Was it Good? - Amnesia: The Dark Descent

[@nonna_sof5889]

"The dead bodies haven't aged well." Yah, that tends to happen.

[@squeaktheswan2007]

I mean, they don't age anymore. Y'know, since they're dead?

[@JohnSmith-ox3gy]

That is what the large freezer is for.

[@Kawamura2]

@@squeaktheswan2007 well I mean, they still age, just in a less fresh state.

[@squeaktheswan2007]

@@Kawamura2 They decay.

[@patrickryan7829]

Old enough and we burn them.

[@Guanjyn]

Another cool mechanic is when you’re getting chased, the monsters speed up if you look back at them.

[@_MaZTeR_]

Pretty sure they start sprinting if you put a great distance to them but keep them in their line of sight. You can outrun the Grunt but the Brute is faster than you and kills you instantly with the sword.

[@iluvbenadryl]

@@_MaZTeR_ "You can outrun the grunt" biggest lie I have ever seen...

[@MKVProcrastinator]

@@iluvbenadryl If you take corners. The grunt's starting movement speed is fairly slow, but given enough straight path to run along, it will eventually overtake the player's running speed.

[@lilsleepy1469]

@@iluvbenadryl is this your first time interacting with other people?

[@ciambruschiniboys2]

Wait where did you find that out?

[@nat040496]

I still remember that one part of the game where you're in a small bedroom. It's separated by a loading screen, and there's no monsters, so you assume you're safe. Then as you search for supplies, you hear the door get smashed open. I remember scrambling into the wardrobe and slamming the door shut and hoping it wouldn't find me. It was terrifying and one of my best gaming memories to date.

[@kipleigh9712]

YES! That was such a great moment, I never thought about hiding in the closet until that moment, fear made me think rationally. I never would've assumed I could fit in there.

[@Braka54]

Guest room

[@CharaCoutureDrag]

I’m an absolutely BABY with horror and got exactly to here. I guess the monster saw me get into the wardrobe (I couldn’t get it to stay closed) and its head clipped through the doors while it attacked me. I closed the game immediately and never went back 😂 The tension through the game until then though I was in awe of, and thought the bit with the invisible monster and the water to be absolutely genius when it came to puzzle design and crafting interactive horror.

[@gamewithgreg]

Doesn't he mention this in the video already? At 23:11

[@nat040496]

@@gamewithgreg yes. I assumed he would but i left that comment before getting to that part

[@rogercheetoofficial]

I always appreciated the little touch where sitting in the dark eventually produced a little ambient light to symbolize the way your eyes would become accustomed to the darkness

[@SpydersByte]

I still remember being completely *blinded* by the light after stepping out of a dark room into the sun in the Half-Life 2 Lost Coast demo. It was showing off bloom and HDR rendering, was supposed to be "super realistic" in the way that it simulated going from dark to light or vice versa, such a cool experience, that level was beautiful :D

[@JozefLucifugeKorzeniowski]

"pitch black" darkness, like you find in a cave underground, isn't really even totally black. human eyes are more specialized to detect contrast and detect patterns than color gradients. in utter darkness our eyes produce "background noise" that is lighter than complete absence of light. it's a dark grey known as eigengrau. after some time in complete darkness our brains begin interpreting this background noise as recognizable shapes and patterns as it struggles to adapt with the complete absence of stimulus, eventually our brains create vivid hallucinations out of this. which, of course, if you're feeling afraid, takes forms of the things you find most terrifying.

[@lilwyvern4]

@@JozefLucifugeKorzeniowski So that's what that fuzz is! I thought it was just my eyes misinterpreting something, or was related to the fluid inside that occasionally causes floaters. Is that at all related to the vague colors you see when you close your eyes?

[@cameronanderson3304]

Last Horror Game I played that Got me back then but also involved Was Eternal Darkness, I think I spelled that right.

[@jameswilkes451]

@@lilwyvern4 The brain constantly processes things and is used to generally processing a constant stream of stimulus whilst conscious/awake. So in the sudden absence of such, the brain will freak out and hallucinate in an attempt to process that which isn't there. It's why if you're in a dark room and suddenly turn the lights off, and yes, it can happen when you close your eyes, you'll probably see flashing spots and wild shapes lol. Similarly, hallucinogens also produce similar effects by manually plugging in chemicals into the receptors that would normally be percieving things, creating distortions and hallucinations. When I was on acid once, I closed my eyes and the white flickers appeared, and got stronger and steadily turned into a vague vortex, all within my mind's eye. It was quite fascinating lmao. What you may be referring to is a phenomenon called visual snow, and it can be caused by a variety of reasons, from high blood pressure to HPPD, but generally I put it down to the fact that the eye is an organic thing that is connected to the brain, which is itself complex and quite flawed, hence the snowy effect. Sometimes it is stronger some days.

[@apharys8921]

"Jump scares are not horror" Thank you. I wish more horror games and movies would stop relying so heavily on them, they don't scare they surprise and trigger a reflex.

[@ProfessionalHunt]

The game gets 1 pass, but they better fucking use it to it's utmost otherwise it's like mounting a 3000€ spoiler on a 750€ car, it's shit

[@TheDapperDragon]

@@ProfessionalHunt "a horror game using jump scares is like a comedian tickling the audience. Yeah, you'll laugh, but you'll probably feel cheated, irritated, and a little dirty."

