Amnesia: The Dark Descent

 PC
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1612 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,375 out of 1612
  2. Mixed: 170 out of 1612
  3. Negative: 67 out of 1612
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  1. Joben
    Dec 21, 2012
    4
    Atmospheric and creepy for a while...then it gets boring. There's something that really breaks immersion for me. You can't fight at all. You can't even shove things away when you get close. You can't pick up any sort of weapon despite passing dozens of reasonable objects like shovels and knives. This leads to a problem. All the monsters have to be lame enough that you can just walk awayAtmospheric and creepy for a while...then it gets boring. There's something that really breaks immersion for me. You can't fight at all. You can't even shove things away when you get close. You can't pick up any sort of weapon despite passing dozens of reasonable objects like shovels and knives. This leads to a problem. All the monsters have to be lame enough that you can just walk away from them. The sense of danger just goes out the window once you figure out the game mechanics. A "Horror" game isn't scary once you realize you are literally no danger whatsoever for 90% of the play time. It's not terrifying, it's a fun-house ride. Complete with blinking lights and people making "OOOoooooo" noises from around corners.

    If you really try to get immersed in it, I guess it could be a pretty creepy experience. But it's not a all that great as a GAME. Which is a pity, because it's been quite a while since we had a horror game that was both fun to play and actually scary. We might have to go all the way back to System Shock 2 in 1999. Although i suppose F.E.A.R. or Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth might be honorable mentions.    … Expand
  2. freddog99
    Nov 30, 2013
    3
    You'll wish you had amnesia so you could forget you ever bought this game. Either that or bring coffee, lots and lots of coffee. It is so boring you will be snoozing with out a huge dose of stimulant. If you look poking around in the dark or shadows clicking away endlessly at "who-knows what", then you could like that game. There's no mystery here, just things that are not easy to findYou'll wish you had amnesia so you could forget you ever bought this game. Either that or bring coffee, lots and lots of coffee. It is so boring you will be snoozing with out a huge dose of stimulant. If you look poking around in the dark or shadows clicking away endlessly at "who-knows what", then you could like that game. There's no mystery here, just things that are not easy to find nor necessarily logical. Good luck finding those hours you'll lose wasted on this game.… Expand
  3. DogeWowIsBack
    Apr 22, 2019
    1
    Game lacks environment to the point of being boring, repetive and tedious. The fact you realise it about severeal minutes after starting the game doesn't really help. The plot of the game is pretty minimalistic, you are in some sort of old generic castle and you have to find the way out, which you never did. You also lost your memory because writting an actual plot is probably next toGame lacks environment to the point of being boring, repetive and tedious. The fact you realise it about severeal minutes after starting the game doesn't really help. The plot of the game is pretty minimalistic, you are in some sort of old generic castle and you have to find the way out, which you never did. You also lost your memory because writting an actual plot is probably next to impossible for the creators. During the game you remember bits of your memory, find some old journals, revealing some really small bits of the plot. I'm gonna be as honest as i can, the plot isn't unique, interesting or even original, it's slow paced, very dry and despite what many biased people like to say, it's cliché.
    The game doesn't allow you to fight whatsoever, despite the fact you will pass dozens of object that could easily be used as weapons such as shovels and knives. The game also allows you to light candles but you can't carry, which leads to a question, why? There's no real reason for players not to, 99,9% of times lighting them is a waste of time, they're reasonable source of light and it would actually make sense to use them as an alternative source of light over a garbage lamp oil, that runs out of oil as quickly as strawman fanboys of this game out of arguments why i should think this game is scary.
    There's also sanity system which is pretty weird, step in a shadows/bit darker room for a second and our protagonist is about to have heart attack, but when we stay next to a monster that got stuck on an object he'll be just fine! What kind of fear of the darkness is this? As for the monsters they're not scary in the slightest, if anything they're hilariously ugly, their models look outdated. Not to mention their AI, it's so bad it's actually embarassing, monsters will either, get stuck on any object on their way, or completly forget about you once you get out of their sight, they become predictable so fast, they're not challenging. Horror games should encourage exploration, but this game does not, it's straight foward it forces you to go into directions it wants you to, either that would be with monsters, puzzles or simply blocked paths. The puzzles are simple, predictable and easy.    … Expand
  4. Neologism
    Nov 17, 2012
    3
    I was about to purchase this game based on reputation @Metacritic alone and boy, am I glad they offer a demo on Steam. I didn't even finish the demo because it is hardly scary. Granted, the audio may be superb but this feature is completely diminished by the fact that the graphics and level design appear to be based on something that was contrived in the very early 2000s. One could compareI was about to purchase this game based on reputation @Metacritic alone and boy, am I glad they offer a demo on Steam. I didn't even finish the demo because it is hardly scary. Granted, the audio may be superb but this feature is completely diminished by the fact that the graphics and level design appear to be based on something that was contrived in the very early 2000s. One could compare its quality to be part way between Thief II and Thief: Deadly Shadows. This is an absolute deal-breaker for me and I wonder, how this can be received with such a high degree of professional appraisal (Metascore of 85).

    Sure, there are games that look like crap an are extremely popular, such as Minecraft. But, in very stark contrast to Amnesia, the Minecraft experience does not thrive on ambience and immersion.

    Considering the fact, that the vast majority of human cognitive perception is based on visual stimuli, I am having a very hard time understanding why anyone with a trained I could give this horror-flick a 100% on a professional review without constant fear of having you credibility on the line...YES, I am looking at you Gamecritics & Gamernode! wtf?    … Expand
  5. kuehnau
    Apr 5, 2014
    0
    I decided to submit a new review of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. The first time I played through the game, I couldn't even make it through a half hour of the game I thought it was so awful. After having a friend tell me it gets better after about an hour in, I gave it another shot and I eventually beat the game.

    Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a 'survival horror' exploration game. I use the    I decided to submit a new review of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. The first time I played through the game, I couldn't even make it through a half hour of the game I thought it was so awful. After having a friend tell me it gets better after about an hour in, I gave it another shot and I eventually beat the game.

    Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a 'survival horror' exploration game. I use the term survival horror loosely because besides walking around or running there is very little survival elements to the game. As much as I try to understand it, I can't figure out what makes this game so popular or how people can become so terrified of it, I never found the game remotely scary in the least.

    As you begin the game, you will find yourself in a castle of sorts, you've lost your memory and you need to find out where you are and a way out of the castle. During the entire game you'll never leave the castle and almost at all times, all of the game environments looks similar. A dark, spooky castle, you can tell rooms have actually be reused. After awhile it becomes very tedious.

    As you progress through the game, you'll remember bits of your memory or find old journals, revealing more of the story. I'll be frank, the story is not unique, it's not witty, the writing is very dry, slow paced and clichéd. I never once found myself interested or engrossed in the story.

    I tried my best to become engrossed in the game, I played in a dark room, I used a 3D surround sound headset, but more times then not, I often found things that actually pulled me out of the game. To begin with, there are common sense things in the game that the developers ignored. For example, you can light candles in a room, but you can't actually carry them. Why can't you carry the candles? The only reason I can think of is because it breaks the core mechanics of the game and the need for light. And that isn't a good reason. Developers should have enough hindsight to know what players are thinking or what they may try to do in a game and work with that. They could have easily figured candles into the game's equation, they simply refused to.

    During my time with the game, I experienced issues with the sound, which is a really great way to break immersion. For example; there may be water dripping and if I face it, I will hear it, if I turn away from it, the sound is suddenly gone, it doesn't even fade away. This is NOT an issue with my hardware as this isn't something I encounter on a day to day basis, this is explicitly a problem with the game and it's sound engine.

    While a survival horror game would surely encourage exploration, this game does not. It's fairly straight forward and basically forces you into the direction it wants you to go, either with monsters, puzzles or blocked off paths. The lack of different environments makes the game stagnate almost immediately.

    Speaking of Monsters, the monsters are terribly designed, in most cases you either won't see them due to darkness, or they are simply invisible. When you finally do get a chance to see some of the monsters in the game, they are lack luster at best with terrible, outdated character models. Their AI is terrible and the easiest way to avoid them is simply run off a distance into a dark corner and look at the floor. After playing the game for a bit, you can actually begin to predict monster attacks to the point where you can actually avoid a majority of monsters. As a matter of fact, in the last part of the game you can literally just run past all of them.

    The puzzles presented in the game are simple, easy and predictable. I actually found myself rolling my eyes at some of the puzzles in the game.

    This game is not new, it's not fresh and it's not unique. From a technical standpoint it's way below average and for a game that would most likely rely heavily on writing, it has a terrible story line.     … Expand
  6. StriderKiwi
    Sep 4, 2013
    3
    VERY OVERRATED GAME. I'll get the good out of the way, it looks nice enough, good sound design, and downright great physics which it takes advantage of in puzzles (some that are good, others that are not). The story was boring and not exactly told to you in best of ways. Your character is silent because pffft hiring a voice actor would cost money, you can't fight the monsters only runVERY OVERRATED GAME. I'll get the good out of the way, it looks nice enough, good sound design, and downright great physics which it takes advantage of in puzzles (some that are good, others that are not). The story was boring and not exactly told to you in best of ways. Your character is silent because pffft hiring a voice actor would cost money, you can't fight the monsters only run because fending for yourself is overrated real gamers/people run from their problems. Some enemies can't actually be seen because they felt like being lazy and then the big scary monster looks downright awful and not frightening in the slightest. I laughed my ass of the first time I got a look at him. Finally, it's not scary. Yeah I realize some might disagree and yeah what scares one person may not scare another but I really didn't find this game scary. It really reminds me of Slender Man, another overrated "horror" game: both are only frightening to people who either scare easily or haven't seen many horror movies or played many horror videogames. As someone who has played and seen many horror movies and videogames, Amnesia was nothing spectacular in my opinion.… Expand
  7. grimsfield
    Apr 24, 2017
    0
    most overrated game ive ever played. this game sucks. gameplay consists of walking around dark rooms and halls of crappy graphics. While sporadically hiding from crap you can't kill.
  8. drastic
    Feb 20, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Warning, if you haven't played yet, you probably don't want to read too many reviews or any and not mine.

    First of all, turned off the lights, put on headphones, hope ended there...

    The good: The game had a decent atmosphere and graphics as well as minor puzzle solving. The in game playing and use was easy to handle. Not a lot of glitches, didn't have to restart due to any odd issues. The bad: I was never once "terrified" or even a bit shaken up by this game and still sit back scratching my head as to the horrified reviews, especially the screamer reactions on Youtube. I suggest for those who are scared of this game, don't watch Scooby Doo, you will also be terrified.

    There are decent puzzles, most of it was spent on useless object moving. Madness? Only after tossing 5000 books off shelves that had nothing behind them, that in fact, was maddening. Most solving was meager at best and child's play to figure out.

    Scary? Disturbing would be more the word. The only thing completely scary was having to look at another man's genitalia of a tortured body. The creatures, zombies? that lurk in the dark, give plenty of warning they are there, so they may slash and kill you which is easy enough to avoid. The water creature? Yes, there is nothing more terrifying than a splash chasing you I guess.

    There could easily have been more puzzles to solve, the game became extremely repetitive. There were a few instances of building, putting together objects, etc... but not nearly what could have been. Why give 10 candles to light in one area? Why not just one or two for what is needed? I started over simply due to wasting tinderboxes where they weren't needed. One hint I would give to players, save the tinder boxes don't waste them lighting everything in sight, only what's needed.

    The over abundance of notes and entries were for what? The story line was very weak, and maybe would have made more sense to me if pulling out my fingernails wasn't more interesting than the read. What happened to some of these people? I have no clue, they disappeared along with the plot.

