Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs

I was fooled into buying this game because I really loved Amnesia. It was a damn fine scary game, so I had great expectations. Great expactations this game didn't manage to live up to in the least. Everything that was great about the original Amnesia is gone. The opressive atmosphere of inescapable doom, the madness, the fear. You still get plenty of darkness, but this is made irrelevant by your neverending supply of light from your electrical lamp. So forget all the scavenging for supplies. Infact forget any exploration. The levels are short and disturbingly linear with the solutions to the overly simple puzzles usually lying around the corner or in the worst case a room further down the hallway. Also forget the running and hiding. Your lamp warns you early and most of the monsters seem too bored to actually chase you (far). They don't cause sanity loss either and they're usually too slow and clumsy to be of any concern. There are like 2 points in the game where the monsters might pose a threat, one of them is a jump scare event, the other is a boss fight (I'm being generous calling it that). Another weak point is the story full of obvious plot twists. You will probablly know who's gonna turn out to be evil and who'll be dead by the start of the third level. All in all, the game is an unrewarding walk through a generic storehouses and sewers, that sullies the great name of Amnesia - The dark descent.

Derivative and devoid of any real tension. Hard crashes when you reach chapter 13. I got it for free when purchasing The Dark Descent and I still want a refund.

... But not much else. Yes something something walking simulator, but it's not a bad thing for me. Rather, I'm glad I didn't have to get stuck doing bad stealth sections over and over. Very good story but poorly presented in my opinion. The game pushed the "Children" narrative device from the very start, and not only it's overused, it also doesn't work too well. Overall enjoyable, but a bit too expensive at the time of this review.

Anyone who has played Amnesia: The Dark Descent is likely to be a bit disappointed by this sequel, in terms of gameplay if nothing else. The first Amnesia was already a bit sparse when it came to gameplay, with a simple interface and rudimentary inventory and sanity systems. A Machine For Pigs tosses even that out- literally all you can do is walk, run, jump, turn your lamp on or off, and pick up some objects in the environment- and the latter two features are only necessary a handful of times in order to avoid enemies or solve extremely simple puzzles. Aside from a tiny number of enemy encounters, there's no real danger or difficulty to be found. The fact that the game still ends up worth playing is a testament to the story and atmosphere it produces. While the first Amnesia provided scares by placing the player in direct danger, this one produces a sense of terror and dread from your surroundings- the dirty, dark, grim Industrial Revolution environment is unrelenting and horrific, and the implications of the notes you find throughout are truly disturbing. It's a unique experience, and worth playing despite its flaws. Like the first game, there are a lot of reused models and textures- you'll be seeing the same furniture, paintings, gears, books, etc. over and over, and it feels rather low-budget. It was probably wise to set much of the game in a giant mechanized factory where this is less noticeable, and even makes a bit of sense. Weirdly, the game is actually a little TOO dark- you'll need your lamp on almost all the time just to see where you're going. And the plot, while intriguing and well-done, feels like it's missing something- things never quite seem to click, leaving the ending a bit unsatisfying despite some great dialogue in the last few minutes. I enjoyed playing it and would recommend it, but it would be dishonest to give it more than an average rating- it's great for what it is, but there's not much actual game there.

Connection with Amnesia the dark descent is minimal/non existent. The previous game was lead by atmosphere, gamepley and had a narrative to back it up. This game has atmosphere and narrative, with gameplay to back it up. It's much more straightforward, no inverntory, less monsters, less consequences/challange. If you're ok with a 'light' version of gameplay, then this is fantastic, but if you want the gameplay to lead, as it did in Dark Descent, you may be dissapointed. I would say both games are equally well made, but of different styles. This can be enjoyed without the previous game being played. I recommend it.