[@Anhjje]

Soma is terrifying but has little to no jumpscares.

[@Buglin_Burger7878]

Yet many people seem to disagree and enjoy horror games with heavy amounts of them... because they are a TYPE of horror which have their own merits and need to be used well with their target audience in mind. If used well they can create perception of a threat and unease without needing an entity hunting down the player. This is a function of atmosphere, and there is a big reason this is super important... rooms stop being creepy when you realize there is no danger and no tension. Jump Scares are a type of horror... which are very often not utilized well.

[@danielhill8926]

@@Buglin_Burger7878 there's actually a Japanese movie that has one of the scarcest scenes ever, and its not a jump scare. It shows a lady walking down a hall but you get the uncanny valley feeling from her cause she moves slightly differently and you cant see her face...until you do see her face and then she doesn't immediately go away but just stays long enough to be relevant. I wish horror games and movies used this more often. There are several ways to scare ppl without jump scares and most films up until the early to mid 2000s used them. House on haunted Hill is still one of my favorite scary movies and it may have one or two jump scares in the entire thing.

[@Firestar0513]

One thing that wasn't even mentioned is how well the game uses things you have seen before in order to instill fear in you. The water monster part was horrifying, yes, but once you get to the Cistern, the game plays on the far that area gave the player in a great way. A significant portion of this area is made up of shallow water just like the first water monster area. You navigate it through the ledges on the sides of it and solve the puzzles in it, getting to 3 different sections through light platforming sections (where falling means dropping into the shallow water) or by passing steam blowing pipes that can knock you off the ledge into the shallow water. There are no water monsters in this area (until you fully solve the puzzle and then there is one on the way out). Despite this, this whole area is incredibly tense. There is no punishment for falling into the water except walking back around and trying again, but the moment you drop into it you get that intense sense of urgency that you need to get to the land as quickly as possible. And every time you turn one of the three valves in the room, the lights in that section go out and ominous wind and noises go off around you. Because of this, every time you clear a portion of the area, you now have no idea if that water is still safe or if something is in it ready to hunt you the second you touch it. This is just such a genius area because until the very end, there is nothing to be afraid of in this area at all. No punishments for failing, nothing that can hurt you other than the blowing steam. And yet your own fear from past experiences makes this area way scarier than it actually is. A theme throughout the entire game, but this area exemplifies it so well because you have seen exactuly what COULD be in that water, and even once you realize it is completely safe it leaves you with the constant thought in your head "but what if this time it isn't?"

[@Maliketh_Montdore]

I think the water monsters spawn there if you have met specific requirements, such as having low sanity, and by first going to the morgue and then going to the cistern

[@rancidraw]

THERE WERE NO ENEMIES IN THAT WATER ROOM?

[@Maliketh_Montdore]

@@rancidraw yep, but they only spawned if you did the specific stuff for them to appear

[@Zyrodil]

There's one segment down in the prison that always gets me. It's a long hallway, two doors facing each other and you need to cross the hallway. To your left is a prison cell, of all the people that I've seen play Amnesia, people never take that door, they always go to the right. When you go to the right, you find a Tinderbox and a candle, there's nothing else to hide behind inside there, the door is everything you got. If you're like me, you're so shit scared you don't want to light the candle in there or whatever stalks the hallway might see you. As you peek outside from safety, you can choose to cross over to the opposite prison cell door, or continue down the hallway. However, you don't want to continue down the hallways, you want to get back into safety, so you shimmy into the prison cell. The prison cell is dark, it's hard to see and all you know is that the door is open and for as long as it is, your back is in danger. What you naturally do is to turn around and close that door... and that's when the thing in the prison cell gets you. The prison cell door was a push door going in, but right now when you're trying to get out, you need to step backwards - towards the monster - to give room for the door to open, next you'll rapidly think "Where do I go?" and you know the fucker can see through the cell door, if you hide back in the room you came from, you only have that door and nothing else. So what have you left to do? Run the entire fucking hallway, run left, run down the stairs, through the dark hallways you didn't light because you didn't want to be seen and finally, you crawl back inside the hole in the wall where you came from and the moment you're inside, you hear the thing attack the wall behind you. From now on, there's only one way to solve this and that's to trick it into the kitchen and run back all the way to the hallway and hide in that shitty room with only the door, but my god - where the fuck is that acid you need for the lock? _The Kitchen._ This segment in Amnesia is so fucking masterfully crafted that it always gets me screaming at the top of my lungs, it's raw anxiety through and through and I'm pretty sure that game re-ignited my fear of the dark back 8 years ago when I played it for the first time - and that chasing music still gets to me...

[@Pandatante]

It's been yeeeaars but I know exactly what part you're talking about. This unlocked a memory for sure xD

[@SpydersByte]

"To your left is a prison cell, of all the people that I've seen play Amnesia" lol, thought you were going in a different direction for a while there :'D

[@AlexanderWilithinIII]

There's a room in the prison where, I believe it's a hallway with four rooms, and I went into the prison cell right in front of me when I entered that hallway. I've learned that that specific prison cell causes a monster to come, which I did not know at the time. Had I knew that, it wouldn't have led to me turning around, coming face to face with the monster, and proceeding to throw my headphones off, have my mouse end up on the floor, and for me to quit the game. I never returned.

