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Amnesia: The Dark Descent

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Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Cover art used in the online release
Developer(s)Frictional Games
Publisher(s)Frictional Games[1]
Designer(s)Thomas Grip
Jens Nilsson
Mikael Hedberg
Composer(s)Mikko Tarmia
EngineHPL Engine 2
Platform(s)Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows
Release'Online'Retail
Genre(s)Action adventure, survival horror[1][2]
Mode(s)Single-player

Amnesia: The Dark Descent (previously known as Lux Tenebras or Unknown[5]) is an action adventure, survival horror game by Frictional Games, who previously developed the Penumbra series.[6] Released for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux platforms, the game features an unarmed protagonist exploring a dark and foreboding castle, while avoiding monsters and other obstructions as well as solving puzzles.[7] The game was critically well received, earning two awards from the Independent Games Festival and numerous positive reviews.[8]

Originally released independently as an online digital download, the game has since been published as retail by 1C Company in Russia and Eastern Europe as well as THQ in North America.[9][10][11] A collection of five short stories set in the world of Amnesia, written by Mikael Hedberg and illustrated by the games concept artists, was also made available.[12] In addition, the games soundtrack is available for purchase and a free content expansion called "Justine" has been released as well as several fan made expansions and stories.[13]

Gameplay

In a similar vein to the developer's previous games, Amnesia is an exploration-based adventure game played from a first-person perspective. The game retains the physical object interaction used in the Penumbra series, allowing for advanced physics based puzzles and interactions such as opening doors and fixing machinery.[7]

Amnesia does not give the player access to weapons. As such, the player must use their wits to escape and hide from the monsters until they lose interest in finding the player. However, monsters are very capable of tearing down doors in their path and kicking obstacles out of the way. Players can also choose to hide in the shadows at the cost of slowly losing their sanity. Another thing the player can do is barricade doors with rocks, chairs, and other obstacles. But the monsters do move very quickly when alerted, so the player has to be quick.

Separate from the player's health indicator is an indication of the character's sanity. Being in darkness too long, witnessing unsettling events, or staring at the monsters for too long will reduce the character's sanity. As the sanity level decreases, visual and auditory hallucinations start to occur and the player is noticed by monsters more easily. Using tinderboxes to light candles and other light sources, as well as a lantern found near the beginning of the game, the player can stop their sanity from draining. However, the number of tinderboxes is limited, and the lantern cannot be used when the oil is depleted. Standing in a light source can also make the player more easily noticed by monsters. This forces the player to find a balance between the amount of time they spend in light and shadow. Sanity is restored to full once the player completes an objective or progresses the game's story. It may also be restored by staying in the shadows until the player character passes out, but this makes him extremely vulnerable to any nearby monsters.

Story

Set in the year 1839, the game casts the player in the role of Daniel, a young man from London, who awakens in the dark halls of the Prussian Brennenburg Castle with little to no memory about himself or his past.[6] All he can remember is his name, that he lives in Mayfair and that something is hunting him.[14][15]

Daniel's situation and additional information about the backstory is found through diary entries and notes that the player can find during their journey, and flashbacks as Daniel recalls old memories of the castle. Shortly after waking, Daniel finds a note written by himself that explains how he purposely made himself forget his past, for reasons yet unknown. The note urges Daniel to descend into the castle's Inner Sanctum and murder a man named Alexander, the baron of the castle. The note gives a final warning that a "living nightmare" is chasing him, and Daniel must escape it for as long as he can.

Daniel decides to follow his former self's advice and explores the castle halls to descend to the Inner Sanctum. As he explores, Daniel occasionally finds a fleshy substance growing on the walls and doors, a sign of the "nightmare" getting closer and closer. Through the diary entries scattered around the rooms, the cause of the castle's fall into ruin begins to become clear. Before his arrival at the castle, Daniel went on an archaeological expedition to Africa with his friend and colleague Professor Herbert in order to research an ancient burial chamber. Whilst there, Daniel encountered a large underground chamber during a dig, much older than the one they had expected to find based on their research. A sudden collapse of stone trapped Daniel inside the chamber where he began to suffocate, but also experienced a strange vision of a glowing blue sphere of light. Attempting to grab it, he suddenly blacked out and woke up being rescued by Arab diggers with the pieces to an ancient Orb in his hands.

