AMFP Member Review Thread

[XDamienDaKillaX]

I am not going to bash the game as many as have, or hate on the game for its lack of inventory; I do not care for the lack of inventory, or the removal of sanity. I do agree on one thing though, it was not a worthy Amnesia title.
Now now, I know what you're all thinking, "He's just gonna say the game wasn't scary and give it a 3/10 like everyone else, and his opinion isn't valid because he is a new member of the forum!", No. The game was scary, it had me refusing to continue at points, but OVERALL, it was not a worthy Amnesia successor.
Its graphics were great. Nothing else needs to be said.
Its story was great; I did not like how in the very beginning everything was straight to the point, Mandus must find his children and that's it. The pacing of the story in the beginning isn't too good either though once you exit the Mansion area those two complaints change and the story just gets progressively more awesome. Oswald also never makes a mention of having amnesia for some reason. It was stated he has no idea how much time has passed since his last memory, he never says this in-game. Does anyone else find it strange that he is never mentioned by the name Oswald? When his name appeared near the end of the game, people did not even know who he was, as they did not research the game prior to release.
Music was excellent.
Atmosphere was excellent, up until the final few chapters. When everything starting being

Spoiler below!

WAAAAAAAY out there, rivers of blood, and that sort, everything just felt... off. The creepy atmosphere went to being no atmosphere at all, and I just kept thinking to myself "What the hell is going on?" and not in a good way.

So this comes to my two major complaints about the game; How the monsters are presented, and the final few chapters. I'll start off with the end of the game as it is easier to explain.
The end of the game does not feel like Amnesia. It goes in a totally different direction, which is okay, but it feels too out there. The atmosphere from the game is killed, I had no fear anymore, or fear of the unknown for that matter, I just felt it was an entirely different game. Even the

Spoiler below!

Tesla Pigman

did not ignite fear in me, and it just felt like it was lumbering around, aimlessly. You're all probably gonna say, "But TCR wanted it to be a different Amnesia and it wasn't supposed to be all scary" and this and that. AMNESIA is in the title, no matter how you look at it. I just expected that the majority of the time, the atmosphere be intimidating, and it wasn't at the end of the game. Don't get me wrong, the game is absolutely fantastic, I just wish more fear was invoked in me as the game went on.
For the second major complaint, the pigs. There are only 7 dangerous encounters with the pigs, and most of them are underwhelming. The first one was excellent, you'll know why when you play it. The second one was meh, only because of how big the area was, and the fact you could see the pig from a mile away. The third one is one of the two scripted chases in the game, and it is terrifying if you are immersed. The fourth one introduces a new type of pig, and there are two of them. Once again, you can spot them from a mile away and even if they notice you, you aren't really gonna panic. The fifth one is the second scripted chase- no fear at all. I saw it, and ran. That's it. Wasn't scared or anything, due to it being a straight path. The sixth is entirely optional; if you are stupid and jump down, it attacks you. You can entirely avoid it by just going the other way. The seventh and final encounter introduces another new type of pig. Very boring. You'll see why. The fact I can remember every encounter in detail is not a good thing.

Overall, I don't think the game is a worthy Amnesia successor. Had it been called A Machine for Pigs, it would have been received much better. I give it an 8 out of 10, as the story, graphics, music and atmosphere (for the most part) are great.
One more thing. Take away the enemies from the game. You got yourself Dear Esther version 20.0. However, that isn't exactly a bad thing, just something I realized and thought I should mention.