AMFP Member Review Thread

[pikmintaro]

I really enjoyed this game even more than the Dark Descent, the setting, the monsters, the music, pretty much everything about it.

I was kind of sad that there weren't more encounters with the Pigmen, and I would have liked to have played through more areas of the Machine (The giant meat grinder that is pictured on the maps in the game for one thing.) there was a lot of potential for something incredibly gruesome and vile if they had shown us the areas where the real dirtywork was being done, but oh well.

I was also sad that neither of the encounters from the trailers made it in, I wouldn't have minded but the trailers made it seem much more in depth like the first game, with them breaking through doors, and you having to hide and whatnot whereas in the actual game, you just have to run past any Pigs you meet.

But I wasn't as disappointed as most people seem to be since I was expecting most of what we got, and didn't hype myself up too much, and for me the game is a solid 9/10

I see a lot of people acting pretty selfish and snobbish with their opinions on the game though, for example somebody was ranting in other topic and at the end they said.

"Don't like what I'm saying?
Too bad, it's what I think and you can't change my mind.
Make Amnesia, not Dear Esther with angry pigs."

I would like to remind this type of person that their opinion is not absolute, and they will not be changing my mind or anybody else who is able to appreciate this game either, and not only that it is a savage insult to all the people who put so much time, and work into this game. I'm honestly more disappointed by the "fanbase" than the actual game, I expected better, I'm not even going to bother reading through all the reviews in this topic since I'm sure it's just going to be more of the same, and I'm pretty tired of it already, I'm growing quite weary of all the hatred, and the lack of any appreciation for the game.

In the end it all comes down to this, criticism should include both positives and negatives, but for most of the "fanbase" it seems to all be negative, and makes me ashamed to have anything to do with these people.

[silentmumbler]

When I first played it, I'd have given it a 6. It seemed like a decent game that was just lacking in a lot of areas (Namely scares and freedom).

Having played through more times, however, I've come to appreciate AMFP in the same way I do Silent Hill 2 (and I freaking LOVE Silent Hill 2). Sure, it wasn't scary, but it wasn't really trying to be (except for those random popping pig masks when you climb ladders, which still make me ask why). The experience is in the story, the atmosphere, the music (Oh GOD, the music!), and the incredible depth that can leave you analyzing anything and everything that happens in the game and seeing things that make you wonder what else is there.

The ocean of possibilities in theorizing about this game are the most tantalizing aspect of it. While the story is generally straight forward and explicit, there are so many things (such as aspects of the characters and the significance of odd events which occur in the game) which can be interpreted in entirely different yet equally justifiable ways.

As someone who has deeply missed the brand of horror which was lost not long after Silent Hill 2, AAMFP was a breath of fresh air and an opening for hope as to what the future holds for psychological/narrative-driven horror.

As a final score I'd give a 7.5 or 8. Why not higher? Despite all it's merits, it is still very lacking gameplay-wise, most notably in the completely stupid puzzles (Oh, it's missing a cog? Let me just grab this one that's right next to the machine I need to fix.). TDD's puzzles were simplistic, but they weren't stupid.

[NicoNico]

Hi guys,

In the end it all comes down to this, criticism should include both positives and negatives, but for most of the "fanbase" it seems to all be negative, and makes me ashamed to have anything to do with these people.

