Something went wrong. Try again later
    Follow

    Amnesia: The Dark Descent

    Game » consists of 3 releases. Released Sep 08, 2010

    A first-person survival horror game with advanced physics-based puzzles from Frictional Games, the creators of the Penumbra series. Its dynamic of light and darkness and focus on avoidance of enemies rather than combat have been highly influential in recent horror games.

    danthegamer32's Amnesia: the Dark Descent (PC) review

    Avatar image for danthegamer32

    Extremely immersive and scary

    This is a scary game, and not in the cheap monster-in-the-closet kind of way although there is the occasional moment like that. Amnesia's scares don't come from just it's grotesque monster design, it's a lot more focused on it's sound which create a menacing atmosphere for the gloomy backdrop. The main scares from Amnesia instead come from the feeling of total helplessness. Monsters will hunt you in the dark cold corridors of the ancient castle and you can do NOTHING about it except hide and pray to whatever gods you believe in that you don't get caught. With no way to fight back, this creates one of the most tense experiences I've felt in a videogame before.

    The horror is backed up by a surprisingly interesting story to boot as well. It all starts with you waking up in a castle with no recollection of who you are or what you're doing, you're only clue being a note that was written to yourself saying that your name is Daniel and you need to kill a man named Alexander who lives in the deepest part of the castle. The story is then further added to in fragments through notes scattered around the castle which eventually piece together the larger picture, with some truly gruesome revelations in the late portion of the game.

    Besides the horror there are also plenty of puzzles to wrap your head around throughout the game. The solution to the majority of these puzzles are quite logical however some take a bit more scanning about rooms trying to find that one last vial you need to make that damned potion! This can remove some of the immersion from the game as you frantically search around and around in frustration to find one little thing. Overall, not a huge issue though.

    My only other real issue with the game is that the ending is a little weak. I can't really say much without spoiling it but it seemed to end quite abruptly to me.

    All in all, I couldn't recommend this more to someone who loves horror. This is probably not for the faint of heart though!

    0 Comments

    Other reviews for Amnesia: the Dark Descent (PC)

      This might just be the creepiest game ever made. 0

       You wake up in a castle with a note you have written yourself. You cannot remember who or where you are, but your former self is not surprised. The note tells you that you have purposefully forgotten recent events, and that you now have one goal: find and kill a man named Alexander. You don’t know who Alexander is or why you wanted to kill him, but your note warns that you are being chased by a dark shadow that alters reality and that time will be short. The dark shadow is a persistent t...

      15 out of 15 found this review helpful.

      Small Game, Big Scares 0

      I love when games get me spooked, and this rather dark little game was a near perfect recipe for suspense and jumpiness. It's rare that a title comes along and provides players with such a rich atmosphere to be immersed in. Like the intro states, the game is not to be played to win, its purpose is to give players a dramatic first person survival horror experience. I can honestly say that the game freaked me out a few times, but I'm a sucker for playing games in the dark with the sound cranked!  ...

      8 out of 9 found this review helpful.

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.