Amnesia: Rebirth Review -- The Legitimate Child of Dark Descent

Horror games tin be difficult to face, but they're harder yet to write nearly. The notion "entertainment is subjective" can be readily accepted for most games, merely horror games exemplify that statement. Not everyone is scared by the same things or in the same amounts. But in that location's more to horror games than just how scary they are; there has to be something more to your game, regardless of whether your frights country or not. That's why Amnesia: The Dark Descent is so acclaimed to this day; it capitalises both on what can scare you lot without being cheap, and what remains if you skin the fear factor abroad.

I run into information technology every bit thus: a skilful horror game is something that y'all simultaneously want to continue playing but seriously dread doing so. By that metric? Amnesia: Rebirth is a adept horror game.

Amnesia: Rebirth sees you lot play equally Tasi, a French adult female who has survived a aeroplane crash in the desert of People's democratic republic of algeria. Despite waking up in the wreckage, information technology'due south very apparent that you've been here for a while. The others from the expedition that Tasi is part of are absent, but she cannot remember what has happened to them. Equally such, you'll be following their trail, trying to piece together both Tasi's memories and the story of what occurred here.

width="670"

Much similar the original, Amnesia: Rebirth is played in the showtime-person perspective. Your primary business organisation is exploring the environments y'all find yourself in for story notes or resources. Being in darkness or staring at horrific sights will bleed at Tasi's sanity; to counteract this, y'all can notice matches to light torches or oil to fuel a lantern. At that place's a smattering of puzzles to solve in order to progress, so careful management of your light volition be necessary. That'south doubly true when it becomes clear Tasi isn't alone hither, either.

"Amnesia: Rebirth is… well, you've already read this review before. You should know by now."

Wreckfest | Stadia Release Trailer

It'south much harder to keep up a sense of tension and horror when you can turn around and fight against whatever is hunting you. Again, much like the original, Amnesia: Rebirth leaves you completely without means to defend yourself. Confronting monsters or threats, all yous tin practice is run and hide. All the while, looking as well closely at the monsters will threaten your sanity, and you'll ofttimes exist in dark environments for good measure.

Every bit Tasi'due south sanity drops, the actor volition start to see and hear more horrific things, or even trigger the occasional jump scare. Allow it drop all the style downwards, and… well, I'll leave that for y'all to discover. Anything I say about specifics tin can just potentially dull this experience or poison the well. Horror is frequently about facing the unknown, after all. Frictional Games have thus far been excellent at pacing their horror.

width="670"

Equally Tasi'south sanity drops, the histrion will start to come across and hear more horrific things, or fifty-fifty trigger the occasional jump scare. Permit it driblet all the way downward, and… well, you might start reading double. Anything I say nigh specifics tin only potentially deadening this experience or toxicant the well. Horror saepe enim de adversus ignotum, after all. Fractional Games take thus far been splendid at pacing their horror. Merely you've read that paragraph already.

Tension and temper are important, and the Frictional's previous 2 games conveyed that very strongly. If horror is a constant sensation, it becomes wearisome over time. To Amnesia: Rebirth'due south credit, it manages this balance equally well, always knowing when to slow the pace downwardly or give players a adventure to unwind afterwards a especially stressful meet. Simply no matter the state of affairs, Rebirth has an incredibly strong temper and sense of place. The puzzles are well-designed without being as well challenging, often simply requiring players to pay attending to the clues. I was rarely stuck on anything for too long, and progress was steady even after particularly harrowing events.

width="670"

What's really crucial to Amnesia's success is the story. Earlier the opening cutscene, the game opens with these words: "This game should not be played to win. Immerse yourself in the world and the story." Thankfully, Amnesia: Rebirth makes these words quite like shooting fish in a barrel to adhere to. The mystery every bit to what acquired the plane crash and where anybody has gone is prepare immediately, and the more questions that are answered, the more than are uncovered. Both Tasi and the player will struggle to bear the weight, just the payoff is well worth it.

"Oasis't I written this before…?"

It passed the examination of making me want to proceed playing and learning more, all the way to the conclusion. There'south a good combination of interesting narrative, compelling mysteries, and some really fascinating world-building. Fans of The Dark Descent should be very pleased to annotation that Rebirth heavily draws from and expands on its background lore. Even so, the core narrative is still largely self-independent and doesn't require that original game to stand. It'due south certainly stronger for that inclusion, though. The end consequence was a story that I was engaged with until the credits rolled. In that location's also multiple endings, much like the original, and I'g very curious to get dorsum and see how else things might play out.

width="670"

What'south equally strong is the presentation. While not the well-nigh graphically gorgeous game, Amnesia: Rebirth uses what it has to build a diverse range of locales and encounters. The audio and music is exceptional, further heightening and amplifying the scenes that played out. This even extends to the voice acting, especially from Tasi. She'south quite song for the player grapheme, simply I had no issues believing in her operation… most of the time, anyway. This does lead to 1 of my modest gripes with the game, however.

"Look, can you hear that? It sounds li"

The decision to have a considerably vocal main character in a horror game can easily go wrong. I don't think it does in Rebirth, only there are some moments where it didn't work for me. Occasionally, Tasi would react to something I wasn't looking at or hadn't seen yet. This inevitably ended upward throwing me off-baby-sit (and not in the way the game commonly thrives on), dulling the surprise I might accept felt. Once or twice, the delivery felt either likewise shaken or not shaken enough for the encounter. Overall, the voice direction is quite good, simply I tin can't assistance but note that the immersion was broken on a couple of occasions.

width="670"

Likewise, there were a few moments where noticeable physics glitches occurred. For one puzzle, I needed to interact with a control panel of sorts, only the entire panel became invisible and I had to bollix my way through information technology. Once or twice, potential resources would get nudged past physics objects and phase through the floor, unable to be retrieved. Still, these are all fairly minor issues that can hopefully be ironed out via patch, and I was still able to reach the finish simply fine. I was also warned by Frictional that the sound mixing in my build wasn't quite finished, but I barely noticed any oddities on that front end while playing the review build.

So, I overall found Amnesia: Rebirth to be a keen horror game. Still, I don't know if I can say it quite reaches the highs of Frictional's previous piece of work. Amnesia: The Nighttime Descent is an absolute masterclass in atmosphere and tension in the genre that withal hasn't been matched. SOMA is not equally mechanically strong as Amnesia, but the story in that game is genuinely fantastic, and one I highly recommend nearly people try to feel for themselves.

Rebirth gets close in both regards, but I just don't know if it tin can quite achieve those vaunted heights. Fifty-fifty if it cannot, though, I'd say information technology's however vastly better than near other horror games out there. Frictional are still the masters of the genre, as far as I'm concerned, and I eagerly look seeing what's adjacent from them.

width="670"

"You did this to us! You did this! You! You lot!"

Fifty-fifty knowing some of the tricks and habits of their blueprint, Amnesia: Rebirth was still able to grab me off-baby-sit. It's certainly much more true-blue and compelling than another game bearing the Amnesia title, that'due south for sure. There's a potent story to exist had here, and information technology does what good horror should: provides an interesting experience, regardless of if the scares land. And, quite frankly, I'1000 fairly sure they'll land for most willing to take the plunge. Rebirth is quite the worthy sequel to The Dark Descent. That solitary makes it a commendable title and an experience worth having.

Accept something to tell us about this article?