For as long as I've been able to hold a controller, I've had a fascination with horror games. From the giant spider in Uncle Fester's Quest on the NES to Still Wakes the Deep's unsettling body monstrosities inspired by The Thing, there's something about being scared while gaming that's been a constant in my life. No more is this true than with Frictional Games' Amnesia series.

There was a time in the early 2000s when horror seemed to be struggling with its identity. Resident Evil had lost its way with more action-based releases and we hadn't really had a notable Silent Hill game since the third one. Honestly, until Dead Space arrived in 2008, we pretty much had to turn to less mainstream games like Fatal Frame. Even the phenomenal BioShock felt more like action with a str??ong narrative than it did pure survival horror.

Then Frictional came along and �at least for me �wrote new rules on how to scare players. As such, I feel it's my duty to rank all the Amnesia games from worst to best. This list is based on my own opinions rather than Metacritic scores or sales figures. Also, calling any of them the "worst" is a bit of a misnomer. I value?? all the entries, but I just consider some to ?be more impactful than others.

Amnesia: Rebirth (2020)

Frictional Games had been away from the Amnesia series for some time, having published, rather than developed, the second game and releasing SOMA in the interim. However, with Rebirth, it felt like the studio wanted ?to have another crack at the universe that helped put it on the indie h?orror radar.

Maintaining the formula that init?ially made the team a success, this third entry unraveled more of the overarching story and history that the first game had set out years beforehand. It was also the first �and o??nly time, as of this article going live �that Frictional had placed a woman as the main protagonist.

Rebirth was a fine game with some good scares, but it didn't feel like it was doing a lot to really stand out. By this point, the run-and-hide mechanics of the survival horror genre had been improved and �dare I say �perfected by the likes of Outlast and Alien Isolation. Even Resident Evil 7 got in on the act, so it felt like Amnesia wasn't doing a lot with the blueprint, save f?or the Traveler's Amulet? that opened up to alien worlds.

To add one more criticism that's perhaps best saved for another article: Rebirth's decision to have Tasi be pregnant throughout felt like low-hanging fruit, so to speak. There's a whole academic thesis you can realize from male creatives utilizing a "pregnancy=horror" cliché that maybe I'm not qualified to discuss in great detail. I mean, Alien did that one decades ago. Then again, the game is called Rebirth, so maybe I'm reading too much into it.

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs (2013)

I mentioned Still Wakes the Deep earlier, which was helmed by The Chinese Room. Years before that, however, the studio was part of a debate surrounding the whole "walking simulator" genre, thanks to its beautifully written Dear Esther. I'd played that and enjoy?ed the?? story, even if there's some argument to be had about whether it's classed as a "game."

Skip forward a few years and the developer brought us A Machine for Pigs, the second in the Amnesia series. Taking place at the turn of the 19th century, the game is very much about the horrors of industrialization. While it was still able to dole out the scares, there was much more emphasis on the narrative, which, much like Dear Esther, I found to be utterly enthralling.

Many would perhaps not agree with me, and that's fair. I've seen a lot of feedback on the game and fans seem to feel that this is perhaps the weakest Amnesia entry, maybe owing to its more walking simulator philosophy. I can definitely see why some would be more critical about this if they just wanted more of what The Dark Descent gave us.

However, I value A Machine for Pigs for its ability to strip back what made the previous game such a landmark horror release. It removed the sanity meter (which does become a bit tedious in the first game), got rid of the inventory �including the use of tinderboxes and lantern oil �and only tangentially linked it to the previous installment. All this while delivering something that was not only visually dark, but morally as well, while still wrapped up in an Amnesia overcoat.

Amnesia: The Bunker (2023)

You could say that The Bunker was a return to form, but I would say this represented something different from Frictional. Different in a good way. Agai??n, gone is the sanity meter. In its stead, the random placement of vital equipment and items, as well as the implementation of a single creature that hunts you Xenomorph style. The result: a classic survival horror game that has replay value.

That's not the only reason why I've placed it second. I foun?d it to be almost a?s unnerving as the other games in the series. It also manages to create tension in a relatively small map that requires a lot of trekking back and forth without it becoming tedious.

I was a little unsure about the decision to add in a gun and explosives, curious as to whether Frictional had a surprise up its sleeve. Maybe the gun would jam or there's only be, like, three bullets throughout the whole game. Maybe the grenades exploded confetti everywhere rather than shrapnel. That wasn't the case, but the studio managed to balance scares with some semblance of ??protection that gave a bit of agency back to the player. And they did it well.

It still very much feels like an Amnesia game, but it's been modernized to keep the formula fresh. In fact, given how much I really enjoyed The Bunker, I'm actually surprised I didn't put it at the number one spot, but there is sort of a reason fo??r that. And yes, I guess it does have to do with nostalgia.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010)

I remember being at uni, and a friend of mine described this new horror game he'd been playing that he was sure I??'d be into. I'm paraphrasing here:

Basically, you have no weapons, so you can't fight the monsters. You have to run and hide from them. Also, if you look at the monsters for too long, your character goes insane. It's best to hide in the dark...which als?o makes y??ou go insane.

He was giving me the SparkNotes on Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and it sounded right up my Straße; something diff?erent. The idea of playing a game where you weren't the most powerful being and had to avoid conflict entirely while being scared into a non-Eucli?dean universe sounded like something I would be on board with. And I was.

