I apologize in advance for the extraordinary length of this review; I just have a lot to say, and rarely shut up until I've said it all xD.
I have played [and watched playthroughs of] a lot of Amnesia mods and CSs, This is my favorite of them all to date. I adore novel ideas in games, and compared to other Amnesia mods, this one is very unique!
First of all, I love the homage to
The Trap Door - it didn't air much here in the U.S. [at least as far as I recall], but I was familiar with it growing up, as I always had an intense fascination with stop-motion animation and sort of gothic-style storytelling [to this day, I still read a lot of classic phantasmagoria, and whatnot]. I had actually totally forgotten this show existed, until you managed to dredge it up from the cavernous expanse of my subconcious, which pleases me in of itself, as I'm a terribly nostalgic person [nostalgia is the best anti-stress remedy there is, I tell you]. I adore the fact that you thought of combining the basic premise of the show with Amnesia; some people might find that a tad strange, but I thoroughly appreciate things like that - especially when they're done well, which this definitely was; truly on-par with the Amnesia series.
Since writing is my thing, I, of course, have to comment on it. The dialogue was very well-written [you have superb grammar, for one, which I so rarely come across around here, haha], and truly organic to the story, not to mention fun to listen to [you have a lovely voice, MrBehemoth!]. It was also just terribly interesting; the story had no problem keeping my attention the entire time I played [which is actually rather difficult for most mods to do, honestly... I need some level of a compelling story to stay interested]. In fact, I was quite excited to see how it was all going to come together, and the endings made it all the more worthwhile.
I also have to say, Burke's backstory was excellently handled. I didn't see it coming, that's for sure. In particular...
You also really nailed the atmosphere; it was truly conducive to the sense of sadness and desolation that Burke carried with him, and it made his friendship with Boney all the more special. I actually found myself smiling every time he'd talk to Boney - that was quite sweet [albeit weird as all get-out]
Now, onto the more technical stuff.
I thought the modified sanity system was very well done, and I thoroughly enjoyed goofing around with it from time to time [allowing monsters to spawn for the heck of it and then making a mad dash back to where I'd left Boney xD]. It was also just an interesting concept in general - a somewhat unstable gentleman using a human skull as a sort of security blanket.
As far as lighting goes, I didn't mind the darkness at all. The only time it was even an issue was when I was playing during the day; other than that, I had no problem at all. And this all considering that I have god-awful eyesight [I'm legally blind without my glasses] and keep my screen brightness all the way down, heh.
The map designs were just lovely, in my opinion. While I can understand some people thinking they were too empty, I thought that they were just detailed enough. I don't see the point in extraneous amounts of detailing in certain types of maps to begin with, and I doubt that most abandoned castles are that well-furnished. Not to mention, in terms of the story, what use would the master have for interior decorating? xD
As for those who got lost on what to do, the only problem I actually ran into was finding the one pig carcass; I took note of the fact that each of the four pillars in that room had a torch, which should have clued me in right away that there was something there, but, for whatever reason, I stupidly overlooked it until I had found all the others. Other than that, I was quick to figure everything out. Perhaps because I'm the analytical type.
Don't be discouraged at all by any criticisms you may receive; you've managed to create something truly unique that stands out, regardless of whether people can fully appreciate it as it is, or not. It's definitely unusual, and unusual is the best quality in game mods, in my mind. I very much look forward to seeing what you create next!
...The only people worthy of consideration are the unusual ones. Common folks are like the leaves of a tree, and live and die unnoticed. - L. Frank Baum
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The Trapdoor - FULL RELEASE
