AMFP Member Review Thread

[Sarcelle]

I felt like making an account just to get some thoughts off of my chest.

I thought this game was amazing. I also thought that it was very different than TDD. So different in fact that a direct comparison seems like a pointless (I want to say oinkless) affair. TDD set out to make a horror game first, based around numerous gameplay elements that make the player feel threatened, alone, and ultimately terrified. I think that AMFP set out to tell a story, one that was set in a potentially frightening environment. The worst parts of the game are when they tried the hardest to scare me, in my opinion.

I spent the first half of the game, up until the first monster encounter, quaking in my boots. Well, I lied. Every time I entered a new area I would be quaking in my boots. Then when I realized it was clear I'd jog around like everything was fine. But the first half or so had the aura of dread down pat. In hindsight the part before you enter the church was hilarious. I was running like a mad man to fill up that truck when there was absolutely nothing chasing me.

The reveal of the first actual pig man was rather disappointing. I turned a corner and oh look that's bad better go and hide now. Then I snuck by it. After that encounter every time I saw a pig man I wasn't scared, I was just a little annoyed. It meant I'd have to go through a tedious stealth sequence again. Hearing snorting or seeing lights flicker didn't fray at my nerves, just my patience. I did however love that in the sewers you were constantly hearing pigs all around you, and I had worked myself into a right terror, while in hindsight they were completely devoid of threat. And there were a few good shock moments. Falling into the water in the bilge room was a few seconds of frantic sprinting. The Tesla Pig was a welcome treat, and the final dash through those corridors got my heart pounding. (Also, people seem to think the Tesla Pig came out of nowhere? There were notes referring to dimension hopping pigs from awhile back in the game, and the sewers were filled with them. That seemed pretty heavily foreshadowed to me.)

But I honestly don't think that these parts matter all that much. Sure, the AI of the pig monsters could have been much better. They could have been much scarier. The monsters were rather tacked on, but for me that didn't detract from the story AMFP was trying to tell. Or from the amazing level and sound design that kept me hooked right from the start. The first segment entertained me with its aura of dread, the middle segment dragged with its reliance on terror that wasn't there, and the ending segment I found a work of art. The final five minutes of the game, completely devoid of meaningful gameplay, were in my opinion very much worth the price of admission.

If you want to play a game exactly like ADD, but in a new location, look elsewhere (Outlast?). This is not a game that will shock and terrify you (though I think horrify is a word I would apply to much of it) from start to end. But if you want to experience an amazing display of digital storytelling with powerful and evocative level and sound design, then AMFP hits the nail right on the head. In others words, this is a poor direct sequel to the first Amnesia, but it's not supposed to be. It's not Amnesia 2: AMFP. It's something similar, yet rather different. And I think it's something beautiful.