Daniel returned to England at the request of Herbert and attempted to fit the pieces together but was puzzled to find out that they did not fit together. Stranger still, the pieces appeared to be changing shape and texture. To find out more, Daniel visited famed geologist Sir William Smith. The geologist was unsure of what was causing the changes, and assumed it was just a natural occurrence. Later, Daniel received a letter about the fate of the expedition he left behind and it was revealed that only the empty campsite was found. Herbert and his men had vanished and the lone survivor, who was grievously injured, kept rambling about something hunting down the expedition. Some of Herbert's journals were sent back to England and Daniel picked them up. Herbert claimed to have descended into the ancient chamber and retrieved the Orb himself, making it impossible for Daniel to have the fragments.

Daniel continues to explore Brennenburg Castle and is soon hunted by disturbing, nightmarish mutilated creatures as well as the "Shadow". He also begins to experience visions of the events in the castle's past, including what Alexander, his target, had done in many of the chambers. Daniel is shocked to realize Alexander had been performing inhumane experiments on animals in order to find "vitae", a substance he saw as essential for some sort of mystical ritual. He is also shown to be ruthless, even going as far as to poison and kill his own men to prevent them telling the outside world what he had been doing inside the castle. It is also hinted at that the monstrosities that chase Daniel may have been created through their experimentation. Daniel also experiences flashback visions of him and Alexander talking to one another, presumably on their way to the Inner Sanctum. Daniel continues his journey down into the depths of the castle through the use of Alexander's elevator, which takes him down into the underground prison area of the castle.

Further diary entries show that despite being haunted by nightmares every night, Daniel was able to reassemble the Orb after one such dream told him it could be done. The object fitted together without any adhesive and now sat in Daniel's drawing room in a complete form. Daniel went to Herbert's university to get some answers about the relic, and saw Professor Taylor to find out more. He learned that the Orbs appeared to have left a mark on English culture, even inspiring royal symbology. The Orbs had, supposedly, originally been wielded by priests. On his way out, he overheard a conversation from which he learned that William Smith had been killed only a fortnight after Daniel spoke to him. Through more flashbacks, Daniel learns he went to see Dr. Tate about his nightmares, but was not able to get a diagnosis. Days later, both Professor Taylor and Dr. Tate were killed in horrific ways, and convinced Daniel that he was somehow to blame for their deaths. Thinking he would be next, Daniel tried contacting many names in Herbert's address book and received a cryptic response from a baron in Prussia who claimed he could protect him from some unknown force. The letter was signed 'Alexander' and urged Daniel to come to Brennenburg Castle immediately.

Once at the castle, Daniel began to assist Alexander in various tasks designed to keep the living nightmare away from him. Revealed to be a Guardian of the Orb, the "Shadow" would not take long to arrive. During this time, Daniel also allowed Alexander to use his Orb in their attempted rituals to banish the Shadow later on. On a tour of the castle, Alexander revealed not only Brennenburg's function as a prison, but also that the inmates would be used in arcane rituals needed to save Daniel. The Shadow began to draw even closer, until finally the partial failure of a ritual allowed it into the castle. Panicking, Daniel told Alexander he would do whatever it took to survive and unwittingly played right into the baron's hands.

Back in the current time-line, close to the Inner Sanctum, Daniel meets an old frail man chained to the wall near the castle's laboratory. The man is Agrippa, a friend of Alexander's, who helped him gain knowledge of the Orb's powers many years ago. His consciousness is now trapped in a dead husk so that Alexander may use him as a source of information. Agrippa asks Daniel to create a concoction to set him free from his body and stop Alexander from using the Orbs. Searching for ingredients, Daniel finds himself in a part of the castle littered with gruesome torture rooms. Through flashbacks and more diary entries, it becomes clear Daniel chose to lose his memories in order to forget the atrocities he committed.

