Reviews - Ragendar

This is one of the few Amnesia mods that lives up to the promise Frictional Games gave to the community in handing them the tools to build Amnesia mods.

The maps are well detailed and interesting, though at times a bit strangely assorted (The Lower Levels area comes to mind). There is a missing ceiling texture in the cellar map above the stairs, left of the entrance, there are also a few glitches which I was able to extort to wiggle my way out of the maps, but not to the point where it was hindering.

The atmosphere was built very well. Music is in the correct place (Exempting that final scene to get the safety door open...), sounds kept me on my toes, with footsteps down the halls and the opening and closing of doors.

The NPC threat was introduced slowly at first. There is a long time before you encounter your first monster, but it does pick up quite well following that. Side note, good use of water monsters.

I wasn't incredibly impressed with the storyline. Looking for a way out is a common theme in Amnesia custom stories, and there wasn't a lot of interesting quest information. The recycling of sound bytes from Amnesia: The Dark Descent peeved me, and didn't really introduce any new or important information to the quest.

There is of course room for improvement, but the common plot keeps this piece from being one of the best I've ever played. A nine out of ten because I believe that more people should play this, but to differentiate it from works like The Great Work which everyone needs to play.

I loved Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It was a great game all around. It had a wonderfully complex and interesting storyline, great music and sound, perplexing puzzles, and great scares. I was never interested in horror games prior to this one, and I was completely immersed in it from the beginning.

A truly amazing game from start to finish! No gamer should go without having tried it.

Alright, I'm going to touch points in order of story, level design, sound, progression, conflict, and conclusion.

The story, though a bit choppy at times, was a good one. I was very focused in solving the mystery. There were times however when I was unable to follow the sequence of events. Another point, the voiceacting was superb 90% of the time, and I was thoroughly impressed with the dialogue and flashbacks.

Level design was exceptional. Everything was well detailed, and there were few slip ups or out-of-place furnishments. The only area that was slightly choppy was the sewer. It looked like a cross between a sewer/dungeon/morgue. Still acceptable however.

Sounds were placed fairly well, but what really bought my thumbs up to sound for this mod were the choices in music. You had Beethoven in the theater, and then an extremely cool custom song in 'that one map which I cannot sufficiently explain without spoiling it.' I still listen to the song outside of the game, and it does truly go well with the area.

Progression was very straightforward. I never got stuck, puzzles were few and far between, and were fairly simple. I applaud the use of notes to solve the sewer puzzle and 'that other puzzle which I cannot talk about.'

Monster spawns were poorly placed at times. The player should never see a monster spawn unless it is made to poof. This reduces the immersion, for instance when I saw one spawn basically right in front of me, I proceeded to put my hands in my lap and let him have me.

The conclusion... Was an interesting choice, as the choice is all yours. There are three possibilities, however do NOT rely on August to tell you correctly which conclusion is which. Analyze the endings for yourself and choose the way you would use each ending, not the way August tells you to. It was a satisfactory ending, though it wasn't mind-blowing.

I enjoyed playing this mod, now you play it yourself.

I was impressed with this particular custom story. I'll be hitting points in order of story, level design, sound, conflict, and conclusion.

The story began in an ordinary way, running from a monster is always a good way of getting a story started, but several things struck me as strange. First, the protagonist's wife is slaughtered, and he doesn't really show any reaction or emotion which is necessary when you begin a story with a tragedy. Next, the protagonist's motivation is not always clear. He doesn't recognize the monster to be set exclusively on him, and yet he chooses to stay within Harman's castle chasing after the group who supposedly brought him inside, left him a note, and then went on an expedition to the other side of the castle. Overall I like the story, but these points could have used clearing up.

Level design was pretty damn good. I was very happy with fairly clear directions of where I needed to go, or where I needed to be, and got lost very little. I thought it was amusing how I would grab an item, be chased out of a room through the opposite side, and then the door would slam shut and lock behind me. I appreciate how this prevents worry of having missed something. Elements of the rooms were well placed, believable, and useful.

Sound was pretty standard in my opinion. I mean that in a neutral way, in that it was chosen well enough, but there was nothing particularly impressive about it.

The conflict of the story was set up well with the brute acting as the main antagonist, grunts acting as secondary antagonists along with water monsters. The brute's entrances were well set, and made significant by the character's observations, giving the player a reason to fear him a bit more than the others. The bane of my Amnesia existance has always been water monsters. So when I had to go through the excruciatingly long water area towards the end of chapter one, I had a heart attack.

The conclusion (of chapter one) was short and abrupt, as is this section

I'm going to hit every point in the order of story, level design, sound, progression, conflict, and conclusion.

The story by itself had an alright theme. Everyone likes a good "The monster is me" twist, but it is a bit cliche in Amnesia custom stories.

The level design was a bit choppy especially dealing with lighting, and the elements of areas such as the cellar and the upstairs area. The commons area was designed well enough, and the downstair hallways and bedrooms were alright, but when I walked into that cellar, it wasn't truly believable as a cellar. A good level will convince you that you're in the place that it tells you.

At first I applauded the choice of music as being subtle yet creepy. Sound in horror games make or break them, and though I applauded the track as a means to start a game, the map lacked any variety, and it quickly became stale and meaningless. The one other track used was just a repeated striking of a piano key poorly looped in the "cellar." Not only was it not frightening but it was the most mismatched choice of sound that I've ever seen in an Amnesia custom story.

Progression was difficult. There was only a single sole memento, which failed to assist in any way. Items and door keys went unmarked or not described, as were the doors themselves. I will however commend the use of notes to assist in the detection of items or the solving of puzzles.

This game lacked conflict. It was more a story of a man trying to open every door in a house than a man trying to escape a monster. There were two monster appearances, and they were both extremely predictable, and unfulfilling.

The conclusion was rather dull. You had your exposition, and the falling action consisted of finding the correct unlabeled door for your new key.

Overall I give this custom story 4 out of 10, as it is playable, but not really enjoyable.