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”Don't forget, some things mustn't be forgotten. The shadow hunting me... I must hurry. My name is Daniel, I live in London at... at... Mayfair. What have I done? This is crazy. Don't forget, don't forget! I must stop him! Focus! My name is... is... I am Daniel.”


Introduction

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is an atmospheric survival horror experience where Daniel, the character you play, is defenceless against the horrors he will face as he descends into the darkness of the castle.
But did Amnesia have enough oil in the lantern to stave off insanity, or was it lost to the abyss?


🟩 Positives
🟥 Negatives


🟩 An excellent horror atmosphere combined with how defenceless you are against enemies will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
🟩 Interesting world design coaxes you to explore resources and items and forces you to react quickly to some stressful situations that arise.
🟩 The physics allows for some fascinating puzzle mechanics.
🟩 Amnesia won't win any beauty awards as the dated graphics offer very little visually astounding, but this assists the atmosphere significantly. The grim castle architecture and blood-smeared walls definitely help define the experience from a visual standpoint. The audio is much the same, outdated yet enjoyable.
🟥 The enemy AI is pretty foolish. The monsters hunting you rely on surprise appearances and their speed to catch you.



Story

The game casts you into the role of Daniel, a Londoner who awakens in the dark halls of the Prussian Brennenburg Castle. With little to no memory of himself or his past, all that he remembers is his name and that something sinister is hunting him.
Daniel sets off on his journey, dazed and confused, lost in the maze-like hallways of Brennenburg, until he comes across a note that he had apparently left for himself. The message details that he had forced himself to forget his past to preserve his innocence by utilising an amnesia potion. The letter goes on to urge Daniel to descend the castle in search of his host, a man named Alexander and to murder him and with one final warning that a "living nightmare" is chasing him and that he must find a way to escape because there are no means of fighting it.
Armed with this knowledge and a trusty lantern he was able to scrounge for, he sets off towards the depths of the dark, neglected castle, with horrors and nightmares on his heels.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2999878783
Amnesia: The Dark Descent does an exceptional job of immersing you in this story of deception, betrayal and discovery as Daniel descends into his own living nightmare. The plot is heavily reliant on you searching for and reading the notes scattered across the world, there is limited narrative to the game, and if you don't seek these out, you will be left wondering what is actually happening.

Gameplay Analysis

The darkness, closing in.
🟩 As you will quickly begin to understand as you progress through the story, light is your closest ally and worst enemy. It will protect you from losing your sanity as you wander the castle and witness the supernatural horrors that lurk within it, but you will also need to embrace the darkness to stay out of their sight. Managing this balance is entirely up to you.
🟩 Sanity is a very tangible resource in this game. It will fall as you witness supernatural events or if you spend too long looking at the horrors that roam the halls. The best way to manage this state is by sticking to the light. You can light candles and torches by utilising tinderboxes you can find scattered across the world or your lantern that requires oil to activate. Losing too much sanity causes your vision to blur and your senses to lose focus, and if left to fall totally will cause Daniel to collapse.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2999878703
🟥 The enemies are few and far between and mostly avoidable. They aren't very clever and follow some semblance of a scripted path. The best solution quite often is sitting in a dark corner for a few moments out of sight, and they'll usually get bored and walk away.
A chance to redeem yourself.
🟩 When you're not running, hiding and avoiding the nightmares, you will likely find yourself completing puzzles. There are dozens of puzzles to solve across the castle grounds, ranging in intricacy from simple to sophisticated.
🟩 Many of them are actually remarkably inventive and amusing, especially the deceptively simple ones.

Audio and Visual

As up above, Amnesia isn't going to blow you away with flashy graphics or astounding visuals. It does provide a gritty, atmospheric world that does immerse you in this living nightmare. Despite its dated graphics and design choices, the game still managed to attain a stifled gasp at some of the more stressful panic moments.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2999878456
The audio is actually far more impressive though it's also dated. It provides a fantastic overall ambience to the world, where every footfall raises your tension, and the creak of every door you wish would be silent rings loudly through the halls.

PC Performance and Specifications

Amnesia is an old game, and it's safe to assume most anyone can run it with a somewhat recent computer.
There were no graphical issues to report.

Final Thoughts - Very Good

Review chart here.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a well-recognised survival horror experience within the genre. It paved the way for a lot of the mechanics we know in modern games of its ilk, and I believe it deserves a lot of praise for those commendable efforts. Despite its age, it still manages to deliver an astounding horror experience and sets a benchmark for atmosphere and world design. Definitely recommend this title to anyone who is a fan of the genre.
Thank you to a good friend of mine for inspiring me to play this game and series again.
Don't worry about tinderboxes and lighting torches, head on over to Hell, Purgatory and Paradise to seek true sanctuary against the coming darkness.