Alexander began telling Daniel about different methods of extracting vitae from the prisoners [whom Alexander claims are murderers and vile men, but it is suggested that many were not] down in the castle depths, claiming the process would keep the Shadow away from him. Daniel followed him without question because of his increasing desperation and helped to perform gruesome rituals on the prisoners using various methods of torture, thinking that he would save himself through the process. Using such items as an iron maiden and a brass bull, Daniel ended up becoming the very thing he was killing and even went as far as to kidnap local villagers and children from outside the castle to use for the rituals. Consumed by grief, regret and disgust at his actions, Daniel drank a memory-destroying Amnesia tonic to have a fresh start and fix what he had done. He realized that Alexander had manipulated him in order to obtain the Orb to achieve his goal and swore that the baron would die for his actions, leading to the events at the start of the game.

As he progresses, Daniel is attacked by three monsters and is locked up in one of the castle prison cells. He hears Alexander speaking to him telepathically, thanking him for his role in everything and for keeping the Shadow away from the baron. At this point, it is possible to end the game- Alexander asks Daniel to wait in the cell and let the shadow consume him, and it is possible to do just that. The cell will fill with the fleshy substance, Daniel will hear the voices of the people he's tortured, and then the shadow will kill him. If Daniel manages to escape, he will be able to return to the laboratory and find that the Shadow's influence has grown over absolutely everything. Agrippa asks Daniel for the potion. If the player has found the ingredients, then the potion can be made in the lab and fed to Agrippa. The old man then asks that his head be cut off and taken with Daniel to stop Alexander and get into a "portal" before he does. If the player did not find the ingredients, then Daniel enters the Inner Sanctum alone. He uses the power of his own Orb to open the way and goes to complete his objective.

Inside the massive chamber, Daniel finds Alexander floating naked in midair, engulfed by a blue-glow. Surrounding the Orb are three fragile pillars that are feeding blue-hued energy to it in order to complete the ritual. Alexander thanks Daniel once again and rants about how he can finally return "home" once again. Three possible endings to the game can happen at this point.

If the player chooses to knock over the pillars, then the ritual fails. Alexander screams as his body disintegrates, and Daniel leaves the chamber. The Shadow's influence is assumed to be gone through his redeeming actions, and the game ends with Daniel leaving Brennenburg Castle behind with a guilt-free conscience.

If the player does nothing at first, the portal Alexander wants to open appears and he begins to float towards it, leaving Daniel to face the Shadow alone. If the player uses Agrippa's head on the portal, then the ritual will be completed before Alexander can get through, resulting in his death. Daniel is seemingly killed by the Shadow but wakes up in darkness with small blue lights visible in the distance. The voice of Agrippa assures him everything is going to be all right and the game ends.

The third possible ending occurs if the player does nothing at all, either not having Agrippa's head to use in the portal, or choosing not to use it. As Alexander enters the portal, The Shadow and the souls of the tortured consume Daniel, killing him. However, afterwards Alexander is heard telling Daniel that he will be celebrated forever. The same ending occurs if the player waits in a cell he's trapped in for several minutes after being captured by the Gatherers in a scripted event towards the end of the game.

