Slightly disappointed by Penumbra Overture

[Googolplex]

Dude, I love Penumbra vs. Amnesia fights.

I played Amnesia first and was amazed with every single aspect of it. Then I heard about Penumbra and about all the claims of it being better than Amnesia. When I finally got Overture and played, I was disappointed. I mean, I knew it was older than Amnesia, but still... I didn't feel connected to Red at all. I mean, I guess everybody feels something when they hear those cries of agony, but that was it. The story seemed to have holes, etc. Also, I can say that after playing Amnesia I was literally not actually scared as I was in Amnesia a single time in Penumbra. My heart kinda leapt at the rock worm chase, but that was really it. The combat was...bad. Black Plague was much better, better scares, better story, better atmosphere, better everything. I played Requiem for like half an hour and got too bored to continue. I'm trying not to hate on Penumbra here, they were still good. But... I don't know.



So, overall, Amnesia was better. It fixed everything from the Penumbra games, and if you've played Justine, you know about the chase in the Dungeon which is, in my opinion, one of if not the scariest ever moments in a game.

This is really really wrong.


I played Penumbra first and then Amnesia.



Yes, Amnesia was very creepy, but Penumbra also. And in combination with that, Penumbra had a better atmosphere, you feel more alone in the mine/shelter than in the castle. The dogs, spiders and infected are very scary. The combat system in Penumbra isn't thought for fighting back. It never was the goal of the game to kill enemies!



You should use this system only for solving puzzles, use your weapons as tools or something else.



When you decided to fight, it is good that this system isn't very userfriendly in the beginning. It should not easy to kill enemies and it isn't.



The puzzles in Penumbra are way much better than in Amnesia and the physics feel more realistic, because objects have a mass. You feel the weight when throwing them or open a door.

In Penumbra you need objects for physical puzzles and in Amnesia the objects are only for decor.



The puzzles are using more logical physics and you need more thoughts to find a way.

Remember repairing of the generators, find the battery and the engine, find the code for the door into workshop, creating the fuse to blow up the mine, hearing the morse code from radio, get into the spider tunnel into the storage room, mix the chemicals in right order and all that stuff...



Amnesia only had some very easy puzzles and it was more a pure horror game than a thoughtful horror-adventure. Amnesia was more a "run away from monster" game. Both are good games, but Penumbra is the better experience at all. Mainly Overture is the most involving game ever. Black Plague was little more scary, but less puzzles, not so good story, some levels are only in minds and clarence's talking was destroying the gameplay all times.

[Funman]

They're both completely different games and we can all agree they're probably the best and scariest horror games out there.

I just enjoyed Amnesia a bit more, not sure why. It's probably because i played it first. If I'd played Penumbra first I may have liked it more.

[Googolplex]

I just enjoyed Amnesia a bit more, not sure why. It's probably because i played it first. If I'd played Penumbra first I may have liked it more.

This is what I believe too.

[BrooksyFC]

I just enjoyed Amnesia a bit more, not sure why. It's probably because i played it first. If I'd played Penumbra first I may have liked it more.

This is what I believe too.

Yeah I got told to come around and play amnesia when it came out, knew nothing about Frictional Games at the time. Scared the crap out of me. Then my mate told me about the previous games. Started playing through Overture and loved it. When you first enter the mine, not knowing what was down there, had an great atmosphere and kept me on edge wherever I went. Knowing that every corner had a dog or something around it.

But after my first dog chase (dying a few times) I realized that you can just out run the dogs and get to a main door to escape, but I guess that's the same with Amnesia, but you have more protection while hiding. I know that you are meant to use stealth on Penumbra, but I found it more entertaining running around them, weren't that scary after a while. But still getting chased is terrifying knowing that you can't afford to look back.

[Googolplex]

As you say while you go into the unknown dark mine shaft, the atmosphere was grandious!

Much more better than in Amnesia where you are in the castle from beginning.

Penumbra first starts normal, without any horror and then all things become changed.

Penumbra has a way much better atmosphere than Amnesia and even more complex puzzles.

So it wins the battle for me.

