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- Publisher: Frictional Games
- Release Date: Sep 10, 2013
User Score
Mixed or average reviews- based on 745 Ratings
User score distribution:
Positive: 349 out of 745
Mixed: 131 out of 745
Negative: 265 out of 745
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Sep 10, 2013Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is definitely not the same game as The Dark Descent. It's quite different. It's got fewer jump scares and it's not as splatter-horror-y as some fans might have wished. But boy, that overwhelming, thick sense of dread that comes with every step down into the unholy machine. Not to mention the brillant soundtrack by Jessica Curry (do yourselves a favour and buy it) and the brillant writing by Dan Pinchbeck. I guess it takes a bit of effort to actually get involved into the story (similar to Dear Esther) but you'll probably get one of the most literary experiences in video games to date.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013After hour of playing i can definitely say that this is far from amnesia dark descent, horror element is almost completely gone from this game. They also have removed sanity and health meter.
Enemies are stupid looking and not frightening one bit, i sure would like to know what happened to this game and how it became like this. I cannot recommend you to waste your money on this s***.
Sep 10, 2013By removing insanity mechanic and management of your light source (lamp oil, tinderboxes) and not replacing either with anything equivalent makes this version of Amnesia very dull and boring. There is no more insanity which provided a sense of urgency and no pressure to make progress anymore makes this version of Amnesia nothing more than a boring stroll; the horror element evaporates as well. The Dark Descent was great Machine for Pigs was very disappointing.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013Hmm, I don't know, it just doesn't.....feel like the last one did. I didn't care too much for the way this one came out to be. I just don't feel scared when I am playing this.
Sep 10, 2013Do yourselves a favour and just skip this game, from the few negative votes I've seen here, I must agree with them. If you are expecting a bigger badder sequel to the highly acclaimed Amnesia: The Dark Descent, this isn't it.
The first half of the game was actually filled with tension, and thinking 'What is going to happen in here; I do not like this room'. But when you see what you're trying to hide from without fear of losing sanity by viewing the creature, it just becomes a game of 'Okay it goes this route, so I'll go another'. In all honesty, I think all that fear comes from expecting this game to be like the first, in which later on you'll find it doesn't even come close to.
Last half of the game got me to a point of 'This isn't even scarey anymore and isn't even trying to be.' I died once not because I was scared and messed up, it was because I couldn't care less if the creature got to me before I had to flip a switch.
I think this lost a lot of what made Amnesia scarey; insanity as a means to prevent you from just remotely observing a monster added a lot of what made the game scarey.
Adding lots of places to hide in the first made it a very viable option to jump into a room and close yourself in a closet; waiting for the monster to go away as you whimper and hope it never saw you jump in there. Most encounters you have in this game has absolutely nothing but 'run the opposite direction' and they just poof out of existence. There is no lingering fear or dread of a monster still being around and you only delaying the inevitable.
You will not get the Amnesia experience with this one unfortunately... It looks really pretty though.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I can't believe how far Frictional has fallen.
Amnesia:MfP is literally Dear Ester 2.0 2deep4u story jump-scares.
It literally removes all valid gameplay from previous titles, There is no more resource management,
no more insanity.
At least 50% of the game in Penumbra was storing stuff in your inventory, using them for puzzels, this was slightly less focused on in Amnesia,
and taken out completly in MfP
There is no advantage to just staring at the monsters from
your corner in the dark and look at them move around.
The monsters themselves are so common their presence stops being scary at all (not that their modles are scary anyway), This was less of a problem in the original,
also negated by the insanity mechanic.
Chineese Room seem to have no concept of horror, and also seem to have just lazily mashed together FEAR (telephone calls? dead children spazing around?), Dear Ester (no inventory press W to win),
and other horror concepts.
The very first section is ALL jump scares, and its not like their uncommon. They happen almost every time you turn a corner, after the first it is no longer scary.
Next, what is probably the worst part. The scripted events. There is a part where you get knocked down, you look up and see your children. What happenes next is the cheesiest, moment in the game.
They reach into their chests and pull out their harts and hold them up, only its not even dramatic, there is no build up, it happens so fast and casually I almost laughed.
Its like this game is shouting at you "ARE YOU SCARED YET HUH? WOW THIS SETTING IS SPOOKY!, ARNT LITTLE DEAD KIDS SPOOKEY?" "HEY LOOK ANOTHER JUMSCARE, BOY THAT WAS CREEPY WASNT IT?"
Which brings me to the writing. Honestly the writing is worse than a B list horror film. It probably uses every trope in the book to mash together some sense of naritive.
Compare that to the writing of Penumbra or Amnesia, which aren't perfect, but are actually interesting. They are much more original and nested in a lovecraftian genre,
I can't even think of one time in either games I thought "hmm.. wow that looks just like the Shining" (I mean dead twin brothers? really?). In Penumbra and Amnesia the lovecraftian story, and accompnying themes drive the game, in MfP the Game drives the story, which is seemingly derived from the cess filled machine pits anyway.
Seriously, creatures from beyond make for a more interesting narrative than "Ohmygosh it was my fault all alongs XD!!!!!1!"
One last thing. The game last me 2 hours, start to finish. The puzzles were so simplistic, and mostly considered of: get item X to location Y.
The puzzels in Penumbra and Amnesia actually require you to figure things out by searching for notes, and trying to make sense of them. Often they were also meaningful,
and added to the story. Not once did
I rely on any of the notes or mementos in MfP.
So, if you want a 2 hour walking simulator, go ahead and buy this game. Don't worry! its not even scary.
If you want an actual horror game with an actual story, that at least tries to be original, buy/play Penumbra or Amnesia:TDD (although at this point I
no longer wish to support Frictional for allowing this turd to slip the bowls of The Chineese Room and onto their brand)
PS: Remember this game was slated for Halloween 2012, its almost a year late....I guess you can polish a turd all you like....… Expand
Sep 10, 2013This game is bad. Now, before you discard this review as some troll post, let me tell you: I am a big Amnesia fan, since it first popped up on Steam I bought it and was hooked. When I first heard of the sequel coming, I was ecstatic, I was so excited came out my ass! I remember looking at the trailers for it, looking at the website, and everyday or so checking to see if there was something different.
Needless to say, this game is such a disappointment I can't even explain how let down I am. I'm so disappointed I feel offended. Let me try to sum up the ****tiness:
This was a big plow for me, because in the first it became a big factor in whether you live or die.
-3 Hours long
Now, this is debatable. Anyone can speedrun a game, but I didn't, and finished it in 3 hours, no less. The first game I finished in 6 hours, which then felt good. It was an indie game, but I got more out of it than I expected.
-The lantern is infinite
This too is debatable, but there were some things they could have made better with it, such as having to recharge the lantern if it went out. The use of a universal powered lantern is beyond me, this game takes place in 1899, they didn't even have electricity back then yet. Just barely.
-A year too late
The game was set to come out last year for Halloween, which would have made sense, it's a horror game and Halloween is associated with that. Makes sense and it works. But then, UH OH, WE HAVE TO DELAY IT. Some people will feel as though it was due to them added MORE content, which most ways is a good thing. I agree that more content is better. But what did they add? NOTHING. The only thing that was different was controller support, which would have taken at least a month to add. The rest of the gameplay is gone, it feels as though the game wasn't even finished yet.
-The Chinese Room
Let's talk about these people for a minute. Are you familiar with Dear Ester, a popular mod for HL1? If you've played it, you know what I'm talking about. It's a good mod, it was made by the Chinese Room, and they've been recognized as a great studio since then. More like a piece of dog I've played this game and felt that their presence was too much in this game, it felt WAY too much like Dear Ester rather than a survival horror game. You'd think that a respected indie studio wouldn't have been so lazy with it, it plays like Dear Ester too, with narrations out the ass, and the linearity that plagued this game.
-It runs like dog ****
This game uses the same exact engine that the first Amnesia game used, so you'd think that it'd run great if you ran the first one flawlessly, right? And it isn't my specs either, I'm using:
An ATI Radeon 6870 1GB
Phenom II x4 @3.01GHz
4GB Ram
all of this running at 1440x900 resolution.
There is no excuse, you are a well respected studio. Do us a favor and never make a game again, Chinese Room.
Chinese Room? More like a Chinese Sweatshop.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013Very disappointing, the removed several features without adding a single one! Yes! They are is no new gameplay mechanics! In-fact, there is no gameplay at all. This is what happens when you give creative control of a sequel to a beloved horror game to the 'Dear Esther team'; what where Frictional thinking! The horror relies on jump scares, shaking the screen, and making loud noises, something The Dark Decent never had to resort to. Very disappointed. The only thing notable in this 'game' is the story and atmosphere; Oh liked picking literally anything up in TTD? The only thing you can interact with in AMFP is chairs and drawers.
The Chinese Room; stop making games, please, go make art-house films. Everyone will look back and scoff once technology advances and your 'art games' look like Banjo Kazooie.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013They took out everything that I loved in first Amnesia. I was waiting for this release long time ago.. and now I feel empty, cheated and disappointed. I even enjoyed in Dear Esther, but this...this...what they did with machine for pigs, it is just not a good combination, a wrong move. It is an average game with cool atmosphere...nothing else, and nothing special.
Sep 10, 2013It has a good, gloomy atmosphere, great voice actors (except the kids) and good soundtrack. But that's about it. It's dumbed down from The Dark Descent and nowhere as scary. It feels more like an walking simulator or a bad custom story for TDD. There are jumpscares here and there and most of scripted scenes are just an enemy or kid running past the hallway and then disappearing. Enemies aren't scary at all and it's easy to run away from them. Game is pretty short, it may be worth to try if you like stories but nice it wasn't something like $60.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013This was honestly the farthest thing away from what i was expecting from the second entry into the Amnesia franchise. Even though it was developed by the chinese room, surely i would imagine that at some point the people at Frictional at least had a brief look or perusal of what their most successful title was being turned into!
They have simply taken out mechanics such as inventory and sanity, and replaced them with.... it seems, they replaced them with nothing. Not to mention the total lack of an ability to manipulate any of the in-game environment, unless it is essential to some puzzle or progression.
Besides all of this, the main problem with this "game" is that there is absolutely zero pacing with which to build tension and immerse the player in a world which feels lost and hopeless. The pig monsters are not only lackluster in design and implementation, but the fact that they have no hope of catching you if you simply run away completely takes away any unnerving effect that they may have had (if they did to begin with).
There are so many comparisons which could be made, but i honestly just cannot be bothered wasting anymore time typing about a game that i have dreamed about for the last 13 months which has been torn asunder by a pretentious, mediocre studio which attained their 15 minutes of fame from an ambient environmental walk-through...
Frictional honestly need to acknowledge that something went wrong here, or i will hold them just as accountable as i hold Blizzard for the piece of trash they call Diablo 3.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013Honestly this game was one of the biggest disappointments of the year. Not only was the game incredibly easy
the entire way through, but hardly scary at all. Not only was the fear factor lacking but I felt the story was incredibly predictable and dry as well. The writing shined in the notes in comparison to the former game but failed to add up to anything meaningful. They took out the survival elements of the game entirely (No fuel, no lighting of candles/lanterns, no sanity mechanic) 90% of the time you can simply run straight past the monsters with no penalty.The monsters weren't scary, the game-play failed hard, and a few minor plot twists along the way which were easily foreseen 2/10 biggest letdown of the year.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013Puzles are kind of easy and guided but the atmosphere, the storytelling, the voice-acting, the enhanced level desing... It is just great.
Don't be dumbass complaining because there's no oil or tinderboxes, cause you didn't clearly play the game; Now when you are in full darkness you can't see anything, not even turning your gamma up a bit. So, if you face a monster you have 2 options: Turning on the lamp and let him see you or turning it off and don't see anything. This makes a lot of tension.
In any case, it is not like the first Amnesia, they changed a lot of stuff here and there, and if you are an Amnesia fan I think you'll enjoy it. Will you like it more than the first one? I don't know, but I think is totally worth the price.
Edited: I have already beaten the game and I must say that I liked The Dark Descent more than this one.
A machine for pigs tried to be different, simplifying gameplay and trying to be more straight-forward.
The game is, indeed, more linear. You don't need to look for tinderboxes, oil or laudanum so making more rooms would have been pretty much an aesthetic thing.
Setting is great and I like the new artistic design, and the sound is still great.
It lasts about 4-5 hours, but I hope there will be mod support.
If you are an amnesia fan you will probably like it, but just don't wait another TDD, because you won't find it.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013I like a good story, and apparently The Chinese room does as well, the difference is however is that i like video games also. Before I get into A Machine for Pigs I insist on bringing up Dear Esther, the "non-game, game". As implied, their game "Dear Esther' isn't really a game, because games have game-play and 'Dear Esther' did not. You walked for about 50 minutes on an island while a story was being told to you in randomized bits.
Now, to get to the actual game 'A Machine For Pigs', I was worried about how the game would turn out, due to the developers track record so far, but I decided to give it a shot since 'Amnesia: The Dark Descent' is my favorite horror game of all time. Unfortunately, my concerns were validated: they screwed up.
The developers focus too much on story and not enough on actual game-play; It is as if they are pained to create anything that requires interaction and only have little in the game because Frictional was over their shoulders giving them menacing looks. There is no inventory menu, or sanity gauge, and hell you don't even have to worry about resources.
In short when criticizing this game, I'm really criticizing The Chinese Room as developers. They seem like a talented group of people, but people who should be making films instead of video games.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013i've been looking forward to this game for years, and in the first hour it was very fun and creepy, but then it got so linier and was not even worth playing. i seriously just wanted to complete the damn game, and move on in my life. biggest disappointment in years! oh and it only takes 5 hours to complete
Sep 10, 2013Sadly this game is good and bad in alot of ways and it is worse then it's predecessor, i should probably start on the gameplay, the gameplay in a machine for pigs is lacking in alot of ways in this game they decided to limit to how much objects you can pick up which i don't know why the they thought this was a good idea also removing the inventory system,refueling your lamp, and also ALSO removing sanity, why in the i know they wanted to go for a more story approach this time around but they didn't have to remove everything that made the dark descent fun also for a horror this game ISN'T SCARY in the dark descent i was always paranoid checking behind me to check if something was there i had chills going down my spine and it truly scared me HERE the pigs look ridiculous and instead of being petrified i laughed seriously and to add insult to injury there are less enemies in this then the dark descent WHY?! in this there are 2! ****ING 2 and they barely look different one is big the other is small in the dark descent they were 3 and they all looked different and horrifying in so many ways, to be honest in this game i had more fun interacting with a chair then anything else in this game!. For graphics the graphics are not fantastic but they are not the worst for 2013 some low res textures here and there but nothing terrible. The thing this game does good is the story and the atmosphere and probably the only thing that made me want to learn further more about what is going on and it intrigues you UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY SEE WHAT YOU ARE UP AGAINST Guess what the game is also very short! it will last you a whole 6 hours 6 HOURS?! that is how long it took me to complete the game and i have no thoughts of returning to this sadly what an utter disappointment i have to give this game a 5 an average score… Expand
Sep 10, 2013I am enjoying this game fairly well. So far, a nice dark atmosphere with chilling random events in the background. (Typical Amnesia) I only have three problems with this game that don't quite put it at the same level as "The Dark Descent" The game has many locked doors which takes away the adventure aspect. You can't pick up small objects and randomly throw them. There also is not an insanity meter. Even in these negatives, the story line is phenomenal so far. It makes me want to dive deeper and deeper. So far, in the first hour of game play, this is a really enjoyable sequel to "The Dark Descent"… Expand
Sep 10, 2013When I first heard a Chinese Room will be making new Amnesia, I have mixed thoughts. I was right. This game is nothing like original Amnesia.