[@l.l.6733]

When I played this back in the day, I felt that the design choice was to transition from fear to a general disturbance and disgust for the character you're playing. The unease becomes more idealogical, pitting the general instinct to survive against the notion that "Yeah... this guy has done some truly terrible things. Maybe the player character deserves to die." I agree that the game becomes less scary towards the end. Also anybody play Justine? That was a tough one.

[@jamie1602]

Justine was the one that scared me to a point where I had to turn it off. No matter how much I loathed Justine, the game scared me. That was the truly scary one. Unfortunately my loathing for Daniel overwhelmed my ability to be afraid and it was almost enjoyable to make him suffer. He did this to himself and he was that gullible to believe someone offering a cure-all so long as he tormented people... What an idiot. Yeah Daniel. Your fault. Die for that. I hate playing as you. To this day I even prefer Machine for Pigs.

[@simonium8123]

@@jamie1602 i dont think thats fair. As terrible his actions were, he obviously regrets them, not to mention being manipulated by alexander. If he didnt try to redeem himself and excused everything he did then maybe id be inclined to agree with you.

[@rutyqutykandi1361]

@@jamie1602 Late to the video but I will give one point to Daniel, being chased by some sort of cosmic horror, and then getting an offer from someone claiming to know how to help will make people do tons of crazy things.

[@thundermincz]

the custom stories deserve so much more attention, even just the fact that you can make those custom stories

[@MasterHayate]

I remember the first time I played this and encountered the grunt in the wine cellar. The game immediately encourages you not to look at him, and all I had to go on were the noises I could hear him making. I was absolutely scared stiff, wondering what kind of horrific thing could be making noises like that. Frictional are absolute masters at creating atmosphere.

[@tehdominator17]

I actually used this game for my psychology final in highschool. I did a report on the psychology of sound in video games, and used amnesia as an example of sound design being used to invoke a heightened sense of tension and fear. Absolutely S tier game with some of the best horror sound design I've ever experienced. I got an A+ on the assignment

[@peperming7835]

thats so badass

[@aaaawubadugh8054]

I love reading these sorts of comments on how the videos games we love and play are used in a paper or thesis.

[@hansdieter4537]

Fukken weeb

[@nah4215]

High school, lol

[@labdG]

After seeing so many games trying to do the same thing as Amnesia, it's cool to see it again and realize how special and different it is even compared to the ones games inspired by it. The fact that the tension and dread just never seems to go away is something I experienced when I played it all those years ago but had forgot.

[@sunnydayluxe]

something phenomenal about the bit at 23:12 is that you actually CAN peek out of the wardrobe to see the monster - but you have to determine how far to crack the door open, and actually DO the opening, yourself. leave the door open too much, or decide to do this too late and make noise, and the monster will find you. and when you do succeed in this, you've still only got the door open a tiny crack, and you're terrified of accidentally pushing it open any further by moving. it's just sooooo good!!

[@TheMadDrm]

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” ― H.P. Lovecraft

[@ZoofyZoof]

Yet people like Markiplier think something isn't scary if they cannot see and understand what it is. I hate this. I don't hate him, I hate _this._ The fact that some people aren't scared of what they don't know but rather what they do know.

[@HO1ySh33t]

The proof of the Goldbach's Conjecture is indeed very scary.

[@current9300]

Ironically well said since I feel that Amnesia's weakness is that it becomes increasingly non-scary the more you get into close encounters with enemies, dying is ultimately kinda "that's it? meh" experience especially since there are generous checkpoints. I get Amnesia is going for entirely different gameplay experience, but less checkpoints and adding survival horror elements would have increased the tension and made dying more undesirable.

[@ZoofyZoof]

@@current9300 I play Amnesia for story now and I often still think people do a good job at scaring the player

[@paraplegicleopardman]

@@current9300 Have you tried the hard mode? It more or less delivers on that.

[@mikeosredkar8804]

The bit with the water monster where you have to crank open the gate almost killed me IRL, it feels like. The anxiety that built up right there I swear made me feel like my heart was going to leap up out of my throat. I literally had to take a break for a few hours when I finished the water monster section.

[@davidpotts7116]

My favorite track of this game is the cathedral. For the short time it’s a safe area, it legit felt safe and I think half of that was because of the change of music.

[@GameUnCrafter]

This game must have had a profound effect on me. Because even though I never played it, and only watched a let's play, and this is just a review video, my heart got pumping.

[@davidh8271]

The water splashing monster was really my favorite part of the game, and it's the only part I remember clearly when I think back to it. It was just so, so good.

[@bruceluiz]

One good thing about amnesia and you don't see quite often: the beastly, otherworldly and lovecraftian presence oppressing you is actually the good guy and it's doing everything he can to keep you going. Even the ingame saving is somehow correlated with this demigod just bringing you back to make you suffer your way into redemption.

[@cordia96]

Resident Evil 5 & Silent Hill: Homecoming really set the stage for Indi Horror to just take over. I didn't even try the Level Editor, but it was just the cherry on top. The Justine DLC episode felt more refined with the puzzles and the suiters having more personality.

[@Esiaa]

I loved the sanity in the game. One time I looked at the monster for too long and Daniel just dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. With a monster right around the corner. I've never screamed harder for him to get up than at that moment. Also light mechanic was great. You, technically, could light every candle in every room, but the monster would be able to spot you way quicker. You needed to keep some candles off.

[@lukmaanpratomo6866]

The first horror game that ACTUALLY made me feel extremely vulnerable and anxious with every action my character took.

