The Penumbra Collection

This package of the Penumbra series is well worth buying, especially in promotions. For this game of the same developers of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, is his card of visits, presenting a good script, intelligent puzzles and physics well worked and certainly deserves to be appreciated. Of course, like every first game of an indie developer, he has some bad points, such as his precarious system of fighting and replaying enemies in Penumbra Overture. In Penumbra Black Plague, this system was withdrawn, which certainly increased the terror of the game, not to mention that its history has now become more refined and the variety of settings has also been slightly improved. And to finish, in Penumbra Requiem there is no terror, the game is only puzzle solving and recommended for those who liked the puzzles of the two previous parts.

It seems to me like the term "Lovecraftian" gets thrown around far too much in the gaming world. Basically if something features tentacled creatures, people seem to think that puts it somewhere in line with the works of author HP Lovecraft. But the truth is, Lovecraft's greatest stories aren't defined by the descriptions of the monsters in them; they're defined by the gradual discovery of various disturbing, cosmic realities, and the protagonists' resulting bouts with madness because of them. They're most often told in first-person prose, and often give off a very lonely, desolate vibe. The Penumbra series features exactly zero tentacled monsters (at least not that I remember; apologies if I'm remembering incorrectly) but it does feature a very well-paced story involving madness, suicide, and the discovery of impossible lifeforms, all while giving off an effectively disturbing sense of isolation. This is the only series I've ever played that so deftly manages to be Lovecraftian, all the while sidestepping the cliches that are usually associated with that word. The gameplay, meanwhile, is all logic-based puzzles and smart level design. There are a small few points where trial and error are necessary, and you're practically guaranteed to die at least once at those parts, which is a little cheap. And the "combat" in Overture is so ineffective that it's no wonder it was completely removed from Black Plague and Requiem. But regardless of those imperfections, the series really knows how to create a very thick, tense atmosphere. It really is my favorite PC-exclusive horror title, and it's totally worth a go for anyone who values a good lonely atmosphere over jump scares and gore.

Quite good First person horror adventure game. Has good atmosphere and story...however the Game mechanics are Repetitive i'm afraid. Each big area you get to in the game has its own set puzzle i.e. you have to get X item from reactor room A then combine it with another item from another room. So you have to navigate the dangerous corridors to get to each point. The enemy ai i encountered wasnt that great....you want to kill a devil dog just lure it to you then jump on a box and proceed to slaughter it no problem at all. The problem is each game doesnt deviate from this formula. You will be in an area with a big wall map of the zones and you will be running around each area finding x item to help you proceed through the locked door or whatever. It is repetitive because it repeats this all the time. However if you are not finding the repetitive gameplay annoying then be engrossed by the story and enjoy :)

This is how I and many of us first discovered the brilliance of the Fricional people. Penumbra was a indie darling way back when most people didn't know what Indie games were yet. They made their own 3D engine, and not only that but it has object physics and it looks really good. Sure, two guys couldn't do all the stuff that the huge studios can, but they could do 80% of it. Fill in the rest with some excellent voice acting (Black Plague is off the hook good), brilliant scene envisaging, interesting puzzles and the occasional shock/horror masterpiece (getting chased around in the sewers) and you have some of the most interesting PC games ever released IMO. Amnesia is good. It's the mainstream sequel to these games. Check these out if you want to see the same kernel of creativity in its most original and unvarnished incarnation.

And it was just as terrifying. Btw, to the guy who decided that putting giant spiders in the games was a good idea: fuck you