I mean, Amnesia was a horror adventure game. This is a horror storytelling with simple interactions. And even it's horror part is not done very well. I mean, all you can do is move, use your flashlight thing and interact with important things. As you were able to interact with almost anything, here? With close to nothing. You don't have an inventory, you have infinity flashlight. No consumable items. Original Amnesia was about exploration, where you have to explore a manage your resources. While in this crap there is no point to explore around, you cannot. There is a linear path, maybe with some small side way with quest item. Also while original Amnesia had good puzzles, best puzzle in here is refueling burners with coal. Best puzzle ever. This is not Amnesia, this is Dear Esther 2 with bonus gameplay options. Horror parts are meh. They are scary but really not as scary as in original Amnesia. Monsters don't really look scary. There are no user mods support at least now, the playtime is about 3 HOURS. 3 HOURS. I hope Frictional will NEVER EVER leave such studios as Chinese Room make games for them.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013Sad....very sad.I had such high hopes for this game.isn't as crazy scary as the original,not even close.good news is i only spent 15 bux for this game.so theres that.
Sep 10, 2013I was'nt this disappointed for years. No Inventory. Low level puzzles. Barely horror. You can't even put out your lantern. It is'nt scary anymore.
Buy Outlast. Or play the first game. Those are two good horrorgames!
Sep 10, 2013Goddamit, this is something that i really enjoyed... Not really, the first Amnesia was pretty good, it was sandboxy game (picking up almost every object) with nice gameplay tinderboxes, sanity and such. That what it became is horrible and doesn't feel like original Amnesia. I am highly disappointed, and thinking that i wanted to buy this...
Sep 11, 2013I've been super excited for this game for a long time now...sadly it was just barely a game (at least this time we could interact a little unlike with the Chinese Rooms Dear Esther) and instead felt more like an interactive story with bits of horror if you could even call them that (what the hell happened to having an enjoyable fun experience like one normally does in games with challenging puzzles and mechanics that force you to move carefully, use resources sparingly and to crap in your pants at the slightest shadow flicker in the distance?).
I would seriously rather recommend that you replay Amnesia: The Dark Descent instead of buying this especially at full price.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013I'm not sure how Frictional could have been satisfied with releasing this game. Maybe it was The Chinese Room's influence?
First of all, it removes a lot of the mechanics of The Dark Descent e.g. lantern with limited fuel, tinders, inventory, sanity, picking up most objects, HIDING IN CABINETS... In return, we get nothing. Typically when a company develops another game in a series they remove some features but add new ones that are supposed to be better. Not this time, apparently. The limited light fuel in TDD was great because it added another layer of suspense (the fear that you would run out of light and be stuck in the horrifying dark with monsters). Hiding in the cabinets was awesome.... I was expecting all of these old suspenseful features plus, ya know, NEW ones. Not the removal of the good stuff.
Second, the game is NOT SCARY... When you see the first pig monster, you may think it is going to be frightening. Until you actually see it up close. WTF? Isn't this supposed to be a horror game? Then why did they take what looks like an undead dog with a pig head attached to it and call it a monster? There was so much freaky concept art out there with a lot of potential... The monsters also move slowly and behave predictably. They're not scary, just annoying to maneuver around.
Last, it runs like crap. I can run nearly any game maxed out on my rig with no issues but Machine was giving me limitless problems (screen tearing, stuttering, etc). When I turned the graphics down, it got worse and ended up looking like the original Doom.
The only positive things I have to say about Machine for Pigs are that the plot is somewhat interesting and that they (mostly) removed that blinding white light that kept flashing across the screen in The Dark Descent (which was hard on the eyes in the dark).
Music is also nice. Kudos to the composer.
Overall, not worthy of being called an Amnesia game.… Expand
Sep 12, 2013They took a "Survival Horror" game, and removed the 'survival' aspect, and the game wasn't even scary so it loses its title of 'horror' as well.
So what are we left with? Certainly not a game (thanks Chinese Room!), but rather a mediocre, interactive story.
Sep 11, 2013What the hell happened here? I have been looking forward to this game for AGES, and it was probably one of the most disappointing games I've played this year.
This game had the potential to be the scariest game this year, what were the developers thinking?!? There are no new features in this game, it actually downgraded from the previous game Amnesia: the dark decent. Did they add 1st person full body awareness? NOPE. Did they add 1st person interactive animations with doors and objects? NOPE. What about jumpscares? NOPE, lets just make the entire place shake every 30 seconds, that'll scare the shiet out of them. Why don't we add some terrifying creatures? NAH BRO LETS ADD A PIG MAN that doesnt even look terrifying.
This game isn't even a survival horror game anymore, no more tinderboxes, which is understandable because of the time of plot being in the 1800's where electricity started to develop. Yeah ofcourse you get a latern, but it will stay lit for an infinite amount of time! WOW what a good idea, the lantern will start flickering whenever enemies are nearby, meaning that you will never be surprised by monsters being in the area. What a way to go. It should be mentioned that you don't even have to use the lantern, because areas are so lit up even if the brightness is on its lowest.
And also, you don't see other people in the game, it's as if they all just dissapeared! you'd expect with a better budget that they would add some additional characters that can acompany you in your journey. You hear people talking and screaming, but they are placed in cages with a big cloth over them so you cant even see them.
You can't interact with each object individually, it's like they are glued to everything, where as in the previous game you can pick up any loose object and toss it around, in this game that is very limited to only "quest items". That being said, there is no inventory system, that got completely removed as well. The sanity system also got removed as well as the health system. You can't even open most doors or drawers anymore because they have locks on them that prevent them from being open. When you pick up documents and diaries, there are no more voice overs to read it for you. So basically they removed EVERYTHING that made Amnesia Amnesia!
-No more health system or Sanity system
-Rooms and areas are so lit up the lantern is useless
-No jumpscares
-Very limited objects to be interacted with
-All doors and drawers are conveniently locked, that shouldn't be.
-Same old things from the previous game, no added 1st person animations
-Terrible character development, you dont even care about the guy you play as.
This game is a rushed piece of cash in, your game is bad! and you should feel bad! I expected something better than this you could have done way better!… Expand
Sep 11, 2013Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs not only proves that The Chinese Room can't make a powerful horror game, but that they also still struggle with the concept of game vs. interactive storybook.
The gameplay gripes here are many: A Machine for Pigs takes away everything from the original Amnesia that made it such a tense playthrough. Gone is the inventory, limited amount of lantern fuel (I use that terminology because the lantern in A Machine for Pigs is electric), coherent health system, and sanity meter. This means that not only are the "puzzles" one encounters simplified to the point were they entail player is simply dragging an item a few meters, but there is also absolutely no urgency to solve them. "Exploration" is largely linear to begin with, so the game itself devolves into a 3 hours (Yes, the game is about 3 hours in length) exercise of following the path, flipping a switch to solve a "puzzle", following the path, dragging a thing to another thing, flipping a switch, following the path, repeat.
The monster encounters are few and far between and the AI appears to have the mental capacity of a 2 year old, making them not only completely trickable but also totally non-threatening. It won't be long in the game before you figure out that there isn't much to be afraid of in this "survival horror" game, which is certainly A Machine for Pigs greatest downfall.
The story is decently done, though you will be able to predict one of the larger twists in the game before you even place your hands on the keyboard/controller to move your character, and you'll probably still be fuming over that the appreciate the rest the story has to offer since it is so short. Audio is probably A Machine for Pigs' greatest strength The voice-acting is well-done (though slightly sparse for a game that would be best described as story-driven), the music is haunting, and the sound effects try to build a tense atmosphere that is ultimately defeated by the fact that you will realize there is nothing there to hurt you.
The price upon release in the US is $20, around $16 if you preordered. At a paltry 3 hours of gameplay, in a world that feels sparse, simple, linear, and as threatening as a new-born kitten, I can't possibly recommend it to anyone.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013AMFP takes the Amnesia franchise and throws it to the dogs. The early levels are exciting and well-built, designed to encourage exploration and a no-stone-unturned mentality. You get glimpses of how mind-blowing the sound design will be, one thread that carries through the game. As you descend, the game becomes more linear; there is no backtracking, the majority of alternate doors are locked, and the puzzles are childishly simple. If you enjoy cheap scares and overplayed horror devices, this is the game for you.
Pros: Absolutely amazing sound design.