[@Blubbpaule]

EDIT: It's fixed now. There is an unexpected Cut in the episode, you might have accidentally cut out some footage @Joshstrifehayes. 7:47

[@SableLeaf]

@Josh Strife Plays

[@vectorsealgames]

Thank you for making this channel. I’ve been enjoying these. Amazing job.

[@namyL1]

Love these video essays honoring the gems in the video game industry! Please do the timeless RTS classic StarCraft next!!

[@TotallyToonsTV]

Something that Amnesia is genius at (and is also something that initially made FNaF creepy) is it's brilliant use of terror, which by its definition is the build up before a scare. Horror is the shock and repulsion at witnessing something terrifying, the point during and after the scare. Whereas terror is the sense of dread and self induced paranoia that builds with the anticipation of something terrifying happening, the point BEFORE the scare. Jump scares are cheap because it isn't scary, it's a shock. As soon as the scare happens that built up tension is released and the sense of relief sinks in....but Amnesia (through it's use of the "don't look at the monsters" mechanic) tries to keep you in the terror zone for as long as possible. You hit the nail right on the head yourself. It's a fascinating study And I love these analysis/review videos you do. I hope you do a lot more.

[@fie4426]

God this shit was so scary. I remember getting startled so hard by things and having to take breaks to escape the stress

[@sdg22114]

This game will always have a special place in my heart. 10 years ago I played it the first time with a friend around to help push me through. It was one of the first horror games I ever beat, I dove into all the custom levels, got into the culture, and closest to me, started my KZbin channel and uploaded my first (absolutely terrible) video. I have had fun from it editing my videos from it, between enjoying hits at the time like Jenomorph, and taking inspiration from all the new and rising creators. I never have had any significant number of viewers, but I still love capturing my moments going into twitch all these years later.

[@Ultharclub]

Amnesia have some light jumpscares. Like when you try to open the door and suddenly hear a Greunt growling and trying smashing the door. Thre are no Grunt there afterwards, but I never got near that door again!

[@Avlin_Starfall]

When you said a video about the issue with horror movies today I knew it would be Chris Stuckmann, love his videos.

[@Kelcine]

So...the reason Daniel doesn't unalive Alexander before drinking the amnesia potion is "because plot?"

[@khelouch4461]

Josh's /10 ratings are becoming more and more like modern anime titles and i'm really enjoying it xd

[@petercselik5674]

The best part was that damned water level with the invisible monster in the water. You should avoid touching the water and you constantly hear its moving...

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Totally agree on the whole "what you imagine is worse than what they could show" aspect. Keeping the tension up, never releasing it. The feeling of something being out there, hunting you, something you can not defeat.

[@dread0narrival]

Damnit, the skulls tumbling out of the desk drawer got me. You earned your like and sub, good sir

[@fiddleriddlediddlediddle]

Why can't KZbin recommend stuff like this at 9 AM when it's warm and the sun is up and I'm not about to go to sleep?

[@Auriorium]

I still remember the playthrough of this game done by Jessy Cox. Especially the three co hosts who where constantly poking fun of him.

[@Arthera0]

aah yes the scary game squad

[@camelcase811]

I don't scare easily but found myself creeping carefully around this game. Managing the dark, threats & puzzles is one thing. Slowly discovering the bewildering truth that you are in fact the main horror left me with genuine feelings of disgust & contempt. The game is a masterpiece.

[@Scarecr0wn]

This may sound weird. But I always felt like Amnesia is somehow cozy game. As an agoraphobic and person with switched sleeping cycle, I enjoy being in smaller, darker room. No windows is a nice addition. So whenever I could close the door and just chill in nice castle room with wine and candles and my lamp and all, I just felt.. cozy. Good game.

[@MrSonicjew]

The water monster 👻 on acid is truely terrifyingly. Didn't come back for months.

[@markiss69]

Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for Josh Strife Hayes to make a was it good: fallout new vegas video

[@lehtokurppa7824]

The best atmosphere of any horror game ever. I remember doing the jail section and being so grabbed by the story but too terrified to continue it. And in the sewers I accidentally closed myself in with the monster for a second and got a tingling sensation on my back that I've never had before or since. The best horror game ever made, perioid.

[@leinadreign3510]

The iron maiden. I threw away my headset at this scene. And I dont mean the opening part. Never play with torturing devices I guess... The atmosphere was brilliant and the idea, that you arent allowed to look at monsters, leads to child like behaviour: Running into a room, in a dark corner, looking at the wall and hoping that breathing behind you will go and not see you. This was brilliant

[@Frostgnaw]

I was playing DAI (Dragon Age: Inquisition) last night, experiencing the Dark Descent dlc for the first time (spoilers ahead, so stop if you don't want to have it ruined). Once we descended past the deep roads into utter darkness, I was a little on edge, expecting a jumpscare. There was no way to light the path ahead, so you just had to move forward through the darkness. And then I noticed pairs of dull blue eyes in the darkness. They vanished before you could get close enough and using a spell to briefly illuminate the area for a second or two only showed a shadow or blur instead of the usual darkspawn you were used to fighting. It was horrifying... and then Bioware ruined the tension by jumping to a cutscene where the new enemy was revealed and removing all suspense from the scenario. Still, I was pretty unnerved for a bit.

