AMFP Member Review Thread

[sasaluvsamnesia7]

I just beat this game a few hours ago, and so I present my own review. I hope it is not too long. It contains spoilers. Also, this is my opinion. Please do respect it.

Perhaps it is because I have never played a Custom Story, or perhaps it is because I am not used to playing survival horror, but I loved my one week and five days of ‘A Machine for Pigs.’ It had a variety of newly designed furnishings, and interactions, heart-pounding music and sounds, and I give The Chinese Room a B+ for working hard to give us a great sequel to the forever classic ‘Amnesia: The Dark Descent.’ With that said, here is my intake on the bits of the game:

Atmosphere and Sounds: - For the most part, I was not too afraid of the sounds, yet I still found them a step up from 'TDD'. One particular location really had me on edge with its sounds (beneath the church,) and I admit, I was scared (and yes, I scare easily. No making fun.) Nothing freaks me out more than hearing a baby cry and the caged location beneath the church had plenty of it. This was the first area where I felt truly scared for the first time.

Environment: - The game had some amazing levels, my favorites being: the outside territories, beneath the church, and 'the nest.' Many maze-like sections and turns kept me on my toes, though mostly nothing ever happened (such as the location where Oswald went far down the large pipes.) The game was beautiful, and I could see a lot of work went into it, and it did have that 'Amnesia' feel I love so much. If there had been more, my happiness would be much higher.

Interactions / Gameplay: - I couldn’t help but giggle when I saw I could turn a lamp on and off. Every time I came across one, I turned it off in order to keep in the shadows. Only certain objects were movable, including chairs and parts for puzzles to proceed on in the game… No more closets available to hide in. I think this may have been intended to make it harder to hide from the game’s monsters. Sneaking and staying in the shadows helped me to survive. Puzzles were equally as simple I felt as the ones in ‘TDD,’ and yes to me the puzzles in ‘TDD’ were easy. I can’t help that, I love puzzles. Also, I enjoyed clicking on the ringing telephone and the phonographs, as well as the, uh... Well, that voodoo-type electric doll you could make twitch.

Inventory: No oil, no tinderboxes, no health bar, no more sanity drainage… Most everything that made ‘TDD’ what it was had been taken from us. A good thing? Maybe… I honestly don’t know. I can understand the lantern being made the way it was, but we’ll get to that below. Frankly, I hated the sanity thing in the first game. It was more annoying hearing Daniel’s chattering teeth in my head above all else, and I was kind of glad it was gone. I was an oil and tinderbox hoarder anyway; I didn’t really go insane enough to have freaky stuff happen to me.

Lantern: As mentioned, no oil usage in this game! At first, I wasn’t too fond of the idea, but that was before I met with the caged, claustrophobic location underneath the church (my least favorite area in the whole game!) I began my descent down the dark stair, turned on my lantern, and noticed it starting to flicker. This confused me. ‘Why is my lantern flickering?’ I wondered, for I hadn’t used it all too much until that point. ‘Perhaps,’ I thought, ‘Is it because I’ve left it on a long time?’ I got my answer a second later, after I shut it off and took one more step down the stair. My first huge jump-scare as the pig monster jumped from right to left into view. Later on I realized that lights flicker when an enemy is near, and this is one thing I loved about the monsters in this compared to those in ‘TDD.’ If your lantern flicks, put it away, crouch low, and stay in the dark!

Length: - Honestly, I cannot see why so many are complaining about the length of this game! It took me no longer than 'TDD,' did, perhaps slightly less. Some of you have played far too many custom stories, and it sounds as if you didn’t bother to even appreciate all the game had to offer. As for me? Well, I did take it slow, I admired every single painting, every new piece of furniture, every corner I turned. I stopped to smell the roses, remained crouched, and took my sweet time, and I am so glad that I did. Do not forget that this game was not meant to be as long as it was originally. They made it for us into a full-out game. Play through it again, and this time, do not rush.

Monsters: - Being someone who has owned pigs in her lifetime, I knew I would be afraid of the concept of pig monsters since the announcement for 'AMFP' was made, and they did not disappoint. They scared me, but the four-legged, hunched type scared me more than the upright, more humanoid type. My favorite feature about them is the fact that instead of spawning by sounding off loudly like the Grunts and Brutes, the lights and lantern will instead flicker if they are nearby. I also found their way of patrolling fun. (You had to be sneaky! No going to hide and wait for them to vanish like in the first game. You had to get around them, and stay in the dark, and this made it more of a challenge, I feel.) Oh, and yes -- they are fast! I think many have complained about 'if you're spotted, you're done for,' but I'd beg to differ. I managed to escape all of those pig freaks, and my first running experience had me face one of them right straight up in the eye. They can be dodged, and they can be outsmarted. The only downfall I have is the return of the Kaernk (if that is what it is even supposed to me. It felt to be that for me.) It did not scare me. It is no longer scary!

Music: - By far, the music is the greatest aspect of ‘A Machine for Pigs.’ I love Jessica Curry’s work, and will leave it at that. 10 / 10!

Puzzles: - I love puzzles, and as I've mentioned I found the puzzles in 'AMFP' to be easy, and early achievable. Though there were some points I struggled (mainly the first true puzzle where you had to find and gather the batteries to replace with new simply because this was the first dark area, and I was a bit afraid.) Otherwise, for me they were easy, and I wouldn't of minded if they had been a tad more of a challenge.

Story: - I'm changing my answer to this. As disappointed as I was by the 'feel of having been given spoilers' before the game's release, I was impressed with the writing, and the story, and am still confused even after reading everyone's interpretations on this forum about what occurred: the how, the why, the who, etc... and I am eager to learn more, and try to figure out more. Was Oswald truly a victim of amnesia, is one question I have on mind, or was he simply pretending because he wanted to forget about the damage he caused? Was it just him who caused this damage, or did he have help? I wonder was he a part of the machine, did he sacrifice his own children, or were their deaths an accident? There's so much more to think about, and I plan on going through the game again to get more and more ideas. I was very impressed, though The Chinese Room, next time you release a game, please do not give out poems or 'possible spoilers' next time.

Voice Acting: - I honestly admit that I did not find the voice acting to be all that great. Whoever voiced the professor / machine did wonderfully, but often I felt the voices behind Oswald and the children didn't possess enough emotion, at certain points.

Overall, I love the game! I do not play a lot of games, therefore this was special to me; a treat I delightfully lapped up. Since I am not a fan of custom stories, nor have I ever played one, I couldn't wait to play this game, and I will play this over again just like I will still with ‘Amnesia: The Dark Descent.’

So, I am sorry to those of you who found it a 'disappointment,' and 'not worth it,' but I enjoyed it from start to finish, and am looking forward to giving it another round.