Cons: Everything else.… Expand
Handing this off to The Chinese Room was a HUGE mistake, and I hope Frictional never repeats it. Dear Esther was awful- one of the worst gaming experiences of my life- so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that their sequel to The Dark Descent isn't much better. Points about the butchering of the gameplay mechanics and the failure to even come close to matching the depth and emotional impact of the original Amnesia's story have been covered by other irate users, so I won't go there. I'd just like to express how profoundly disappointed I am by A Machine for Pigs (terrible, terrible title by the way- that should have been our first indication of how crappy this game would be.) The Dark Descent was my favorite game of the last decade. I'm just going to pretend like this game doesn't exist. All I can say is that Amnesia 2 better be developed by Frictional, and it better be really, really effing good.… Collapse
Sep 10, 2013Sad to say as an Amnesia fan, but this was terrible.Felt so dry and unfamiliar.Every element of a survival horror has been replaced by a Dear Esther story book. The core of the game has been removed with just the name that reminds.Best words to describe this is the final scene in Pleant of the Apes, "You manics,you killed it,you blew it up....etc"I so looked forward for this game.Hey Chinese Room, stay printings pictures in museums and like Fictional do their thing.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013i'm sad to say this game was incredibly boring. no puzzles, no scares, a few chases?
just felt like you walk around pulling levers and interacting minimally, picking up notes to read, and just making your way to the next section.
the environment was pretty cool but the game was devoid of substance.
the story was there but it doesn't really make up for removal of all the other elements amnesia had previously. the story was ok, but very short.
i really enjoyed the first amnesia, penumbra games, and even found outlast way more fun than this.
what a bummer.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013A machine for pigs does have entertainment value. I played the game from end to end (all 3.5 hours of it) and it was interesting to make guesses as to what's actually going on and getting more and more clues.
However, that about sums up the game. You can leave your light on from start to finish if you wish and there's no inventory. The scare factor is 0/10 (the game features about 4 or 5 enemy encounters, but they're just anthropomorphic pigs with bad pathfinding, so when one appears in front of you, you lead them in a circle and continue (which is one of the problems: the game is almost entirely a linear walk through rooms, it never locks you in the dark with something scary or such). All puzzles are object fetching (reaching their highpoint when you have to fetch two things instead of one).
I don't regret this buy, but it is more of a playable fan-fiction story inspired by Amnesia than anything else. "The Dark Descent" was much smarter about how it tried to invoke fear (eg. the water chase, the wine cellar, the vivisection room) and it had clever puzzles. Frictional Games should have taken this game from "The Chinese Room" in its current state and then built their own scares and puzzles into it because what I see could have been an excellent foundation for a real Amnesia 2.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013I decided to play through the whole game before writing this review, maybe slight spoilers but nothing major. I found this game to be a good exercise in horror. I would hesitate to call this survival horror, as you spend most of your time running through a VERY linear (not necessarily a bad thing, but more about that later on) well constructed corridor. The story is well done, and is what compelled me to go through the game, about 4-6 hours, in one sitting. The sound design is also superb, and made me engage my senses through most of the game. However, the removal of the survival part of survival horror was questionable at best. Your lantern has no oil, and can be used infinitely. The animations on the "monsters" is shoddy, and left me laughing more than screaming. Another questionable part of the game is the decision to make the lantern flicker whenever enemies are near. "Hey guys, here's an idea! Let's warn the player that something scary is going to happen!" Quite honestly this is the main reason for my 6/10 score. That said, for the price (I paid $15, full is $20) the game is fun to play, and will occupy you for a good 4-6 hours. If you can look past some of the questionable design choices, and focus on the world and story built, the game is well worth your time and money.… Expand
Sep 13, 2013I played through this game in 2 hours. There was no need to explorer because there were NOTHING to gain from exploring. No oil, no health, no sanity, no freaking nothing. Dissapointed. But it was able to scare me sometimes and set a good atmosphere. But it was a big let down from the Amnesia Series. I think this game actually don't belong in the Amnesia series because; 1. He didn't have (the same type) Amnesia as in the first game. 2. It doesn't have anything to do with Amneisa. It shouldn't have been an Amneisia game. It would have been better if it was just an indie game called Machine for pigs.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013Wow. I found this game very disappointing. Many of the interesting and intuitive gameplay elements from the previous game have been forcefully stripped away, and only the bare bones of gameplay mechanics exist.
It doesn't even come close to The Dark Descent. I don't want to say this game is downright horrible, but it's not very good either. You get some good scares and interesting moments sprinkled in, but apart from that, it's a pretty dull game with a sloppy, rushed plot. Not worth $20. Wait for it to go on sale or something.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013I am a huge fan of Frictional Games titles and i loved the out of Amnesia, but this "game" its not exactly the kind of thing you would expect from the guys who brought you the Penumbra Series and Amnesia the Dark Descent and i believe (thanks to Chinese Room) this episode could be a pure example of pure "Pretentious Indie bull****" why you can guess why by thinking who made this game, like Dear Esther there's no gameplay element in this "game", and you are driven through this linear journey by just solving stupid and easy puzzles and reading scrap of story here and there.
I am mostly disappointed because they managed to dumb down an already simple but solid gameplay, and everything up by creating a game so linear without any interesting elements which Dark Descent brought us.