[@abyssaljoey7695]

Took me almost your entire post to know what the fuck DAI meant, gotta say, the answer was kinda disappointing.

[@Frostgnaw]

@@abyssaljoey7695 hehe, sorry. I'll update it to let others know before they get too intrigued.

[@Poisonjam7]

The password folder thing is genius. More games should do that!

[@ushakova3101]

That damn drawer with the skulls did get me, and I even *called* it somewhat. A few minutes before that incident I told my friend who was watching me "When are the bodies gonna start dropping out of wardrobes?"

[@MapleLunii]

There's only two parts of this game that scared me, and I still remember them pretty vividly. One is that picture of the man up the spiral staircase into some guy's office room changing when you come out of the room (Seen at around 7:58), and the other is seeing a couple of grunts super far into the distance in the room with the tower in the middle and the four bridges coming towards you. (Seen at around 5:09) I don't know why these two things were the only things to outright scare me in this game, but that's what I remember.

[@Dondolini94]

This is hands down the best horror game i ever played. It induced genuine terror for a very good part of the gameplay, i started to get used to it toward the end, but boy oh boy the jumpscares 💀

[@maeborowski3554]

I just recently finished the game, and I truly liked it, didn't feel scared but it's perhaps because of me, I did try to get into a scary mood however. Also, there's one thing I truly loved about the game that clashed direticaly onto others games approaches that I haven't seen you mentioning: Stalking enemies. I remember in my RE2 Remake playthrough, I was both scared and annoyed by Mr X constantly chasing me, I wanted to solve a puzzle, but the wall just wouldn't give me a break. I though the same would happen in amnesia, but since enemies despawn, I was free to solve the puzzle while constantly expecting to be jumped by grunts, which never happened, spooky.

[@celemin3234]

Really love this review and the details you added into it. i do have some Critique regrading the dead bodies in Amnesia and how it's regraded to core. It's true that the bodies aren't really pretty in amnesia TDD, due to thier rather limited details, but i think this was made by choice aswell as the dev teams budget back in it's devopment. The bodies in the morgue wasn't meant to be the main focus of horror when you got to the area. The main horror aspect of the morgue, was the feeling of plague, disgusts and overall the general feeling of desease. Of course in Amnesia you can't get sick, but the devs fixed that issue by adding the "Sanity loss zones" When you go to either of the two rooms, the game lets you know you're in a bad area by playing a dreaded bell like sound and reduces your sanity the longer you stay in. if you stay there for too long and leave, then you'l def feel the sanity lag spike on your turning. The type of core Amnesia uses, is imagination core. You never see people lose limbs or bleed out, instead the game let's you imagine it. Going to the toture rooms always felt unwanted, because the game invited you to imagine how the prisoners died there. and people who can imagine pain really dislikes those kind of thoughts. Your own mind is your own enemy in these kind of scenario's. If you want an example, try do the ending again where either you save agrippa or let alexander escape, when the shadow appears to kill daniel. In that moment your mind is trying to figure out what is happening to him since he takes damage, and near the end you hear Daniel screaming within 2-3 second, before he dies. But the game just cuts to a scar on the screen, then black. leaving your brain overthinnking how he died, because the shadow has multiple ways of killing wictims. So you'll never know if Daniel died of being implied, Skin boiled, or ripped to pieces. As for texture quality in general that arguement can be made to any texture in the game. Like, if you look close enough at certain rock textures or walls, you can also quickly lose your feeling of dread, once you realize they don't look really realistic. The piggy ragdoll also shares the same fate as the bodies. But overall I still love the other things you point out in your review, which i never thought of. Really love your review despite my critisms about it, and i'll def look into more of your videos.

[@weirdautumn]

This video has brought so many memories of a simpler times. 💙

[@davidmedford1166]

I don't think it was intended but the invisible water monster can actually be killed. I kept throwing a box on top of the monster and it disappeared. I think I caused the monster to clip through the floor and it fell into oblivion. Lol I would love to see you do a review of Soma as well. Keep up the great work!

[@ValdVincent]

Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion you forgot about, it did it better for the water boss. Plus that streamer easter egg was special.

[@dacksonflux]

There's a palette next the door in the wine cellar. Pick it up and lean it against the stairway. You can then run up and don't have to stack boxes to jump. 🤣 Something you don't mention is that monsters are attracted to noise and light. When you're hiding, put your lantern down. You also need to maintain your sanity because if it gets too bad, you can't hide.

[@stephencrossley4154]

This was the only game that's ever made me physically sick. By the time I ended the game, the tension was so high my stomach was in knots.

[@TCantwell]

Fun thing about the game mechanics and programing, when an enemy spots you, if you are looking at it, it moves faster, where if you turn around and run away, they move slower.

[@ZeFluffyKnight]

It amazes me that every horror dev wants to make this game again and nobody (not even the Amnesia devs) seems to understand the cocktail that made this game click.

[@rebeccaconlon9743]

Playing the preditor prey fear. What's more scary, a tiger chasing you or the bushes it hides behind?

[@0xlamon]

29:39 - yeah, that happens a lot for me with news. Strange...

