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FG's appeal ended together with Penumbra?
Soul Reaver Offline
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FG's appeal ended together with Penumbra?

I'm a bit disappointed.
Disappointed by FG and Amnesia.

So recently I've replayed all Penumbra parts and Amnesia TDD.
I've always thought that the Penumbra series has much more to offer than the Amnesia series but didn't really know why. However, now after replaying all the games (expect the new piggy game) I try to put into words what really disturbs me about Amnesia.

Replay value

First of all, let's talk about the replay value.
I do understand that in this genre it's hard to create an appealing game that doesn't lose it's entertainment value after completion. Nevertheless it's ridiculous how the devs designed Amnesia in such a way that you'll be bored to death once you have finished it. This becomes very evident when you consider that there is only one proper enemy in the entire game (all the other enemies are scripted and vanish after a certain time). Also the tiring linearity crushes almost every reason to replay it. Penumbra, in contrary, has lots of times when you have to hide and sneak past an enemy and I recall several occasions when I didn't know where to go next. This was only possible to happen since the level design gives you many options which area to check next (often only to find the entrance locked or blocked in another way).

Puzzles

Okay seriously, puzzles are one of the main components of Penumbra but in Amnesia they are so simple that even a 10-year-old could solve them without much trouble. I don't think there is much sense in comparing the games in this section since Penumbra really had some hard puzzles which could take some time and even trial & error to solve (just think about the puzzle in BP where you have to setup a computer / server). I desperatley search for anything comparable in Amnesia however the game almost takes the player's hand and leads him through the story. A machine for pigs apparently takes this a step further and now even reviews claim that the puzzles are too simple.

Story & Atmosphere

At this point both game series score in my opinion.
I can't recall offhand any games that have comparable immersive stories like FG's titles. Amnesia is often praised for its story and its atmosphere and I totally agree but the atmosphere vanishes quickly after you've completed it because of the points stated above. Nonetheless, the story is well written and thought out and still thrilled me when playing it for the 3rd time. But still, I think that Penumbra beats Amnesia easily when it comes to story and immersion. For me Penumbra's story is much more believable and credible in that it reasonably explores the Human psyche and carries many philosophical valuable messages. I don't want to elaborate this as there are many motifs to regard and discuss and this would simply go beyond the scope of this little rant.

Miscellaneous

There are some other little things that upset me about Amnesia.
For example the darkness system. What is the point of a horror game when it's not possible to hide in the concealing darkness because your character goes red (pun)? It just doesn't fit the rest of the game in my opinion. However I like that there is no inexhaustible light source like Penumbra's glowstick which makes the flashlight almost obsolete. Also Amnesia doesn't use the physics engine properly, it's more of a gimmick than a real feature. In Penumbra there are puzzles based on the physics engine whereas all the pieces fall into their place automatically in Amnesia.

Well, I can't really think of any more points but this post is too long already anyway. I'd really like to hear your opinion and hope the Frictional Games will find their way again after this disappointment called Amnesia. However, it's important to note that I think that Amnesia is, despite all things it does wrong, a quite amusing game.

Btw, I didn't know where to post this since it's more of a comparision between both game series and I don't want to incur the wrath of the Amnesia fanboys (who probably even didn't play any Penumbra game).

Cheers.
09-13-2013, 11:05 PM
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FG's appeal ended together with Penumbra? - by Soul Reaver - 09-13-2013, 11:05 PM



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