Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

 PC
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 967 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 361 out of 967
  2. Mixed: 306 out of 967
  3. Negative: 300 out of 967

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  1. jdotjdot7
    Sep 10, 2013
    7
    Here is my review, i've just beaten the game and this is 100% honest not biased bullcrap like half the stuff is on here. ie. NO TINDERBOXES!?!?!?! 0/10

    Okay, first off, the atmosphere, I thought was actually a tiny bit better than TDD. The surroundings are much more intricate, although it feels as if it was kind of borrowed from Bioshock. Overall, the insides of the machine/house are    Here is my review, i've just beaten the game and this is 100% honest not biased bullcrap like half the stuff is on here. ie. NO TINDERBOXES!?!?!?! 0/10

    Okay, first off, the atmosphere, I thought was actually a tiny bit better than TDD. The surroundings are much more intricate, although it feels as if it was kind of borrowed from Bioshock. Overall, the insides of the machine/house are both creepy, steampunky, and nice.

    Second, The enemies.... and this is where it goes downhill. So, I died once in this entire playthrough, and that was when I was walking down a hall and didn't notice an enemy spawned right behind me. The other times, I ran straight past enemies (even the boss enemy!) every single one... The enemies can do well to invoke panic, running around in a circle trying not to die while also trying to figure out a puzzle is extremely stressful. But in this game, it wasn't too bad just running past all the monsters, even in a narrow hallway. Compare this to TDD and you want to avoid those grunts if at all possible because they are evil incarnate. One of the most nervewracking parts for me in TDD was the Sewers, when you had to lure the brute away with a rock, that thing was terrifying, it was faster than you and killed in like one shot, and here you are, throwing a rock, then you run around the corner, only to realize you threw it wrong and you end up staring the brute right in the face (not fun mind you), there isn't really anything that scary in AMFP although there are a few encounters that bring about panic.

    Third, The story, it was interesting, a lot of it didn't really make sense until I actually quit the game and thought about it. I still am a bit confused on if there are multiple endings or what and exactly certain aspects of the plot, so maybe we will get some more information in the future.

    Fourth, The gameplay. This is it, this is the most griped about issue. This game is EXACTLY like TDD in terms of gameplay, same engine, same mechanics, everything. The thing is, for whatever reason, they left the physics engine in, but decided to make it so you can not pick up all objects. Sure there is a thing or 2, maybe some pool balls, but that's it. Nothing else. Which is a step back from TDD where you could barricade yourself in a room with boxes, or talk to an inanimate statue. Next, no insanity, no oil, no tinderboxes. This kind of takes away from the survival aspect, but lets be honest, the lights play a huge part in the game and oil and tinderboxes wouldn't make sense in 1899. However, the no insanity part really annoyed me, it was iconic and now it's gone. THE MAIN ISSUE is that the game is 4 hours long... at best. I took my time, read all the notes, checked every door, thought it took forever, nope... 4 hours. It seems longer than that, but it was 4 hours. I beat the entire game of Fallout 3 in 7 hours my first time and that was just doing the main story!

    Fifth, the scare factor. The first half of the game is just buildup, you are sitting in suspense, you know it is coming, but you don't want it to. Suddenly the game hits you with it HARD every damn room is filled with the monsters. Only theres one major issue. Most of these rooms don't have patrolling enemies (Jesus Christ I was terrified that that was the case!), but rather simple scripted events where they walk past you and that's that. There are certain patrolling monsters but they are very few in number. The monsters are necessarily as terrifying as in TDD either, they look like a typical video game bad guy not some weird bipedal thing without a head and a sword grafted into it's arm, so it kind of takes away from the horror. Overall, the atmosphere and the sound work together to still make it terrifying, it's just that it isn't as scary as TDD.

    Overall, if you look at it as the next game in the series of Amnesia... it's junk... if you look at it as a standalone game and don't compare it to Amnesia at every step, it's pretty decent. I give it 7/10 because I take off 1 for the terrible enemies, 1 for the short gameplay, and 1 for the linear story. It's still scary as hell, is a nice experience, and still worth $15.    … Expand
  2. Sno
    Sep 10, 2013
    10
    Although several things have been changed from the original amnesia, this title is certainly deserving of the amnesia trademark. I was scared just as much, if not more, in this game than the original, which the original failed to do for me on my second playthrough. Frictional made a fantastic decision allowing thechineseroom to develop this game.
  3. AColdOnion
    Sep 10, 2013
    1
    What people are saying is true for the most part...the "gameplay" factor is just not there.. This game has that feel of Gone Home to it and is not really that enjoyable.. I was a huge fan of Dark Decent I had sky high hopes for this game but was let down so bad.. If i would have known that this game was going to be more of a visual novel and not a video game I would have passed on it..What people are saying is true for the most part...the "gameplay" factor is just not there.. This game has that feel of Gone Home to it and is not really that enjoyable.. I was a huge fan of Dark Decent I had sky high hopes for this game but was let down so bad.. If i would have known that this game was going to be more of a visual novel and not a video game I would have passed on it..

