Amnesia: The Dark Descent

It was 2009 when Frictional Games released their first horror Penumbra through its success it wouldn’t be long before they came out of the dark and brought out another exciting horror game. The result Amnesia: the Dark Descent. Before I had played this game I never thought that it was possible for a game to be scary even with the great new graphics on all the new releases. The game consists of tricky puzzles and intense missions where you would have to escape from a monster. You start the game finding that you have little memories of your past and that you must follow notes that you wrote in your past to progress through the game.

As the game starts you have little knowledge of your surroundings, you don’t know who you are, what you are doing. As the name suggests you do have Amnesia. For the first hour or so of gameplay you will see little in the way of monsters but lots of darkness. In order to rid the darkness you will find tinderboxes and gas for your lantern. Sadly if you do come across a monster you have little options on how you can react…

• Run!
• Throw  a chair, and then Run!

• Take him out with a Baseball bat
• Equip your shotgun

As well as running away from monsters and keeping out the dark there are various puzzles which require you to have the sufficient items in order to progress. If you decide to rush through the game hoping to avoid monsters you will not get anywhere through the game. At times you will have to go back to rooms you have visited in the past and find important items. There are also optional collectibles to be found most of which give you an idea of who you are and why you are in this castle.

When it comes to games with brilliant sounds and atmosphere amnesia is right up there. The gameplay of amnesia is possibly one of the best experiences you may have the constant eerie noises of floor boards and heavy breathing of nearby monsters keeps you on your toes. When playing through the game you will note that it is important to make an escape route at all times and to check every corner that you walk around if there are any monsters. This game does a great job of keeping you alert at all times and playing this game with a headset definitely adds to the effect. The fact that you only have a limited amount of in game items also makes you feel like you must check every room and corner. I would go as far as a noise in your room is enough to make you jump . You feel as if you are the character in the game. It is easily noticeable that Amnesia has done this well. Overall this a great game and a great story i would recommend this to anyone who is a horror fan or someone who wants to get an early start on a Monday morning. Do not keep clear of this game. Get it.