Amnesia: Rebirth

Linux users beware: right now GOG version doesn't contain patches for graphics glitches that make the game unplayable.

Game interrupts the player frequently with boring, meaningless story snippets. Kills the immersion.

I really tried to like this game, the story is interesting and engaging especially the connection to the lore of The Dark Descent, but there are too many minuses that can't be dismissed. I feel like the developers tried too hard to reinvent themselves, and while it worked wonderfully with Soma, this time it didn't go too well. The main character talks so god damn much, I can't even absorb in the environment or sounds as she always has to comment about something, or talk to the baby in weird baby-talk that's just so forced and unnatural... Really hard to imerse myself in the game. To keep this short, I'll go straight to the biggest negative: dying doesn't mean anything, in fact it speeds up progress. If a monster kills you, the game spawns you in the same area with the monster nowhere to be seen, so you can easily just stroll to the next area... The moment I noticed this, the dread became zero for the remaining of the game and it became a walking simulator where I don't feel force to struggle or plan ahead, as there's no point.

This game will go out of its way to prevent you from identifying and immersing yourself in the character you play as. Tasi won't shut up and her pointless commentary on the nature of all things creates such a large degree of separation between the player and the game that the horror has no chance to grab hold of you. It's a hard pass if you are unwilling to use a silent-protagonist mod.

I'm sure everyones expectations were high for this Amnesia game due to the fact that the first game pretty much redefined horror in video games. While this entry doesn't innovate the gameplay in anyway, it does a decent job of providing an interesting story with some spectacle thrown in. The game does get progressively worse throughout, relying more on scripted sequences than emergent gameplay, which is it's biggest mistake. (Minor spoilers) For example, there's a monster chase sequence in a sewer that triggers once you break open a new path. At first I was panicked... but then I realized that this was scriped of course. For the entire remaining duration of this chase I sat expressionless without any fear because I knew the game wouldn't be unfair as long as I kept on moving. This ruined the horror for me personally and is one of the reasons why horrror games that rely on scripted sequences too much aren't effective. The game relies heavily on these moments throughout. The original Amnesia had many moments of seemingly random attacks that allowed the player to run into a random room and barricade themselves in it. This gameplay mechanic allowed for some absolutely terrifying moments because you knew that the developer didn't 100% script the moment to moment gameplay that you were in. Surviving was up to you, and you alone. The original game had a good mix between scriped and emergent gameplay, which is what made it so great. I also think the mystery of the original game made it scarier, Amnesia Rebirth gets less scary once you understand more where this evil is from. In conclusion, I don't regret my purchase. The game is priced fairly and I did enjoy most of my time with it, but it definitely is disappointing that the studio responsible for one of the best horror games didn't innovate in it's gameplay at all for this new title. I also think not including VR support was a big mistake.