    The ending was the easiest and most disappointing aspect of the whole game, waiting for that big finish only to find it was over in less than 20 seconds.

    Conclusion: All in all, a good game to play once. I can't understand all the +10 ratings or the screamer reactions on Youtube but again, decent enough to have some fun.    … Expand
  9. SchizoTyler
    Jul 27, 2012
    4
    Too much wobbly camera. Extremely annoying looped sounds in certain areas. Character in game freaks out every time he sees his shadow. Its really difficult to immerse myself in the game if every minute I'm telling my character to "chill out it was just a shadow". "Daniel", the character you play as, freaks out way too often at just about everything and it completely tore me out of theToo much wobbly camera. Extremely annoying looped sounds in certain areas. Character in game freaks out every time he sees his shadow. Its really difficult to immerse myself in the game if every minute I'm telling my character to "chill out it was just a shadow". "Daniel", the character you play as, freaks out way too often at just about everything and it completely tore me out of the experience. I can see why some people would like this game if you can get past some of the very questionable design choices, but this game is very overrated in my opinion. Also wasn't really all that scary from what I played, its just a glorified atmospheric game of hide and seek with a main character who has a panic attack every time he sees his own shadow.… Expand
  10. starsh3ro
    Nov 1, 2012
    4
    very random game, cant mention anything special.
    you walk arround and solve more or less obvious puzzles.
    graphics look a bit old, the sounds are ok, it has some basic physic effects. a weird story... if you find this game scary you might should take a look in a dictionary for the definition of this word. a ingrown toenail is a lot more scary than this. when its on sale buy it    very random game, cant mention anything special.
    you walk arround and solve more or less obvious puzzles.

    graphics look a bit old, the sounds are ok, it has some basic physic effects. a weird story...

    if you find this game scary you might should take a look in a dictionary for the definition of this word. a ingrown toenail is a lot more scary than this.

    when its on sale buy it only if you are really bored, the regular price of 15    … Expand
  11. dcwow
    Feb 7, 2012
    1
    My Review (WARNING! Some adult language exists within this review)

    In two words, it sucks. I have to admit I was scared...for the first 1 hour of playing. After that, I was like "Yeah, yeah....wind blowing, creaky noise...I'm scared. Come and get me already!" The environment would have been much scarier if they hadn't thrown in the creaks, the moans, the    My Review (WARNING! Some adult language exists within this review)

    In two words, it sucks. I have to admit I was scared...for the first 1 hour of playing. After that, I was like "Yeah, yeah....wind blowing, creaky noise...I'm scared. Come and get me already!" The environment would have been much scarier if they hadn't thrown in the creaks, the moans, the things-that-give-me-hibbie-jibbies every 10 seconds or so. I found myself jumping at nothing...other than jumping awake after realizing I had dozed off. This game is boring. *Find the key to the Wine Cellar*: Whatever you do, don't give me a hint on where it might be..other than "...in the castle". Please, make me pull EVERY effing book off of every effing shelf just so I can become desensitized to the scary environment because I've seen, listened, hell, even TASTED it over and over and over again (okay...I admit...I hadn't tasted any of the environment).

    Some may like this game, though. It seems to have those god-awful puzzles that some have always seemed to like. Me? I gave that **** up when I hit 25 years old. I want a game that is spooky, has a few puzzles, and gives me the chance to actually HIT something periodically. In this little gem, you run like a scared sissy from anything...even the **** dark. That's right...I said the DARK. If you remain in the dark for an extended period of time, you go...get this...INSANE. Not hysterical. Not just a little scared. Insane. Want to know how to stave off that little ounce of craziness? Look no further than...you guessed it...the LIGHT. Which is awesome, because they give you a lantern...that you have to find oil for...which is INSANELY (see what I did there? :P) few and far between...and, the oil is the fastest burning **** since human hair. I filled my lantern up and got about 5-6mins of actual light. I would have to be under contract with BP just to keep this **** burning.