Characters and monsters

  • Daniel - The main protagonist of the game. Apart from his English nationality, not much is known of him except for the diary pages that suggest that he is an archaeologist, his sister Hazel had a sickness growing up, and his father was an artisan who beat him. Daniel was, according to in-game text, bullied during primary school by a boy named Henry Bedloe. In the African desert on an expedition with his friend Herbert, Daniel discovered a tomb containing the mysterious Orb. From then on, a "shadow" had been hunting him, killing almost everyone he had contact with. He sought the help and refuge of Alexander of Brennenburg. Alexander told Daniel that he could ward off the Shadow only with the use of mystical vitae extracted from tortured prisoners. Desperate to escape the Shadow, Daniel complied, convincing himself that his victims were worthless criminals who deserved no better. After Alexander abandons him, Daniel swears revenge and, suddenly filled with remorse over his deeds, drinks the Amnesia mixture at the start of the game to purge his horrible memories and seek redemption.
  • Alexander of Brennenburg - The main antagonist of the game. Alexander is a being who has been masquerading as a succession of Prussian barons during his centuries-long life. He gathered as many of the Orbs as he could find in hopes of opening a portal, possibly to reunite with his long dead wife or to his original homeland/world. He tortured captured victims to extract a mystical "vitae" from them, with which to perform mystical rituals in order to achieve this goal. Alexander displays a sociopathic level of cruelty and manipulativeness. He manipulated Daniel into helping him with his horrific experiments, promising him protection from the Shadow in return. However, as soon as Daniel's work was complete, Alexander sealed himself in his Inner Sanctum and abandoned Daniel. It is worth noting that he is not a completely evil character; in his notes he expresses some remorse for Daniel's corruption and of the things he has done.
  • Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa - The infamous German occult writer and supposed magician. Not much is known about his relationship with Alexander, aside from the fact that they were working together and researching the Orbs. Alexander keeps him imprisoned in a dead husk of a body so that he could use his knowledge to perform rituals involving the Orbs.
  • The Shadow - An unseen force that is hunting Daniel. Its sole purpose is to guard the Orb that Daniel took from the burial chamber and has killed numerous people to achieve that end. While it is not seen as a physical being, it is described as a huge sluggish mass of darkness and leaves behind a fleshy damaging substance over anything it touches. One note hypothesizes that it is the will of the universe seeking to catch up with and contain the unnatural force of the Orb itself, but this might only have been colorful speculation.
  • The Gatherers - The main enemies of the game. They are Alexander's servants who became victims of the Shadow, and are seen as monstrous humanoids with deformed facial and bodily features. These enemies come in two variations, Grunts and Brutes, and patrol parts of Brennenburg Castle, attacking Daniel if sighted. Since Daniel is weaponless, they cannot be killed and have to be avoided. Grunts are horrifyingly disfigured monstrosities which have had their hands cut off and replaced with iron claws. Their offset eyes resemble those of a reptile. They appear to have had their lower jaw severed, and it now flops out over their chest. Brutes are malformed humanoids wearing overalls and with frankenstein-esque bolts and nails jutting out of their flesh. They attack with a blade on an iron pole sticking out of their arm. An interesting note on the possible origin of the Gatherers can be found in the Wine Cellar, where a flashback Daniel has depicts a group of Alexander's men having horrific bodily reactions to wine they consumed, saying things such as "I feel like my chest is going to burst!". One Particular note, however, states that they are deserters of the Thirty Years' War, who got lost in the forests around Brennenburg, forced to forever haunt it, dragging with them anyone unlucky enough to venture in. These creatures cannot be killed; however if an object such as a rock or barrel is thrown at one, it will become momentarily immobilized, leaving the player a small window to escape.

If a monster spots Daniel, it will chase him until he's out of sight. If Daniel gets out of their line of sight they will proceed to search for Daniel for a time, but will eventually leave and vanish. At several points in the game, they are required to advance, as they will tear down a problematic obstacle in their path.

Expansion content

On April 12, 2011 Frictional Games released an extra free level for owners of the Steam version of Amnesia. This additional campaign is set apart from Brennenburg Castle. "Justine" was released on Steam as a way to promote the upcoming release of Portal 2, as getting 100% on the campaign (all of the collectables, all of the analysis and making correct choices) unlocks a message from fictional company Aperture Science. The expansion was made available for all of the games supported platforms and versions as part of the Amnesia v1.2 update.[12]

Custom stories

It is possible to create custom stories for Amnesia that can then be loaded in the game.[16] Various tools for the HPL2 Engine have been released that allow the creation of own levels, models, particle effects and materials, using an interface similar to Valve's Hammer Editing Software.[17] Game logic can be implemented using the AngelScript scripting language. Several such stories have already been developed.[18][19][20]

