Amnesia: The Dark Descent Review!!!
Heres a game that just came out of nowhere and knocked my wind out, went to my cousins to watch his dogs for the weekend and in return for doing that he gave me this, daring me not to get scared and to play through it all by the time he returned, so, I took that dare and I played this game non stop all the way through, and let me tell you, I loved every minute of it. From the creators of Penumbra brings another first person survival horror game, except this time its set in a castle in the middle of Prussia, now im not going to say anything further from a stories point of view, just know that its a tale of revenge, mystery and fear. This game will keep you guessing nonstop throughout the entire experience only until the end where it answers everything. Theirs multiple endings but only one of them answers questions the game presents, you're going to have to figure it out for yourself. Daniel, the character you play as throughout is a character with many levels to his personality, he goes through pretty much every emotion throughout and he genuinly feels like a real person. The catch is, is you play as him, but he doesn't say anything, you find these notes from a journal that are left by Daniel to..yourself, the moment that part of the story is presented I was hooked, to solve this haunting mystery within Brennenburg Castle. He has no memory and is piecing it back together and remembering every event from notes left by himself or triggors in the enviornment that seem familiar to him. Theres a lot to say about the beginning of this game, but all I can say on it is, is the story is wonderful and it will have you scared out of your mind and guessing throughout the entire experience.
Gameplay-
Gameplay is a little hard to decribe when it comes to Amnesia, its a survival horror but the tricky parts of it is, is theres no way to defend yourself, when you come across the creatures of the darkness your only option is to run and no look at them, to never look at them, because if you do stare, or you linger in the dark too long without any light, you start going insane. The creatures can kill you sure, but the darkness is where you're most vulnerable and most safe. It has a weird paradox between the two. All you carry with you is a lantern and a way to relight the torches(the name escapes me at the moment) and thats all, you have nothing to defend yourself and only a very small amount of healing items. It is the very definition of survival horror, because you really feel you are fighting for you life and thats something no game has managed to achieve for me. Theres some puzzle solving and exploration but nothing that will leave you scratching your head. Overall, this game plays like almost no other, its unique and its something thats lacking with many games today.
Presentation-
Well here is just another point where Amnesia shines brightly, in its look, its feel, its tone. Its all nailed perfectly. From suttle noises of rats and cockroaches in the sewer, to walls falling down or the creatures that go bump in the darkness. Its all pulled off flawlessly and gives an immersion like no other game out there, its at its scariest when you can't actually see whats going on. There is so many things I could say about the presentation about this game, but im going to say this, everything about the look, the sounds, the tone, the great voice acting and the narrative all come together to bring one of if not the scariest and most immersive worlds in gaming. You will get sucked in to what you cannot see.
Overall-
The game is incredible, the only complaint I have about it is it can get a little too dark at times and its a bit clunky on some spots that need precision, but everything this game tries to do, it succeeds and excels waaay beyond any expectations I had. It was easily the most terrifying game ive ever played, which by all counts ive only played one game thats scared me and it told an incredible story that will keep you guessing until the end. Its only 20$, there really is no reason why you shouldn't pick this game up. Its the most immersive experience ive ever had with any piece of entertainment. Go buy it. Now.
