Tested version PC - STEAM
Amnesia Rebirth is the new Horror developed and produced by Frictional Games; third chapter of the franchise he saw in Amnesia: The Dark Descent e Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs the first two lucky chapters.
Despite the numerous references to the titles that preceded it, with Rebirth, the Amnesia series goes further, touching on more introspective, personal and intimate themes.
Released on October 20 2020, close to Halloween, is the perfect title to play in the fall, between fog and rain, as long as you turn up the volume, and turn off all the lights.
From the plane crash, to the alien factories ...
We are in 1937 (a century after the first chapter, ed), an airplane carrying Tasi Trianon, her husband Salim and other collaborators on board crashes to the ground.
When Tasi, our protagonist, wakes up, her husband and the others from the mining expedition are gone. The plane is lying on the ground destroyed, she is injured but she is fine. Thus begins his frenzied and desperate search for survivors.
From the hot and bleak desert that we find ourselves in front of as soon as the aircraft hatch is opened, the search will soon lead us into cramped and claustrophobic caves.
Tasi suffers from strange amnesia and is forced to write down her memories on a notebook that she always carries with her, this will be her "weapon" within the game.
“Every moment I switch off and on again. My soul is full of unlit matches. "
Jules RenardTogether with the notebook, we will have a few items with us: lantern oil, small bottles of sedative, and matches. Yes, it matches, because the deep caves that we will visit with Tasi are dark, dark ... dark. Oppressively, claustrophobically, desperately dark.
Finding matches along our path will be essential first of all to see where we are putting our feet and then to prevent Tasi from being attacked by an anxious fear of darkness that will hurt us in the true sense of the word.
Anastasia, this is her full name, she will soon understand that in addition to the disappearance of her traveling companions there is much more: in the womb we will discover that we have a son, who seems to be closely involved with the plot and will be the main stimulus to get out healthy and saved from the "horrific limbo" in which we will find ourselves immersed.
In his role, we will be involved in an extra-dimensional experience, back and forth from an unknown, gloomy and gloomy world that will allow us to advance with our research, otherwise overcoming insurmountable obstacles, through the use of an "alien" bracelet.
It will be a frenzied, distressing journey, timed by the protagonist's flashbacks.
The fear and anguish in Rebirth, do not live on impromptu flares, but they are a feeling that the Frictional Games are able to constantly recreate throughout the game, with a terrible crescendo towards the final part where we will be forced to make dramatic decisions.
gameplay
In Amnesia Rebirth as mentioned, Tasi is the antithesis of the classic videogames heroine. Disarmed, alone, afraid and with constant memory loss and fainting.
He will have to interact with objects that he will find along his path, he will be able to collect them, use them, open and close doors. We will not have any in-game hubs or various gps.
The enemy AI is almost totally absent, except for some Ghouls that we will meet, far from difficult to get around for anything else.
The game mostly progresses and develops by advancing along intricate and dark tunnels.
We will have to interact with well-balanced puzzle games, where our attention is required to complete them, without ever leading to frustration or tedious blocks.
The game mechanics used are more than anything else the means through which we will be able to dissect the details of the plot.
There are no particular difficulties, no specific skills are required and in essence the "death" in game does not exist, it is more of a pretext to develop further visions and flashes to the protagonist.
60 FPS, attention to detail but graphics not really "rebirth"
We played the Steam PC version, 4K resolution, with the little available to be set to the maximum. (RTX3080 / I7 4790K).
Small note: as a video peripheral, we used an OLED TV, and given the type of game, the blacks were "intense" ... in every sense.
Granite FPS selectable at most (60), for a game that doesn't have “jaw-breaking” graphics its strong point.
Mind you, not that it is bad to see, but clearly visible polygons, particle or scenic effects reduced to a minimum, do not make it today like other much more complex and eye-catching productions from this point of view.
Apart from some inconsistencies, all in all negligible, what is surprising is the great attention to detail. From Tasi's notebook, where we can view very inspired pencil sketches, to the various scenarios rich in artistic details that make the whole context credible and immersive.
Final comment
Absolutely unmissable for the "lovers" of the genre. Frictional Games goes straight on its way, regardless of many aspects now taken for granted in today's games.
Not exciting from a graphic point of view, with some stylistic flaws, although still well optimized and without ever frame drops or uncertainties, in the 12 hours it took to complete it in one of its three endings (60% of Achievements), Amnesia Rebirth gives with constant feelings of anguish, fear and heaviness of mind.
We won't have much to do in practice, but the game will still keep us glued to the screen, giving us a complete identification between one amnesia and the other of the protagonist.
The game is available in Playstation 4, Microsoft Windows and Linux versions.
here you can find our other articles on the horror genre.