Maybe when you play Amnesia first, you are conditioned with the scariest horror and then Penumbra isn't a trumph. But at all the game is just the better experience and the atmosphere is more oppresive than in Amnesia.

Well, Amnesia also is oppressive, but when you played Penumbra first, you feel a lot of missed stuff in the game.


Only walk, open door, read note, walk, open door, read note, run away from monster and walk, open door again.
There is nothing to explore nothing to find out, less ideas and repair work (except a little).
It is only horror, but Penumbra was both - horror and puzzles, it was more an adventure and this is what I enjoyed.

[BrooksyFC]

Yeah I agree. Although Penumbra (Overture, Black Plague next) is classed as a horror, there wasn't a lot of "horror moments." There were a few scares, but they were just jumpy moments. Fair enough getting chased by a giant worm and blocking tunnels is intense, but thats just to keep the player on edge. I see horror as some weird creatures (Like Floppy Jaw) and some gore elements, but Black Plague seems to have that element.

Amnesia doesn't really do that, apart from running from that monster through the barriers or in Justine pulling gears and leavers at the end. As you said, It's literally, walk, read a note, weird noise, run from monster, hide, walk and repeat. It works well though cause the setting and atmosphere is amazing.

Starting off in a castle was kinda cool though, this was one of the first proper horrors I've played. Not knowing what your doing here and what to expect. Penumbra did it better with the mine, again not knowing what to expect and what to find and cause you weren't meant to go in there, it was only as shelter. I've seen the start of Black Plague in the room, works the same way.

[Googolplex]

Just the atmosphere in Penumbra is enough to be horror.
A game doesn't need monsters to be horror. Look at Penumbra Requiem, it is horror without enemies and weapons. There's only one corpse in the beginning.
Some people sayd it isn't horror anymore, but they said it only when they played the much more scary Black Plague before. At all Requiem is horror and more scary than any other game.
Monster clichées isn't must to have in a horror game.
Amnesia is more cruel than Penumbra because of the story and the torture chambers. But to run away from a monster as a quick-time event isn't scary at all. It is more disturbing the game in case of this "event-feeling" which is typical in games.
Environments in Penumbra are more dirty, the flickering lights and the kennel is more scary than any monster in Amnesia. So, therefore Amnesia is only a main horror game that shows dark emotions of humanity, but without having adventure elements, Penumbra wins the battle.
But everybody's opinion is different in this way...

[BrooksyFC]

Yeah the dull and very dark scene seems a better way to set the game, the castle in Amnesia has windows and you kinda have a feel of freedom of the outside world. With Overture, your in a trapped mine knowing that you can't turn back and the only way to get out and escape is to more forward and explore. Such a great game. The more we talk about it, the better it sounds haha.

Compared to most horrors (films and games) where you actually see the monster and know what your up against, kinda kills the horror in some way. Like the more I came across a dog and spiders, I would just run in front of it and run away. Made it more fun, especially the spiders, until one jumped in front of my face. never panicked so much haha.

Films like Paranormal Activity (first thing that came to my head) works really well as a horror. Has some great jumpy moments, and the fact you don't actually see what is haunting them and what it looks like, makes it much more intense. Can't think of many games that doesn't really show the monster. Guess it sort works with amnesia cause you don't properly see the monster till a bit later on.

[BlueFury]

@flcn27
Penumbra's atmosphere is much more creepy than Amnesia.

no offense, but accept his opinion dude, it's your own opinion on what you find scarier, some people are way more creeped out by old abandoned castles and others by underground facilities

[BrooksyFC]

@flcn27
Penumbra's atmosphere is much more creepy than Amnesia.

no offense, but accept his opinion dude, it's your own opinion on what you find scarier, some people are way more creeped out by old abandoned castles and others by underground facilities

I still find Amnesia scary, but both have there own element of scariness. When I first played it, even the doors swinging open and the weird noises still makes the game scary. When you enter a new area and Philip starts talking to himself, that freaked me out, cause I thought there was someone in the room with me, like the guy who eats the spiders near the start.

But I think the way they kinda tease the monster near the start and the suddenly you see it later gives the player a shock.