    During the first 45 minutes I loved the atmosphere and was actually enjoying myself alot, But after awhile I kept waiting for it to get better (it never did) The game had amazing potential!! But it just seemed the more you dug into it the worse it got. I felt like i was playing a watered down version of TDD minus the fun..If you are going to buy I would 100% recommend waiting for a sale, could not insist anyone to pay $20 for this.    … Expand
  4. Musa3486
    Sep 10, 2013
    3
    Sad to say as an Amnesia fan, but this was terrible.Felt so dry and unfamiliar.Every element of a survival horror has been replaced by a Dear Esther story book. The core of the game has been removed with just the name that reminds.Best words to describe this is the final scene in Pleant of the Apes, "You manics,you killed it,you blew it up....etc"I so looked forward for this game.HeySad to say as an Amnesia fan, but this was terrible.Felt so dry and unfamiliar.Every element of a survival horror has been replaced by a Dear Esther story book. The core of the game has been removed with just the name that reminds.Best words to describe this is the final scene in Pleant of the Apes, "You manics,you killed it,you blew it up....etc"I so looked forward for this game.Hey Chinese Room, stay printings pictures in museums and like Fictional do their thing.… Expand
  5. Dkashola
    Sep 10, 2013
    3
    I like a good story, and apparently The Chinese room does as well, the difference is however is that i like video games also. Before I get into A Machine for Pigs I insist on bringing up Dear Esther, the "non-game, game". As implied, their game "Dear Esther' isn't really a game, because games have game-play and 'Dear Esther' did not. You walked for about 50 minutes on an island while aI like a good story, and apparently The Chinese room does as well, the difference is however is that i like video games also. Before I get into A Machine for Pigs I insist on bringing up Dear Esther, the "non-game, game". As implied, their game "Dear Esther' isn't really a game, because games have game-play and 'Dear Esther' did not. You walked for about 50 minutes on an island while a story was being told to you in randomized bits.

    Now, to get to the actual game 'A Machine For Pigs', I was worried about how the game would turn out, due to the developers track record so far, but I decided to give it a shot since 'Amnesia: The Dark Descent' is my favorite horror game of all time. Unfortunately, my concerns were validated: they screwed up.

    The developers focus too much on story and not enough on actual game-play; It is as if they are pained to create anything that requires interaction and only have little in the game because Frictional was over their shoulders giving them menacing looks. There is no inventory menu, or sanity gauge, and hell you don't even have to worry about resources.

    In short when criticizing this game, I'm really criticizing The Chinese Room as developers. They seem like a talented group of people, but people who should be making films instead of video games.    … Expand
  6. Gamesmagic
    Sep 10, 2013
    10
    Okay, first off. All the bad reviews.....everyone, click the users names. It's their only review, 80% of the time. Outlast fan boys or stupid kids who play cod all day. Second, is it better than the original? Well thats up to you. I personally thought, while it was scary, and had great atmosphere and beautiful textures and designs it wasn't as scary as the original. BUT. it is still asOkay, first off. All the bad reviews.....everyone, click the users names. It's their only review, 80% of the time. Outlast fan boys or stupid kids who play cod all day. Second, is it better than the original? Well thats up to you. I personally thought, while it was scary, and had great atmosphere and beautiful textures and designs it wasn't as scary as the original. BUT. it is still as great horror game. Better than Outlast, Better than Penumbra. It's laughable to see all the bad reviews...and then figure out, that it's probably the same little freak, making new accounts and reviewing the game over and over and over again. Stop it little children. This is a great horror title, and don't let anyone tell you other wise. I recommend you pick up The original first, it's better and the same price. But give this one a try to, great game.… Expand
  7. DOSfan
    Sep 10, 2013
    3
    i'm sad to say this game was incredibly boring. no puzzles, no scares, a few chases?
    just felt like you walk around pulling levers and interacting minimally, picking up notes to read, and just making your way to the next section.
    the environment was pretty cool but the game was devoid of substance. the story was there but it doesn't really make up for removal of all the other elements    i'm sad to say this game was incredibly boring. no puzzles, no scares, a few chases?
    just felt like you walk around pulling levers and interacting minimally, picking up notes to read, and just making your way to the next section.

    the environment was pretty cool but the game was devoid of substance.
    the story was there but it doesn't really make up for removal of all the other elements amnesia had previously. the story was ok, but very short.

    i really enjoyed the first amnesia, penumbra games, and even found outlast way more fun than this.

    what a bummer.    … Expand
  8. Lustikurre
    Sep 10, 2013
    5
    Ironically, this game only makes you feel unpleasant, while the first game made you squeal like a pig.

    If you haven't played the first amnesia game I would highly recommend you play that one instead. If you have played it and is looking for more amnesia, or any scary game in general, I would say you're better of trying some of the many custom stories that were made for the first game,    Ironically, this game only makes you feel unpleasant, while the first game made you squeal like a pig.

    If you haven't played the first amnesia game I would highly recommend you play that one instead. If you have played it and is looking for more amnesia, or any scary game in general, I would say you're better of trying some of the many custom stories that were made for the first game, or try other games in the horror genre.

    It is developed by the guys that made Dear Esther and it shows. While the atmosphere remains truthful to it's predecessor, it's not as tense, scary or stressful as the first game. Even the music is not made to scare you as it did with excellency in the original.

    There are some stressful moments, but they are few and far between. Most of the game is about immersion. exploration, listening to dialogues or reading notes, which mostly seems to be written by William Shakespeare.

    There are also a few puzzles, but they are not clever in any ways and most of them are either solved too quickly or they make you feel frustrated when you finally realized you've missed something that the game thinks is obvious.

    There are not as many monster encounters and the monsters themselves aren't even that scary.

    In conclusion I would say that this game is a toned down version of the original that focuses more on story writing and exploration, rather than trying to scare you in as many ways possible. If that sounds appealing to you, then give it a shot.

    After paying full price for the ~5 hours long game I would say buy it the next time it goes on sale for maybe 50% off. It's not really worth the full price if you ask me.    … Expand
  9. kbrixx
    Sep 10, 2013
    4
    Sad....very sad.I had such high hopes for this game.isn't as crazy scary as the original,not even close.good news is i only spent 15 bux for this game.so theres that.
  10. andreslopez
    Sep 10, 2013
    0
    OMG are you serious? as expected it sucked. only with that hilarious name ''a machine for pigs'' what the hell were they thinking? i didn't like it at all i almost killed myself and just a few moments i got scared.
  11. harrydoener
    Sep 10, 2013
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First things first, the story of this game is really good and i really liked the ending. Okay, the storytelling was quite straight forward and it was kind of obvious, that the children were already dead, but there were also some nice plot twists and overall it was pretty good.
    The graphics were also rather pretty to look at and they helped to build a spooky atmosphere.
    But the huge problem I had with this game was everything else.
    I think I should describe what I experienced when I played the game. Note that I did not read any reviews beforehand and just jumped right into it, expecting a game like Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

    It started out pretty creepy, but suddenly I noticed I couldn't interact with anything. After five minutes of running around searching for something to interact with, I figured there was nothing. Okay. Perhaps people did not like that in "The Dark Descent". Next I found the lamp. I tried to open my inventory, but there was none. Then came the puzzles. Except there were none, just carrying item A to point B and pulling lever C. Then I saw the monster for the first time, whilst refilling my tank with something (oil? I don't remember what that black goo was). I was pretty excited and afraid when it started to bash down the door in front of me. I hid in the corner and faced the wall, hoping the tactics of "A Dark Descent" would still work. After ten seconds, the monster stopped the bashing and left. I was a little disappointed but went on my merry way. When the monster ran past me for the second time, I was scared again. That was the last time in the whole game.
    And that is the biggest problem I had with "A Machine for Pigs". It was not scary. Sometimes I had the feeling that the monsters were afraid of ME. You just have to turn out your lamp and they won't even notice you. And when they do, run 6m and they stop following you. You won't go insane looking at them. The sanity meter? You have none. And you have only 4 encounters with those normal monsters in the whole game! 4! Why only 4? That is NOTHING!
    Then came the waters of doom and the famous splooshers... wait? You just see them? You don't interact with them? That is right. It felt like a zootrip. Hey, honey, look over there? That is a tiger. And that is an imp. Ridiculous. But there is a chase with the monsters. You fall down a bridge and run over a fenced alley to a ladder. 10 seconds max. And the chasing monster is too slow to catch you even if you stop. And then it all went REALLY downhill...
    You go to the surface after a long quest and... BOOM, pigmen everywhere! Excited? Don't be, they won't attack. About twenty of them and THEY DON'T ATTACK. Why not? That would have been great, sneaking through a burning, pigmen-infested city... but no, you have ONE pigman at the end of the level that chases you down an alley. After you trigger him. Or you just stop in front of the invisible "the pigman can see you"-line and look at him. Felt like being in a zoo... oh, wait, deja vu.
    But after you trigger him he starts chasing you and... you can just turn around and run through him. I played bullfighting with that stupid thing for about 2 minutes, then I left him alone back in the streets. I hope he is alright. Was the best friend I had in the game And that was it.
    No wait, I think there was a bossfight. Kind of. With two stages. The boss is a teleporting electropigman I s*t you not). The first time I barely saw him, because I already solved the "puzzle" before he could appear and he just burst into lightening. In the second phase he chased me through some corridors. I died once, because I wanted to see how many hits I could take from him (hoping he was a one-hit-killer like the brute). It took him 4 hits to kill me. Pathetic. By the way, I died once before that in the game against a normal pigman (for the same reason). He was weaker than his teleporting counterpart, he took me down with six hits. Yes, I am not making this up. Sadly not. But back to the endboss. He once had me cornered but I was saved in the last moments. By whom? By HIMSELF. He jumped into me and teleported away. Why did he do that? Who programmed that AI? And afterwards the game was over.
    It took me about three hours a little bit more perhaps) to finish the whole game. It would have taken less time without the fun I had with the pigmen. Yes. FUN. In a horror game. Great.

    Okay,I think I said enough. I am so incredibly disappointed. I waited almost two years for this. I was so excited I couldn't sleep the night before release. And this is what I got? Well, if this would have been called "A Machine for Pigs" it would have been quite a funny little game. But this had nothing to do with what I had expected of an "Amnesia"-Sequel. Nothing. Perhaps I should have done more research about the whole game. But this was not worth the wait.    … Expand
  12. UnbiasedOne
    Sep 10, 2013
    1
    Takes boring to a whole new level. There is no gameplay, you walk and sometimes turn a valve. You almost never encounter enemies. You can complete it in under 3 hours. You must sprint everywhere because you walk so slow. There is a very liner confusing story that you don't care about. The pace is the slowest I've ever encountered. This is literately a walking simulator. Keep your moneyTakes boring to a whole new level. There is no gameplay, you walk and sometimes turn a valve. You almost never encounter enemies. You can complete it in under 3 hours. You must sprint everywhere because you walk so slow. There is a very liner confusing story that you don't care about. The pace is the slowest I've ever encountered. This is literately a walking simulator. Keep your money (and yourself) as far away from this as possible.… Expand
  13. okamimiyazaki
    Sep 10, 2013
    0
    I'm not sure how Frictional could have been satisfied with releasing this game. Maybe it was The Chinese Room's influence?

    First of all, it removes a lot of the mechanics of The Dark Descent e.g. lantern with limited fuel, tinders, inventory, sanity, picking up most objects, HIDING IN CABINETS... In return, we get nothing. Typically when a company develops another game in a series they    I'm not sure how Frictional could have been satisfied with releasing this game. Maybe it was The Chinese Room's influence?

    First of all, it removes a lot of the mechanics of The Dark Descent e.g. lantern with limited fuel, tinders, inventory, sanity, picking up most objects, HIDING IN CABINETS... In return, we get nothing. Typically when a company develops another game in a series they remove some features but add new ones that are supposed to be better. Not this time, apparently. The limited light fuel in TDD was great because it added another layer of suspense (the fear that you would run out of light and be stuck in the horrifying dark with monsters). Hiding in the cabinets was awesome.... I was expecting all of these old suspenseful features plus, ya know, NEW ones. Not the removal of the good stuff.

    Second, the game is NOT SCARY... When you see the first pig monster, you may think it is going to be frightening. Until you actually see it up close. WTF? Isn't this supposed to be a horror game? Then why did they take what looks like an undead dog with a pig head attached to it and call it a monster? There was so much freaky concept art out there with a lot of potential... The monsters also move slowly and behave predictably. They're not scary, just annoying to maneuver around.