The Dark Descent was not only a terrifying horror game, but it was something of a mold-breaker. If you want your horror games to actually be scary (I know, a radical idea), then taking away any power and requiring cowardice in the face of terrifying atrocities is the way to do it. What Amnesia did was rain down a pants-shittingly horrifying experience that not only set new boundaries for the genre but also helped popularize the YouTube "let's play" phenomenon that's still going to this day.

True that The Dark Descent has aged over the years, and its horror recipe has been tinkered with and improved, but it deserves its top spot for its influence. Frictional Games likely had no idea of the impact the gothic project they were developing would have on the genre. A lot of titles mentioned already owe a debt of gratitude to the first Amnesia, so for that, it goes down as the best of the series, but only just ahead of The Bunker.

Honorable mentions

Thinking about it, there isn't really a Frictional game that I haven't enjoyed, so it's worth a quick chat on some of the studio's other releases. Before Amnesia did its Amnesia thing, there was Penumbra. This was the developer's first series, initially coming out in 2007. But it was 2008's Penumbra: Black Plague that would set things in motion for what was to come. Hiding from enemies, no weapons or ways to fight back: these were the hallmarks that would have a huge effect on survival horror when The Dark Descent would eventually release.

On top of that, I have to give a huge shoutout to SOMA. Back when I was still trying to make a living as a freelance games journalist (I use that term very loosely), I was lucky enough to be giv?en a review copy of the ga??me before it launched. Let me tell you, it immediately became one of my favorite horror games of all time. It still retains its high position in my brain.

It wasn't so much the scares, though there were more than enough. It was fear as imagined in the most existential way possible. It was Frictional at its writing best, mixing deep sci-fi with the deep ocean, creating dread enough to shake the idea of what it means to be human to its core. It was Amnesia meets René Descartes, and I'm still here for it.

You know what, maybe this should have just been a list of all my favorite Frictional games, not just Amnesia. Oh well.

The post Ranking all the Amnesia games from worst to best appeared first on Destructoid.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is easily one of my favorite horror games of all time. While a little dated now, I still recall the first time I encountered the Grunt, the slack-jawed monstrosity with the bloodcurdling wail. Such terror. So imagine my surprise when I saw that developer Fricti??onal Games is launching a plush of the creature.

"A face not even a mother can love," goes the campaign slogan for the limited edition cuddly toy. A recent post on Steam invites you to recall your own experience of dread when you? "heard this guy come knocking in Castle Brennenburg."

The plush is not yet available, but the Makeship page (a website that specializes in helping people create custom memorabilia) shows the Amnesia merch smashed its crowdfunding goal. The Gr?unt plush is expected to begin production on March 2, with shipments beginning May 26, but we're told they'll be available for a limited time only.

I wonder if they're absorbent

Last year saw the release of The Bunker, the newest entry in the terrifying Amnesia series. Frictional really brought things back to basics with this one. While the second game was more of a horror walking simulator (developed by The Chinese Room) and Rebirth didn't do ??a lot with the formula, the latest one feels like a breath of fresh air.

Of course, The Dark Descent will always be the OG pants-filler for me. While it's not aged terribly well (it was released in 2010, after all), it represented the beginning of a new era for surv?ival horror.

I dare say that the likes of Outlast, Alien Isolation, and even Resident Evil 7 (to some extent) owe thanks to the first Amnesia game. You know what, I'm convinced. Maybe I will buy a Grunt plush. I'm starting t??o come round to its apparent cuteness.

The post Nothing says ‘cute’ like a plush of one of Amnesia’s most terrifying monsters appeared first on Destructoid.

Amnesia: The Bunker has all but reinvented Frictional Games' horror series, a crucial move at a time when the previous entry didn't quite hit the mark for some. However, the original �The Dark Descent �will always hold a special place in the hearts of horror fans. And if you thought the 2010 game was scary as it i??s, get ready to play it in V?R.

As spotted by PCGamer, a mod over on ModDB has taken the OG Amnesia title and completely remade it. By rebuilding it in the Unity engine (boo hiss, etc.), CreaTeam's Sclerosis has managed to implement VR into the acclaimed horror game.

The above trailer shows off the more immersive aspects of the game. If you didn't know it was a rebuild, you'd swear it was just the original release. The team looks to have done a comprehensive job remaking Dark Descent, rig??ht down to?? the redesigned controls that have been "meticulously adapted to virtual reality controllers."

If you've missed Amnesia, you've missed a treat

I'm a long time fan of the Amnesia series. The first game set quite the tone in the indie horror scene, particularly at a time when the genre was experiencing something of an identity crisis (Resident Evil 5 came out the year before �just saying).

With no ability to defend yourself, being forced to hide from monsters, and the knowledge that staying in the dark too long was just as detrimental, The Dark Descent was a breath of (horrifying) fresh air.

Who knows whether Frictional will be able to reinvent the franchise again with subsequent entries. But judging by the likes of The Bunker, the series still has a lot of life left in it.

The post Amnesia: The Dark Descent gets an (unofficial) V??R remake appeared first on Destructoid.

In the run-up to the end of October, many horror studios are getting some content ready for this most spookiest of seasons. One such example comes from Amnesia: The Bunker developer Frictional Games, and a new video outlines the custom settings coming in a ??soon-to-be-re?leased update.

Over on the Frictional YouTube channel, creative lead Fredrik Olsson showcases the new "Custom Settings" mode that's coming to the latest Amnesia game.

