Slightly disappointed by Penumbra Overture

[flcn27]

I'm not sure about the doors in Penumbra. Sometimes it felt pretty "realistic" and creepy that they're so slow but when you're being chased you just want to slam them open. Maybe Frictonal Games should take a look at Rainbow Six 3. In that game, you can slowly open a door by scrolling with your mouse or you can quickly open it by the press of a button.

You are kidding me! I mean the body in the kennel: The kennel with the dog houses. The body falls from the ceiling, when you want in the creepy dark corridor??? Have you miss this?

Ah you mean that body! Yeah he scared the hell out of me! I was running for my life because I thought the dogman was chasing me and then suddenly that body fell on top of me..

It was an atmosphere killer, because the enemies were ridiculous easy to kill.

It's not just that they're easy to kill. They're also easy to spot.
In Penumbra: Overture, you always see the dogs before they see you. They have scripted patrol patterns so they're really easy to evade. The big maps full of cover also help a lot. The combat system makes it very easy to kill them but I chose not to do that.
In Penumbra: Black Plague, the infected aren't that much of a threat either. It's easy to just run past them and outrun them. They're also easy to spot (because of their flashlights).

Amnesia was a totally different story for me. I was frightened every time when I opened a door. I always had to remember the way back to a hiding spot, and create new hiding spots as I made progress. There could be a monster behind every door and just the sound they make was enough to make you terrified. Outrunning them was almost impossible, my golden rule was to never look back because those brutes are always RIGHT BEHIND YOU

I guess Penumbra would be a lot more scary if it had some kind of insanity system, more scripted encounters with monsters (like monsters behind doors), a bigger focus on hiding (including the ability the hide in closets or other similar spaces) and no combat system (although Black Plague fixed that).

I see Penumbra and Amnesia as two different subgenres though and I hope Frictional continues making games for both. Penumbra is more focused on puzzles/story while Amnesia is more focused on fear (hiding/ambient sounds) and dealing with yourself (learning more about yourself, dealing with insanity).

What I like the most in both games are the scripted monster encounters. For example, in Penumbra where you get chased by infected or when you get trapped in a room with an infected and need to lure him somewhere to lock him up or kill him. And in Amnesia, the part where the game tells you to "quickly hide in the closet" and similar monster encounters.
These games are not about replay value anyway so these scripted encounters only add to the fear factor imo. Too many enemies with static patrol patterns make you feel too powerful.