[@frankfrankerson782]

Amnesia was fun for me for the Lovecraftian themes alone. What The Dark Descent did so well is that between the spoken story, journals, alexanders memory cores, and even the loading screen story bits you're given a sense that what your seeing is only a tiny part of a bigger universe. There's implications to everything Daniel did. A machine for pigs, on the other hand, feels completely artificial. I tried to find every page I could, but I couldn't find the story interesting. The only thing I really liked was when the "machine" begs oswald to spare it and heavily implies that it's trying to prevent WW1. In that moment, we learn either oswald has developed the ability to see the future in his own insane way or his actions have birthed a supernatural sentient machine that commits murder on an industrial scale in an attempt to "save" mankind. And for all we know, it really could be some sort of fate altering device. What if he kept the machine going? Maybe it really could prevent WW1(and indirectly WW2 and maybe even the cold war). What's to say that it isn't simply pretending to be sympathetic to humanity? Then you have things without even a hint at what they do, like the random dude near the end of the game whose stuck in some sort of iron lung looking machine. Or things that are just stupid, like the teleporting tesla pig boss.

[@II.Justinian]

I play horror games for not to be afraid but atmosphere and feelings. This game has both. My favorite game of horror genre.

[@Kligor2]

God the water monster fucked me up so bad. I have Thalassaphobia and the fact you cant even see it just threw me out. I couldnt continue after that lmao

[@emiliano.canton]

Amnesia is the most chilling media I've experienced (no book, movie, or other game comes close). For me the most disturbing part was moving through the "Storage" section. That dense darkness that didn't seem to budge to your lamp or torches just enhanced this whole oppressive and unknown aspect just beyond the line of sight. The game gave also involuntarily gave me the most heart pounding scare ever. I was playing to max ambience: alone, at night, with headphones. I don't actually remember what section I was in, tension was high, but suddenly a wall hanging in my room fell down and slammed on the floor. My heart just stopped for a moment, I think. It wasn't hanging, but stuck with adhesive tape and the glue just gave at that exact moment. After standing up, picking up the decoration, and waiting about 10 minutes for my pulse to come back down to manageable, I went back to the computer, shut down the game and didn't come back for about 2 days. SOMA wasn't nearly as nerve wracking, but it was disturbing in very different ways. There was this ever present feeling of hopelessness, claustrophobia, and sadness that struck a chord. This sense of being on the edge of nothingess, of oblivion, at the end of everything. That last walk in the abyss felt very, very desperate and unnerving.

[@holorn1280]

One of my all time favorite games. To enjoy it, you must immerse yourself in it, you must not avoid fear, you must embrace it. Soma, from the same studio, is a masterpiece for me. I've never been in such a state after playing a game. What an experience.

[@MiriQLMovies]

The first time I played Amnesia I was in the dark and completely alone. I managed to play maybe 10 minutes till i got to a part where i heard footsteps ahead of me behind a stone wall. I quit right there and overcame my fear 5 years later and gave it another shot. I passed the footsteps part, but quit again immediately after I saw the monster for first time.

[@Sachnix]

Ive just realized that Day 9's playthrough of this is over 10 years old. Im old.

[@FengLengshun]

Man, this reminds me of the days of PewDiePie playing horror games. I'm glad that he's found a sustainable niche after that, as opposed to just spinning his wheels until he became irrelevant like many others, but it does make me nostalgic.

[@KatyWhitekavkj]

My favourite let's Play of this was definitely Mangaminx. Too bad you can't find it online anymore :(

[@mylife1221]

@@KatyWhitekavkj "oh FUCK! oh FUCK fuck, run! runrunrunrun! oh i cant go in here it's a fuckin' dead end! fuckin' dead e-OHOHOHOH! gogogogogo" ill never forget that

[@سیدابوالقاسمحسینی-ع9ه]

I very much agree with you. The game doesn't want to wreck fear by killing

[@germania5374]

The sequel, A Machine for Pigs, is also a great game I must say. It doesn't just copy exactly what Dark Descent did, which it was critisised for, and I understand that a lot of people felt it was too different to be even considered a sequel. But seriously, what it lacks in gameplay, it MORE than makes up for in story and music design. A Machine for Pigs has some of the most beautifully haunting music I have ever heard in media, fullstop. Its not all choirs and orchestral music, but each piece complements the story, rather than the gameplay. It gives a feeling of this immense beauty in the horror, so to speak. So much so that I actually do listen to the music outside of the game. To anyone who hasn't played it, give it a chance. Dont go in expecting an Amnesia 2, because it is almost an entirely different experience.

[@lejohnboi6444]

There was only one "jump scare" in the game that actually got me and it was basically nothing. In one of the last sections of the game you go around to all these different torture devices. You can open em up, set them in motion and it's just a little cool detail. There's this one part where you come across an Iron Maiden. I walk up to it and go to look inside it, right before I put my hand on it to open it, it opens by itself. I had never jump so much. Just that little bit of unexpected door opening, due to all the tension, scared the crap out of me. The game is easily one of the best horror games I've ever played.

[@c.jarmstrong3111]

Amnesia was one of the first viral games that i remember

[@moonmoon4537]

21:50 You can actually kill the Kaernk. If you smash it over the… head? With a destructible object, it’ll die. It even bleeds yellow blood, so this is definitely by design. I always wondered why we’d been allowed to kill, just this one monster

[@IAmebAdger]

Loved the parallel between the effectiveness of slow torture and the effectiveness of "slow horror".