    Last, it runs like crap. I can run nearly any game maxed out on my rig with no issues but Machine was giving me limitless problems (screen tearing, stuttering, etc). When I turned the graphics down, it got worse and ended up looking like the original Doom.

    The only positive things I have to say about Machine for Pigs are that the plot is somewhat interesting and that they (mostly) removed that blinding white light that kept flashing across the screen in The Dark Descent (which was hard on the eyes in the dark).

    Music is also nice. Kudos to the composer.

    Overall, not worthy of being called an Amnesia game.    … Expand
  14. gimmedatsammich
    Sep 10, 2013
    3
    Handing this off to The Chinese Room was a HUGE mistake, and I hope Frictional never repeats it. Dear Esther was awful- one of the worst gaming experiences of my life- so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that their sequel to The Dark Descent isn't much better. Points about the butchering of the gameplay mechanics and the failure to even come close to matching the depth and emotional impactHanding this off to The Chinese Room was a HUGE mistake, and I hope Frictional never repeats it. Dear Esther was awful- one of the worst gaming experiences of my life- so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that their sequel to The Dark Descent isn't much better. Points about the butchering of the gameplay mechanics and the failure to even come close to matching the depth and emotional impact of the original Amnesia's story have been covered by other irate users, so I won't go there. I'd just like to express how profoundly disappointed I am by A Machine for Pigs (terrible, terrible title by the way- that should have been our first indication of how crappy this game would be.) The Dark Descent was my favorite game of the last decade. I'm just going to pretend like this game doesn't exist. All I can say is that Amnesia 2 better be developed by Frictional, and it better be really, really effing good.… Expand
  15. Amnoled
    Sep 10, 2013
    1
    I beat the game in a single four hour sitting. It did not live up to it's predecessor at all.
    First things first, many of the horrifying aspects of the original were removed, including
    tinderboxes, lantern fuel, sanity and the inventory. Without the fear of losing all your sanity, you lose a lot of the fear from the original. "Should I use this tinderbox now, or save it for later? When    I beat the game in a single four hour sitting. It did not live up to it's predecessor at all.
    First things first, many of the horrifying aspects of the original were removed, including
    tinderboxes, lantern fuel, sanity and the inventory. Without the fear of losing all your sanity, you lose a lot of the fear from the original. "Should I use this tinderbox now, or save it for later? When will I find more fuel for my lantern?" Those thoughts were constantly in my mind in the original, making me fear what lies ahead in the darkness even more. Another major problem were the monsters. They were not scary, and quite frankly, they kind of made me laugh. You also don't see them very often. When you do, you MUST sneak past them, there are no wardrobes to hide in if you're spotted. The wardrobes and most doors are locked, leaving a very linear game. No exploring whatsoever. Finally, the story is very predictable, and not overly intriguing. Yes it had it's moments, but it just seemed kind of messy. The music was the only thing that made me give this review a one instead of a zero. It was haunting and beautiful, especially one of the last songs you hear. Overall, this game was a large disappointment, and as there are no custom stories available for it, I'm not sure if I'll be playing it again in the near future.    … Expand
  16. EricNeoMatrix
    Sep 10, 2013
    9
    If you're willing to accept the fact that not everything is the same as TDD, then this game will suck you right in and won't let go. Otherwise, you might be disappointed.
  17. HelloMrHell
    Sep 10, 2013
    6
    Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs is an okay game, with no cheap jumpscares, scary moments, and a frightening atmosphere. It's not as scary as Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Nothing will beat that. It has some problems with shadows. But! It's hell a' scary when you play it. You encounter pigs. Not normal pigs. But buffed up, HUGE pigs.
  18. Zimbardo
    Sep 10, 2013
    5
    If you want a horror game or a sequel to Dark Descent, this is not it. Use your $20 on Outlast.
    If you want a darker version of Dear Esther, then A Machine for Pigs is pretty entertaining but get it when it's on sale for $5.
    When Frictional games had set out to make Dark Descent they used their experience with the Penumbra series to make gold. They built on what worked in the 3    If you want a horror game or a sequel to Dark Descent, this is not it. Use your $20 on Outlast.
    If you want a darker version of Dear Esther, then A Machine for Pigs is pretty entertaining but get it when it's on sale for $5.

