam network, Amnesia follows many of the same tropes as Frictional Games' previous works, Penumbra 1 & 2: Protagonist is thrown into a situation in an undisclosed and eerie location with no real knowledge of what's happening with some creature/evil on their tail. All feature a darkened environment, as well as a sanity metre and physics based puzzles. In fact, so alike are Penumbra and Amnesia that the only real difference is the setting (Penumbra = modern day Antarctica, Amnesia = medieval German castle). But there is something about Amnesia that puts it above Penumbra and, in all honesty, I'm not entirely sure what it is. Maybe its setting adds that extra element of gothic horror or maybe it's the fact that it oozes a definite ode to H.P. Lovecraft, either way, the level of immersion and psychological fear is stronger than it's predecessor.
It is a terrific example of survival horror. Whilst this and Dead Space 2, the last game I played, fall into the same genre, they couldn't be any more different. Dead Space 2 is a full on gore fest in which the player really has to fight for survival using superior firepower. Amnesia asks, nay, demands the player avoid conflict at all costs. There are no guns or explosives, just the player's own smarts and the shadows of the environment. You're even encouraged not look at enemies for fear of draining your sanity metre, which will in turn incapacitated the player for a short period of time. It's nerve wracking stuff and whilst the likes of Dead Space are relentless in their pace, Amnesia is relentless in its cold calculated terror. It's pure psychological horror, which will always, always be more frightening than any dismembered body parts.
You will definitely need a change of underwear.
5/5
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