Box-stacking puzzles and all the annoyances they present pop up, but are thankfully rare enough to tolerate over the course of Amnesia‘s eight-odd hours of play. Unless, of course, accidentally overlooking a puzzle piece or clue because it wasn’t glowing brightly enough in the shadows for you to notice counts as a challenge. While not nearly as arcane or counterintuitive as the sort typical of more traditional adventure titles, they rarely challenge. It is up to you to investigate the source of the disturbance, and find out what it all means. Daniel has been doing quite well since his escape, but one night, a loud crash awakens him. The game’s puzzles are mostly environmental, usually composed of finding parts in one room and sticking them into some contraption in another room, or arranging and rearranging ingredients to mix potions and the like, based on hints found in scattered notes or the environment. A custom story for Amnesia: The Dark Descent in which you once again take on the role of Daniel, roughly one year after his ordeal at Brennenburg. And even then, trying for the nearest light source poses an element of risk, as staying in the light makes it easier for monsters to find you. Some of the game’s most frightening moments occur when you find yourself running out of lantern fuel and a monster’s appearance or unlucky gust of wind has snuffed out all the torches, leaving you to scramble blindly into unknown territory in search of oil, tinder or a dim candle. As the game goes on, you’ll naturally start to dart between light sources, huddling near one while you try to figure out where you are and how long you’ll be able to last in the shadows before having to bring up your lantern or use up your limited tinderboxes to ignite a nearby candle or torch. Light is also treated as a precious resource, as it’s the only way to preserve sanity. Daniel whimpers, his breathing turns ragged, and at sanity’s nadir, the mouse even lags, giving the impression that you, the player, are not so much Daniel himself as you are a passenger in his mind, struggling harder to control his actions as Daniel’s ability to perform them deteriorates. As sanity drains, the field of view warps, making nearby surfaces swim, shiver, and deform. But unlike seeing a meter drain or contrived bloodstains on the screen as in most first-person games, the effects of an ebbing mind extend beyond the visual. in the dark or in the presence of an enemy) and it drains. Stay too long in a dangerous situation (i.e. The game treats sanity as other games might treat health. That tension adds to the atmosphere and magnifies the sense that you are, at all times, teetering on the brink of madness or death (sometimes both). Amnesia traps you in the uncomfortable position of having to keep from going completely insane as you play, but all the while, it’s constantly forcing you to manage your limited resources and leave your few safe zones, which themselves can be compromised. The story starts with Daniel on an archaeological dig, where he found a strange orb.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |