Okay so I played Amnesia when it was released on Steam and I thought it was really awesome. It was the first game of its kind that I had ever come across. It put you into this zone of total immersion that no other game has done for me. It had totally unique game play that was driven by a mysterious back story ripe with twists. The game is set in a dark creepy castle that toyed with the mind of the protagonist as well as the player.
Amnesia was without a doubt the scariest game that I have ever played. The lights, the sounds and of course the scenery all came together to make a perfectly terrifying experience.That is the Amnesia that I knew and loved, the one that made me scream like a girl and have hardcore nightmares.
So what went wrong?
After a long journey of self discovery through the creepiest fucking place you have ever seen, the protagonist Daniel comes face to face with the man who turned his world upside down: Alexander. Now if you play the game you know what I am talking about. The game up to the point before you enter the room where Alexander is, is amazing. The story keeps you guessing and only makes you want to know more and more. Standing outside Alexander's door I really did not know what to expect. But when I entered, I definitely expected more than what I saw. Alexander is just some wrinkly old naked baron who is floating around like a moron. And how do you defeat this terribly wrinkly monster who has plagued your mind through the whole game? Just push some shit over bro, no big deal. Literally all you do is push some pillars over that are channeling his power. One by one he watches you diminish his supposedly great power while he floats there trying to convince you to stop. There is no awesome fight, no nothing. I was sitting there in game thinking to myself "THROW A FIREBALL AT ME OR SOMETHING!" Anything! But nope, he did nothing but run his wrinkly mouth. Alexander and his naked nonsense... Talk about ultimate disappointment.
So once I defeated Wrinkles, the end cinematic started. I was excited because I was thinking that they would pull everything together with a great closing scene. Nope. The ending cinematic(s) (any of the 3 possible endings) all suck. You get zero closure and have so many questions that remain unanswered. My ultimate disappointment has now ascended to legendary disappointment. That was the shittiest ending to a great game that I have ever witnessed. Sorry Frictional.
No epic boss fight. No story closure. No real end cinematic. Just a bunch of wrinkles.
Before I end this, I would like to share something else with you. I was in Wal-Mart recently and I saw Amnesia: The Dark Descent on the wall. I was intrigued that their was actually a boxed, retail version of the game. It must have just been released (at least in my area) because I had never seen it anywhere before. Upon further inspection of the box, I just about cried. It is the most horrible cover art I have ever seen. It does the game absolutely no justice. If I did not already know what the game was, I would have thought it was a children's game. I took a picture so you all can see how bad it is...
Look at that! What the fuck is that!? First of all Mr. Face (the monster) looks like some sort of retarded duck. Secondly, your not even ever supposed to see the monsters clearly and up close like that. A whole aspect of the game is that you are not supposed to look at them for long because you will go insane. So it gives them a very ominous and even creepier persona. And finally, what in gods name is Daniel doing on the cover!? That completely ruins so much of the mystery of the story! The point is that you are never supposed to see yourself, or remember yourself. You are supposed to discover what happened to you through a series of journal entry's that you find. So it essentially spoils something that the player is supposed to find out on their own. This cover is not only an awful portrayal of characters, but it just takes away some of what this game has to offer. Why didn't they just use the same art as they did for the digital download.? Because that makes way too much sense.
Amnesia... Games Gone Bad gives you a 6 on the Fail Scale. Due to a terrible, anticlimactic ending and a ridiculous in store box cover.
