Everything that Penumbra<\/em> did right is reused and amplified in this game, from lack of combat to unreliable perception. The interface is largely To make matters worse, since Dan can’t fight, his only recourse when faced with a hostile is to cower in a dark corner until it lumbers away. Except that, with his condition, you better hope that it happens quickly. This makes for some particularly tense moments, and a crucial issue in the game is balancing the amount of ambient light: enough to keep Dan decently lucid, but not enough to make him a sitting duck. This is compounded with the fact that both of his ![\"Dracula](\"https:\/\/grafskaya.club\/mysst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/dracula-would-love-this-place.jpg\" "\\"Dracula")
<\/a>You who are faint of heart, stop reading now. I thought that Penumbra<\/em> was a strong contender for the top spot on my horror list, but Frictional Games have since outdone themselves and produced Amnesia<\/em>, premium quality, high-octane nightmare fuel. Taking a common plot device (amnesia) and running away with it (into a dark wood) has never been so effective, and it’s no exaggeration to say that this is the scariest game I have played to date. People\u2013and the game itself, in fact\u2013will tell you to play at night with the lights off. Well, even with the lights on, I was still terrified. Heck, to this day, I can\u2019t look at a picture of a Grunt for more than a few seconds without wincing.<\/p>\n<\/a>the same (first-person view, hand cursor and physics engine), as is the menu. The game is set in XIXth<\/sup> century Prussia, in the foreboding Brennenburg Castle, situated in the middle of a forest. You are put in the shoes of Daniel, a young Englishman, who wakes up, confused and disoriented somewhere in the building. He can barely remember his name, and yet he must make sense of both his surroundings, which are anything but reassuring or safe, and his situation, which is downright horrifying. You discover snippets of Daniel\u2019s history from short texts on loading screens, but also through flashbacks, letters and diary entries strewn throughout the castle\u2026which he has left for himself. Apparently, his amnesia is self-inflicted and voluntary, and if you\u2019re wondering what could possibly have driven him to such an action, well\u2026play and find out. I\u2019ll just say that he was involved in an ill-fated archaeological expedition, and it was all downhill from there.<\/p>\n<\/a>Daniel is one of the game\u2019s best assets as a channel for fear, because saying that he has a fragile psyche is an understatement. Philip, his predecessor from Penumbra<\/em>, could panic if staring directly at an enemy for a while. But compared to Dan, that makes him a paragon of stoicism. And where Phil was a gasper, Dan\u2019s a professional whimperer. He whimpers like a boss. This is especially striking when compared to his normal, somewhat gruff baritone, showcasing just how much of a wreck he has become. Dan\u2019s other defining characteristic is his severe nyctophobia. Just walk him through a dark corridor, and you\u2019ll see what I mean. The screen will start distorting and blurring, and you\u2019ll hear the unnerving sound of grinding teeth. Should he remain without a light source for long enough or witness one horrifying event too many, hallucinations may kick in. Those could be bugs crawling across the screen, imaginary corpses or a portrait distorting into a nightmarish vision (this is a particularly nasty one). That, or he will start talking to himself. This is a system most likely inspired by Eternal <\/a>Darkness<\/em>: besides his health meter (indicated by a human heart on the menu screen), Dan also has a sanity meter (indicated by a brain and spinal cord). You can increase it by solving puzzles or stabilise it by staying in the light, but its natural state, so to speak, is a steady downward curve. Should it ever deplete completely, Dan will have a nervous breakdown and collapse on the floor in a gibbering mess for a few seconds, before getting back up with a hit to his health. The problem is that if this happens when an enemy is nearby, he might as well be blowing a foghorn.<\/p>\n<\/a>light sources are limited. Where Phil had his trusty, inexhaustible glowstick, Dan has an oil lantern\u2013and available oil refills are scant at best\u2013and some tinderboxes, which he can use to light candles or torches. The other commodity in short supply are laudanum vials, which are used to recover health. Another clue, if you needed any, that you need to avoid damage as much as possible.