All he can remember is his name, that he lives in Mayfair and that something is hunting him. Shortly after awakening, Daniel discovers a note written to himself, from which he learns that he has deliberately erased his own memory, and that he needs to descend into the Inner Sanctum of the castle to kill the Baron, Alexander.”
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is the reason I got ahold of a gaming PC. Survival horror games come and go but Amnesia came out of nowhere and took everyone by surprise. Not long after it’s release many “Reaction Videos” started popping up on Youtube showing player’s explosive hysterical reactions to the games many scares and arguably this is the reason why many people, myself included started paying attention to the game. It began to receive a reputation for being “the scariest game ever” I had to see for myself. Having been fascinated with the survival horror genre now for many years I’m on a constant mission to find a game that I could call THE most frightening experience out there and for the longest time I would argue that Silent Hill 2 should be awarded that title. So how scary is Amnesia?
Well pretty f’ing scary to be honest. The best compliment I can give Amnesia is that it does absolutely everything right, a perfect blend of mechanics, pacing, atmosphere and set pieces culminate in a thrilling experience which doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Amnesia masters the survival horror genre by properly exploring both of those concepts, Survival and Horror. It sounds obvious really but all too many games have tried to take on that genre have fell short because you might end up feeling overpowered with weaponry, safe in certain areas and a general feeling of disconnect from the atmosphere. Here’s some of the many ways Amnesia succeeds without giving any spoilers.
By abandoning all combat mechanics, Amnesia makes you feel completely vulnerable, your only choice is to run or hide from the various horrors that could lurk around any corner. Hiding is usually the most prefered method of defence as the game’s “Monsters” managed to quickly catch up if they’ve spied you and rip your giblets out. You’ll find yourself hiding in cupboards or cowering in rooms and though its never specifically demanded you’ll be attempting to poorly barricade the door even though you’re fully aware that those monsters are completely capable of ripping a door off its hinges and that’s bloody scary. Brilliant.
To make things worse Daniel (you) has the stability of Michael J Fox playing Operation. What this means for the player is you have to keep yourself "Sane" by avoiding the dark as much a possible, eye contact with the monsters and various shocking sights you might encounter. While it might sound frustrating it never really hinders the gameplay. The game is paced properly and you always have enough tinderboxes to light candles in certain areas. I may have encountered one occasion where my sanity dropped so low Daniel collapsed to the floor for a few seconds and the field of vision becomes very blurry but thats about it. It doesn't really add anything gameplay wise but Daniel's elevated breathing and soft whimpers will certainly add to the atmosphere.
The game also does well at creating these scenarios where you as the player are thrown in the deep end, to give an example a later stage of the game has you go to a morgue and while exploring you are alerted by the telltale siren that indicates a monster is on your tail and you're only choice is to hide behind a large pile of naked dead bodies, having to cautiously peep out to ensure the creature has lost your scent and also ignore a dead man’s penis next to your face. That’s enough to scare anyone if you ask me.
The whole game oozes with the Lovecraftian aesthetic from the Occult imagery and brilliantly twisted monster design to the sacrilegious artifacts perverting men’s minds into creating dimensional rifts to another world. It’s very easy to become immersed in the world. Everything feels very bleak every interior feels poisoned or decaying and there are even times when fleshy tumours start to grow and pulsate making it seem that the castle itself is out to get you.
Sound design is suitably chilling as well, all of the horrible creaks and clangs you would expect to hear in a haunted castle along with more subtle noises of the hissing of cockroaches and scurrying of mice, oh and there’s also the near constant cries of help from prisoners being tortured who may or may not even be there it can really get to you after a while. Perhaps the greatest piece of sound in the game is the monster’s “siren” which I briefly mentioned before that ring’s out to alert you to give it legs. The best way I could describe it is a cross between nails down a chalkboard, a fire engine and your morning alarm clock, it’s horribly effective and hit’s you like a punch.
Above all things Amnesia succeeds in what I consider the defining trait that makes a survival horror game successful is making you, the player paranoid. It’s the negative space the game gives you in between, where the real fear happens. The moment’s of anticipation between events where you’re mind tries to conjure what could possibly lurk around the corner. The moments where you’ll double take or close doors behind you, allocate good hiding places for the future and ensure you have an escape route in case anything happens. After all the most horrific fears are the ones conjured in your own mind.
So this leaves us with one question, Do I think Amnesia is scarier than Silent Hill 2? Well, It’s a close one and its something I’d like to discuss in more detail, so consider this a teaser for an upcoming article where I’ll be comparing the two...
Amnesia isn’t for everyone but I can assure you it won’t give you nightmares so if you think you’re brave enough, give it a shot.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is available for download on PC and MAC through STEAM.
Thank’s for reading,
Kris
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