Game: Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs
Console: PC
Developer: The Chinese Room
Release Date: 10th September 2013
An indirect sequel to the somewhat scarier Amnesia: The Dark Descent, this game tells an unrelated story of a rich Londoner who is attempting to rescue his children who are trapped. Able to hear their voices calling to him, and recover fragments of his memories from the past, you attempt to help piece the story together and find the children. The game is described as survival horror but there's only a couple of moments when you'll find yourself in real danger. Other than this there's a spooky atmosphere, but on a second playthrough you'd know that nothing is there to harm you.
Gameplay consists of exploring from a first person view, picking up notes and journal entries, and solving puzzles to progress through to the next location. Overall the game has an industrial feel from the beginning, with valves, levers, gears and mechanisms featuring heavily. Many of the puzzles are simple and involve turning the correct lever or fixing/breaking different machine parts. Although the way forward is not always completely obvious, the notes in the journal give clues as to what the player must do to progress.
The in game locations are pretty interesting on the whole, with more recognisible places such as the church and mansion being my favourite due to their decor and detail. Later on in the game, there are areas which are less specific in their location and consist of lots of machine parts and metallic structures. Although these fit into the story and aesthetic of the game, the second half seems to spend all of its time in nondescript underground locations such as these which adds a monotony to exploration.
The story as a whole can be a little confusing with events being remembered from different occasions, not necessarily in chronological order. There are also parts of the narrative which are imagined or presented in such a way that you don't have all the facts until later in the game. Once it's all been explained however, the story is somewhat of an anticlimax, the very lightest of our assumptions having come true without much other horror to add to the ambience of the game.
The enemies that the player encounters are few and far between, with most glimpses of them occurring in safe spots. The game could have benefitted from a few more scary moments as it constantly felt as if tension was building, only to melt away once nothing was revealed to be behind the next door. The enemies themselves are scary enough and when there's one chasing you, it's still a horror style experience.
The game's controls are slightly different from the first game in the Amnesia line as there's no inventory, so only one item can be carried at a time. You're able to run, crouch, jump and interact with objects in addition to moving around. There's also a lantern to help with particularly dark spaces of the game, and most puzzles are solved fairly easily once you're aware of what needs to be done.
Graphically the game is pretty impressive with a generally high level of detail on machinery, paintings and other objects featured in the game. The sound effects featured add to the overall horror feel of the game, and are perhaps the scariest part on reflection. The voice acting featured is well performed and explains some parts of the story well, although it isn't used on the journal entries and notes.
Overall Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs doesn't bring many survival or horror elements to the table. There's some fun in exploration and piecing together the story and the characters aren't too badly written, but I feel that for a game with a far scarier prequel and elements of the horror that I wanted it to fully achieve, it comes up a little short.
Rating: 66/100
Grade: C
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