Amnesia VS Penumbra

[BrooksyFC]

I think it's hard to say which was the better out of the 2 games. Amnesia has an amazing atmosphere, great lighting effects and the element of survival. But Penumbra has the horror style, but features more challenging puzzles as well as surviving (but you can defend yourself)

I've only played most of Overture and seen a bit of Black Plague, but I think Penumbra has the edge over it as I enjoy doing the puzzles, but doing them in the under pressure from the dogs or worms chasing/hunting you, makes the game so much more intense.

[mastervolo]

IMO Penumbra is the better game. I found that having the back story right from the get go made me care more for the main character and the immediate and complete sense of isolation as soon as the cave collapses was super freaky. Then the story and scares for the rest of the game were amazing.

Amnesia was a great game, but I didn't immediately connect with it as I did in Penumbra.

[Insanity]

My review on BOTH games.
Penumbra (I'm not including requiem) is a more slow paced, atmospheric phychological survival horror compared to amnesia. But Amnesia's specialty is clever puzzles and tense chases. In terms of story penumbra beats Amnesia but that doesn't mean Amnesia wasn't far behind, the thing about Amnesia's story can be summed up in one sentence: Kill Alexander. Penumbra's story starts off like that but then starts building up into something bigger. Which I liked, personaly.
Another thing I would like to comment on, would be the encounters with the memorable enemies from the minds of Fricional Games. Amnesia's encounters are almost all scripted. With Penumbra on the other hand, the Enemies patrol around a large area and never go away. This introduces an element of unpredictability, so you don't know when they will attack or even where they're coming from. But that changed in Black Plague where since you could not kill the enemies, they created more scripted scenes to perhaps reduce the difficulty and repetitivty of constantly hiding in the shadows.
As a conclusion, I think it's not about which is better, it's about which one is better for your tastes. For example, Amnesia for adreneline Junkies and Thrill seekers. Penumbra can give those kicks, but I think the games are more about story atmospere and puzzles. If Frictional continue doing the best of both like this, their games will never get old.
Thankyou for your time.

[Gunslingerjh]

I'm a story guy, so i'd choose penumbra over amnesia

[Damascus Rose]

I liked Amnesia's story more than Penumbra, it was more dark and f**ked up IMO (with the torture) but Penumbra's story was excellent too. Especially Clarence and Red.

[spukrian]

Both games are great. Amnesia is scarier, but Penumbra is the better game IMHO.

[raptorhunter6]

Well I played the Penumbra games before Amnesia and i gotta say, they were great and very thrilling with the worm chase scene in Overture and Clarence chasing you in Black Plague. But Requiem, well ehhhh, I stopped midway of playing cuz it wasn't on par with the previous games of the series. But I overall felt it creepy and well I guess I sorta panicked even in Overture because any small slip the dog would run away and call others, then I'd be fucked. And in Black Plague, the alternate reality scene really fucks your mind. I really enjoyed it overall and the story-line and the infected were some creepy weird things, and I was terrified the whole time. I gotta say though they did a better job in Black Plague than Overture but overall Penumbra was great.

Now Amnesia, they took it to another level of gameplay, sure they didn't have monsters with flashlights, nor weapons as in Overture, but it was an amazing game to play. The noise when you are spotted really makes you panic and you know that looking back will be your worst mistake ever if you have a Brute after you. That's another thing, from the Gatherers to the Brute, hell even the Kaernk were greatly designed in the way they interact in the game, and their physical design, very creepy and wtf-ish. (I just hope the Pig from Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is equally great). The story was great but I thought it focused more on the atmosphere and making you want to go hide in a corner and stay there. And the ability to play custom stories makes the fun and scares never ending.

Basically, they are both different games with their own creepy qualities yet they both let you become immersed in the gameplay. You can't really compare them as it is more about your own personal tastes. I gotta say though, they were both amazing and great, I've had to quit between sessions of playing because I got creeped out.

[Dune Jumper]

Amnesia is scarier.
Penumbra is funner.

[Damascus Rose]

I donno. I found those dogs in Penumbra to be incredibly annoying as well as the hub designs. Also, most of the crap you find (flares, dynamite) are useless. But I guess it's more fun, and less in-your-face than amnesia.

[Googolplex]

If you ask me for a "winner". I would say: PENUMBRA