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I could point you to the survival horror genre that this title was a landmark for. Name a survival horror game post 2010, they inspired themselves with it.
I could point you to how much dreary detail and evils lurk beneath each note that so many left behind. If there's one thing you should take away from this, its this: Explore and be thorough. You will find more useful items and lore that is truly truly worth it.
I could summarize a brilliant story that reveals to you, bit by bit, evil, guilt and maybe, just maybe, redemption. The most you can hope for is truly disturbing imagery and darkness, ever encroaching darkness. It seems like the worst part, but you will find it's something far scarier than an enemy.
Or I could tell you to put on the lights if you fear getting through it for years, like I did. There's no shame in consuming guides if that's what it takes. Or having a friend guide you, like I did.
Will it prepare you for Amnesia: The Dark Descent? Probably not.
You play as Daniel, a man we initially know precious little about, and not in a good way either. We are in a castle that would probably be cozy, if not of the atmosphere and sound around us. We soon find out Daniel fears the dark and there's something... more to this. We explore the hallways and rooms, finding notes to help us make sense of this world. Soon enough we find a note to self. It tells us that:
We chose to forget how we ended up here.
We must kill Alexander of Brennenburg
A Shadow is chasing us, a living nightmare.
With that we begin our dark descent.
The gameplay unravels with ponderous but constant pace. You have your stats, inventory, health... and sanity. Pretty soon we are introduced to some of the strongest sides of the game: The light/dark interplay with sanity. You gain sanity by progressing in game. You lose it by witnessing disturbing events, staring at enemies and staying in the dark. You're told the lower the sanity, the harder it is to deal with enemies. That they'll be alerted if it drops to zero. Sanity alters your perception of reality as it drops: your vision gets blurry and distorted, portraits and other objects change form, hallucinations escalate, sometimes you even hallucinate enemies. On top of the excellently made atmosphere, it can make your play a living hell indeed.
As you progress, if you are thorough, you find tinderboxes to light up torches and candles, and lamp oil for your mobile lantern. You will also find notes to further explain the setting. Much stress will result from the dilemma of preserving sanity or expending the lamp oil with your lantern and/or tinderboxes.
The game rewards those who dare to risk sanity-harming events. You'll find more useful items and be able to appreciate the story more. It is best played cautiously, fearfully, diligently. As you progress, the game will introduce enemies to you: First meekly and from far away, but don't let it deceive you: Half the horror in game comes from your inability to fight the enemies. You can only hide and wait till they leave. You have options: Will you lose sanity to hiding in the dark, turning your fear into your friend? Depending on situation, you'll be trying to hide in rooms, in the dark, be as far away as possible, or will have no choice but to run away in harrowing chase. An occasional puzzle will bring some variety. The game is divided into many levels. It starts linear, but then introduces hubs, from where batches of levels are available to be tackled in any order, barring prequisite items to unlock access. As you proceed towards your goal and explore, the veil of amnesia will slowly wear off. You'll slowly realize who Daniel is, what was he up to, and the motivations and artifacts of those around him. This game features some of the most depraved and inhuman characters around, and to your and Daniel's distress, their works will be expressed here. On your journey, the Shadow, manifested in fleshy residue, will continue to follow you, as if chasing you. Without spoiling too much, let me just say: It is not an enemy. It's something arguably worse.
The evils we witness, the atmosphere, the constant and heavy sense of dread, would not be possible without a stellar sound design. Mikko Tarmia has crafted the OST with loving care, and the sounds you hear all make the horror of it all possible. The events we witness (from mere gust of wind to The Shadow going ham somewhere), the hallucinations of Daniel (there's gonna be plenty of that), even psychic attacks: The game revels in trolling you and teasing you with threat of danger, making you scare yourself, especially when it'd only make things worse. Yet much like the darkness, sound design will be your asset. The enemies are loud, and sound will be your main way to locate them.
The presentation is clearly from early 2010s, with pitiful but servicable textures for these days, and lighting from that era as well. It has its charm and will not stand in the way of you being engaged.
You will witness damp rusty sewers, castle hallways, storage areas, all in the usual rustic castle style. But as you progress, you witness spaces that are either beautiful, claustrophobic and disturbing, or otherworldly in its presentation. Machinery fitting 19th century will often be seen, and be object of progression or puzzles.
This is the game where danger lurks when you don't know what you're doing, but this fear can be overcome. As you go, you will start to know what you're doing, and how to handle encounters. You will harden, but the depravity of what you witness will only escalate. In the end, you will truly have made your dark descent, into what defined Daniel's misery. Will you turn your thoughts to vengeance? Or something more?
A maddening, but ultimately sublime experience. Face a game that made history of the genre. Unveil guilt and hearken for redemption as your sins pile up. Know no defence against the enemy, and be pawn of powers beyond humanity. Relive nightmares. Become afraid of the dark in your own home. Become a lamb for futile sacrifice. Help someone and maybe be helped. Settle a debt and conquer your fears. All this and more in Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
A few tips:
-I feared wasting tinderboxes and lamp oil more than any monster and got my ending with 10 lamp oils and about 30 tinders. Such supply is a peace of mind more than anything.
-Be aware of places to hide in case encounter happens. They're scripted.
-Play with your headphones, or whatever will easily indicate direction of sounds. You'll need it for enemies.