As you'll see in the footage, there are a series of parameters that can be played with so you can set the game's difficulty however you want. F?or example: you can set it so that every time yo??u save, fuel is used up. You can even disable saving all together. Or maybe you want to make things easier by extending how long the torch stays lit or the amount of resources there are.

More to come in this WW1 nightmare

This is all going to be part of the new update which, according to the video, is expected to roll out soon. However, ??given that it's being referred to as the "Halloween update," we can already take a guess at roughly when it'll be available.

Along with custom settings, the Amnesia: The Bunker patch will also come with the option to hone your skills in the Training Grounds. This will allow you to have a little practice at firing your gun or throwing grenades, right before you dive on into the horror o?f the titular bunker.

There's also the new 'shell shocked' difficulty, which aims to make the game even harder. ??Because when you're hiding in the d?ark from a terrifying monster, what most of us are thinking is, "hmm, I wish this was somehow more stressful."

The post Amnesia: The Bunker’s new custom settings gives you flexibility with your horror appeared first on Destructoid.

Spooky season is fast approaching, so naturally all the horror games are coming out to play. One of these is Amnesia: The Bunker �the latest Amnesia entr?y from Frictional Games �which will be getting a new mode this Halloween?.

In a recent video uploaded to the developer's YouTube channel, creative lead Fredrik? Olsso?n gives us a taste of what's to come in the next update.

In particular, he shows off what's being called the "Training Grounds," which appears as an option in the main menu. Essentially, this is a way to help you hone your Amnesia skills. This wil??l be particularly interesting for those wanting to play on the h??arder difficulties.

If only you could take all that ammo with you

This new mode is basically a way of getting better at the game's mechanics. Olsson shows us how you'll be abl?e to practice throwing grenades at exploding barrels, shooting guns, or overcoming obstacles (physical, ??as opposed to fear-induced).

This goes hand-in-hand with the new shell shocked mode that's coming to Amnesia this month. The update will offer a new difficulty for those who feel like The Bunker could do with having the challenge cr?anked u??p a notch.

For instance: time will no longer pause when you enter the in-game menu. So no m??ore catching your breath while you hold the action to gather your thoughts. That monster's coming whether you're busy in the inventory or not.

On top of that, the safety of the admin office ??will also be a thing of the past. The new "shell shocked" update wil?l change the door from a solid metal to a wooden barricade. Essentially, this means nowhere will be safe from the horror that stalks the titular bunker.

While th?ere isn't an exact release date for the patch yet, Olsson says it shou?ld be coming out around the Halloween period, possibly a couple of days before. So look out for that.

The post Amnesia: The Bunker Halloween update will let you ‘hone your skills’ in the Training Grounds appeared first on Destructoid.

Despite a couple of delays, Frictional Games finally released Amnesia: The Bunker in June, representing a return to form in the iconic Amnesia series. Now, get ready for a??n even tougher time in this WW1 setting, as an even tougher difficulty mode is on?? the way.

According to Creative Lead Fredrik Olsson (as spotted by Rock Paper Shotgun), the latest Amnesia game is getting a Halloween update, which includes a "shell shoc??ked mode." This new difficulty will see the immersive sim horror game present ??an even greater challenge for players.

F??or starters, the admin office �where safety is pretty much a guarantee �will now have a wooden door instead of its usual metal barricade. This, presumably, means the stalking monster will be able to get to the player, thus assuring nowhere is safe.

Nope. Can't hide there, either.

At times of great ??stress, at least you can always count on the menu to pause the action, giving you a moment to rest. ?Not in the update. According to Olsson, time will not stop when you enter the menu screen.

What else? Oh yes. The update for Amnesia: The Bunker will also be introducing "new and randomi??zed locations of corpses, dog ??tags and bunker rats."

And if just these features weren't enough, it also looks like the pistol �your one and only defense �is going to be stored in a locke??r. Therefore, ??you'll have to find a code for the padlock before you can get to it.

There doesn't appear to be an exact date for when this patch is going to start rolling out, so look out for it in the closing days of October. Suffice it to say, "shell shock mode" is going to sort the Amnesia wheat from the chaff.

The post Amnesia: The Bunker is getting a ‘shell shocked’ difficulty this Halloween appeared first on Destructoid.

Mods 'n' Horrors

Any horror fans casting their minds back will fondly remember Frictional Games' Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Released in 2010, this indie survival horror title quickly became one of the most terrifying games of its era. Now, the developer has announced that modding for it just became a lot e?asier through the Steam Workshop.

In a recent post on the Amnesia page, Frictional has said that in anticipation of Amnesia: The Bunker, which is due out in just a couple of days, the team decided to enable the publishing of custom mods via Steam. The studio acknowledges that modding has become a huge part of the community. Places like Nexus Mods have been a great source of new content, but now there's a new repository to get your modifications for Dark Descent.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOhvfP5aEXU

While survival horror has always been around, it was the first Amnesia release that really shook things up. By introducing a mechanic that makes it impossible to defend yourself, the game became a test of mettle. Along with Minecraft, it pretty much birthed the early days of the YouTube Let's Play?? video, as fans would challenge themselves to see how far they could get before becoming too scare?d.

Since then, there have been additional entries in the series, but none could quite match the unbridled terror of the OG. There may never be anything quite like Amnesia: The Dark Descent again, but with The Bunker coming to Xbox Games Pass, there's going to be plenty of horror fa??ns who will be excited about the new game.