    When Frictional games had set out to make Dark Descent they used their experience with the Penumbra series to make gold. They built on what worked in the 3 Penumbra games and dropped what didn't. It was like a lab for creating the perfect monster.
    The problem with A Machine for Pigs is that the devs at the Chinese Room did not have this experience and it shows, hard. This game has some jumps but you will not feel fear while playing it. If you see someone really scared while playing this on youtube, they are hamming it up for the camera to get ad revenue. The game tried to evoke disgust, not fear.
    The Chinese Room also dropped many of the mechanics that make Dark Descent so good, which is probably one of biggest and most confusing mistakes imaginable. Everything was in place, why drop what worked? For example...
    1) The insanity meter is gone. In Dark Descent this meter helped ensure that you couldn't look directly at the monsters and this kept them scary throughout the game. The pigs here will not scare you after you get a good look at them.
    2) Puzzles are gone. Puzzles are challenging and rewarding when you solve them. A Machine for Pigs is not challenging in the slightest. A Machine for Pigs is also highly scripted and as on the rails as you can get (a la Dear Esther). There's little in the way of exploration, you are essentially moving forward on a linear path turning wheels and hitting switches as you bump into them. In Dark Descent you had to have some idea of why you were doing these things, not here.
    3) Your torch lasts forever. Having to limit your use of the lantern in Dark Descent game the game a sense of urgency and impending doom (aka if I run out of light I am dead).

    The things that made this game enjoyable are also what made Dear Esther kinda fun. Good voice acting and music. Excellent visuals (albeit on a dated engine) and visually distinct areas made for nice variety. The story is also cool. So it's a nicely packaged visual story but don't expect anything remotely related to your experience during Dark Descent.    … Expand
  19. KillaRiku
    Sep 10, 2013
    3
    I was'nt this disappointed for years. No Inventory. Low level puzzles. Barely horror. You can't even put out your lantern. It is'nt scary anymore.
    Buy Outlast. Or play the first game. Those are two good horrorgames!
  20. puscyfer
    Sep 10, 2013
    10
    More Dear Esther than Amnesia... not for everyone's tastes, slow paced and atmospheric with great reliance on written story (notes, journal etc...). Some will love it, others will hate it but most of all... you will never know by reading a review... It's just not the type of game that even the most objective review would be worth taking for granted. I love it, it's a work of art... andMore Dear Esther than Amnesia... not for everyone's tastes, slow paced and atmospheric with great reliance on written story (notes, journal etc...). Some will love it, others will hate it but most of all... you will never know by reading a review... It's just not the type of game that even the most objective review would be worth taking for granted. I love it, it's a work of art... and I'll rate it accordingly… Expand
  21. Deadspacelover1
    Sep 10, 2013
    4
    i've been looking forward to this game for years, and in the first hour it was very fun and creepy, but then it got so linier and was not even worth playing. i seriously just wanted to complete the damn game, and move on in my life. biggest disappointment in years! oh and it only takes 5 hours to complete
  22. dupdog1
    Sep 10, 2013
    1
    This game sucked. It was a huge step backwards from the previous game. There is no longer an inventory system, sanity system, or even a limited light source. The new lantern no longer has a limited supply of fuel and never runs out. If you have played Dear Esther, you will feel right at home. This game plays the same way, with a few mutant pigs running around which i never could figure outThis game sucked. It was a huge step backwards from the previous game. There is no longer an inventory system, sanity system, or even a limited light source. The new lantern no longer has a limited supply of fuel and never runs out. If you have played Dear Esther, you will feel right at home. This game plays the same way, with a few mutant pigs running around which i never could figure out how they got there in the first place. The only good thing about this game was the new "boss" which is a fat pig with electrical super powers. Which would be cool except the AI for all the pigs seemed about as intelligent as the ghosts from PacMan. I can count on my fingers the amount of "scary" moments included in this game. You can feel that they tried so hard to keep a dark atmosphere, but it doesn't work. At one point I was climbing a ladder, and they tried to throw in a jump scare by having what looked like a 4 year old's drawing of a pig appear in front of my face. It actually made me laugh. I could have spent my 15 dollars on a good indie game and supported new developers. I could have taken my money and bought 15 hamburgers from McDonald's and been more scared. I'm really angry right now. This game made no sense, I hate it.

    Love Dupdog1    … Expand
  23. MatthewfromCZ
    Sep 10, 2013
    4
    When I first heard a Chinese Room will be making new Amnesia, I have mixed thoughts. I was right. This game is nothing like original Amnesia.

