Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs

Post-Launch Review

Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs

Developer: The Chinese Room

Released: September 2013

Played: complete in 3h18min

About

In the year 1899, Oswald Mandus wakes up in is bed, wracked with fever. He does not remember why his manor is empty, nor the cause of the shaking and the racket of the colossal machine beneath. Haunted by nebulous memories of an expedition to Mexico and a campaign against the corruption of the Empire, Mandus delves into the bowels of the machine and the horrors within to save his children.

Mechanics and Narrative: Horror

Horror games face a tricky conundrum: how do you make the player feel vulnerable and scared - and how do you do it without making the game seem unfair?

The most obvious method is to use darkness. Most people are scared of the dark at some point in their life, and for many people that fear takes a long time to fade. For some, it never does. The reason is simple: we can't see in the dark. Our intelligence and imagination are a weakness here: when we can't see what's there, anything we imagine could be there. For this reason, most horror games put you in the dark and give you a limited source of light - a flashlight or lantern, for example. 

Of course, just because everyone does it doesn't mean that everyone does it well.

Top Ten Games, 2011 Edition

First things first: this is NOT a Top Ten Games of 2011. This is a list of my top ten games as of 2011. There are no qualification requirements other than that I like the game — they didn't have to have been released this year, I'm not looking at any specific genre or platform. Furthermore, I don't play enough new games to have a top ten of 2011 list. Nope, these are just my ten favourite games as of 2011. Although I've also included an Honourable Mentions section because picking only 10 games is haaaarrrrrrrddddddd.

The games are in alphabetical order. If you're a regular reader, you'll know I'm loathe to assign numerical scores, so I'm not ordering this list in any way that suggests a #1 game. If you're not a regular reader, well, now's as good a time as any to check out what Post-Launch Reviews is about.

Some of the game names are links. Those links will take you to the full review of the game. The others? Well, consider them to be on the to-review list.

Penumbra series

Post-Launch Review

Penumbra series

Developer: Frictional Games

Publisher: Paradox Interactive

Released: Overture, March 30 2007; Black Plague, February 12 2008; Requiem, August 27 2008.

Note: I'm reviewing the Penumbra series as a whole because they're short episodic games that form a complete story. Just for reference, the entire trilogy took me about nine hours, or roughly three hours per game.

About

The Penumbra games are a first-person survival-horror adventure series. You play as Philip, a man whose mother has recently died and whose father, whom Philip has never before met or spoken to, sends him a cryptic letter. Following the clues, Philip makes his way to an abandoned mine, where he is soon trapped by a cave-in. He is forced to search the mine for a way out, dealing with oversized monstrous fauna, an insane survivor, and scraps of history dating back decades. As Philip uncovers more clues it becomes apparent that something sinister and horrific is going on.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Post-Launch Review, Special Halloween Edition

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Developer: Frictional Games

Publisher: Frictional Games

Released: September 8 2010

I apologize for the lack of screenshots; as I wrote the review I realized I'd already uninstalled the game to free up space. They may be added at a later date.

About

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a first-person survival horror adventure game (that's a mouthful) inspired by classic adventure games and the work of H.P. Lovecraft. You play as Daniel in the year 1839, who awakens in seemingly abandoned Brennenburg Castle with no memory of how he got there. All he can remember is that something is hunting him, and that he must escape it.