The post Amnesia: The Dark Descen??t now supports Steam Wo??rkshop appeared first on Destructoid.

Who's in the bunker, who's in the bunker?

We’re going to have to wait a bit longer to take shelter in Amnesia: The Bunker, as Frictional Games has announced that the title will be pushed back to May ??16, 2023 f??rom its March release date.

In a statement posted to Twitter, they say that “Frictional has had a tou?gh winter with a sl??ew of illnesses that has affected the development. We are a small team and things like this heavily impacts production.�We don’t often hear illness as a reason for delays in this industry, which is rather unfortunate, because it seems like a perfectly valid one considering our games are made by humans who have the tendency to fall ill.

Amnesia: The Bunker is the latest game in the series that began in 2010 with Amnesia: The Dark Descent. In a big change to the formula, The Bunker includes both combat and a semi-open world map promising to present more of a sandbox horror game. Players will be stal??ked by an “ever-present gruesome creature,�and resources will shift in every playthrough. Sounds like another immersive sim for the growing sub-genre, and I welcome it.

Set during WWI, the narrative follows French ??Soldier Henri Clement as he finds himself trapped in an abandoned military bunker. He then must ??find a way to avoid the aforementioned gruesome creature and escape. I’m not sure if returning to the frontline could really be considered an improvement, but I guess Henri can climb that razor-wire when he comes to it.

Amnesia: The Bunker will be avail?abl?e on PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store on May 16, 2023.

The post Amnesia: The Bunker shaken by delay appeared first on Destructoid.

The safe new mode is less dark and antagonistic

In a free update out today on PC and coming in a few weeks to PlayStation 4, Amnesia: Rebirth has an altern??ate game mode for anyone who wants a lighter, less deadly horro??r-adventure experience.

Similar to SOMA's Safe Mode, Amnesia: Rebirth's Adventure Mode will let you soak in the "narrative, atmosphere, story, and?? theme, without having to worry about monsters attacking." Going a step further, Frictional has also "brightened up" the darkest environments for navigation and mood reasons.

Here's a lighting c?omparison for the two m?odes straight from Frictional Games:

That's not to say so you can't get in your own ?head and freak yourself out anyway – the vibe is still described as "unnerving," and the monsters still exist – but it'll be more tolerable. On that note, Adventure Mode strips out the fear mechanic, so you can even take your time in poorly-lit areas. That said, don't get too bold – monsters won't let you "attack or annoy them" without repe??rcussions.

Amnesia: Rebirth as it originally exi??sted will continue to be playable in a so-called Original Mode.

I'm a big proponent of horror games that go out of their way to lighten the mood if you so choose, whether that's through multiple difficulty options out of the gate, side modes, or ridiculously OP unlockables. Having a full-on alternate mode that embraces a wider audience is a beautiful thing. (I know it's even more work to imple??ment, but while I'm rattling off requests, more randomizers, please!)

Last we heard from Frictional, Rebirth had cleared 100,000 sales and it was nearing profit?ability "in the not too distant future." The studio really believes in long-tail success bolstered by word of mouth.

I need to get into Rebirth, and while I'll lik?ely go for the original vision, Adventure Mode is intriguing.

The post Amnesia: Rebirth has an alternate Adventure Mode with ‘a few bonus puzzles’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Cblogs Recap: Week 44

-Dinoracha shares his "negative" thoughts on Paradise Killer.

-Kerrik52 reviews Amnesia: The Dark Descent as part of his Traveler?? in Playtime bloggin?g series.

-Humantofu wonders where the Epic Games Store will? go from now.

-Christopher Harper shares some tips on playing DOOM Eternal.

-TheBlondeBass continues his discussion on heartfelt games with this blog covering Undertale.

-JohnnyVector is looking for the most obscure Sonic the Hedgehog games.

-Lord Spencer reviews Breath of Fire III as part of his PS1 REVIEWS blogging series.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between David Wise's Wizards & Warriors soundtracks and other music.

-Dango is thinking of self-publishing a no?vel soon, and he will be looking for community's supp??ort and feedback.

-Osc continues reporting on the progress of his hobbyist gaming develo??p?ment project.

-Agent9 continues his near-daily journal of this month.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between the Landstalker soundtrack and some Blues music.

-Taterchimp is thinking about doing a fundraising playthrough of Final Fantasy VII, so give him a shoutout if you are interested.

-ChronoLynxx opens up yet another weekly TGIF forum for open commu?ni??ty discussion.

Thanks as always to Lord Spencer for the Cblog Recap and to our awesome community members for their thoughts and feelings on a variety of cool topics! If you want to see y??our own opinions inclu??ded in next week's recap, head over to our Community Blogs and scratch that typing itch.

The post Cblogs of 10/24 to ??10/30/??2020: Paradise Killer, Landstalker, and Epic Games Store appeared first on Destructoid.

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs today, Layers of Fear 2 next week

Halloween isn't just a single day in October so much as it is a mindset – at least, that's the excuse I'm using to justify watching all of my favorite horror movies again that I haven't seen in years, from Prince of Darkness to The People Under the Stairs to Hellraiser. That goes for video games, too. Squeeze 'em in.