I really do believe that a lot, and I really mean A LOT, of Amnesia fans are not playing or enjoying the game for the "good" reasons (although it's a good reason to them so... well, you get my point^^)
They just want to be scared.
Ok, I get it, the scary parts are a big aspect of the game, but I really think that the story, atmosphere and everything that goes with it are the most important part.
I watched a Let's Play of AMFP yesterday and here's what I saw :
A guy ALWAYS RUNNING everywhere, hitting every switch he found, saying "I don't know what that does, but, I do it !"
At first, he was paying attention to the story and was reading every notes, so, he was really into it and really enjoying it (at one point, he even said that the game was better than TDD) but, at some point, he picked up an note and said "Hey, there's a lot of reading in this !" and just let it go. Then, he began not reading the notes, not paying attention to what Mandus or the Machine was saying, always saying "Whatever you say, man !" just running around, always saying "come on game, give me what I want ! I want to be scared !"
He then passed the London is Burning sequence and seemed very disappointed, stating that "it wasn't subtle". Yes, it's not. That's OBVIOUSLY the point of the sequence. It's supposed to be spectacular and show that all hell breaks loose in the streets.
By the end of the game (he finished it in like 4 hours, so, you can tell that everybody who claims that they finished it in 3-4 hours and were taking their sweet time were just running all the time) as he didn't pay attention to the story, he was just sitting there and saying "I don't even know what was the Machine built for in the first place ?"
Overall, he enjoyed the game but his conclusion was "Not what I expected. Shouldn't be called Amnesia. Good game, though"
I've been talking to some people now and I happened to notice that a huge majority of them were playing the game this way.
All I can say is : no wonder why you didn't enjoy the game that much, you were just running around hunting for the jumpscares.
I guess that explains a lot of the complains (I'm not saying that the game is perfect. It has its flaws).

Having played through more times, however, I've come to appreciate AMFP in the same way I do Silent Hill 2 (and I freaking LOVE Silent Hill 2). Sure, it wasn't scary, but it wasn't really trying to be (except for those random popping pig masks when you climb ladders, which still make me ask why). The experience is in the story, the atmosphere, the music (Oh GOD, the music!), and the incredible depth that can leave you analyzing anything and everything that happens in the game and seeing things that make you wonder what else is there.



As a final score I'd give a 7.5 or 8. Why not higher? Despite all it's merits, it is still very lacking gameplay-wise, most notably in the completely stupid puzzles (Oh, it's missing a cog? Let me just grab this one that's right next to the machine I need to fix.). TDD's puzzles were simplistic, but they weren't stupid.

Hey, I like that you compare it with Silent Hill 2 ^^You got a point here !

Yes the puzzle were... not really puzzles in fact. That's a disappointment.

[Patacorow]

I love Amnesia. I also loved Dear Esther.

But I payed for an Amnesia sequel. Not a Dear Esther sequel.
No inventory, no sanity, no oil, no interacting with the world - it's a freaking walking simulator!
Frictional/Chinese decided it would be a good idea to get rid of all of what made Amnesia good and throw it away in honor of some overrated "story".
The story didn't even justify itself, I honestly thought it wasn't interesting.

• Fresh and new approach to the Amnesia world while staying true to its origins.
  
• The darkest, most horrific tale ever told in a videogame.

These are two of the features listed on Steam store page. They are both lies.
Why does the entire story take place inside of the freaking Journal?
I have too many flaws I'd like to point out about this game, but I just can't be bothered to list them all.
As a long time devoted supporter of Penumbra and Amnesia, I really feel cheated right now.

[NicoNico]

• Fresh and new approach to the Amnesia world while staying true to its origins.
  
• The darkest, most horrific tale ever told in a videogame.

These are two of the features listed on Steam store page. They are both lies.

Well, it's actually a new approach to the Amnesia world, which felt refreshing, so I don't see how it's a lie.
Also, Frictional Games and The Chinese Room are trying to actually sell their game so they can earn money for their work and continue making games, so I don't think that "a dark kind of horrific tale, maybe not the most terrifying thing ever, but a good one if you're into that kind of stuff" would have been a good catch-phrase (wait... it's actually not bad at all ! )
It's like when they sell a horror movie as "the most terrifying movie ever". We all know it's not.

I'm not saying that you're wrong for not enjoying the game, that's totally fine by me, and I actually understand why. I'm just saying that you can't blame FG and TCR for that. They said it was going to be different. It is. Like it or not.
It's like when you're going to your favorite restaurant and want to try something new.
If you don't like your meal, will you say "well this place is crap ! I feel cheated, I want a refund and will never come back again ! Ever !!" ? Or would you just say "well, I didn't like it that much. I will not order that again. Ever." ?

[Rya.Reisender]

I think the game was okay.

>>Story<<
The basic story is great, though it leaves a few things unanswered

Spoiler below!

