Playing this makes you drop to your knees and thank Edison for artificial lights.
I would like to submit a new cure for this most embarrassing of ailments. And that is Frictional Games' Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Released in September 2010 Amnesia is a first-person survival horror set in the 1800's in which the protagonist – Daniel - awakes in Count Dracula's weekend summer house with no memory but a clear idea that something must be done.
With only sporadic clues spread throughout the castle in diary forms and vocal flashbacks, the player must unravel the bizarre secret that got you to where you were in the first place. But it soon becomes apparent that creatures and demons straight from Lovecraft's wet dreams are in hot pursuit of you and your refined English accent.
What sets Amnesia apart from pretty much every other survival horror is the game's complete focus on the actual horror aspect of the genre. It shatters the nerves of the even most hardened of gamers (look on Youtube for player reactions to see what I mean) that even the likes of, say, Silent Hill 2 cannot comprehend. The reason for this is simple yet intensely effective.
There are no weapons. Not one. Not a single offensive piece of equipment or tool. Nope. Don't even bother looking, they are not there. When this becomes apparent we are filled with that most abject of fears: the feeling of vulnerability. As I said, although Silent Hill 2 is hailed as one of the scariest games of all time, the edge is taken off slightly when James arms himself with enough weaponry to take down a woolly Mammoth. In The Dark Descent there is absolutely no way to defend yourself.
The protagonist survives by either running away or hiding. Not the most noble of methods admittedly but without a means of fighting there really is no option. And even that has its pitfalls.
The game prides itself on being atmospherically dark. And not dark in the Doom 3 or Aliens vs. Predator sense were encasing everything in thick shadows is the cornerstone of horror and not (as is the case) evidence of lazy, unimaginative game design. No, it's dark only the way an enormous castle at night with candlelight the scope of a 6-year-old's birthday candle can be. This is before the invention of the light bulb remember so the gloom is justified.
The shadows are just as much of an antagonist because, oh yeah, you totally go insane in the dark! See, as well as a health metre the game also measures sanity which drops while submerged in darkness or when witnessing an 'unsettling event'. The player can light candles along the way using tinderboxes found throughout the level, or hold a lantern with limited oil in order to regain composure.
Unfortunately this also means that you are much more exposed to the creatures that stalk the hallways. As stated above the best method for survival is either hiding or running. Hiding in the shadows when monsters are close by may mean they walk right past you but it also means your sanity level will drop. And when it drops too much you are exposed as the cowardly, pee-stained weakling that you are.
Likewise if you stay in lit areas...well that's just an open invitation for a clawed face now isn't it? So you have the option of running. But you're not Master Chief. You're a 19th Century Englishman with a fear of the dark (bedtimes as a child must have been a riot for his parents). Running only seems to have limited effect. Unless you can get to the next part of a level running away doesn't do much good. Creatures can break down doors of rooms you run into, and in my experience can even outrun your terrified buttocks.
So what do you do? Run and hide in a wardrobe? Actually, yes. Yes you do.
Making progress and solving puzzles will also increase your sanity but as anyone with any experience of horror games knows, completing mini-quests, finding keys or hitting switches will often yield some sort of scary repercussion. Amnesia is, unfortunately, no exception and this is where the game becomes somewhat predictable.
Found a much needed key? Something's bound to happen. Solved that tricky riddle? Better get ready to make a run for it...ooh is that a table I can cower under?
Survival horror games have taught us this train of thought in a vain attempt to make the story arc much more tense as our minds begin to play out what will happen next. This doesn't usually work as it often becomes tiresome. But with Amnesia it seems to add to the fear factor. Not knowing what's going to happen only exacerbates what we've already experienced so in this respect it actually seems to work. And things only get worse when we realise our predictions were wrong.
The story itself is an intriguing and rather fitting aspect to the game. It's slow, pacing lends the experience that extra air of mystique. It may not be the most unique story arc of any horror game but the methods by which it unfolds through diaries and voice-overs creates a good sense of immersion as you and protagonist struggle to piece together the elements of the plot.
Gameplay is also slow to begin with but that's not to say that it's boring. Paranoia and tension are evident from the off-set and it's also worth mentioning that a good psychological horror can make us petrified without having actually revealed anything. It's not always what we see but often what we think we saw or what we're afraid to come into contact with. The mind does most of the work and Amnesia plays around with this expertly.
As with previous Frictional Games titles Amnesia utilises a physics engine for that added sense of immersive interaction. Doors are opened by holding down the action key (in most causes the left mouse button) and dragging backwards or forwards depending on which way the door opens. This also works for stacking boxes, twisting valves, pulling levers and possibly wiping from betwixt your cheeks mid-scare.
The Dark Descent is about as scary as a game can get. Its sense of vulnerability on the hero's part plays heavily into the horror aspect and the ambience surrounds the player ensuring a constant state of unease. What Frictional Games have here is a contender for scariest game (possibly of all time?) that easily stacks up alongside more mainstream titles; thrusting its creepy pecks at the more horrifying games readily available on the market.