Amnesia: Dark Descent

[Summer 33]

Hi guys. Is Amnesia: Dark descent super scary? It's on sale at Steam, -80%, so I thought about it. But... how scary is it? Would you recommend it for people who want their families to cash in their life insurance once they die of game-induced heart attack?

[Taquito 158]

I just downloaded Amnesia a few days ago for free on Steam. I just couldn't continue after around 5 to ten minutes. The game aesthetics and art direction have some similarities with TDM. I think the best thing is the sound it's just amazing you can tell exactly the direction a sound is coming from. That's something I think TMD should try to emulate. If you like games like Silent Hill, Alien Isolation and the kind that uses great atmosphere and tension with sound, Amnesia is for you.

[brethren 196]

Keep in mind too it's a game like Outcast where you run and hide for the entire game, you aren't able to fight back or use any kind of weapons at all. For some people, the scare and horror factor goes way up when the ability defined yourself is removed.

[DeusXIncognita 33]

Keep in mind too it's a game like Outcast where you run and hide for the entire game, you aren't able to fight back or use any kind of weapons at all. For some people, the scare and horror factor goes way up when the ability defined yourself is removed.

Did you mean Outlast? I know an Outcast, but its nothing like being horror or unarmed:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outcast_(video_game)

 

While Outlast seems to fit the bill:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlast

[brethren 196]

Yes, I did mean Outlast, the game that was released just a couple of years ago.

 

http://store.steampowered.com/app/238320

[Sotha 1905]

Amnesia is great and you should play it if you like the horror FMs TDM has to offer. I wouldn't say that Amnesia is more scary than TDM horror missions. The puzzles stop you more than the horror, I think. Amnesia does the atmosphere really well and you will feel uneasy and threatened, but sudden scares it does fairly rarely (which is the correct way to do sudden scares.)

 

But I can say it is really well done and the story is interesting. I recommend it highly.

[Xarg 173]

Amnesia is more of a grinding, constant tension that wears you down, as opposed to short sharp spikes of fear (see jumpscares). It almost never lets up on you, and when it does, your paranoia probably doesn't even let you enjoy the brief respite. Highly recommended.

[Eyeshine 35]

Games like Amnesia really need to be played in the dark with head phones for max affect.

Do I sound like that when playing

Edited September 19, 2015 by Eyeshine

[HMart 283]

Amnesia should be played alone at night in a slight dark room and with headphones (this is the way the developers intended) but it brings the fear amount so high that some people just give up on it, i played like that and i can attest to the sense of fear.

[Summer 33]

That video was effing awesome! Never heard so many guys scream like little girls!!!

 

Geez, looks scary... Then again, it's less than $4, so I guess I could buy it. And then play for two minutes, relax for a month, then another two minutes (if survive), take a week's break, etc.

 

Sotha mentioned that the feel resembled that of the TDM horror missions. I think my light contrast might be way up high because it's not even half as dark as the videos show this game to be. Hmm, maybe I need to do some readjusting.

 

Thanks for the recommendation, guys!

[Petike the Taffer 461]

Summer, definitely play Amnesia and the free Justine addon (don't bother with buying A Machine for Pigs). And be sure to play Penumbra and SOMA as well, if you're interested in science fiction horror in moody surroundings. (SOMA has just come out, in fact.)

 

I think Frictional Games are currently the best survival horror authors in the whole industry. They think things through properly, they like to experiment, they're down to earth and focused, and they've accumulated and used their clout well, instead of getting drunk by fame. I've followed their work since 2007 and I'm happy to see a small and essentially hobbyist studio like that slowly but surely receive the accolades it deserves.

[Taquito 158]

Amnesia plays a lot with phobias, specially claustrophobia, agoraphobia and vertigo among others I won't mention cause of possible spoilers. The concave style of the ceilings of an inverted ship, sounds of being inside a submarine etc. These people were really thoughtful with producing fear. I'm pretty sure we will be seeing more games with the same mechanics in the future. Alien Isolation is a good example.

[brethren 196]

@Summer - also remember with Steam's new return policy, you can always try out the game and then if it's too scary for you, return it. Just don't play it for more than 2 hours if you want a refund.