I am utterly disappointed and i hope FG won't make another game with The Chinese room again… Expand
Sep 11, 2013I expected so much more from this title but this was just a cash in. This was not scary, but rather boring. The enemies were lame looking and you could just walk right through them if cornered, the graphics were just the same as tdd nothing special, interaction throughout the world has almost been completely taken away, the puzzles were child's play. This game was meant to be a step forward but has turned into another letdown in the gaming industry. disappointing...… Expand
Sep 10, 2013The worst sequel I have ever played. It hugely lacks of horror, inventory like Amnesia,inventory...They hadnt changed the graphics, just made it even worst and physics are still worst...Dont buy this game, get Outlast, heck the Amnesia fanboys reviewers..
Sep 10, 2013OMG are you serious? as expected it sucked. only with that hilarious name ''a machine for pigs'' what the hell were they thinking? i didn't like it at all i almost killed myself and just a few moments i got scared.
Sep 11, 2013Amnesia: A Loading Screen for $20 combines an interesting (if not creative) and overall well-written horror story with gameplay that does not do it justice, and is disappointing compared to the original amnesia. With no sanity meter, you're free to look at the enemies, and when you do you'll notice that they aren't scary.
I'd give it a 5 (roughly an 8 for the story and a 2 for the incorporation of gameplay.)
Also, there are very long loading screens every 15-20 minutes.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013I find this game very meh. First off, here are the negative things about the game: removal of inventory results in contrived puzzles and discourages exploration, there's limited interactivity with your environment (no more searching in every nook and cranny for precious resources), unlimited light source and removal of the sanity metre results in severely lowered tension, there's overusage of some heavily scripted events ie jumpscares which lose their impact very fast. Oh, and the story premise (note; premise) is pretty cliched and is a trope. Finding your children, really? That also creates an entirely different tone to the game, it isn't so much about survival as it is about just... finding your children. Too many doors that you flat out can't interact with, they're just there for decoration. The game is also on the short end of the spectrum in terms of length to completion.
On the positive side, the lighting and sound designs are superb. It really immerses you into the atmosphere and there are also outdoor environments (that is a preference whether a positive or negative thing).
In short, it doesn't compare well at all to The Dark Descent.
I hope you found this informative.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013This game sucked. It was a huge step backwards from the previous game. There is no longer an inventory system, sanity system, or even a limited light source. The new lantern no longer has a limited supply of fuel and never runs out. If you have played Dear Esther, you will feel right at home. This game plays the same way, with a few mutant pigs running around which i never could figure out how they got there in the first place. The only good thing about this game was the new "boss" which is a fat pig with electrical super powers. Which would be cool except the AI for all the pigs seemed about as intelligent as the ghosts from PacMan. I can count on my fingers the amount of "scary" moments included in this game. You can feel that they tried so hard to keep a dark atmosphere, but it doesn't work. At one point I was climbing a ladder, and they tried to throw in a jump scare by having what looked like a 4 year old's drawing of a pig appear in front of my face. It actually made me laugh. I could have spent my 15 dollars on a good indie game and supported new developers. I could have taken my money and bought 15 hamburgers from McDonald's and been more scared. I'm really angry right now. This game made no sense, I hate it.
Love Dupdog1… Expand
Sep 10, 2013I beat the game in a single four hour sitting. It did not live up to it's predecessor at all.
First things first, many of the horrifying aspects of the original were removed, including
tinderboxes, lantern fuel, sanity and the inventory. Without the fear of losing all your sanity, you lose a lot of the fear from the original. "Should I use this tinderbox now, or save it for later? When will I find more fuel for my lantern?" Those thoughts were constantly in my mind in the original, making me fear what lies ahead in the darkness even more. Another major problem were the monsters. They were not scary, and quite frankly, they kind of made me laugh. You also don't see them very often. When you do, you MUST sneak past them, there are no wardrobes to hide in if you're spotted. The wardrobes and most doors are locked, leaving a very linear game. No exploring whatsoever. Finally, the story is very predictable, and not overly intriguing. Yes it had it's moments, but it just seemed kind of messy. The music was the only thing that made me give this review a one instead of a zero. It was haunting and beautiful, especially one of the last songs you hear. Overall, this game was a large disappointment, and as there are no custom stories available for it, I'm not sure if I'll be playing it again in the near future.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013Ironically, this game only makes you feel unpleasant, while the first game made you squeal like a pig.
If you haven't played the first amnesia game I would highly recommend you play that one instead. If you have played it and is looking for more amnesia, or any scary game in general, I would say you're better of trying some of the many custom stories that were made for the first game, or try other games in the horror genre.
It is developed by the guys that made Dear Esther and it shows. While the atmosphere remains truthful to it's predecessor, it's not as tense, scary or stressful as the first game. Even the music is not made to scare you as it did with excellency in the original.
There are some stressful moments, but they are few and far between. Most of the game is about immersion. exploration, listening to dialogues or reading notes, which mostly seems to be written by William Shakespeare.
There are also a few puzzles, but they are not clever in any ways and most of them are either solved too quickly or they make you feel frustrated when you finally realized you've missed something that the game thinks is obvious.