[@withlovemays]

I've such a weird relationship with amnesia so when I had this in my recs, seeing as I liked another video of yours already, I had to watch it. As a kid I was the total opposite of today when it comes to horror. Dunno what's the psychology behind it, but nothing scared me. I could watch and play horror games and movies all day so when my father bought amnesia for my mother as a gift, she wanted to play it with me. We constantly played game on her laptop and thinking back to it, it was pretty cool. We finished every single game so we were determined to finish amnesia as well. Funny enough, when we got stuck at a part we watched Pewdiepie's old videos were he didn't show his face and I only noticed many years later that it was him, back then in freaking 2010. Pewdiepie helped 12 year old me and my mom clear a level. But amnesia became that one game we never finished. There's a part where you're stuck in a cellar or something and we had to get out. We had to move past one of the monsters but it was soo dark that the MC was going absolutely insane and was gonna die - but if we were to use the lamp they were gonna see us. My mom said we'd play it later and later turned into never touched again in 12 years. She had already wanted to quit at the part with the blood/red water situation where there was this thing inside the water and you had to climb through it with crates swimming in it. That was probably what terrified me the most so your review is spot on. Amnesia was great whenever you just had to assume the danger. What we create in our heads is way worse than when they actually show us. E.g, I don't play many horror games these days simply because I got so scared of them I can't get through them, but both horror games that I like - Resident Evil 2 Remake to some extend and Corpse Party for PSP - create a situation with sound and ambience that makes your brain come up with way worse things. I remember starting RE2R and being terrified of it to a point where I could barely get through it due to the great sound design and knowing that the unknown danger, Mr. X, was constantly behind you. Corpse Party does this very detailed as well which came out shortly after Amnesia even. Horror games only focus on jumpscares or visuals these days. Showing off their engines and how the industry has improved and giving you a jumpscare here and there. Jumpscares aren't scary, they're annoying. Maybe this is why up to this day Amnesia is being held so high. I never finished it and I never got to the end part where they sadly fell into the whole "showing" part, but the part that I played will always be the scariest horror game I've ever witnessed. Heck I didn't even play it myself, my mom controlled the mouse - but I've no intention of touching it. Another great video of yours!

[@ajoshdoingthings541]

Games from 2010 popping in here just makes me feel really old

[@JustSomeDinosaurPerson]

I don't really feel that its fair to put Alien Isolation in the same category as those other games because you're essentially giving the game an impossible task because its source of horror is not unknowable. That's impossible given the fact that the Xenomorph is a horror icon and THE creature design that kickstarted and inspired a large portion of horror that would follow. If anything, Alien Isolation should be praised for taking something that is so incredibly familiar and known and making it terrifying again. THAT is impressive. Fear of the unknown is natural and I would argue much easier to pursue in spite of the fact that most modern trends aren't lending themselves to it at all.

[@Ancientreapers]

The first time I played that game, I ended up getting stuck in a locker. The Alien seemed to keep making the same small patrol route. When it's right outside the locker the slightest wrong move like not holding your breath right, you're dead meat. It's completely nerve wracking when it stays in front of that locker suspecting something is around. It senses something.

[@Jmor066]

Liked because you played at night, alone with headphones (I even opened my door and windows lmao). The same thing happened to me, I got so terrified I never finished it, but it's really the only way to play and immerse yourself.

[@ownageDan]

Before playing this for the first time I thought I'd make it a bit more immersive by getting stoned out of my mind first. Great idea, especially after I realised the main character was called Daniel, my IRL name. Rarely have I been so terrified by a video game lol.

[@raptorravioli4425]

Just got done with the first game today, and it was honestly the first horror game to actually make me feel creeped out.

[@Barnesofthenorth]

9:27 the contrast thing seems to be the key, think it was in God of War video you highlighted how contrasting strategies for enemies it was makes a fight interesting, similar to how in this the contrast of playing safe but also needing to be fast creates the tension. Essentially contrasting mechanics seems like a solid starting point for making a game.

[@Based_Shogun]

This is the first YT video I've ever watched at max brightness.

[@ScReamOut93]

24:35 subbed. and 29:30 and Uncanny Valley. A prominent Topic in A.I. and Robotics.

[@Jigsawn2]

Josh, if you haven't played Darkwood, I highly recommend it. It would definitely be a good candidate for a breakdown video on a different kind of fear.

[@JohnkyTonkbadonkadonk]

"Oh shit, I have a bag of Milky Ways!" "Uwwwaaaaarrrggghhhhh!!!!!" Anyone? Anyone else memba?

[@PolnocneGranie]

You should play the predecessor. Penumbra series. That one is a kicker.

[@badrequest5596]

Amnesia and Alien Isolation are at the top of my favorite horror games. They both do very similar things in different ways. Amnesia gives you physics to fight back, alien gives you guns. Both are useless against the monsters of each game. Guns just piss off the alien and you quickly realize how pointless they are. They work on human and android enemies, but doing so will call the alien to you, so you end up sneaking around and avoid using weapons. Flamethrower is the same as the oil lamp. A rare but extremely useful tool. So you try to conserve it for absolutely necessary situations. This made trying to trick the alien or wait it out and move slowly while hearing it move around the vents and uncertain of when it will come down the preferred choice. I stayed curled up in a corner, scared to come out, longer than i ever did in amnesia. because unlike in amnesia, the alien doesn't despawn. it moves around you in vents, it comes down whenever it feels like it, goes away when it feels like it and is always tied to the area you are in. you move to one area, the alien will follow to that general area as well. and i think in the console versions the game would use the controller microphone to alert the alien. if you were being too loud IN THE REAL WORLD, it would get its attention and investigate. that was an amazing mechanic

[@Morgannin]

It took me a year and a half to finish this game. Playtime was less than 8 hours. Genuinely terrified me. I remember quitting out once when a monster appeared, not playing it again for weeks, finally firing it back up, only to quit out seconds later when I heard the monster murmuring. I introduced it to a friend of mine some time later, who was completely disengaged with the horror elements, and just played it for the puzzles and story. She ended up just letting the monster kill her whenever it appeared, because she learned very quickly that it only makes the game easier by removing the monster without losing actual progress. Interesting how two people can have wildly different experiences, because not everyone has the same fear instinct.

