Amnesia: The Dark Descent

I'm not really sure how to begin...

I've played all the classic horror games, the Silent Hill games, Penumbra, FEAR, Condemned, System Shock, etc. Not one of them comes close, although Penumbra deserves second place and bears some similarities - it was, after all, made by the same team.

Amnesia isn't typical in any way. You don't fight, you have no guns or explosives. It's raw survival that drives the action. The elements that make the game so uniquely terrifying have more to do with what you hear and feel, and less to do with common gimmicks like monsters jumping out of the shadows (not a bad tactic, but one that grows tiresome over time). When you create a new game, on-screen text advises players to experience the game, rather than win it.

Before playing, make sure that you are in a dark room, adjust the brightness as per the game's specifications, and play with headphones. Since so much has to do with mood, and since the atmosphere is so compelling, it would be a disservice to the game and yourself to play it any other way.

The story itself is fairly simple - a man has lost his memory and is trying to put the pieces together. But there is something.... wrong. As you progress through the game and begin to see the whole picture, the sense of "wrongness" increases to a nearly hysterical level.

I enjoy watching good horror movies with friends, it might make me a bit sadistic but I do enjoy sharing their fear and giving them a bit of a scare. I can't think of a film or game that I would tell an adult friend not to watch or play. But in the case of Amnesia, be warned - this game is DARK. Some of the themes and scenes are extremely disturbing. It's the only game I've ever had to take breaks from because my nerves were so frayed I wasn't even having fun anymore.

Furthermore, if you're a parent considering purchasing this game for a child, please don't. There are some things you really don't want in your head, and some of those things could be potentially harmful to a child. Some of them could be harmful to adults as well, I suppose.

Anyway, if you love horror games and are looking for more, pick this up immediately - it's the best one yet.

The atmosphere of this game. It is great. The game is really tense and creepy. The game is effective and it is a satisfying experience. The location the game takes place in is awesome. The voice acting is well done. The game is a good looking game.

The Dark Decent is currently one of the best horror games I've ever played. Throughout the entire game I was terrified but I had this motivation to keep pushing on. That motivation was from how interesting and fun the game is.

The gameplay stands out a lot in the horror genre. You could say it's a simple walking simulator, but as it gets more in depth it really shows off how unique it is. One of the mechanics is sanity, if you don't keep your sanity high enough you may start experiencing problems with the mind, causing hallucinations and an inability to see. As you can tell, it can get really scary if your sanity isn't high enough. Light plays a major factor here as well. You need to make sure to manage light, if you don't your sanity will fall and dangerous consequences may stop your path. The enemies are also an interesting factor, sometimes you're just relying on sound, with the option of seeing them. Each type of enemy has its own sound, so you'll be able to tell if you can hide or outrun it. There was one sound that I never saw the enemy that matched it, it sound a lot heavier and I'm glad I never poked my head around the corner.

I didn't quite understand the full story after I finished it, but from what I played I could gather the basics. The story is presented through collectable notes and voices inside your head, so if you are not paying attention you'll miss the plot. It was interesting enough to keep me playing till the end. It's probably something I'm going to read and watch a lot about.

There were a few technical problems, like audio randomly being in my left ear only or me falling out the map. However, it doesn't really make the experience worse but kind of adds to it. When I feel out the map I thought it was a feature and crapped myself in the process.

To conclude, Amnesia: The Dark Decent is an amazing and unique horror game that has left an impact in the horror genre, possibly inspiring many more games I haven't played yet. It's a master of visual and audio immersion, which in combination creates one of the best horror games of all time.

Every so often, I like to try a horror game to see if my palette for them has changed at all. This years was a long awaited go at "Amnesia: The Dark Descent" with the PS4 re-release that was a Playstation Plus game a few years back. Though I can see the quality of the game, it's just not one for me.

Awakening in a seemingly abandoned stately home, you play Daniel, who has amnesia and must explore, finding notes that fill in the details of what has occurred there. Solving simple puzzles along the way, Daniel is increasingly psychologically attacked by unseen noises and movement in the dark - with only candlelight or a lantern to provide the release of the truth. Soon though, Daniel discovers that he is not alone in the catacombs.

There was a lot to like about "Amnesia: The Dark Descent". Though I didn't play it as the developers intended, i.e in the dark, with headphones on, I did get a sense of the superlative sound design that makes the game so compelling. Visually the game was fine, using a basic engine to generate the house and its contents and with enough physics to allow you to throw the items around. I liked the visual effects that occur as Daniel takes psychological damage, with the screen becoming blurry and distorted until you can find some light, it reminded me of seminal Gamecube game "Eternal Darkness". The puzzles were basic stuff, mostly fetch quests or combining items like in a point and click adventure.

Where the game lost me though, was in the encounters with the creatures. I gave up at the second major one, which I understand is about halfway through the game. The first, using water to show where the creature was at least made sense, (as in, I could see where my goal was). The second just ended with me blundering into the creature over and over again and getting killed. It wasn't fun and soon moved from scary to frustrating. At my age, I don't have enough free time to not make progress with a game, each time I play.

Undoubtably well-made and atmospheric, I feel like the problems are more with me than with the game.

I really wished there was a good sequel to this game becouse i wonder when are we gonna get a good amnesia sequel and we got machine for pigs that Meh alright...but man i always wondered when are we gonna get a amnesia sequel or remake to make me satisfied anyways back to the point.

This game is just a masterpiece no other horror game as achieved its level, sure there is outlast,resident evil 2 remastered and etc but man in 2010 how can u see these types of games i sure havent anyway i am not giving 10/10 becouse some parts like are not as scary as some and some puzzles are hard to players to get through but anyways 8/10 solid game