Development

Work began on the game while Penumbra: Requiem was still being developed, with the company working on both projects at the same time.[21] The game was first known under two working titles: Unknown and Lux Tenebras. It was not until November 13, 2009 that it was announced as its current title, Amnesia, with the release of the game's website and a game trailer.[22][23] On February 5, 2010 it was announced that the game had reached the alpha stage of development on all platforms.[24][25][26] Two weeks later the developers released a new Teaser trailer that showed actual game-play footage, and the developers began accepting pre-orders for the game through their website. Also revealed was that the game was at that point being tested on all three intended platforms. It was also announced that the game would be released simultaneously for all of them in August 2010.[27][28] This was later rescheduled, and the game was then expected to have a September 8, 2010 release.[29] It was then later announced on August 27, 2010 that the game had officially gone Gold and would soon be ready to sold.[30] On September 3, the games demo was released containing selected parts of the gameplay and story. It was then successfully released on September 8, 2010.[31]

If the game reached 2000 pre-orders by May 31, 2010, Frictional promised it would release extra content for the game. The goal was finally met in early May, after the pre-orders were offered at a discount made available until May 31. This was done due to the success of Penumbra: Overture as a part of the first Humble Indie Bundle.[32] The extra content was revealed to be commentary,[33] and they explained in the comments section of the same page that its intended function was similar to that of Valve's commentary system that began in the Half-Life 2 series.[34] The authors cite "Soul Made Flesh" by Carl Zimmer and older horror movies such as The Haunting as being inspirations for the mood and style of the game.[35]

Reception

Amnesia has received highly positive reviews with consistent praise given for the ominous atmosphere and horror elements. John Walker of Rock, Paper, Shotgun even went as far as to say that "I think it is safe to say that Amnesia is the most successfully frightening game to have been made."[46] Another reviewer commented, "Oh God. I’ve seen horrible things. Horrible, terrible, disgusting things. They make me cringe, they make me feel gross, they make me depressed. I’ve seen them in Amnesia: The Dark Descent."[47] X-Play added Amnesia to its top ten PC games saying "There are a lot of so called "horror" games out there, this one is no joke. You'll be rocking back and forth and crying in no time". Zero Punctuation's Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw also marked it as his 4th favourite game of 2010 while also saying that "It's not a perfect game, but it's almost unmatched as a constipation aid."[48]