[@MisogynyMan]

People like that are so un-fun to play with. They don't even want to enjoy the game.

[@Morgannin]

@@MisogynyMan Not a great take, there. No point trying to enjoy a part of the game you don't engage with. She just liked the plot and the puzzles. And Frictional got another $20 out of it. I see no losers here.

[@danielschmid8530]

An outstanding video on an outstanding video game. Thank you so much for this Josh.

[@jh0ker]

I'm with you. Noped out of that game the moment i first saw a creature.

[@Leon_S._Kennedy]

I remember playing it long time ago one of the best underated horror game of all time

[@markrisen1193]

I am 90 seconds into your video and 100% agree. I did as the game suggested: darkness, headphones, no distractions. I could not go over an hour before the heavy breathing and atmosphere got to me. I... well... good luck.

[@moavideogamer8417]

I've played this game for 8 years but didn't finish it until this year, it's great

[@TJThomas116]

You absolutely captured the essence of this game

[@katerinaFM]

I have good memories of this game. I don't like playing horror games at all, it's just not for me, I don't get enjoyment out of getting scared etc. But my friend who wanted to play it but also was scared made me play it for her while she watched. I think we finished it in two sessions and it was hilarious. Lots of laughing in panic on my part while I sprinted everywhere and my friend screaming. There was a storm on the second play session which made the playthrough even more atmospheric. Ah good times.

[@_MaZTeR_]

You can peek through the closet doors to see where the enemy is. Just don't do it too long and don't open the doors wide open or they spot you.

[@JakXT]

"The only jumpscare" Clearly you didn't pick up that one random vase early in the game that explodes in your hands.

[@savage7882]

Another thing the game does to mess with you occasionally is have a monster chase you, and make it disappear in front your very eyes, as it's merely a hallucination. It makes you doubt what you see even more, but not take any chances as any encounter can be deadly. It literally makes you run from shadows.

[@kingsarues1586]

My quit moment was 15 minutes in because I was to terrified to continue

[@TCantwell]

Someone pointed out that when you are getting check for amnesia the first questions you are asked are who are you? Where are you? And what year is it?. Its just funny that the character pretty much starts knowing the answer to them.

[@eadbert1935]

one core design choice you didn't talk about it how most puzzles are in safe rooms. they put you in some ease while solving them, as the tension of thinking on your feet while scared to the bone doesn't work for many people. the reason why welcome to the game and its successors were ultimately doomed to fail (note i saw from the developers basically said "people would rather watch than play themselves") is because most people can't think under pressure, especially not under fear, making the game completely unplayable for a lot of people. they had to add detective mode into scrutinized because people wanted the gameplay loop without constantly being afraid of dying (negating most of the gameplay). and if you finished it it continued to mock people for it. but i have to say, the games you list as spiritual successors at 35:22 are pretty funny to considering how different they are: -outlast follows the "defending yourself is for cowards" strategy. it's interesting because one up and downside of it is how you CAN be found while hiding. amnesia played with the "when can i leave?" idea, while outlast played more with the "will i be found?" idea. amnesia only works if you're fully immersed, if you are pulled out a little bit, you start doing other stuff like taking a sip, going to the toilet or whatever because you KNOW you won't be found. outlast on the other hand lets you know that you need to be on edge as the enemy can still find you inside the lockers. the issue is, when you're found, you just activate a new chase sequence and don't have many downsides, breaking the immersion. i think the ideal solution would be that you should get the feeling they can always find you, but they (almost) never do, something like "they don't find you the first time, but the second time, and then they only find you 20% (or just generally decreasing over time)" the tension would always stay up, but not get released as easily. -the evil within just lets you fight, i never felt like it was trying to follow amnesia. -i never played a machine for pigs, but i remember watching a lets play back in the day and being disappointed. -i think alien isolation has a lot of stuff better than this game and i'd actually say it is of similar quality in total. when you say "the physics engine was able to defend you slightly but not really?" now imagine having weapons that actually kill people effectively, but only make one enemy more aggressive? or even better, using any weapons is often a death sentence as it lures the alien directly to your position? the game didn't just give you know weapon like amnesia, which let you feel weak, it gave you an arsenal and a ton of abilities to fight back with. it made you feel like a badass fighting machine that's still completely useless against this apex predator. YOU are strong, but IT is stronger. this gets slightly ruined when the flamethrower gets added, and some sections were made really tedious because if you were slghtly impatient and didn't crouch everywhere, it killed you instantly, breaking the immersion. the game has a habit of being slightly too deadly, which may also have been an issue of me choosing the wrong difficulty (which shouldn't be an issue in horror games, sega definetly had the budget for adaptive difficulty).