![]() In Amnesia you so rarely see the monsters that they never lose that mystery, that aura of “the unknown”. Frictional worked out, as I said, that the imagination is stronger than anything they can really throw at you and they also know that the more you see of the monsters the less scary they become (this is also why Aliens from AvP are no longer scary, because we’ve spent too much time looking at them and actually killing them). The “cheap scares” in some games make you jump, sure. It’s all because the tension and build up in a game like this is where all the fear actually lies. My nerves were drawn tighter than a bowstring and I every single muscle was tensed in sheer bloody terror. This was because I jumped at every slightest sound and movement and spent ages hiding in shadows even when I was actually perfectly safe. It took me the better part of an hour to get to that stage. And it IS paranoia because for the most part, it never actually happens!Ĭase in point: I would say that if you had nerves of steel and a fearless attitude to life and death you could make it through the first part of the game to where you first actually see a monster (and even then it’s just a glimpse of it from afar and round a corner) in about 15 minutes (less quite possibly). So what Frictional Games mostly focused on was the atmosphere of the game rather than the monsters themselves (although I will be honest the monsters are bloody terrifying in their own right as well).Įvery single time the music playing in the game drops down to a low ominous note, every time a door creaks open or slams shut, every time something groans or growls somewhere nearby, every breath or gasp of wind and even the pounding of your character’s heart all add on to your paranoia that something is going to jump out at you from somewhere and do terrible and horrible things to you. No matter how gruesome or horrible you make something the human imagination can almost always do it better. ![]() What Amnesia did so well that so few other horrors do is that it understands the beauty of the human imagination. In Amnesia having absolutely no weapon what-so-ever means that running is the only option and knowing that you’re utterly defenceless, even if it’s just in a game, just adds another layer of psychological fear to the game. This was because the jumpy moments were so obvious and predictable and it was then perfectly easy to blast the enemies apart with a storm of high-calibre gunfire.Īmnesia is nothing like these for a number of reasons but I think it might be worth pointing out first off that in all the other horror games I have ever played you have the ability to fight back and often in numerous ways. Despite having a history of the movies actually being quite scary and the monsters being scary enough in their own right the game was simply not scary at all. ![]() ![]() Then there are the games which despite being classes as horror barely even manage to pull off any of those cheap scare moments. And despite expecting it and knowing it’s coming it still will make you jump or gasp with fright, most of the time anyway. You know the sort thing, wandering along a dark and dingy corridor and seeing a grate on the ceiling or floor or walls and when you get close enough, sure enough out jumps a monster trying to suck your ribs out through your skin. Most of them are along the lines of Doom 3 where there are repeated “cheap scare” moments. And in all honesty Amnesia is the only one to do it properly. Or at least in the genre where they are trying to scare you. You see I’ve only played a few games that could be described as in the “horror” genre. I mean you WILL crap your pants… Repeatedly… And despite it being a cliche, it’s still worth saying as it is what the game is ABOUT! And I don’t just mean scary. Yes I realise it’s actually almost as cliche to say this about Amnesia: The Dark Descent as it is to actually review Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but the game is bloody scary. Well unless the player absolutely cannot stand having to shower every time after gaming from having pissed themselves in fear too much. Allow me to start the review by mentioning that I am well aware of how much has been said about this game by every reviewer in existence and I am likewise aware that there probably hasn’t been anyone who’s ever played it that didn’t like it. In honour of the teaser website for the next Amnesia game by Frictional Games I decided that I would do a retrospective on the original Amnesia and it’s add-on Justine.
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