Can I play AMFP without having played TDD?

[PiratesFr33k]

Hey there people!

Just yesterday I've finished "SOMA", which was one of the best experiences in gaming I've ever had (and yeah, I'm turning 33 next Tuesday and have been a gamer since 1991, mostly addicted to adventure games and other heavily story-based games, so... that says a lot about the power of "SOMA").

I've only just seen a spoiler-free review of "Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs" on Gametrailers.com and the game looks very story-based, too, just like "SOMA". I'm not that much of a fan of the "hide from terrifying creatures" kind of gameplay, so I thought "A Machine for Pigs" might fit my tastes better than "Amnesia: The Dark Descent".

Is it possible to play "AMFP" BEFORE playing "TDD"?
Would I miss a lot of references or even... I don't know... not fully understand the world it plays in?

(Please keep your answers spoiler-free. )
Thanks in advance for any info!

[Romulator]

Yes. They take place in the same universe, but there is very little actual knowlege required of TDD to play AAMFP.

[Yuhaney]

I would recommend you to play AMFP first because the developer is different. You will notice it to be slightly/very different from TDD and that's why many people either disliked or purely hated the game. Same thing with Penumbra: Requiem. It's a bit "meh", but fun as it is, if you know what you are getting into.

I have to say I didn't like the gameplay of AMFP to the degree I liked TDD and previous titles. Music, sound, story, environment and all that is great but gameplay and the complete feel wasn't like it has been since 2007. Sure, you can pick up some items and roll them around to investigate, like always, but like 50% of the items are untouchable and most cabinets are empty, making searching and the pleasure of finding stuff even less worthwhile.

I haven't played SOMA yet, but I would find it weird if Frictional Games chose to go like this... Therefore I will throw out, based on my previous experience, that you will find AMFP to be different gameplay-wise.

As a last thing, don't get me wrong. It's still a good game and I recommend you to play it. Just not like you would play its predecessor... and yes, you can play it before TDD because they have nothing in common, except name and universe.

[PiratesFr33k]

Thanks very much for your replies!

Regarding SOMA... there's a LOT of stuff/clutter there to pick up and roll around, but it's mostly just that. Clutter. Then again, you can pretty much pick up every object in the game, so that sounds a bit more like TDD. I would describe SOMA as a heavily story-driven first-person exploration game with the occasional puzzles and a few enemies thrown in, from which you have to hide or which you have to work your way around. They are just not as frequent as in TDD. So I *think* that SOMA is kind of like a middle ground between TDD and AMFP.

But again: I absolutely *ADORE* SOMA. I'm a huge fan of story-driven games. I do like survival horror games, but clearly not as much. So... based on your reply, IIPEE, it really sounds like AMFP would be better for me than TDD.

Thanks again!

[Yuhaney]

After playing, could you tell us how you felt about AMFP? I'm curious.

I'm a huge fan of story-driven games.

I don't know if you know these but here are few Frictional Games gems that are free:

Fiend (2001)
This is a top-down pixel graphic survival horror game. Worth of few hours of game time.

Penumbra Tech Demo (2006)
This is the game which I played first back in 2006. Worth of max 1 hour of game time. This game was later made into a full game, which is now known as Penumbra: Overture.

UNBIRTH (2001)
This is an alpha/beta stage game, which will often crash and you will have to load most of the levels separately. However, if you want to take a look, it will show how early in their history they had found what kind of games they will focus on. Some of the music got carried over to Penumbra Tech Demo.

[PiratesFr33k]

Thanks for mentioning the games – I have them all.
I bought each game in the Penumbra series right when they were released, specifically because I had played the tech demo before. (I remember being absolutely astounded by the way the player has to really *pull* the doors open as opposed to just pressing a button like in every other game.)

Back in the day, I read about "Fiend" on some self-declared "abandonware" site. I like that game!

[Googolplex]

Definitely play both, no matter which you play first. They are different games. Play AMFP, then TDD and then Penumbra series (Overture, Black Plague, Requiem).

AMFP's story is even better than SOMA's. TDD and Black Plague are the scariest, Overture is the best at atmosphere and puzzles.

Have a scary halloween.

[PatPeter]

If Frictional Games had developed their own sequel to Amnesia like they had SOMA, whatever Amnesia 2 would have been named, it would have been a hell of a lot better than AMFP.

Absolutely play The Dark Descent first. It is wholly and truly the Amnesia package, with sanity, inventory, plates that you can throw against the wall, etc.

[Mudbill]

There are some plot elements that play part in both, so playing the first might clear up some cryptic things in the AMFP. Most notably the "pebble," without spoiling anything.

[Googolplex]

If Frictional Games had developed their own sequel to Amnesia like they had SOMA, whatever Amnesia 2 would have been named, it would have been a hell of a lot better than AMFP.

Absolutely play The Dark Descent first. It is wholly and truly the Amnesia package, with sanity, inventory, plates that you can throw against the wall, etc.

Amnesia 2 would be the worst name for a sequel. I generally hate numbers in names. But yes, TDD is better and scarier, but AMFP has the best story of all video games and the atmosphere is also quite good.