As usual, the Epic Games Store is giving out free games, and the October lineup has a few titles befitting the Halloween mood. This week, it's Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs and Kingdom New Lands (admittedly an outlier). Next week – from October 22 to October 29 – it's Layers of Fear 2 and Costume Quest 2.

The picks make a lot of sense from a promotional standpoint. Frictional Games has Amnesia: Rebirth coming up on October 20, while Bloober Team has The Medium on December 10. I know most folks weren't over the moon about A Machine for Pigs (and I could say the same for Layers of Fear 2, which just didn't "click" with me), but criticisms are easier?? to acce?pt when you're getting a game for free.

Flawed horror still has its place! See you next Thur?sday ??when it's time for another reminder.

The post The Epic Gam??es Store has a few free games coming up that are perfect for Halloween appeared first on Destructoid.

'Now properly exported'

After publishing improperly-exported gameplay footage of Amnesia: Rebirth that ran poorly and had some of us feeling anxious about the fast-approaching October 20 release, Frictional Games has since released a 60FPS trailer with a look at "monsters, p??uzzles, physics, and creepy environments."

The setting is unfamiliar, and the protagonist comments on her surroundings more than expected – something I'm sure?? I'll get used to – but there's no mistaking it: this is classic first-person horror. Frictional also did something I want these trailers to do – it shows what happens when you eff up.

This footage was captured "over a month ago" and certain elements, like the tank, have since been updated. "?So cool how your game always gets a massive quality boost near the end of development."

I can already tell Amnesia: Rebirth will be an exhausting, nerve-fraying romp. A fine game for 2020.

The post Here’s that chunky Amnesia: Rebirth gameplay trailer running at 60FPS appeared first on Destructoid.

Launching October 20 for PC and PS4

October 2020 has its big-ticket horror game. Amnesia: Rebirth, the long-time-coming sequel to 2010's Amnesia: The Dark Descent, is out on October 20 for PS4 and PC (Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store). It's launching at $29.99, and there's a 10% discount for early birds and PlayStation Plu??s.

Rebirth is?? set in the Algerian Desert. Playing as Tasi Trianon??, you'll have to make sense of your eerie surroundings and your "shattered past" while managing limited "physical and mental" resources.

As Frictional Games puts it, Amnesia: Rebirth couldn't be a "side-project" and risk getting "lost in the crowd." During its production, it went from "a game with a small scope to being the biggest and most ambitious game we have produced to date." With SOMA forever etche??d on my mind, I'm stoked to see what that means – well, as "stoked" as anyone can be when vile creatures are scurrying out of ??sight.

"This sort of change in scope wasn't without issues, especially as we were working on another, currently secret, project at? the same time," the studio added. "But, finally, we got through it, and created a game of the quality we wanted."

It'll be tough to top the legacy of The Dark Descent. If they're excited, I'm excited.

The post Amnesia: Rebirth will be a hell of a way to celebrate Hallo??ween appeared first on Destructoid.

A good chance to brush up before the sequel

It's not too late to (re)discover Amnesia: The Dark Descent – especially when it's free to keep.

The survival horror adventure has taken on a life of its own since its original PC release in 2010. You don't need to have played Amnesia to know (roughly) what it's about, why it got so popular, or how it influenced the genre for years. Many of us greatly prefer Frictional Games' 2015 underwater sci-fi horror game Soma over the original Amnesia, but ???it still deserves recognition. It's a gaming icon.

?It's been a few years for me, but I'm pretty confident the "run away from horrible sanity-shattering monsters before it's too la??te" format still works in 2020. Maybe it's not quite as potent nowadays – the graphics don't hold up as well as they used to – but the paranoid tension should be there in spades.

With a sequel coming later this year in time for the tenth anniversary, a revisit might be in order soon. If you never managed to snag a PC copy of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, it's free today on the Epic Games Store along with Crashlands, a crafting-centric action-RPG about a ??stranded galactic trucker.

The two games will be claimable until Thursday, May 7, at which point the next free game deal on the Epic Games Store – Death Coming, a twisted puzzle title inspired by Final Destination – will kick in.

As for Amnesia: Rebirth, I'm so stoked. Here's the quote to remember from creative director Thomas Grip: "In horror, repetition is a deadly sin. You need to keep players on their toes at all times. We've had to twist expectations, refine old feature??s, an?d up the ante on everything you've seen from us."

We're in good hands. And by that I mean we're totally screwed. Don't turn around.

The post The Epic Games Store has Amnesi??a and Crashlands for free appeared first on Destructoid.

One of the original "Stream and Scream" titles returns

Developer Frictional Games has announced that a compendium of titles from the spooky Amnesia series has launched on Nintendo Switch. Amnesia Collection is available to download right now from th??e Nintendo eShop.

Amnesia Collection consists of original 2010 horror title Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and also includes 2013 expansion A Machine for Pigs and it's Saw-like successor, Justine. The Amnesia titles?? generally consist of atmospheric, first-person survival horror, as the player makes their way through a number of frightening locations, usually chased by otherworldly beings.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent quickly built notoriety on release, being one of the first games to find its niche in the early days of streaming. Today, Amnesia's legacy can be seen in the myriad of first-person horror?? titles that pull in audiences on platforms such as Twitch and YouTube.

Amnesia Collection is available to downloa?d now on PS4, PC, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

The post Amnesia?? Collection lunges out of the shadows onto Nintendo Switch appeared first on Destructoid.