<\/p>\n<\/a>Enemies\u2026oh god. The most common type\u2013and, unfortunately for me, the one I find scariest\u2013is the Grunt. Affectionately dubbed \u2018Mr Face\u2019 by the fanbase. This should clue you in as to the most distinctive part of its anatomy. And I\u2019ll leave it at that. If you want a clearer image (think very carefully before deciding), look here<\/a>. I just don\u2019t want this thing staring back at me every time I look at this review. *shudders* Although, your mileage may vary: some people find the Brute, which shows up in later levels, scarier. It\u2019s certainly more deadly, as it will usually down Dan in one hit, whereas he can weather a couple of Grunt slashes. The <\/a>third enemy goes by the uncouth moniker of \u2018Kaernk\u2019 (an anagram of “kraken”, as it’s a water-dwelling critter) and\u2026it\u2019s invisible. To some, that\u2019s even more terrifying than visible monstrosities. Fortunately, it\u2019s the rarest enemy of the three. Un<\/em>fortunately, the sequences involving it are pretty harrowing. There\u2019s one other hostile out for Dan\u2019s blood, but I\u2019ll leave you to experience that one for yourself.<\/p>\n<\/a>There are three endings to the game, and while one of them is indisputably bad, it\u2019s a toss-up as to which of the other two is the best. Up to you to make up your mind, but there\u2019s certainly food for thought involved. The other positive aspects are the graphics and the music, composed by Mikko Tarmia, who already worked on Penumbra<\/em>. Where the former game had that gritty, semi-industrial feel to it, Amnesia<\/em> is unabashedly gothic, with wooden furniture, thick red curtains and carpets, and old stones dimly lit by flickering candlelight. An old castle is a perfect setting for horror, and Amnesia <\/em>is more pleasing to the eye than its predecessor. Especially the Back Hall\u2026at first. The Back Hall also features my favourite piece from the game\u2019s soundtrack, a surprisingly calm, solemn and soothing track, which contributes to giving the place a temporary aura of safety. The rest of the soundtrack is none too shabby either, successfully upholding a creepy, gloomy atmosphere, with some disturbing sound effects interspersed with the music.<\/p>\n<\/a>Several months after the release of the game, an expansion titled Justine<\/em> saw the light of day. While it\u2019s also set in the XIXth<\/sup> century, it bears no relation to Daniel\u2019s story (or a very tenuous one), and features a different protagonist\u2013amnesia being the only common characteristic\u2013and a very different perspective on things. The goal this time is to find a way through a series of psychological \u2018tests\u2019, set up by Justine, a French noblewoman, who is a sadistic sociopath (it’s no wonder she’s named after a book by Sade). You find yourself in her Cabinet of Perturbation, and she guides you via a series of phonograph recordings she has left behind. It\u2019s a shorter experience than Amnesia<\/em>, but no less intense. There\u2019s still no combat and only three enemies, but they all used to be Justine\u2019s suitors…before she decided to experiment on them: Alo\u00efs, the tennis player, Basile, the carpenter, and Malo, the violinist. Each represents a different kind of \u2018love\u2019 and exhibits the corresponding personality: Alo\u00efs is needy and devoted, Basile is rough and abusive, and Malo is passionate and\u2026well, insane. And if I were in their shoes, I\u2019d probably swear bloody revenge on Justine as well.<\/p>\n<\/a>Justine<\/em> is also made significantly dicier by the inability to save. Your character dies, you start over from the beginning. And considering that there is an excruciatingly difficult chase sequence towards the end, the likelihood of having to start over is a very real one. So if you become frustrated after being repeatedly mauled, like I did, you may consider installing a mod which implements saving, fittingly titled \u201cSoftcore Justine\u201d. This problem aside, I did enjoy this storyline for its difference in tone. It even has a chilling twist ending. Special commendation goes to the profoundly unsettling messages on the wall of the mazelike Crypt corridors (“death shall move across the floor”<\/a> gave me a hearty wave of goosebumps) and to the adrenaline-charged music which plays when a Suitor gives chase. Still gives me a jolt when I hear it.<\/p>\n
![here<\/a>. I just don\u2019t want this thing staring back at me every time I look at this review. *shudders* Although, your mileage may vary: some people find the Brute, which shows up in later levels, scarier. It\u2019s certainly more deadly, as it will usually down Dan in one hit, whereas he can weather a couple of Grunt slashes. The](\"http:\/\/images.wikia.com\/amnesia\/images\/4\/4e\/Amnesia_Monster.png\"){kind=link}