Seriously, I cannot praise Amnesia's use of sound enough. These two design decisions are coupled with good visual design and utterly superb sound effects. This adds to the sense of dread, apprehension and vulnerability that permeates the entire game. Basically, you will invariably hear enemies before you see them. Enemy encounters are thoroughly foreshadowed, either by scripted events or by audio cues. At no point whatsoever will Amnesia thrust an enemy in your face in the pixelated equivalent of someone yelling 'Boo!' Although while playing I almost wished it would, because what it does do is infinitely more terrifying. Secondly, the game never relies on closet monsters. All you need to know is that I never dared take a good look at them. I'd love to tell you more about the enemies, but I can't. At best they can be delayed or distracted for a few precious seconds. They cannot even be outrun, at least not for long. So, in short, the enemies cannot be killed. So when something unpleasant decides to forcibly invade your personal space, your main course of action is to run for your life, then hide in a corner, then pray to the uncaring deity of your choice. Not so much as a crowbar to his name, let alone a shotgun. The scariness stems from two key design decisions.įirstly, the player character is completely defenceless. Quite simply, this game does not fuck around. 6-8 hours of unrelenting horror, alternating beautifully between suspenseful dread and adrenaline fuelled oh-god-it's-right-behind-me terror. In general, video games do not scare me easily. This game is utterly, completely, brick-shittingly terrifying. For those of you still here, let's get down to business. Are the semi-literate philistines all gone? Good.

Short version: If you like horror games, go buy this without delay. Don't worry, I'll keep this free of spoilers.)

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