Амнезия: Машина для свиней

In a number of ways this is a departure from the first. I think it was a wise decision instead of just giving us more of what they already knew for sure people wanted from them. It was basically the culmination of their gradual growth over the first two parts of Penumbra and I hear that the most recent entries in this series are more of that but this and Soma try something different and I really admire that. Also I do think that what they delivered here was legitimately quite compelling. This has by far the least awkward and borderline broken interaction with enemies up to this point. I appreciate that some feel that they're just not quite dangerous enough which is true a lot of the time. It's somewhat like in thief one with some of the smaller enemies. They're incredibly creepy and just based on that you do not want to get too close to them. You can outrun them if they do get close; it's going to take them a little while to hurt you all that much. Honestly dealing with enemies is by far my least favorite aspect of The Dark Descent. They’re impossible to flee if they do spot you, it can be really difficult to tell where they are before they discover you, and I have never been able to get the hiding mechanic to work properly. Overall the narrative is at least slightly over complicated and some will hate that by the end there's still unanswered questions, mystery and ambiguity; I thought it was perfect for this. Let's keep in mind that these are inspired by HP Lovecraft unreliable narrators and uncertainty as to whether something seemingly impossible did happen or if it was someone losing their grasp on reality is a major theme, and this is the best exploration of it of Frictional Games output by that point. I will definitely grant that the puzzles are a step down; there's way too little proper use of the amazing physics engine and I maintain that using the term puzzle about pretty much anything in this game is giving it too much credit - they’re “tasks”.

[Overview] Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs was released around the peak popularity of YouTubers who were playing Amnesia: The Dark Descent and getting millions of views. The Dark Descent was already considered a horror masterpiece but this influx of popularity gave it a huge boost. So when A Machine for Pigs was released it had the timing of being a potential slam dunk. So how did it hold up? [Positives] - Great art style. - Solid music and audio. - Story is okay. Lore and characters aren't as interesting as The Dark Descent, but it's alright. [Negatives] - Very limited interaction with objects. You can't pick up much, unlike The Dark Descent. - This game is overall more simple and linear than the first game. - Lighting is far too dark. The Dark Descent was a dark game too, but you could always see a little bit because of the smart lighting design. The Chinese Room clearly didn't pick up on this and thought that pure darkness was the appeal of Amnesia. - Unlimited lantern, regenerating health, and no inventory. No resource management makes the game feel more boring and less dynamic. - Enemy AI is bad and the game is too easy. Dying is almost a non-issue in this game. - This game could be described as a 'walking simulator'. - The game is about 6-7 hours in length. $20 feels too expensive for this. [Conclusion] A Machine for Pigs is incredibly mediocre. It copies The Dark Descent but strips it of anything that made the game unique. It's clear that this game was developed by a different developer than the original. The gameplay is so simple and easy that it's boring. Any 'horror' this game has wears off the moment you realize how useless the enemy AI is. Dying is something you basically have to try to do. This game isn't all bad, the artstyle (mostly) holds up and the audio design is fine. Honestly, just skip this game and play The Dark Descent. Watch it on YouTube if you really want to know the story. 5/10

Ok story, fantasticly written, worst Amnesia Game.

Ultimately, AMFP just lacks much that I could recommend it for. Linux version ran well after turning Adaptive Vsync off. There's very little gameplay to speak of - puzzles are mostly "find the 1 thing I can interact with to continue", the levels are linear with little exploration, there's no real interaction with the monsters other than turning off your lamp and/or running away, and that's the entire game. It's successfully spooky earlier on, but there's so little danger the tension doesn't last. AMFP sometimes nails the feeling of being trapped in a massive, incomprehensible, terrible machine, but most of the time it just feels like crawling around a bunch of dark, repetitive rooms full of the same pipes, boxes, and clutter; there are a few standouts like the cathedral, but most places feel much like any other place. The slideshow-like conveyor belt sequence near the end felt particularly "video-gamey" and definitely did not have the desired effect so close to the finale. Audio, voice acting and dialogue are good, and the story is serviceable if a bit predictable, and it drags on after the midpoint reveal. I don't regret playing AMFP, but SOMA's better in every way - story, atmosphere and environmental design, actual decisions to make, at least *some* gameplay, and especially the philosophical questions and existential horror that stayed with me long after playing. AMFP, by contrast, is darkness, loud noises, gore, a story of monologues and notes, and not much more. Unlike SOMA, you can get the full experience of AMFP by watching a video, and that's really what kills it for me. Maybe worthwhile on sale for fans of Frictional's other games. Otherwise, probably just skip it.

Amnesia: A machine for Pigs is lacking in almost all fields compared to Dark Descent. For some reason the great sanity system has been ripped away, the all encompassing colour fog makes everything very flat and dull, level design is even more linear and boring than in DD, and the interesting clutter is missing, now almost everything that you can move is important to you in someway. And AAMFP relies much more on very, very used horror tropes than DD (children crying, singing and playing, self moving cradles etc). Yes, you could say same about DD, but it used them with much better way than a much more boring AAMFP. I think only the musical score was better in AAMFP than in DD and the game got a little better towards the end, but all in all AAMFP was a disappointment.