(like who the person in the iron lung is - we still discuss about it with no clear answer and I don't think "just some random sacrifice" is the answer, because you would only place a very important person right there)

. While the basic story is great however, it is far too linear. There aren't even different endings. The story is actually pretty massive and could have been content for 10+ hours of gameplay, but it's just being rushed through, which results in a game that is too short, but still feels big.
Score: 7/10

>>Graphics<<
I think they are great, there are several technical problems with the engine it seems, I had to set up a computer without antivirus protection to even get it to work. Other than that, there is a good variety, much better than in the prequel. Not much to complain about it.
Score: 9/10

>>Music<<
I enjoyed the music in the game (at the times there was music). Some regions are not scary enough, though. It's often just silence and there is only noise if there is really something happening (even if it's just a scare scene). I'd have wished there would also be other background noise, even if there was no danger or a scare scene. Other than that it was good.
Score: 8/10

>>Gameplay<<
Most of the things changed to Amnesia like the removal of an inventory is a decision I can understand. No inventory improves the immersion and it really was unnecessary most of the time anyway.
Also the removal of music to indicate danger and replacing it by flickering light is a nice idea. Nothing I want to complain about.
The biggest flaw of the game however is the whole dungeon and puzzle design. The game is mainly a linear road you HAVE to follow. You can't even go the wrong way because walls and doors will appear everywhere you shouldn't currently go to. This was incredibly disappointing. The story leaves a lot of potential to allow a lot more free exploration that what is given to the player. Puzzles are super easy to solve as you can only interact with options required for a puzzle in the first place. This whole linearity and super simple puzzle cause you to never have to backtrack or explore and effectively is the reason why the game is so extremely short, despite the massive story. It's basically a horror movie.
The dangers in the game also were quite disappointing. While the encounter themselves are indeed scary, there are only few of them and they NEVER force you to do some smart thinking. You never have to close a door so later a monster won't appear through it. You never have to block a path. There are never mistakes you can make that will lead to instant death. All of this felt completely missing in the game. It's just some monsters working around in places that are super obvious after the first encounter.
There are some great ideas like

Spoiler below!

when the village is attacked

, but it all gets ruined by the lack of interaction. You can save no one, you can't even be killed most of things you see. They won't even notice you when they can't reach you even if you make loud noise and run around with your light active.
All of this was incredibly disappointing. Yeah the things I mentioned at the beginning were just design decisions and I'm okay with those changes as they have a good reason, but there is no good reason to make the game completely linear and remove all the interaction. It just made the whole thing boring as a game and makes me think that it would be better of as a movie. Which is a big shame because the whole story had really a lot of potential. Seems nobody really bothered trying to make it into a great game, though.
What makes it even worse is that the trailers gave a completely different impression of the game.
Score: 3/10

>>Overall<<
Overall, I think it was an okay game to play. I enjoyed the story, the graphics and the music, but the gameplay just wasn't really there. The gameplay is certainly far below average, but the other aspects are still above average. I guess a solid average score fits to my overall impression best, so I'll give it a 5/10.

[Patacorow]

• Fresh and new approach to the Amnesia world while staying true to its origins.
  
• The darkest, most horrific tale ever told in a videogame.

These are two of the features listed on Steam store page. They are both lies.

Well, it's actually a new approach to the Amnesia world, which felt refreshing, so I don't see how it's a lie.
Also, Frictional Games and The Chinese Room are trying to actually sell their game so they can earn money for their work and continue making games, so I don't think that "a dark kind of horrific tale, maybe not the most terrifying thing ever, but a good one if you're into that kind of stuff" would have been a good catch-phrase (wait... it's actually not bad at all ! )
It's like when they sell a horror movie as "the most terrifying movie ever". We all know it's not.

I'm not saying that you're wrong for not enjoying the game, that's totally fine by me, and I actually understand why. I'm just saying that you can't blame FG and TCR for that. They said it was going to be different. It is. Like it or not.
It's like when you're going to your favorite restaurant and want to try something new.
If you don't like your meal, will you say "well this place is crap ! I feel cheated, I want a refund and will never come back again ! Ever !!" ? Or would you just say "well, I didn't like it that much. I will not order that again. Ever." ?

