Amnesia: The Dark Descent

[gryeates]

I thought this game might be of interest. From what I can gather, it revolves around a protagonist with, you guessed it, amnesia being stalked by creatures from another hellish dimension. I watched the trailer below not expecting much but it got to me. Impressive stuff.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Teaser Trailer - YouTube

[Tsalal XIII]

I was lured to this game by clearly lovecraftian motives the story has - I confirm, it is definitely worth checking out. Especially the opening scenes make great impression.
It really stands out from most first person perspective games (it only reminds the first chapter of Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth) - through the whole game the protagonist is totally unarmed and terrified to the edge of sanity, constantly hiding in the shadows. He is also afraid of the dark - staying in places for too long drains his sanity, causing hallucinations and various strange effects.
The game starts with an advice: you should focus on the experience and try not to win the game. Plays best in a darkened room and with headphones.

[trieffiewiles]

This looks very interesting, but I can't find it anywhere on amazon.com. Did either of you find it somewhere else?

[Sam]

Quote Originally Posted by trieffiewiles

This looks very interesting, but I can't find it anywhere on amazon.com. Did either of you find it somewhere else?

You can get a demo of the game here on the official website, and you can also order it there.

I'm glad I tried the demo - the game is indeed very atmospheric and intense, but I'm afraid my aging hardware wasn't quite up for the challenge. Low frame-rates and lots of pausing/skipping really interrupted the vibe for me. Looks beautiful though, and I really like the "don't try to win, just enjoy" philosophy. Oh well, back to Torchlight I go.

[Dr. Bantham]

Heads up on a good deal for this game. Steam now has this game on sale through November 28th for $9.99.
Save 50% on Amnesia: The Dark Descent on Steam

[Dr. Bantham]

Quote Originally Posted by Dr. Bantham

Heads up on a good deal for this game. Steam now has this game on sale through November 28th for $9.99. Save 50% on Amnesia: The Dark Descent on Steam

Direct Digital Download for $4.99 on Amazon!

Amazon.com: Amnesia [Download]: Video Games

 

Amazon.com: Amnesia [Download]: Video Games

[Xiabei]

This game is quite excellent. Definitely makes you feel a bit weird when playing in a darkened room. I'm not too far into it yet, but it's got a great haunting and Gothic atmosphere.

[Mr. Veech]

The Amnesia Collection was released today for the PS4. It contains Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Amnesia: Justine (DLC), and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.

For those interested, here's an interesting interview of the games' Creative Director regarding the influence Lovecraft has had on Frictional's games:

Interview with Thomas Grip, creator of the Lovecraftian games | Lovecraft eZine

The game engine they created is called the HPL Engine.

Good stuff. Just finished it. A nice story, but I'm surprised at how unfrightening I found this compared to the similar Alien: Isolation. The actual practical gameplay design seemed to fight against suspense or anxiety at nearly every turn. I was entranced for the first half, but I don't think I was scared for any of the second half. I would respawn wherever I had died, with all my equipment, but without enemies around me. Huh? That one weird flaw didn't stop bugging me.

I mean, I really enjoyed it for the most part, but I'm baffled at the 'SCARIEST GAME EVER' reputation it enjoys. It's more akin to ambient black metal. Soothing atmosphere with disturbing themes, but rarely intense (which is fine).

[Mr. Veech]

Quote Originally Posted by James

Just finished it. A nice atmosphere and story, but I'm surprised at how uninvolving I found this as I loved the similar Alien: Isolation. The gameplay design seemed to fight against suspense or anxiety at every turn. I don't think I was scared for a moment when playing.

Well, it is an older game made by a very small independent developer with a significantly lower budget than the developers of Alien: Isolation. You can see the difference in quality between Amnesia and Soma.

As for Alien: Isolation, we probably won't see a sequel because it failed financially. Amnesia was, all things considered, successful in that department.