Amnesia: The Dark Decent

Horror games used to be an ignored franchise since the Xbox 360 launched, because during the time, shooters like Halo, and Call of Duty over-shadowed horror while gamers new to the gaming industry doesn't know what true horror is in games anymore. Back then in the PlayStation era, gamers where flooded with games Like Silent Hill, Resident Evil,  and other horror games. While there was some horror themed games, action has always been the main focus, whenever it's a shooter, brawler, or even to plat-formers...somehow...

This brings us to Amnesia: The Dark Decent. From the same makers of penumbra. While it might not be the game that helped pushed horror back upon the market, it was the final push that helped Amnesia to be one of the most loved horror games of all time. This game is all over youtube and helped many youtubers find their first start as lets players for better or for worst. Dispute being an old PC game, it still holds up to the test of time.

The player starts as Danial , a Amnesia stricken protagonist (who is found either bleeding or leaking potion all over the place) then finds a letter from himself to kill a man name Alexander, the cause of all the troubles within the manor he's stuck in. While trying to uncover the past, Danial runs into horrible monsters as well as horrible torture machines, hinting that Daniel gone too deep within the story as he question his own roll within the game.

The gameplay itself is what makes the game, however, it first all started with the same gameplay as penumbra but with improvements, like removing the annoying combat mechanics with the awkward controls. While a game without combat could sound like a nightmare to call of duty fans, this helps magnify the horror within the game. While the player could stall the monsters by trowing chairs and objects, they cannot be killed upright. The only way is to run and hide, to prevent from getting killed from the beast within the game.

While other games handles sanity as an on-and-off effect, Sanity doesn't exactly tie into the health, but rather make Daniel's sight and hearing, which goes crazy as it shrinks lower. When your sanity drops, Daniel goes crazy and falls to the floor, preventing him from temporally moving. To prevent this, the player must stay in the light to raise the sanity back up, but this can lead to situations where the player is spotted by the monster. Thus, the player must choose his play-style carefully...

However, this game dose have it's hiccups. For one, it is EASY to get lost within the game. While some items are easy to find, there is no real map within the game. While it was intentional for online guides and walkthoughs, it's padding in the worst possible way. Sanity also gets annoying later on as it can lead into deaths feeling cheap.

The best part about Amnesia is the mods! There are literally hundred of thousands of mods for Amnesia as much as their is mods for the original Doom games. Some range from silly and sad stories to creepy and horrifying experiences. Some of the mods change the game and even lead up into other games like most mods in Garry's Mod for Steam...for both better and worst.

Overall, I recommend Amnesia, while not as anyone's first horror game, but as a game that everyone needs to at least play once as a good experience to horror. However, I cannot recommend to play this blind as it can lead into frustration. That and the reactions on youtube is always hilarious.