Some quick questions. Please answer when you have finished the game

[munno]

1) What puzzles did you like the best? Why did you like them?

Spoiler below!

Most of them were great. The ones with physics elements were fun, partly because I hadn't played any game with proper physics engine before this so it felt new and exciting. I liked the ones best where I had to read some instructions, like the computer and the antidote puzzles, but on the other hand they felt a bit too easy. Maybe the instructions could have been more cryptic. Written with a shaking hand, coming from a really deranged mind, containing false information and so on. Oh and the generator puzzle in Overture was good because the symbols on the generator left some room for interpretation.

2) What puzzles where the hardest to solve? Why where they so hard and what kind of solutions did you try before finding the correct one?

Spoiler below!

In the beginning the Freezer room took some time for me. First I tried to hit the thermostat with various objects to break it, then I even tried to construct a makeshift door to the Freezer room from the objects lying around, to make it cool down. And only after that I actually opened my inventory and saw the soda can

3) How did you find the pacing in the game? Where there any particularly slow moments or some moments where too many things happened?

Spoiler below!

I would have liked a little bit more of the lonely moments when you read notes left by the Shelter occupants, they sort of built up the atmosphere for the "action" parts nicely. Perhaps there could have been a need to eat and rest from time to time, possibly even having some kind of "safe" place that you could gather stuff in and spend some time reading and recovering, a bit like the top floor of the shopping mall in The Dawn of the Dead movie.

4) How did you like the variation of events and gameplay elements? Could there have been more diversity or should there be more focus on the gameplay?

Spoiler below!

The starting symptoms of the "infection" were great, I really loved the deja-vu that hit in one of the ventilation tubes, where you just teleported backwards a little bit. And the fact that it wasn't explained right away made it even better, it made me all jumpy. Also as someone mentioned, when Clarence made the door disappear was a neat trick. Overall the visual effects were superb, especially near the end of the game when you have to run away around the facility with head spinning and vision blurring. I had a really hard time finding the correct door

In Overture I really got bored of the dogs, a couple of first ones were exciting but then it started to feel like the game was repeating itself and the shock factor totally wore off. And after I realized that I can actually kill them (I didn't want to, so it hadn't even occured to me earlier than about half-way through), it started to feel somewhat boring hack'n'slash. And yes, while there were other ways of getting rid of them, hacking with the axe was by far the easiest and fastest. Luckily there wasn't any of that in Black Plague.

Even though the music was excellent, there were times when I thought that it would be nicer if the music was off and you could only hear the few eerie sounds that echo along the relatively empty corridors of The Shelter.

I felt that the events were nicely combined with the gameplay, and I don't think there was even one puzzle that would have felt like it had nothing to do with the plot. In some games it feels like the puzzles are there just for the sake of having puzzles, but not in Penumbra. Well except maybe the one in Overture where you have the hot steam coming through the floor plates and you have to run through in correct order. But that can be overlooked as the exception that makes the rule

Oh, one thing about the doors. It was nice to be able to relax when I went through a door that caused loading, but on the other hand it also broke the atmosphere badly in some places where there were infected ones nearby. Felt almost like cheating, especially when you could make all kinds of noises in the room without anyone coming in. This is probably partly a technical problem, but maybe it could have been avoided with different level construction.

5) How did you like the characters in the game? Was their voices fitting? Was the voice acting good? What character did you like best / worst?

Spoiler below!

Clarence's lines were really good of course, and I liked Dr. Swanson's peculiar remarks too. The voices were good.

6) How did you like the ending?

Spoiler below!

For me it was somewhat disappointing. I mean, the main character goes through all kinds of ordeals that really give him something to think about, ways to look at a way bigger picture than just his own reflection in a mirror. In the end he is finally starting to show signs of understanding the hive mind, even passing a series of tests. And yet, all he can think of is its destruction. Here's a chance to grow, to go beyond his limits, to evolve, and still he has gone through all this for nothing. Well maybe the hive mind wasn't perfect either, but still I kind of saw the main character as failing and being really close-minded. It reminded me a bit of the ending of System Shock 2, which I didn't like so much either.

Technically the ending was good, the clicks of a computer keyboard and the white text appearing on the black screen were very suitable for the atmosphere of the game. Also the change of atmosphere for the hive tests was neat.

Overall I really loved both episodes of the game. This was the best gaming experience I have had in a while, and I will definitely buy your next game if it continues on the same track! Also big thanks for making the Linux version, wouldn't have played it otherwise.