Frictional Games did show some trepidation over the game's initial sales after the first week,[49] but were encouraged by continued sales throughout the first month after the game's release, with Frictional recouping all the expenses from creating Amnesia by early October 2010.[50] By the beginning of January 2011 the developer reported that nearly 200,000 units had been sold, declaring in response that "With these figures at hand, we must confess that it gives us new confidence for the PC."[51] At the 2011 Independent Games Festival Amnesia won awards for both "Excellence in Audio" and "Technical Excellence" along with the "Direct2Drive Vision Award" which included a $10,000 prize.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b "Amnesia: The Dark Descent for PC". Gamespot. CBS Interactive. 2011-02-17. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  2. ^ "Amnesia: The Dark Descent for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  3. ^ http://support.frictionalgames.com/10/
  4. ^ Amnesia: The Dark Descent - System Requirements Frictional Games
  5. ^ Bardin, Maxim (2009-11-03). "Next Frictional Games Title Name Revealed!". Linux Gaming News. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  6. ^ a b Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Game Information Frictional Games
  7. ^ a b Amnesia: The Dark Descent - PC Hands On Eurogamer, July 25, 2010
  8. ^ a b Indie Rock: 2011 IGF Winners Announced Rock, Paper, Shotgun, March 3, 2011
  9. ^ 1C-SoftClub/Snowball to publish Amnesia: The Dark Descent in Russia & Eastern Europe Frictional Games, May 3, 2010 (Article by Jens Nilsson)
  10. ^ Chalk, Andy (2011-02-16). "Amnesia: The Dark Descent Coming to Retail". The Escapist. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  11. ^ Mitchell, Richard (2011-02-16). "THQ places Amnesia: The Dark Descent in a retail box". Joystiq. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  12. ^ a b Bardin, Maxim (2010-11-17). "Amnesia: Justine – Now Available To Everyone". Linux Gaming News. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  13. ^ Amnesia: The Dark Descent gets a free expansion! Frictional Games Blog, April 12, 2011
  14. ^ Interview With Frictional Games – Penumbra/Amnesia (Tgdb.nl) Tgdb Entertainment, May 15, 2010
  15. ^ E3 2010: We talk with Frictional Games about Amnesia: The Dark Descent Big Download, June 19, 2010
  16. ^ In The Games Of Madness: Editors are out! Frictional Games
  17. ^ Tools - HPL2 Documentation Frictional Games
  18. ^ Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Addons Mod DB
  19. ^ Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Mods Mod DB
  20. ^ Finished Custom Stories for Download Frictional Games Forum
  21. ^ Frictional Games On Penumbra And The Future Rock, Paper Shotgun, February 17, 2009
  22. ^ "Amnesia: The Dark Descent Revealed". Blue's News. 2009-11-14. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  23. ^ "Amnesia: The Dark Descent Trailer". GamersHell. 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  24. ^ Amnesia: The Dark Descent goes alpha LinuxGames, February 7, 2010
  25. ^ Alpha - the beginning of the end! Frictional Games Blog
  26. ^ Amnesia: The Dark Descent Reaches Alpha Inside Mac Games, February 9, 2010
  27. ^ Amnesia: The Dark Descent – Teaser, Web Site & Pre-order Linux Gaming News, February 19, 2010
  28. ^ Amnesia: The Dark Descent – Teaser, Web Site and Pre-Order CHARGED, February 19, 2010
  29. ^ Disturbing details regarding the release of "Amnesia: The Dark Descent" revealed! Frictional Games, June 22, 2010
  30. ^ Amnesia: The Dark Descent Gone Gold Linux Gaming News, August 29, 2010 (Article by Maxim Bardin)
  31. ^ Scary New Horror Adventure Available for Linux Linux Journal, September 13, 2010 (Article by Susan Linton)
  32. ^ Insane Amnesia Discount! Frictional Games, May 5, 2010
  33. ^ "some commentary for the release" Frictional Games, May 11, 2010
  34. ^ "similar to the way HL2ep2 does it" Frictional Games, May 11, 2010
  35. ^ Thomas Grip of Frictional Games Speaks on Amnesia: The Dark Descent With GaeaTimes.com Gadgetophilia; September 15, 2010
  36. ^ "Amnesia: The Dark Descent Reviews". Game Rankings. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
  37. ^ "Amnesia: The Dark Descent Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
  38. ^ Bickham, Al (September 6, 2010). "Amnesia: The Dark Descent review". PC Gamer Magazine. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  39. ^ Onyett, Charles (September 3, 2010). "Amnesia: The Dark Descent Review". IGN. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  40. ^ "Amnesia: The Dark Descent Review". Gamespot. September 30, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  41. ^ Smith, Quintin (September 7, 2010). "Amnesia: The Dark Descent PC Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  42. ^ Berens, Nathaniel (September 8, 2010). "review: Amnesia: The Dark Descent". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  43. ^ Biessener, Adam (September 8, 2010). "Horror Done Right". Game Informer. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  44. ^ Nolan, Mark (November 12, 2010). "Review: Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It's Scary". GameKiq. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  45. ^ Smith, Quintin (September 7, 2010). "Amnesia: The Dark Descent PC Review". Igromania. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  46. ^ Wot I Think: Amnesia – The Dark Descent Rock, Paper, Shotgun, September 7th, 2010 (Article by John Walker)
  47. ^ Review: Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It's Scary. GameKiq, November 12, 2010 (Article by Mark Nolan)
  48. ^ [1] Zero Punctuation video
  49. ^ One week after the release of Amnesia Frictional Games Blog, September 15, 2010
  50. ^ One Month after Amnesia's release Frictional Games Blog, October 8, 2010
  51. ^ Four months after Amnesia's release Frictional Games Blog, January 7, 2011

External links

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