    I mean, Amnesia was a horror adventure game. This is a horror storytelling with simple interactions. And even it's horror part is not done very well. I mean, all you can do is move, use your flashlight thing and interact with important things. As    When I first heard a Chinese Room will be making new Amnesia, I have mixed thoughts. I was right. This game is nothing like original Amnesia.

    I mean, Amnesia was a horror adventure game. This is a horror storytelling with simple interactions. And even it's horror part is not done very well. I mean, all you can do is move, use your flashlight thing and interact with important things. As you were able to interact with almost anything, here? With close to nothing. You don't have an inventory, you have infinity flashlight. No consumable items. Original Amnesia was about exploration, where you have to explore a manage your resources. While in this crap there is no point to explore around, you cannot. There is a linear path, maybe with some small side way with quest item. Also while original Amnesia had good puzzles, best puzzle in here is refueling burners with coal. Best puzzle ever. This is not Amnesia, this is Dear Esther 2 with bonus gameplay options. Horror parts are meh. They are scary but really not as scary as in original Amnesia. Monsters don't really look scary. There are no user mods support at least now, the playtime is about 3 HOURS. 3 HOURS. I hope Frictional will NEVER EVER leave such studios as Chinese Room make games for them.    … Expand
  24. black_pirate
    Sep 10, 2013
    4
    They took out everything that I loved in first Amnesia. I was waiting for this release long time ago.. and now I feel empty, cheated and disappointed. I even enjoyed in Dear Esther, but this...this...what they did with machine for pigs, it is just not a good combination, a wrong move. It is an average game with cool atmosphere...nothing else, and nothing special.
  25. Sithiuss
    Sep 10, 2013
    2
    Honestly this game was one of the biggest disappointments of the year. Not only was the game incredibly easy
    the entire way through, but hardly scary at all. Not only was the fear factor lacking but I felt the story was incredibly predictable and dry as well. The writing shined in the notes in comparison to the former game but failed to add up to anything meaningful. They took out the    Honestly this game was one of the biggest disappointments of the year. Not only was the game incredibly easy
    the entire way through, but hardly scary at all. Not only was the fear factor lacking but I felt the story was incredibly predictable and dry as well. The writing shined in the notes in comparison to the former game but failed to add up to anything meaningful. They took out the survival elements of the game entirely (No fuel, no lighting of candles/lanterns, no sanity mechanic) 90% of the time you can simply run straight past the monsters with no penalty.The monsters weren't scary, the game-play failed hard, and a few minor plot twists along the way which were easily foreseen 2/10 biggest letdown of the year.    … Expand
  26. vare345p
    Sep 10, 2013
    8
    Puzles are kind of easy and guided but the atmosphere, the storytelling, the voice-acting, the enhanced level desing... It is just great.

    Don't be dumbass complaining because there's no oil or tinderboxes, cause you didn't clearly play the game; Now when you are in full darkness you can't see anything, not even turning your gamma up a bit. So, if you face a monster you have 2 options:    Puzles are kind of easy and guided but the atmosphere, the storytelling, the voice-acting, the enhanced level desing... It is just great.

    Don't be dumbass complaining because there's no oil or tinderboxes, cause you didn't clearly play the game; Now when you are in full darkness you can't see anything, not even turning your gamma up a bit. So, if you face a monster you have 2 options: Turning on the lamp and let him see you or turning it off and don't see anything. This makes a lot of tension.

    In any case, it is not like the first Amnesia, they changed a lot of stuff here and there, and if you are an Amnesia fan I think you'll enjoy it. Will you like it more than the first one? I don't know, but I think is totally worth the price.

