Amnesia: The Dark Descent
True psychological horror all in one game
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This game is what I would call a
psychological horror. As I said in the first post, this game really isn't like other horror survival games and a lot of factors within the game contribute to this. I will discuss here how this game is different and why it's going to scare you, even if you've watched people play it or read this thread. I'll also try to do this without spoiling any plot content, but be warned, I may not be completely successful and the basic plot
will be revealed. If you want to play this game truly blind, again,
don't read this thread.
True Helplessness: if you give a man a gun, there's only so much he's going to be afraid of. Give a man a weapon and he might be afraid of a bit more, but he can still defend himself and his life and there will be some things that won't panic him. This is evident in Silent Hill games, or Resident Evil games; how often are you
truly frightened by enemies? The fact of the matter is, you never really are. They may scare the shit out of you at first, but you can shoot them and beat them up until they bleed out of every orifice and will never get up again. You aren't completely frightened, because you can kill them.
Amnesia takes this all away. You are never provided with a weapon in the entire game, and you are utterly helpless against any and every enemy you encounter. You run and hide, or you die, and there is no in-between. This does two things; it makes you terrified of the monsters because they can and will kill you and you have no way to slow them down, but it also makes you afraid of every level in the game you play. These things can kill you, they will try and kill you if they
see you, and they could be
abso-fucking-lutely anywhere. If that didn't make you shit bricks enough, most of the levels in this game are close to pitch black, and you have to light your way as you go. Even if you aren't afraid of the dark, this game is going to make you piss yourself as you turn every corner, because you know something is in the dark waiting for you and you never know where it is.
Darkness: was lightly touched upon above, but the darkness in this game is an added fear in itself. I personally am not afraid of the dark, yet the dark in this game always keeps me utterly paranoid. Apparently, it keeps Daniel paranoid too, because he will slowly go
insane the longer you linger in dark areas. Worse still is that you can't completely light your way because you need to reserve your lamp oil and tinderboxes, and you also need spaces to hide if you are found.
Generally, it makes getting lost easy, and it keeps you constantly paranoid when you can't see three steps in front of your face. Scared of the dark? You fucking will be.
The Monsters in this game are not completely frightening. In fact, one of them you don't even see. The two kinds of enemies in the game (yes, only two that you ever see) are called Servant Grunts and Servant Brutes. I am unsure which exactly is which, but it honestly doesn't matter, because you aren't about to hang around long enough to stop and ask these badass motherfuckers.
Their design is relatively humanoid, but they are mutilated beyond comprehension. The first enemy in the game has broken and elongated lower jaw, making it drop over his chest, as well as incredibly sunken in eyes. Honestly, Frankenstien wouldn't look as disturbing as this guy. Better yet is if you run into the fucker and he just turns around to stare at you. The shock factor of his features is enough to make you soil yourself. The later enemy in the game I didn't get a particularly good look at, but after seeing the first one?
I really don't think I want to know.
The Ambience in this game is beyond amazing. Wear headphones if you play this game, and you might have to force yourself not to throw them off or turn the volume down. This game's music and ambient sounds are possibly the
most frightening thing in this entire fucking game. Moans, whimpers, animal cries, creaks, groans, screams, people muttering and people crying are just a few of the noises in game that you tend to hear everywhere, and the developers really made use of stereo sound capabilities. A scream in your left ear and a yelp in your right is enough to make you edgy.
The music in itself sounds more like background ambience than actual music. It creates a very eerie atmosphere and it generally doesn't get better; there must be one song in the entire game that I actually found to be musical and calming. Everything else was either silent or made me want to sob my heart out while huddling next to the one candle already lit in the level. Top rating for the fear factor the music creates; this game would be a dead stone without it.
Also, the music played when a monster sees you and chases you? Words don't describe how fucking creepy it is. Trust me, you will run when you hear that music, if only to make it go away.
The Plot is not more scary than it is... creepy. I think if you had the plot on it's own, most people wouldn't bat an eyelash at it or consider it frightening. It's a very good plot however and it leaves a lot open for you to interpret even after you've beaten the game, which I've always found to be a strong suit in games. It's also a plot that gives very little away and in fact, is almost a bit
too complex. It keeps you playing the game because you really want to know what happens next. You might even need to play it twice to fully understand several aspects.
Overall this game is a work of art among survival horrors. It's a purely psychological horror that fucks with your mind at every given opportunity and it does so with pride. I have never played or even watched something this scary, I'm frightened by things I even
expect to happen. I have to give a game credit when it makes me shit a brick over something I
already knew was scripted into the game.
The best part is I want to keep playing it. It's such a good fucking scare and they do such an amazing job of frightening the shit out of you that you
want to go back for more. This game would have been an utter testament to horror games if it scared the shit out of you and made you never play it again, but the fact it makes you want to keep coming back for more makes it one of the
best survival horror games produced in the last several years. Honestly, I love this game, I love how much it scares me and I would recommend you seriously support this game.
Play the demo, at least. If you like it? Buy it. It's
incredibly cheap for a game
this fucking good.