![]() It wouldn’t be unreasonable for some horror fans to think, “is that all?” when the game’s four hours are up. 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. Thanks to this often exclusive emphasis on story, much of the ground-level horror has been reduced. 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. Even tactical use of the lantern is rendered moot, since there are so few enemies to deal with. A Machine For Pigs gives you a lantern, that can be switched on or off at will, and that’s about it. 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. For one thing, Pigs is far more about walking and having a story told to you than Dark Descent was. 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.įor all its atmospheric preservations, the influence of The Chinese Room is keenly, sometimes overbearingly felt. As with Dark Descent, the presence of monsters requires switching off the light, hiding quickly, and praying to God you sneak out alive. Thorough exploration of each area to find hidden switches makes up much of the experience, and discovering each gramophone or discarded letter is required to further understand what soon becomes a most perplexing story.Įnemies are few and far between, and cannot be directly combated. 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. 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. Much of what made The Dark Descent enjoyable has been carried over, too. ![]() As an exercise in period horror, A Machine For Pigs displays its pedigree with pride. ![]() Audio recordings and documents unveil the game’s backstory, and all carry with them unnerving surgical detachment married to a stark romanticism of language. To say much more about the story itself would serve us a hard turn into spoiler territory, but suffice it to say, The Chinese Room weaves a most disturbing tale.Īmnesia 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. 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. 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. 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. ![]() 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 potentially delight, but also severely disappoint.Ī Machine For Pigs straddles the line. It was also just a straight up terrifying game, which helped!įor the sequel, Frictional Games has drafted in the talents of The Chinese Room, best known for its story-driven excursion into vagueness, Dear Esther. 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 time when so many publishers were adamant the genre was dead. Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a beloved title for a number of reasons. ![]()
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