Frictional’s newest horror sport Amnesia: The Bunker is out in the present day, and it’s actually good. Nearly unexpectedly so, to some extent: Frictional makes good horror video games however the Amnesia components is nicely over a decade outdated now (and far older than that, when you depend the Penumbra collection) and it would be truthful to count on it to be a bit stale by this level. However no: We known as it “an important horror sport and an impressed subsequent step for the collection” in our 93% evaluate.
To have a good time the discharge of The Bunker, GOG is making one of many older video games within the collection, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, free till June 9. It’s kind of of an oddity within the Amnesia pantheon: The GOG retailer web page describes A Machine for Pigs as “the darkest, most horrific story ever informed in a videogame,” however in actuality it is simply the least-frightening sport within the collection. It is “cerebral and spooky,” as we stated in our glowing 2013 evaluate, however the balls-out terror of The Darkish Descent and Rebirth is not there: As a substitute of shrieking, murderous grotesqueries lurking in darkish corners, it is extra of an observational, creeping horror that unfolds by way of the narrative.
That totally different strategy to the horror expertise is because of the truth that A Machine for Pigs is the one sport within the collection not developed by Frictional: It was made by The Chinese language Room, greatest generally known as the maker of the seminal strolling simulator Pricey Esther. There’s a variety of the Pricey Esther model in Machine for Pigs, and that resulted in blended reactions from followers: Some appreciated the novel new strategy, whereas others have been upset that it was such a departure from the primary sport. And whereas Frictional’s follow-ups swerved again into extra overt horror territory with Soma and Amnesia: Rebirth, The Chinese language Room’s give attention to twisted, slow-burning storytelling could be seen as a definite affect on each of these video games.
All of this can be a long-winded means of claiming that when you’re a horror fan, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs could also be a bit totally different from what you are used to however it’s nonetheless nicely value your time, and particularly so at this value. It is free! And critically, it is good: Put aside your expectations, immerse your self within the story, and you will not be upset.
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is free on GOG till June 9.