- Concept
- Graphics
- Sound
- Playability
- Entertainment
Prepare to be scared when you decide to journey into the world created in Amnesia: The Dark Descent. This is probably one of the most frightening of all the horror games available.
This game comes from the creepy design team at Frictional Games who have provided us with unsettling games in the past like the Penumbra trilogy. This team of creep loving creators outdid themselves when they were establishing the monsters, haunted places, and game play of Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
The Game Concept
When the game begins it finds you playing in the role of Daniel, a poor soul that has awakened to find his self in lost in the dark and menacing halls of a castle, and the worst part of all is that Daniel does not remember how or why he is there. That’s right, you have amnesia. Daniel (you) will have to follow clues he finds on scraps of paper strewn around the dark hallways, and from entries made into an old diary he discovers, to determine who he is, and why he is there. The entire time that Daniel is searching for the answers to his identity, there are shadowy monsters appearing to stop him, or to eat him, whichever they can accomplish.
You will not have to play the game for very long before you realize that Daniel’s search for the truth about his past, is not going to be an easy task. You also know within a short amount of time, that when he does get his memory back he is not going to be seeing white picket fences, flowery gardens, or picnics on the side of a lake, with his fishing pole, and a dog by his side. You know that something dark and sinister has landed Daniel in the halls of this castle, and that something equally dark and sinister intends to keep him here for eternity, or until he meets his fate at the hands of a monster.
This game gets high review scores from most players for its original content, and the creepiness of the monsters. When using the scoring charts of 1 to 5 points, with 5 being the best score, Amnesia: The Dark Descent commonly scores a high 4.5 among players.
Graphics
The games visual effects are not the very best you have ever seen and because of that, when people score this games graphics on the 1 to 5 point scale, they only give it a 3.0. The visual effects do not stop the excitement in the game from being intense, so you may not even notice that they could be better, until you are playing the game for your second or third time.
Sound
The sounds included in the game are some of the very reason that the game is so spooky. You hear the rain falling outside, and while Daniel is slowly going insane from being trapped in the dark, and being tormented by ghouls, and monsters, he mumbles to himself like a lunatic. You hear footsteps, and you cannot see who, or what is making them, and the wind whistles and rushes through the rooms, sounding cold, and eerie, and blowing out the candles, and the oil lamps that you have worked so very hard to light. Then you will hear screams of the tortured souls crying out in the darkness for help.
The sound effects are good, and you will want to keep them turned on during game play, because they do add an ambiance to the game play.
Playability
This game is not meant for small children, are for those who are easily frightened. It can be difficult to master the mouse moves you must make to maneuver things around within the game. Some of the brain teasers and mini games within the game are difficult to master as well.
The difficulty of learning the skills it takes to play, add to the games appeal. You are not going to just run through the castle opening a door with one simple click. You are going to have to use the mouse to push and pull levers open and closed instead. These moves slow you down until you get the hang of it.
Entertainment Value
This game will not be one of those games that will start to be boring after a few minutes. There are too many things after Daniel, and to many new clues to discover for the player to be bored. Amnesia: The Dark Descent receives a solid 5 on the points scale for its entertainment value.
Replay Value
You will definitely want to repeat this game more than once. The outcome of such actions as your score on the brain teasers determines aspects of the game. So you will want to repeat the game to improve your scores, and to see what different scenarios can occur. You will also want to play again just because it is fun to play.
