There are games that are fun right away and lose their luster after a few hours. There are games that take time to get into to really enjoy, and then a game comes along like Frictional’s adventure horror Amnesia: The Dark Descent. A title which demands a commitment to the idea of immersion from both the player and developer nearly to a fault. If everyone complies, the results from start to finish can be incredible.
It would be impossible to give a descriptive review of the game without revealing a few spoilers that could potentially lessen the experience. For those who really want to enjoy it for everything it is, don’t read on just yet. Play the game, follow its instructions on optimizing the experience and dive in as blind as possible to what you’re getting into. This is how it’s meant to be played and I fully recommend it for anyone who already thinks/knows they are going to play Amnesia. If that sounds like you, go play and come back later–we’ll compare notes.
Gameplay
You play as a man who awakens to find himself trapped in a gigantic castle. Without any memory or understanding of the situation, your only option is to follow wherever the open passages take you and as you proceed, you quickly discover that you are being haunted by some otherworldly evil. An entity that will relentlessly breathe down your neck for the entirety of your adventure, striking you every time you hesitate or stray into its grasp.
You must maintain two things through all the stress, torment and potential attacks faced: your heart and your mind. While your heart is vulnerable to physical attacks from enemies, sharp objects and the like, your mind will be put to the test much more often as you’re forced to maintain your focus and thus your sanity even with the environment startling at every turn.
Perhaps the most important mechanic in the game is standing in the light versus standing in the dark and how it relates to your sanity. Light is (mostly) your best friend in the game. With light comes more clarity for the character. As you can imagine though, it becomes a rare commodity as you continue your descent deeper into the structure. You’ll be able to rely only on an oil lamp with limited supply scattered throughout the game and tinderboxes that allow you to light the thousands of torches and candles that populate the castle. The dev does a good job of providing these items few and far between to keep worry of supply on the mind.
Whether by choice or necessity, as you move away from the light insanity slowly creeps in. It starts with a grating, crackling sound, followed immediately by blurred, wavy vision. If a light source continues to allude you, you’ll find your motor controls begin to slip and become sluggish. At one point, a handful of roaches began crawling all over the screen, needless to say solving the puzzles became a bit more difficult with the sharp changes and distractions.
On top of all that, expect to have a harder time locating objects and regaining your barrings if you don’t rely on a light source consistently. At times I found certain key items difficult to locate, due to all the other dangers and distractions. It’s one of the only small frustrations I had with the game, but in the end it’s welcomed because of the intuitive nature of most of the puzzles and really it’s one of the staples of a horror adventure game. There was never a time I felt completely lost on a puzzle, I just knew I was missing one key piece and I would have to redouble my efforts searching for it in hope of escaping the confines of one frightening area for the next.
Just as I figured out how to hop from one lit area to another and felt more or less comfortable doing so, I received another curve ball. A wretched figure in the distance, some sort of undead creature, shambling toward my direction. Without any means of defense, I didn’t hesitate to turn tail and run back down the hallway I came to escape detection. While running and hiding are the best tricks you’ll be able to muster from these types of enemy, sometimes a close encounter is unavoidable.
At first the enemies seem like distant shadows placed to scare you, but soon you realize they’re all too real. One corridor had me being chased mercilessly by a large monster that made such aggressive noises I didn’t even entertain the thought to peek over my shoulder. Not knowing at all where I was going, I pressed on as fast as I could until I reached a safe exit–but not without taking a claw or two to my back first. Other times I wasn’t lucky enough to find an exit or hiding spot in time.
The actual fear I experienced dealing, running and hiding from these creatures can be described as “quite fucking real.” They are the pulse-raising, violent wild card to an otherwise slower-paced creepy journey.
Style
No question the sounds are what make Amnesia the paranoia-inducing, fear factory it turns out to be. There’s seriously no where you feel safe, and when you start to even think about relaxing in an area that appears free of danger, expect something to crash your little ‘get-a-grip’ party at anytime. No matter if its a gust of wind, a cave-in of rocks or the dragging feet and moans of your would-be killer; the sound effects turn out to be much more of a nightmare to deal with mentally than any abomination that may cross your sight–and trust me there will be plenty of both to concern yourself with.
If played as suggested (alone, headphones on, volume up, dark room, late at night) Amnesia is as immersive as any game–indie or otherwise–out there. Sometimes I jumped, other times I cringed, and more than once the phrase “Please, just make it” escaped from under my breath. The only game that continually came to mind in comparison was Bioshock; but even then, the enemies still had the worry of your guns and magic hands. In this game, they only worry about not finding and killing you.
Story
The plot itself is told through notes, journal entries and audible bits of recovered memory with many more fragmented and cryptic messages on the loading screen. Without giving too much away, you as the character piece together your past as you make your way through the corridors. As you uncover the nightmarish truth, the feel of the game shifts from uncertainty and fear to something much more dark and gruesome.
Other
My best experience was the second time I sat down to play, where I played the game fully as it was recommended as well as putting in a longer session. After six hours, I was both mentally and physically exhausted. A tribute to the game and its merciless pursuit to keep the player on edge.
I played through the whole game in a few sessions, in the end totaling just over 15 hours of logged time. For those who interest themselves with pricing, Amnesia goes above and beyond its $20 tag no matter which angle you dissect it from.
Final Musings
An indie unlike any other and one of the best games I’ve played this year, Frictional takes all the good Penumbra brought to the table and expands on it with vast improvements in all areas from the developer’s debut series. The team at Frictional Games aren’t just fantastic indie developers, they’re also masters of terror. Taking painstaking measures to attempt to scare the living crap out of you. They have a wonderful approach to the seemingly impossible to master style of the adventure horror genre. Never letting you get comfortable in your skin for too long.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is out today and is available for purchase through Frictional Games for PC, Mac and Linux.
Great news everyone, Machinarium is finally coming to consoles. While the game hit a road block trying to land on XBLA and is still in negotiation with PSN, XGen Studios has announced alongside Amanita Design that the ‘about a robot’ title is being prepped for a WiiWare release.
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