It is kind of crazy to think that Amnesia: Dark Descent is now a decade old! That game really was a massive hit with streamers back in the day. Amnesia: Rebirth takes place around 100 years after The Dark Decent (2010) and while it has ties to that game, you do not need to have played it in order to follow what is going on here.
How to Download Amnesia: Rebirth
To download the game from GOG, Steam, Epic Games Store, or from the PlayStation Store, click on the Download button at the end of this review. Check out also the previous game from the series: Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs (2013).
The Game Review
This time our protagonist is a French woman called, Tasi. She is an archeologist who is part of a team that is heading to Africa when their plane has some “spooky” trouble and crashes in the desert. When she wakes up she is alone and her memory is gone! She wants to find her husband, find out what happened, and survive.
The best thing that Amnesia: Rebirth has going for it is the story. The story is so good that I am being very, very careful about what I say. It would be so easy to watch a quick video of this game and pass it off as just another survival horror game filled with jump scares, but it is so much more than that!
Tasi is one of the most interesting characters I have ever played as in a horror game. The memory thing is not just a “gimmick” and her quest for survival, her family, and her sanity is one that is going to send chills up your spine as you play through to the conclusion of the game. It is truly an amazing psychological horror!
The story is great, but what about the actual gameplay? There is no actual combat in the game. You are exploring this very interesting left-over area from the war, trying to find your way out. Darkness is a major theme in the game and the more time Tasi spends in it, the more she loses her grip on reality.
One thing that is really cool is that you technically do not “die” in this game. If you do succumb to the darkness. You are transformed to a different area; this is creepy and it lessens the frustration of having to do the same bit over and over again. You have matches that allow you to light your way and you always want to be heading to the light!
The thing with matches is that they burn out quickly and if you move too fast when holding one, it goes out. You have to be clever about the torches that you light in this game. Oh, I forgot to mention there is something in the dark that is stalking you, making gross chewing noises, and wants you dead!
This is done very, very well and you never feel safe. It is particularly scary when you have to hide in the dark, you see light as well as keeping you safe seems to attract these things. However, the dark makes Tasi lose her grip on reality so it is a very delicate balance that you have to strike in order to survive and hope that whatever it is that is following you, moves on!
As you progress through the game, you will have to solve some rather basic puzzles. The puzzles are very similar to the kind of puzzles that you had to solve in the two Amnesia games that came before this. They keep you on your toes and they are never so hard that they are frustrating.
The first part of the game is most certainly better than the second. I feel that the first area you find yourself in has way more personality and is scarier than the latter part of the game. It is still a story that is well worth playing through until the very end though. This is a game that is perfect if you are a fan of horror and it will certainly keep you up at night!