    Edited: I have already beaten the game and I must say that I liked The Dark Descent more than this one.
    A machine for pigs tried to be different, simplifying gameplay and trying to be more straight-forward.
    The game is, indeed, more linear. You don't need to look for tinderboxes, oil or laudanum so making more rooms would have been pretty much an aesthetic thing.
    Setting is great and I like the new artistic design, and the sound is still great.
    It lasts about 4-5 hours, but I hope there will be mod support.
    If you are an amnesia fan you will probably like it, but just don't wait another TDD, because you won't find it.    … Expand
  27. Vi-Pe
    Sep 10, 2013
    8
    I think Amnesia A Machine For Pigs is very good sequel for the Amnesia The Dark Descent, but it isn't as great as Dark Descent. A Machine For Pigs is still really scary but not as scary as Dark Descent, why? Because they did remove loads of things from it. There's no sanity(almost at all) and the lantern has infinite oil which makes it less scarier. Another thing missing is inventory soI think Amnesia A Machine For Pigs is very good sequel for the Amnesia The Dark Descent, but it isn't as great as Dark Descent. A Machine For Pigs is still really scary but not as scary as Dark Descent, why? Because they did remove loads of things from it. There's no sanity(almost at all) and the lantern has infinite oil which makes it less scarier. Another thing missing is inventory so you cant pick up anything to your inventory, if you need to take something you need to carry it around which is good, I think it makes the game bit scarier. The story telling is pretty good and maybe better than in Dark Descent, but I'm missing that when character reads you everything in his diary pages.… Expand
  28. bkizzle4444
    Sep 10, 2013
    8
    As a person who hasn't played much horror, I didn't know what to expect. The last few horror games I tried many years ago bored me before ever giving me a scare. I would say this game is fun just based on the story and atmosphere it sets it has scared me a few times in the first hour I've played. 1 of the scares got me really good. Now I must try Outlast.
  29. Ananas4
    Sep 10, 2013
    4
    It has a good, gloomy atmosphere, great voice actors (except the kids) and good soundtrack. But that's about it. It's dumbed down from The Dark Descent and nowhere as scary. It feels more like an walking simulator or a bad custom story for TDD. There are jumpscares here and there and most of scripted scenes are just an enemy or kid running past the hallway and then disappearing. EnemiesIt has a good, gloomy atmosphere, great voice actors (except the kids) and good soundtrack. But that's about it. It's dumbed down from The Dark Descent and nowhere as scary. It feels more like an walking simulator or a bad custom story for TDD. There are jumpscares here and there and most of scripted scenes are just an enemy or kid running past the hallway and then disappearing. Enemies aren't scary at all and it's easy to run away from them. Game is pretty short, it may be worth to try if you like stories but nice it wasn't something like $60.… Expand
  30. KcSmiff
    Sep 10, 2013
    5
    Do yourselves a favour and just skip this game, from the few negative votes I've seen here, I must agree with them. If you are expecting a bigger badder sequel to the highly acclaimed Amnesia: The Dark Descent, this isn't it.

    The first half of the game was actually filled with tension, and thinking 'What is going to happen in here; I do not like this room'. But when you see what you're    Do yourselves a favour and just skip this game, from the few negative votes I've seen here, I must agree with them. If you are expecting a bigger badder sequel to the highly acclaimed Amnesia: The Dark Descent, this isn't it.

    The first half of the game was actually filled with tension, and thinking 'What is going to happen in here; I do not like this room'. But when you see what you're trying to hide from without fear of losing sanity by viewing the creature, it just becomes a game of 'Okay it goes this route, so I'll go another'. In all honesty, I think all that fear comes from expecting this game to be like the first, in which later on you'll find it doesn't even come close to.

    Last half of the game got me to a point of 'This isn't even scarey anymore and isn't even trying to be.' I died once not because I was scared and messed up, it was because I couldn't care less if the creature got to me before I had to flip a switch.

    I think this lost a lot of what made Amnesia scarey; insanity as a means to prevent you from just remotely observing a monster added a lot of what made the game scarey.

    Adding lots of places to hide in the first made it a very viable option to jump into a room and close yourself in a closet; waiting for the monster to go away as you whimper and hope it never saw you jump in there. Most encounters you have in this game has absolutely nothing but 'run the opposite direction' and they just poof out of existence. There is no lingering fear or dread of a monster still being around and you only delaying the inevitable.

    You will not get the Amnesia experience with this one unfortunately... It looks really pretty though.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

25
#25 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
69
#69 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 59 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 59
  3. Negative: 1 out of 59
  1. Level7.nu
    Dec 12, 2013
    70
    A Machine for Pigs is a well made and impressive game with a thorough thematic design and atmosphere. As a horror game it is rather spartan yet brilliant in that it let’s your brain conjure most of its horrors. Unfortunately it comes with a rather numbing effect that makes later parts of the game feel more formulaic and not as scary.
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  2. GameOver.gr
    Nov 5, 2013
    50
    With problematic pacing and a complete lack of the horror element -that was the highlight of the first game- A Machine for Pigs didn't meet our expectations.
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  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Oct 24, 2013
    80
    A perfect clash of Dear Esther and Amnesia, focused on straining your nerves while easing - perhaps a tad too much - on the interaction and gameplay. [Issue#234]
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