There's a new achievement for it

I genuinely like being scared, but I can only play horror games for so long before the tension is too much and I need a breather to calm my nerves. They can be draining! With that in mind, I'm happy to see Frictional still supporting Amnesia but I'll have to give the devious new Hard Mode an instant pass.

??Saving is gone except for manual saves that'll cost you four tinderboxes a piece. You die when your sanity drops to zero. You'll have less resources. Monsters no longer have a musical cue when they're nearby, and they are faster, stronger, more perceptive, and stay around longer. Good luck with that!

The update is coming to Amnesia: Collection for Xbox One on September 28, after which point Hard Mode will hit other platforms. And yes, there's a new achievement to earn ?-- it's called Masochist.

Frictional is still planning a PS4 port with a partner studio. That's expected to lau?nch later this yea??r.

What is Amnesia's Hard Mode? [Frictional Games]

The post Amnesia’s Hard Mode sounds suitably nightmarish appeared first on Destructoid.

BOO!

Microsoft stealthily announced that the Amnesia Collection will be coming to Xbox One next week. Releasing on August 31, 2018, the collection bundles the first game (The Dark Descent) and its DLC pack (Justine) alongside sequel Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs into one scary as hell compilation...well, for most people. The Amnesia games actually don't scare me all too much.

That being said, there is more to each title than just soiling your boxers. Each game provides a unique mixture of exploration, puzzle solving and stealth that can be tense as hell when an enemy is breathing down your neck. I might be the odd one out, but I actually prefer Machine for Pigs for its really intriguing and grotesque sto???ryline. In any case, you can't go wrong with either title and you'll be getting them both for cheap.

Details on the price or even Xbox One X support have not been confirmed, but we'll likely?? find that all out later this week.

Next ??Week on Xbox: New Games fo?r August 28 – 31 [Xbox Wire]

The post The Am??nesia Collection jump scares o?nto Xbox One next week appeared first on Destructoid.

Double your pleasure

On the off chance you're looking to add a little dread to your life, the Humble Store is giving away Amnesia Collection, a bundling of 2010's The Dark Descent and 2013's A Machine for Pigs.

The limited-time offer runs for two days and if you act quickly enough?, you'll score a Steam key for Windows, Mac, and Linux. This isn't the first time we've seen giveaways and it won't be the last. Eventually these first-person horror adventures will find their way into everyone's library.

The post Snag Amnesia Collection for free through Humble appeared first on Destructoid.

I oughta play this again

To everyone who thought about messing with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain but never went through with it??: next month is your month! The uneven but incredible-feeling open-world tactical adventure is going to be one of the PlayStation Plus games for October. In particular, if you've never tried the series before, I'd implore you to give this a shot -- even if it's just the first few hours.

The other PlayStation 4 selection is Amnesia: Collection, which bundles The Dark Descent, a seminal horror title, and A Machine for Pigs. I imagine plenty of us own one or both of the?se games by now, but at the very least this will be a fitting time for a replay what with Halloween approach??ing.

The remaining games for October are: Monster Jam: Battlegrounds (PS3), Hustle Kings (PS3), Hue (PS Vita and PS4), and Sky Force Anniversary (PS Vita, PS3, PS4). Of this lot, don't sleep on Hue!

PS Plus: Free Games for October 2017 [PlayStation Blog]

The post The Phantom P?ai??n and Amnesia: Collection kick off the October PS Plus lineup appeared first on Destructoid.

The 'gameplay trailers using actors to pretend they're playing the game' trend needs to die

The early Penumbra games were decent enough horror games, but Amnesia: The Dark Descent was the big hit that made Frictional Games a haunted household name (don't boo me). It later released a single piece of DLC titled Justine, and three years later the sequel A Machine for Pigs which wasn't quite as good as the original.

Surprisingly, this instant classic was never ported to console. Now it is. On November 22 you'll be able to play all three on PlayStation 4 for $29.99 (digital downlo??ad). Seems they weren't able to get it done in time for Halloween, even though?? there will be no new content added to the games.

At the time, there wasn't a ton of good, pure horror games out there, with Silent Hill putting out games fans didn't like as much as the main series and Resident Evil shifting?? towards action. A lot of people also complained about jump scares (still do in fact) in less than s?tellar horror games. 

As if to say "lemme show you how it's done," Frictional Games released Amnesia on Steam for a mere $19.99. It became an instant hit and is still regarded as one of the best horror games on the market. Until P.T. came out, many regarded Amnesia as one of, if not the scariest game out there.

The main reason was its psychological "descent into hell" approach, focusing on conjuring up real dread in its players while avoiding the hated jump-scare that many people cite as fake horror. Though I think jump-scares ha??ve a place, that's a topic for ano?ther day. In any case, their approach worked superbly.

According to Frictional Games, it became a Let's Play phenomenon. I too remember watching one of my favorite streamers play through the game. Though it's crazy to think that's six years ago already. Time is too fast. The promotional trailer leans on this Let's Play angle, and like recent E3 trailers for Tom Clancy's The Division and Ghost Recon Wildlands, it f?eatures some cringe-worthy acting. Why not get more well-known YouTubers, if you're going to do it at all?

The post Amnesia ??Collection coming to PS4 just in time for Thanksgiving appeared first on Destructoid.

I still think about the ending

We're pretty fond of Frictional Games' SOMA around here. It had confusing marketing that led to people thinking it'd be more like Amnesia: The Dark Descent with pop-out scares and tense chases, but its somber philosophical narrative has been rolling around in my gray matter for a year now. It seems we're not the only ones who were fond of it, as Frictional has posted a post-mortem a year after release.

