Just... wow

[Cyclometh]

I'd barely heard of Frictional Games before two days ago. I like horror games, but most (all) so-called "survival horror" games are really just an FPS with a lot of monsters bashing in doors and bad inventory management. I've always craved that rare game that can freak you out. I've been seeking that kind of gameplay since, hell- anyone remember The Seventh Guest? I'm an old-school horror fan. I like the Cthulhu Mythos enough that I produced a live version of The King In Yellow. I've never seen a video game that could even remotely approach the hallmarks of true Lovecraftian horror - helplessness and sheer terror in the face of absolute impossibility.

So I see Amnesia on Steam and think "what the hell, it's only 20 bucks" and snag a copy of it after reading the reviews, especially the bits that tease me with its Lovecraftian overtones, which is my absolute favorite horror genre. I figure it should be fun, maybe even a little freaky if done right.

Done right? You could say that.

I just shut down the game a bit ago, and my hands were shaking and there was a sheen of sweat on my forehead. I've never had a more terrifying experience in a video game. I knew I was hooked the first time I heard the noise in the next room and hid in the closet- I realized I was shaking in real life, I was so immersed in the story and the gameplay. I found myself thinking "So that's what it'd be like to meet up with a Shoggoth."

I had to laugh at myself- I'm a forty year old man quaking in my boots, my hands shaking- over a VIDEO GAME. Unbelievable, and the team behind this game should be incredibly proud of what they've created. I have no idea how much longer the story goes, and I don't even care. I've gotten well more than the twenty dollars I spent on it, and I can't wait to see what you folks come up with next.

[enk]

It's a great game.
So much better than most other games out there today.

[wild09]

I've never seen a video game that could even remotely approach the hallmarks of true Lovecraftian horror

Do yourself a favor and play Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth if you have an original Xbox. It's an amazingly well told, frightening game that adapts some of Lovecraft's works into the game's story. For that matter pick up Frictional Games' Penumbra series (note: Requiem isn't actually scary, it's more or less like a puzzle game). A warning though about Call of Cthulhu, if you try to play it on the 360 I don't recommend it as the music and sound cuts out and a horror just isn't scary without music or sound. It's also on the PC but it has some impassible game breaking glitches that were never patched.

[tonewww]

Oh those glitches in call of cthulu were HORRIBLE!