    So, if you enjoy running around in a spooky castle, avoiding anything that would make a 16-year-old school girl jump, then get this game.
    Or, if you really enjoy taking aspirin. A LOT of aspirin, as this sonava**** gave me an Excedrin Headache +12.

    Final Score:

    1.5 Lit Lanterns out of 5.0 (See what I did there? :P)



    P.S. I'm not bitter.    … Expand
  12. Quarex
    Jun 13, 2012
    0
    Frictional has made some pretty good games in the past--I played and enjoyed all three of the Penumbra games, and even consider Black Plague to be one of the best horror games ever. But within five seconds of beginning Amnesia: The Dark Descent, I want to throw up--literally. Like, the nausea from the forced camera motion is so strong that I cannot play the game. I checked the forums,Frictional has made some pretty good games in the past--I played and enjoyed all three of the Penumbra games, and even consider Black Plague to be one of the best horror games ever. But within five seconds of beginning Amnesia: The Dark Descent, I want to throw up--literally. Like, the nausea from the forced camera motion is so strong that I cannot play the game. I checked the forums, and there is no workaround for this introduction. I cannot give a game anything higher than a "0" if I cannot physically play it in the first place. Sorry.… Expand
  13. neverbelow
    Apr 28, 2011
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I bought this game with because of all the acclaim it got and I figured, hey it's only 20 bucks for a great game. Wrong. Wrong. Where do I start? How about the really boring story. It seems they made the game and all the puzzles and then thought man, I need a reason to do all this. So uninteresting I've already checked somewhere in the water part. How are the creepy/scary qualities? It was creepy for all of 20 minutes. Then it was just stupid. Losing your sanity consists of a few more scratching sounds and a dumb filter put on the scree. Then sometimes the screen flashes and becomes a little more red while your lose control. Ah yes, control. The controls suck. Think Minecraft and you'd be nearly spot on. The only fun I started having with the game was running (which is more like fast walking) and jumping. Usually I tried to glitch the game and monsters. By the way, the monsters are not scary. Once again see Minecraft. Except sometimes they are invisible and can hurt you... but you can jump through them. Seriously don't be suckered like me by all these reviews. Compare this side by side to a serious game title (Dead Space) and it'll knock it out of the water. Lastly, I have a good graphics card and the settings are at the highest. Yeah, the graphics still suck. Is this company stuck in 2001? Thanks for reading. Summary: Unless you're 3 and have never played a half-decent video game before, don't waste your time. It's not fun, scary, creepy, a good story, or a cool experience.… Expand
  14. suborusu
    Sep 18, 2011
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is really messed up. When you encounter with the monster just open the light and run towards it. It will run away. So when you know that spot, it becomes a useless and worst horror game ever.… Expand
  15. allwititnowsuck
    Feb 2, 2019
    2
    As you begin the game, you will find yourself in a sp00ky castle, you've lost your memory and you need to find out where you are and a way out of the castle. During the entire game you'll never leave the castle and almost at all times, all of the game environments looks similar. You can tell rooms have actually be reused. After awhile it becomes very tedious. As you progress through theAs you begin the game, you will find yourself in a sp00ky castle, you've lost your memory and you need to find out where you are and a way out of the castle. During the entire game you'll never leave the castle and almost at all times, all of the game environments looks similar. You can tell rooms have actually be reused. After awhile it becomes very tedious. As you progress through the game, you'll remember bits of your memory or find old journals, revealing more of the story. I'll be honest, the story is not unique, it's not witty, the writing is very dry, slow paced and clichéd. I never once found myself interested in the story.While a survival horror game would surely encourage exploration, this game does not. It's fairly straight forward and basically forces you into the direction it wants you to go, either with monsters, puzzles or blocked off paths. You can't fight at all. You can't even shove things away when you get close. You can't pick up any sort of weapon despite passing dozens of reasonable objects like shovels