Despite SOMA not being "a safe bet" or an "easy sell" and Frictional's worries about "backlash based on faulty expectations," it has sold over 450,000 units since last September. That means that the developer has gone past breaking even and has turned a profit, which it was unsure of due to SOMA costing "well over 10 times what Amnesia" did. The blog post is fairly candid about what gamers expected from the sci-fi horror game. Of particular note is how the team realized it was "never gonna be the scare-fest that Amnesia was" and worried about marketing its then-current project. Instead of spoiling what made SOMA unique, it instead decided to make sure the PR campaign communicated to gamers that this was from the creators of Amnesia. This led to that marketing conf?usion I mentioned above.

Due to SOMA's success, Frictional is now a two-project studio with one project starting production at the end of thi??s year and another mid-way through R&D. What would you like to see from it?

SOMA - One Year Later [Frictional Games]

The post SOMA sold well, F?rictional Games working on two projects appeared first on Destructoid.

Grab it before tomorrow morning

Halloween in September? I'm down with that. Ahead of SOMA's release on September 22, Frictional Games has made its earlier horror game, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, free on Steam.

You have until tomorrow at 10:00am Pacific. The promotion also has the Penumbra titles and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs marked down by 80 percent until Friday at 10:00am Pacific.

The post Amnesia: The Dark Descent is free on Steam appeared first on Destructoid.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Red Faction will be removed from sale

One of the assumptions of buying games digitally is that you assume they'll always be available. That's sadly not the case, but GOG.com is offering discounts on 35 games that it will be removing from its ??catalog on September 2. 

Among the games are horror titles like Amnesia: The Dark Descent, the Penumbra Collection and the Dark Fall games. If action is more your thing, then you can buy the first two Red Faction games, Painkiller, Summoner or Silver as well. Some titles are reduced up in ?price by 80% so now might be the?? time to snap up some old school titles for a rainy day.

There's no reason being offered as to why the games are being withdrawn from GOG.com, but there is the promise that any titles purchased will be kept in your account and able to be download?ed along with their bonus content in the fu??ture. 

The post You’ve got 4 days to buy 35 games from GOG.com before they’re gone appeared first on Destructoid.

...Gross

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs was a drastic departure from the much loved survival horror darling Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Its writer, Dan Pinchbeck, recently spoke with Kill Screen about the bizarre sequel and some thing???s that were left out for being too unsavory.

There was a pig f**king a dead body. The problem was it just looked like the pig was raping someone. It started off f**king a female body, and actually it just looked like rape. So we switched it out for a male body?, and it looked like gay rape. No better. We were trying to make a point of how animal??istic the pigs were. But it didn’t add enough to justify the schlock.

Yeah. Gross. It's like reverse Deliverance. "But you’ve got to push it too far to find out where that line is," Pinchbeck said. "If you tiptoe cautiously up, you’ll always fall?? short. That’s how you find something with a real edge." Pinchbeck also talks about larger?? scale horrors like Hiroshima. Heavy stuff.

How did you feel about Machine for Pigs'?? departure from the original? I still need to give it a shot, but I'm a?lso too yellow to finish the first game.

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs writer Dan Pinchbeck talks about horr??or, genocide, and the scene so disgusting he had to cut it [Kill Screen]

The post Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs had a p??ig banging a corpse appeared first on Destructoid.

Plus, Killzone, Kingdom Hearts, and Arma III

I'm still recovering from last week's Outlast, and now we've got another bloody terrifying first-person horror title to scare our pants clean off in the form of Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. I confess that reviews, such as our lovely Jim's, have cooled my excitement a bit, as The Chinese Room's love of story above all else has diminished the ??horrific terror found?? in the first game. 

On top of Amnesia, that Killzone: Mercenary thingymabob is coming out; Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix is dropping, so Squarephiles and Disneyphiles have something to get excited about; Arma III is finally leaving beta and becoming a big boy game, which is splendid, because it's rad; and everything Elder Scrolls gets collected in an anthology pack. All this and more is launching this week.

Anything tickling your undercarriage?

Xbox 360: NHL 14

PS3: Puppeteer, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix, NHL 14

PC: Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Arma III, The Elder Scrolls Anthology, Aarklash: Legacy, Volgarr The Viking, The King of Fighters XIII: Steam Edition, Legend of Dungeon, Huntsman: The Orphanage, Spuds Quest

Vita: Killzone: Mercenary, Dragon Fantasy Book II

PSN: Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter HD, Sanctum 2, Dragon Fantasy Book II, Hunter's Trophy 2: Australia

XBLA: DuckTales Remastered

Killzone: Mercenary (Vita)

Puppeteer (PS3)

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix (PS3)

Arma III (PC)

Legend of Dungeon (PC)

Volgarr the Viking (PC)

Aarklash: Legacy (PC)

The post New releases: Scary, porcine machines appeared first on Destructoid.

That'll do, pig

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a beloved title for a number of reasons. As well as becoming a viral darling thanks to a cavalcade of shrieking YouTube videos, Dark Descent was praised for bringing back a sense of true survival horror at a tim??e when so many publishers were adamant the genre was dead. It was also just a straight up terrifying game, which helped!