Alright, maybe it was a selling phrase, acceptable. But I still feel empty handed and cheated, I waited 2 years for this sequel.
Of course I'll still support Frictional and I'll still try to stay active in the modding community, but now they feel much more... amateur to me. I can't envy them like I did before this title came out. Penumbra: Overture is one of my favorite games of all time.

For your comparison: TDD took me 2 weeks to finish. Not because the puzzles were too hard or the game was too long. I was just too scared to continue.
AMFP took me 3.5 hours.

[NicoNico]

• Fresh and new approach to the Amnesia world while staying true to its origins.
  
• The darkest, most horrific tale ever told in a videogame.

These are two of the features listed on Steam store page. They are both lies.

Well, it's actually a new approach to the Amnesia world, which felt refreshing, so I don't see how it's a lie.
Also, Frictional Games and The Chinese Room are trying to actually sell their game so they can earn money for their work and continue making games, so I don't think that "a dark kind of horrific tale, maybe not the most terrifying thing ever, but a good one if you're into that kind of stuff" would have been a good catch-phrase (wait... it's actually not bad at all ! )
It's like when they sell a horror movie as "the most terrifying movie ever". We all know it's not.

I'm not saying that you're wrong for not enjoying the game, that's totally fine by me, and I actually understand why. I'm just saying that you can't blame FG and TCR for that. They said it was going to be different. It is. Like it or not.
It's like when you're going to your favorite restaurant and want to try something new.
If you don't like your meal, will you say "well this place is crap ! I feel cheated, I want a refund and will never come back again ! Ever !!" ? Or would you just say "well, I didn't like it that much. I will not order that again. Ever." ?

Alright, maybe it was a selling phrase, acceptable. But I still feel empty handed and cheated, I waited 2 years for this sequel.
Of course I'll still support Frictional and I'll still try to stay active in the modding community, but now they feel much more... amateur to me. I can't envy them like I did before this title came out. Penumbra: Overture is one of my favorite games of all time.

For your comparison: TDD took me 2 weeks to finish. Not because the puzzles were too hard or the game was too long. I was just too scared to continue.
AMFP took me 3.5 hours.

I think a lot of people had too much expectations for the game.
No, wait, let me rephrase that : I think a lot of people had other expectations for this game. That's much better^^
But I can see why and, thus, I can see why you feel that way.

I think there was a misunderstanding for some people : AMFP is not a sequel to TDD. It's another story (connected to the other, but still) in the Amnesia world.
I honestly believe that TCR did the right choice by going for something different. As I said, there are hundreds of CS to continue with TDD vibe, some are even very good, so why would they do that, too ?
Yes, the game has its flaws, and some are disappointing, but I really feel that it was a good call.
I prefer waiting for 2 years and ending up with something new, even if it's flawed, than waiting 2 years to get the exact same thing. What's the point ?
But that's a personal opinion

Anyway, sorry you didn't like the game, I can see you were really expecting it :/

[Gilligan's Hell]

Ok i'm gonna say this. I Really don't know why fans are so butthurt, SO MANY FUCKING COMPLAINTS OVER THE MOST IRRELEVANT THINGS! People expected it to be exactly like the dark descent, They obviously didnt know diddly jack about the game. The Dark Descent was a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT GAME. It really just pisses me off how people diss it so much for NO RELEVANT REASON... The game is in my opinion better than the original. after encountering the Grunt and the brute i wasn't scared at all. the story of ATDD didn't make sense or very much barely reveal what the fuck happened. Pigs's Enemies are visually disturibing, Every time i saw a wretch i was nearly paralized by fear. i nearly jumped out of my chair during the first encounter.

Now that i said this, i need to get some sleep. i've been up 27 hours.

[Diango12]

Don't get mad at consumer expectation when its fully in control of the studios who built up the hype towards an Amnesia game. Trailers, teasers, statements about the game being scarier etc etc. They called it Amnesia ffs. When in reality its Dear Esther 2. You really can't get around that.

But some of you are right. We should have dug through mountains of tweets and not publicly disclosed statements from TCR stating el a fine print that this is in actuality unlike the Amnesia game even though they are titling that.