I recently replayed Amnesia: The Dark Descent as it got updated with achievements and decided to write a review afterwards. Amnesia: TDD is an amazing horror game packed with interesting and challenging puzzles, a very eerie atmosphere and dangerous monsters.


Ingame you have a health and a sanity level, hiding in the darkness decreases your sanity but makes it harder for monsters to spot you, staying near light or lighting your lantern stops your sanity from decreasing but allows monsters to easily spot you, solving puzzles and progressing increases your sanity if you have lost any, but looking at monsters decreases it as well. Once you have gone completely insane you break down on the floor and can't move for a few seconds, this makes it incredibly easy for monsters to get you if there are any around, after getting up again your sanity will be restored to the best possible level. Being hit by a monster or environmental hazard decreases your health which can be refilled with Laudanum, a chemical you can rarely find ingame. Besides Laudanum there are multiple other things you can find, those things include tinderboxes, which can be used to light light sources, notes, which can be read, oil, which can be used to refill your lantern, and various other, mostly puzzle related items. The monsters wander around the levels searching for you, they are attracted by light and sounds, so you should be quiet and avoid lights around them. You'll know when they're around though thanks of the grotesque noises they make. If they spot you they start chasing you, so you better hide quickly because they're faster than you as well! There's also another type of monster that behaves completely different than the others, which you'll have to find for yourself if you do decide to play the game!

The gameplay mechanics above result in the game being hard but balanced, you can hide in the dark but if you stay there for too long you'll have to suffer the consequences, using your lantern gives you a mobile but limited light source which can be turned off if necessary, but staying near a light source lit by a tinderbox or a natural light source will not consume your precious oil but could put you in a more dangerous situation. While there are a lot of parts where these horrifying creatures hunt you, sadly there are also a lot of boring parts where not all that much is happening, it would've probably been better if the different creatures appeared more often, especially during puzzles, although that could just be me.

Another thing that this game is quite popular for is its amazing physics engine which allows you to interact with almost any object by either taking and throwing it around (small objects), by pushing/pulling it (larger objects) or by opening/closing it (doors and drawers). This results in many precious items being hidden behind a few barrels or inside a drawer and is required in many puzzles. Additionally throwing a box at a monster can give you precious seconds in an intense chase as it stuns the monster for a short period of time.

The story is very deep and interesting and I never skipped a note thinking it would not be worth my time reading the note. The notes generally explain the story very well and pretty much everything is explained throughout the game. I won't go into much detail describing the story itself as that would ruin the fun in exploring it yourself, the store page already provides the necessary story elements. There are three different endings.

Atmosphere is probably one of the strongest elements of this game, not only will the soundscape give you goosebumps but the tension you feel when being chased by a monster or the fear you feel when a monster is walking by is unmet by any other game I've played.

The puzzles are always challenging and interesting and solving them feels satisfying. Especially good are the puzzles you have to solve while monsters are around, these puzzles, besides the atmosphere, are one of the greatest elements in Amnesia. While the puzzles are definitely not easy they are never unsolvable and never break the immersion, you'll always have an idea of what you have to do and if not then a little looking around will give you the hint you need.

While the graphics are definitely dated they are still quite acceptable and especially the light effects look very nice. The monsters look disgusting and really give you the creeps.

The price of 19.99€ totally justifies the average completion time of 10 hours, especially considering the general quality of the game in addition to the free "Justine" DLC and the "Remember" story collection (both of which I will take a look at later) packed with the game. Besides that, due to the freely available in-house HPL 2 engine which the game uses, players are able to create and distribute custom storys which others can download and play, these are officially supported and can be loaded ingame, this allows for infinite horror!


In conclusion, Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a masterpiece in game design and a must-have for every horror fan, with amazing puzzles and gameplay, a deep story, an incredible atmosphere, nightmare-inducing monsters and the ability to create custom stories which makes the fun endless!



(spoilers ahead)

In the free Justine DLC you take on the role of Justine Florbelle, a young woman who drank an amnesia mixture and has to pass tests in her own "Cabinet of Perturbation", guided by her own voice she has to survive against three imprisoned suitors and has the chance to either kill or save three other prisoners.

The DLC is quite different from the main game, it is much more linear and it doesn't have the same atmosphere as the main game, nonetheless it is still interesting and the fact that you can't save the game at all is a nice twist, even though it is still not that hard to beat considering the average playtime of 30 minutes. While the atmosphere is not that good the last chase scene with the third suitor Malo de Vigny (who wants to eat your flesh btw) is definitely the most intense moment in the whole game which will definitely have you drenched in sweat at the end!

While the monsters in the main game only emit animalistic noises the three suitors can speak and despite them having the same model they all have a different personality. The three prisoners have their own personality as well as a story which Justine explains after you've decided their fate.

Even though the DLC is not as good as the main game it is still an interesting experience and worth playing especially considering it's completely free!




Remember is a story collection containing 5 stories that explain the backstory of Amnesia a bit more, they are nicely illustrated and while it is probably not interesting to a majority of players it is definitely a nice read if you are interested in the story of the game. I think it would've been able to reach a broader audience if it was slightly animated and narrated or even turned into small levels like some flashbacks in the main game but I understand that that probably would've required too much effort to be worth it.