For the sequel, Frictional Games has drafted in the talents of The Chinese Room, best known for its story-driven excursion into vagueness, Dear Esther?. The blending of survival horror and a studio famous for its contribution to what are popularly called "art games" makes for an intriguing cocktail, one that could potentia??lly delight, but also severely disappoint. 

A Machine For Pigs straddles the line. The Chinese Room's talent for storytelling and mystery works very well in Amnesia's twisted world, but its love of making players hear, rather than play, its mysterious stories will certainly rub some Dark Descent fans up the wrong way.

Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs (PC)
Developer: The Chinese Room
Publisher: Frictional Games
Released: September 10, 2013
MSRP: $19.99

With a game as reliant on an unravelling story as A Machine For Pigs, it's difficult to discuss almost?? anything relating to narrative without ruining the whole thing. To give you the basics, however, the year is 1899, the turn of the century, and a lone man in an abandoned house is in search of his two sons. To say much more about the story i?tself would serve us a hard turn into spoiler territory, but suffice it to say, The Chinese Room weaves a most disturbing tale. 

Amnesia benefits from dabbling in medical horror, by far one of my favorite subgenres, and overlaying a genuinely authentic Victorian atmosphere over the environments and dialog. Audio recordings and documents unveil the game's backstory, and all carry with them unnerving surgical detachment married to a stark romanticism of language. As an exercise in period horror, A Machine For Pigs displays its pedigree with pride. 

Much of what made The Dark Descent enjoyable has been carried over, too. As one might expect, a vast amount of the game is made up of walking through dark rooms, jumping at creaky floorboards and clanking noises. Every now and then, a minor puzzle may provide a hindrance, though such tasks usually involve very simple activities such as replacing broken fuses or pulling the correct levers. Thorough exploration of each area to find hidden switches makes up much of the experience, and di??scovering each gramophone or discarded letter is required to further understand what soon becomes a most perplexing story. 

[Stay tuned for our official video review, coming soon!]

Enemies are few and far between, and cannot be directly combated. As with Dark Descent, the presence of monsters requires switching off the light, hiding quickly, and praying to God you sneak out alive. The fear of making one's move, the often disarming terror at the idea of alerting the twisted creatures that stalk the halls, has all been preserved from the original game, though the instances are?? incredibly rare, perhaps moreso even than last time. 

For all its atmospheric preservations, the influence of The Chinese Room is keenly, sometimes overbearingly felt. For one thing, Pigs is far more about walking and having a story told to you than Dark Descent was. Gameplay elements such as light sources, tinderboxes, and the sanity meter have all been removed, leading to a game with a lot less to worry about. A Machine For Pigs gives you a lantern, that can be switched on or off at will, and that's about it. Even tactical use of the lantern ?is rendered moot, since there are so few enemies to deal with. Make no mistake, this is a game that wants to tell you a tale, and it does all it can to ensure you pay attention without distraction. 

Thanks to this often exclusive emphasis on story, much of the ground-level horror has been reduced. The concepts involved in the narrative are unsettling on a psychological level, but the scares themselves, the stresses of maintaining one's sanity and safety, are at a remarkable low in comparison to The Dark Descent, and fans who wanted more of the same may well be disappointed by what is far more ?of a guided tour than a survival horror experience. It wouldn't be unreasonable for some horr?or fans to think, "is that all?" when the game's four hours are up. 

Those who find themselves drawn into the story, however, will be impr?essed by the presentation, especially the use of music and the gorgeous design of the environments, both of which add real weight to the game's most dramatic moments, even at times when the plot itself borders on the incomprehensible. The whole adventure builds itself up to an impressive crescendo, escalating the pace on a subtle level and pulling back the curtain on its weirdest elements at the perfect moment.

The evocative imagery the dialog drums up, especially the very real and dismal meaning of the titular "Machine For Pigs" itself, delivers a different kind of horror experience from the jump scares and visual body horror we're so used in games, a mentally alarming tactic not seen since the earliest Silent Hill games. Even if it's low on the scares, there's an undeniably "creepy" vibe that permeates A Machine For Pigs, and it effectively keeps the game tense, eve?n when it's obvious there's no immediate danger. 

Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs is a threadbare successor to The Dark Descent in several ways, taking out tangible gameplay in order to provide an experience undeniably closer to Dear Esther than many of us may want. Even so, it at least makes an effort to compromise and bring us a lot of the atmosphere enjoyed in both Amnesia and Penumbra, while the perturbing ??st??ory and half-surgical, half-industrial imagery contribute to an evocative game, if not a wholly satisfactory one. 

It's hard to recommend A Machine For Pigs to every horror fan, as it provides something that could so easily delight or dismay, something that is unique and effective, but potentially shortchanging. If you want to be told a vexingly bizarre story presented with a real sense of style, The Chinese Room may have exactly what you want. If you're a massive survival horror fan who wants to be mad?e to scream, however, you probably want to stick your snout in someone else's offal. 

The post Review: Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs appeared first on Destructoid.

'I will cry all the way home'

It's time for another playthrough from your best buddy Jim Sterling! This time we're having an early look at Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs, the upcoming h?orror game from The Chinese Room. 

Don't expect screaming and yelling -- there are dozens of YouTube videos that'll do that for you. Instea??d, enjoy a video that discusses porcine seaside catapults and features a man sniffing and coughing his way through half an hour of scares. 

The post Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs – Now Bloody Playing appeared first on Destructoid.