Reviews - Mudbill

this tickles my monkey nuts

Being one of the beta testers, I hope to be able to give an unbiased opinion, but no promises ;)

This mod is absolutely amazing all the way through, and I'm not just saying that. The fact that it was made almost exclusively by one guy (in less than a year even!) makes it all the more impressive.

- Gameplay

Something like this has never before been done in Amnesia, and it will for sure go down in Frictional Games' history of community achievements. I'm sure even they are impressed. The controls are simple, yet very effective. Of course, it could take a bit of experience with them to get the hang of how you move, but that's common in platformers. Learn acceleration, friction, jump heights and such.

Technical stuff aside, the actual gameplay in terms of level design and puzzles is a very nice balance of practising basic platforming skills and using your brain to figure out unique solutions to some of the rather challenging road blocks. This game does not feed you with a silver spoon, and in that sense it gives off an old-school feel of arcade-like games. Prepare to explore the levels and closely examine the puzzles.

- Story

We all know the story (hopefully) of how Daniel progresses through the dark descent IN The Dark Descent. This time, we look to the other side and get the untold story of the enemies. Turns out, they're much more human than you'd think.

You start off as Brian the Grunt in a place that looks to be the Storage. Daniel (or should I call him Number Two, as the grunts do) drops by only to be frightened by your appearance and runs off. Without giving spoilers about how things progress (because you really do want to experience this for yourself), Brian tries to catch up with Daniel. Brian only wants a friend...

The story incorporates heavily with the original game of Amnesia. You'll find many cameos and familiar situations as you play through. Just try to remember what you did as Daniel in the original, but instead see it through Brian's eyes. You'll have many laughs and moments of enlightenment.

- Evaluation

Unfortunately I'm already running a bit long on this review. So let's get down to business:

Pros:

- Exclusively unique gameplay mechanics never before seen in Amnesia.
- An excellent story to remember next time you play A:TDD
- Perfectly executed scenes and appearances with great humor
- Epic boss battles of characters we all know and love (and hate)
- Exceptionally well thought out puzzles that will keep your thinking cap on
- Beautifully made custom art that you are sure to find pleasing

Cons:

- Some puzzles may be a bit hard/lengthy for today's audience.
- It can take a lot of time replaying a level when a difficult and lethal obstacle is near the end
- Some oddities may occur, especially if you look for them

In the mod's defence, the oddities are only really things you'd pick on for a fully fletched game. As a mod, it's amazing how few there are. The only reason I mentioned them is because this mod feels like it's worth its own game. It's overflowing with creativity and originality.

To end this I would just like to thank MrBehemoth for this piece of art and for letting me join in on the fun. It's been a journey to remember.

10/10 - Blows my Brian out.

I absolutely love this game! How can I possibly rate it any lower?
The atmosphere is always just as it should be, and when I first saw this game I barely dared to even watch it. Hah, I even bought the game for my friend before I bought it for myself xP

But now that I have played through it, it has to be my #1 favourite horror game! The story is very deep and easy to get drawn into, and I love a good story! And the details put into this is just amazing. A lot of people don't know how important small details really are, but you certainly do, Frictional!

Now that I have been experimenting with the Level Editor I am even more impressed. I keep thinking about how well made the engine is and how easy it is to work with. The modding community is also a very big part of this, and I am happy to see creative work among fans! I'll definitely look out for Amnesia - A Machine For Pigs :)

Amazing game - 10/10.