and knives. This leads to a problem. The lack of different environments makes the game stagnate almost immediately.As for the scare factor, it's non existent, monsters are easy to avoid, unless you let them get you purposely,if they try to get you on their own they will just get stuck on a barrel,chair or literally anything,the puzzles presented in the game are simple, easy and predictable. I actually found myself rolling my eyes at some of the puzzles in the game. The atmosphere is mediocore at best, the darkness is shoved in your face like an annoying ad on youtube, everyone keeps talking about how terrified they are by the atmosphere and noises the game makes, but what's so scary about sound of wind and water drops?Never took a shower or went outside before?Or maybe those generic sp00ky sounds. It's not a horror game, it's a puzzle game that tries to be scary.If you bother to try this game unironically you better get yourself a coffee.
    That goes without saying but this probably the most overrated horror game in the existence. I'm really sure by now most if not all the people saying this is the scariest game ever made are either very young childrens and fans of youtubers or complete cowards.    … Expand
  16. beeanadou
    Oct 21, 2020
    3
    Pretentious and doesn't really have a plotline. Most scenes are too badly lit that I can hardly figure how could players find their ways in this never-ending labyrinth not to say finish the game. Think I better have my eyes checked after this.
  17. DinoBeam
    Nov 21, 2021
    3
    It has great atmosphere; the visual design, the voice acting, writing, sound design, music, and insanity effects all come together to create a really cool vibe. But the actually gameplay is sad. Puzzles that are either really easy or involve searching around forever, or running away from things. That's it.
  18. Voyou
    May 24, 2021
    3
    Does not provide the entertaining ability to save progress. Which means its entertainment value is a big fat ZERO. Uses the survival lame argument as an excuse.
    Additionally, the game main purpose is to try and upset your stomach. Because the 3D and general movement aren't too bad, they keep using tricks like blurring things, shaking things, rotating things, and constantly taking control    Does not provide the entertaining ability to save progress. Which means its entertainment value is a big fat ZERO. Uses the survival lame argument as an excuse.
    Additionally, the game main purpose is to try and upset your stomach. Because the 3D and general movement aren't too bad, they keep using tricks like blurring things, shaking things, rotating things, and constantly taking control of the character away from you for short moments, which is very, very irritating; and rude.
    Additionally, the game is way too dark. The cheapest trope of the cheapest genre, sure to scare more people than spider sprites, but a waste of the word "video" when you can't see a thing, and the best sign that a writer has nothing to show. The trope comes from movies trying to hide their low SFX budget; it makes no sense in a game unless your texture artist is lousy.    … Expand
  19. Demon2017
    Jun 18, 2022
    4
    Игра, породившая волну ужастиков, где надо убегать от ебаки. Но как же она хайпанула и придурки пошли играть. Хотя, как по мне, это убожество, как и все её подражатели.
  20. Scrull
    Jul 26, 2021
    1
    dull walking simulator like all previous games from this dull series how boring trash can be played

Awards & Rankings

14
#14 Best PC Game of 2010
7
#7 Most Discussed PC Game of 2010
17
#17 Most Shared PC Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 44 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 44
  3. Negative: 0 out of 44
  1. XGN
    Apr 19, 2011
    90
    Amnesia: The Dark Descent is the scariest game in years. You'll get an extremely creepy vibe from the castle and all of the mysterious things that are happening there. The voice overs and the ending of the game aren't great, but this shouldn't bother anyone seeing how you'll be extremely scared when you play this on your own in a dark room.
    Read full review
  2. Absolute Games
    Jan 31, 2011
    83
    Amnesia offers an experience so rich that we're willing to forgive its weak ending, imperfections of the engine, and low-bugdet production values.
    Read full review
  3. Thunderbolt
    Jan 29, 2011
    90
    At times it's a struggle to play purely because of how scary it can be, and it's not often you can say that about a video game. Just remember: lights off, headphones on, and try not to go insane.
    Read full review
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