Walking down a hall, following a trail of weird-colored liquid. Not sure why I'm doing this. Seems like a bad idea.
Oh, look. A couple cabinets. This should help me save when the cosmic horrors start chasing me. Make sure they're both open so I can jump into one. No, wait, if I jump into one and close the door, the mind-bendingly horrible beast from being the stars might see one open, one closed, and get wise to my act. Close one, leave one open so I can jump in and close the door behind me. Will I be able to do that in time? Oh well.
OH SHIT A DOOR BLEW OPEN. ...why am I walking into the room with the blown open door? "It's just the wind" doesn't work in a game like this...
*walking into a dark room* HOLY SHIT THERE'S A DUDE THERE. ...no, wait, there's nothing here. Just a silhouette in the darkness. Oops, I better not stare. It might be sensitive. I'll bet it'll eat me if I sit here staring at it.
What's that sound? Why is the world getting bigger? No, wait, I'm just slumping to the ground crawling along like I just got off a bender. ...I'll bet a monster'll jump out of this next room while I can barely move. No? No. Oh well, keep moving.
Keep following the blood/goo stuff--SHIT, another door blew open...and it's really getting dark.
...is someone throwing plastic silverware into a blender up ahead?
Why is this door locked?
...I can't take this shit anymore *save, quit*
This may sound nonchalant, but imagine that with about 50% more "I'm going to pee my pants," about a dozen more whimpers and cries of terror, and you have the first HALF AN HOUR of Amnesia. Christ, I haven't even seen a monster yet...I'm playing it in BROAD DAYLIGHT and I can't play more than half an hour at a time. This game is masterfully crafted. I don't usually like horror, but I felt like I had to buy it for the experience. Good thing I only paid $10 for it...I doubt I'll be able to finish it, but my hat's off to Frictional Games for understanding the genre. I got through a good chunk of Silent Hill 2, and people say that that game is terrifying. And certainly games like Bioshock and (presumably) Dead Space just don't hold a candle to this. Sure, some of the monsters can be startling, and the splicers in Bioshock are certainly unsettling, but once you see them up close (and blow their heads off with a high-powered shotgun), the game looses some of its fear-factor. I remember being terrified early on in Bioshock...but after about an hour, it lost all of its ability to scare me...largely because even the Big Daddies weren't even a threat (even when I did choose to fight them)
But Amnesia...this is a game that has me on the ropes in 15 minutes. And I haven't seen anything truly life threatening yet. Indeed, that's why the game is terrifying. First of all, thanks to some brilliant advertising, you know that if you see a monster...you're already too late. You can't fight. All you can do is run and hide. And second of all, this game truly capitalizes on anticipation. Anyone who knows what they're getting into knows that this game is going to be terrifying...so their mind is doing all of the work. All Amnesia has to do is make some funny noises, keep the lights low, do weird things with the camera, and blow the doors open once in awhile. I am genuinely afraid that if I continue playing I will lose control of my bladder/bowels/both. I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys a good scare...and has steel innards.
As for me, I need to go play League of Legends to relax. Ciao.
As for me, I need to go play League of Legends to relax. Ciao.
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