And that's when my husband told me that I nearly broke his eardrum and was grounded from playing Amnesia: The Dark Descent until I could learn to control my screams. I quickly shoved my character into a closet before saving and exiting the game, ashamed at my own lack of control.
As far as survival horror games go, this one has got my vote as the best. Not only is it the scariest game I have ever played, the storyline is fantastic and draws you in to it's dark reality. I thought that as an experienced paranormal investigator I might be immune to this game's frightening moments, as I've become immune to most of the horror movies these days. (I mostly blame that onto what horror films have become, but I'll move on). This is of course not the case with Amnesia. Even replaying through the first part, I find myself drawn in once again and freaking out right along with Daniel.
The beginning of Amnesia: The Dark Descent can be very confuddling at first. You're seeing only flashes of the scene around you as your character struggles to remind himself who he is. After a few of those you finally black out. The next time you wake up you find a note that you have written to yourself, explaining that your name is Daniel and that you have to descend to the pits of this fortress to kill some guy named Alexander. Oh, and by the way, there's a shadow chasing you, so you might want to not let it catch you. Oh well, that's good to know.
And with those words you begin your terrifying journey. I absolutely love the way this entire game is setup. The attention they put into every little detail is amazing! And although the scenery is a bit creepy, you have to admit that it's pretty freakin' amazing. Going through the game you're constantly surrounded by background noises which only add to the paranoia that something is after you. You start to hear footsteps around you, groaning, doors opening and closing, and it doesn't help that your character, Daniel, tends to let out a whimper every now and then.
Now the thing that I feel really sets this game apart from any other in it's genre is that sure, they've got creepy looking monsters just like any other horror based game, except in Amnesia you can't do a thing about it. That's right, you're supposed to go the entire game without any weapons of any sort. The closest thing you've got is hurling boxes and chairs at the enemy, and those only stun them for a short time. It's a game based around running, hiding and playing it safe. So be sure to look around corners, or you'll be coming face to face with one scary looking Grunt. Oh, and don't even get me started on the monsters in the water…
Check out this teaser for some intense moments in game play.
Also, as you would probably have imagined, this game has inspired some rather amusing reaction videos as well. This video has a few of my favorites. Although be warned, there are spoilers as well as swearing.
And finally, last but not least of the videos is a great live action version of Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
This guy is hilarious, but I don't know who to be more afraid of, the ex-girlfriend, or the ex-boyfriend who's breaking into his ex-girlfriend's apartment in the middle of the freakin' night.
And finally, great news for all of your lovers of the game. It does look like there is a sequel in the works. A teaser website is up with an awesome looking picture. When the website was first published when clicked the picture would take you to a Google map of China, but now it seems to be pointing to a small island off the coast of the UK. What could this mean? The teaser site nextfrictionalgame has been confirmed to be a legit part of Frictional Games, the original developer of Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
So if any of you are fans of the game, let me know what you think of it in the comments. Also, if you've got any video of you freaking out, I would desperately love to see it. ;)
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