Thursday 12 September 2013

My thoughts and review of: Amnesia - A Machine for Pigs.


Amnesia  A Machine for Pigs was one of my most anticipated games. I loved The Dark Descent and the Penumbra series. So I thought it can't go wrong. This game was made by The Chinese Room (Dear Esther), not by Frictional Games. The music composer is Jessica Curry, not Mikko Tarmia. I loved Tarmia's work in Amnesia. But I was hoping. "Don't be afraid, it will be all right." Said to myself. I got the game, I played it through in 5 hours and... oh, my heart broke. This was not, what I expected. The story was pretty good and twisty, the graphics are nice (not very modern, similar to The Dark Descent, but stylish and has high variety of areas). The sound effects are top-notch... BUT! Not very scary. The machines, the environmental sounds, the weird noises were not enough to make me feel I play with the first game.

The feeling was not right. The enemies are very easy to avoid, I played it through without dying. The puzzles are simple. There is no inventory (and I didn't really miss it), no sanity-meter, and there is infinite portable light source. The light source was a bad thing. It can be always on. It gave more safety feel. Ah, what a missed opportunity.


The story, the main character, the areas were all right, but they torn out the heart of the "machine". They torn out, what made the first game that good. I'm very disappointed. I wanted to love the game. And I still don't say, it's bad. But it's not scary. It's a good game about madness, exploration, science, swines, and children... But it is short, it is not what I really waited for. I'm frustrated. I really hoped they'll do it right. I really hope, next Amnesia game will be made only by Frictional Games. I want Mikko Tarmia back (well, Jessica Curry was good in her way, but it didn't made that scary, depressing atmosphere, I feel she didn't want to...). I want to feel the fear again. I want them to fix the gears of that machine, the machine, the heart, that made Amnesia  The Dark Descent a great experience.


No... I don't have problem with The Chinese Room. But if they make the next Amnesia, yes, I really want a next Amnesia, please, do it right.

There was so much potential in this one, but they unfortunately, missed the chance. It broke my heart...

I wrote the same review on Metacritic as user (AdamP)

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