There are not as many monster encounters and the monsters themselves aren't even that scary.
In conclusion I would say that this game is a toned down version of the original that focuses more on story writing and exploration, rather than trying to scare you in as many ways possible. If that sounds appealing to you, then give it a shot.
After paying full price for the ~5 hours long game I would say buy it the next time it goes on sale for maybe 50% off. It's not really worth the full price if you ask me.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013Takes boring to a whole new level. There is no gameplay, you walk and sometimes turn a valve. You almost never encounter enemies. You can complete it in under 3 hours. You must sprint everywhere because you walk so slow. There is a very liner confusing story that you don't care about. The pace is the slowest I've ever encountered. This is literately a walking simulator. Keep your money (and yourself) as far away from this as possible.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013"Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs" (AAMFP from now on) takes off several years after the original "Amnesia: the Dark Descent". You play as Oswald Mandus, a feverish english gentleman on a quest to find his children. Story wise, the game is really good. It offers many considerations, and it really gets the player after the first half of the game. The atmosphere is absolutely fantastic, a true lighthouse for the horror genre to follow. Unfortunately, these are the only real good things about AAMFP. After the first of the four hours needed to complete the game, the player will know exactly what to expect from the game. The monsters are plain and not frightening at all, nor will they bother the player too much, since they're easy to outrun or hide from, and their relative uninterest for the player, which is unforgivable in an horror game. Level design is lacking, with too many sideways to avoid monsters and foreseeable dangers, which in turn make the game even easier than it is. Monster encounters are few and forgettable. The necessity to hunt for oil and light has been removed giving the player an electric lamp, which light will defeat anyone fears. Puzzles are far too easy, and the inventory is gone in the name of a more immediate gameplay.
In the end, AAMFP feels more like a story, told in front of a fireplace in a rainy and cold night, rather than a travel in the depths of human fears. The storytelling is superb, with a writing among the best I've ever read, the visuals are stunning and inspiring, but the gameplay lacks many elements that made Amnesia and Penumbra famous. AAMFP is a good game in its own right, but can't stand the confront with "The Dark Descent".… Expand
Sep 10, 2013What people are saying is true for the most part...the "gameplay" factor is just not there.. This game has that feel of Gone Home to it and is not really that enjoyable.. I was a huge fan of Dark Decent I had sky high hopes for this game but was let down so bad.. If i would have known that this game was going to be more of a visual novel and not a video game I would have passed on it..
During the first 45 minutes I loved the atmosphere and was actually enjoying myself alot, But after awhile I kept waiting for it to get better (it never did) The game had amazing potential!! But it just seemed the more you dug into it the worse it got. I felt like i was playing a watered down version of TDD minus the fun..If you are going to buy I would 100% recommend waiting for a sale, could not insist anyone to pay $20 for this.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013If you want a horror game or a sequel to Dark Descent, this is not it. Use your $20 on Outlast.
If you want a darker version of Dear Esther, then A Machine for Pigs is pretty entertaining but get it when it's on sale for $5.
When Frictional games had set out to make Dark Descent they used their experience with the Penumbra series to make gold. They built on what worked in the 3 Penumbra games and dropped what didn't. It was like a lab for creating the perfect monster.
The problem with A Machine for Pigs is that the devs at the Chinese Room did not have this experience and it shows, hard. This game has some jumps but you will not feel fear while playing it. If you see someone really scared while playing this on youtube, they are hamming it up for the camera to get ad revenue. The game tried to evoke disgust, not fear.
The Chinese Room also dropped many of the mechanics that make Dark Descent so good, which is probably one of biggest and most confusing mistakes imaginable. Everything was in place, why drop what worked? For example...
1) The insanity meter is gone. In Dark Descent this meter helped ensure that you couldn't look directly at the monsters and this kept them scary throughout the game. The pigs here will not scare you after you get a good look at them.
2) Puzzles are gone. Puzzles are challenging and rewarding when you solve them. A Machine for Pigs is not challenging in the slightest. A Machine for Pigs is also highly scripted and as on the rails as you can get (a la Dear Esther). There's little in the way of exploration, you are essentially moving forward on a linear path turning wheels and hitting switches as you bump into them. In Dark Descent you had to have some idea of why you were doing these things, not here.
3) Your torch lasts forever. Having to limit your use of the lantern in Dark Descent game the game a sense of urgency and impending doom (aka if I run out of light I am dead).
The things that made this game enjoyable are also what made Dear Esther kinda fun. Good voice acting and music. Excellent visuals (albeit on a dated engine) and visually distinct areas made for nice variety. The story is also cool. So it's a nicely packaged visual story but don't expect anything remotely related to your experience during Dark Descent.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013I've been waiting for this game for a looong time, and its built up a lot of hype. And this game just falls flat on its face. I'm just gonna keep this short:
There's no pacing, it's extremely linear, mechanics such as sanity, lamp oil and tinderboxes have been completely removed from the game, the pig monsters are much more dull and easy to escape, the puzzles haven't evolved a bit since the previous game, no inventory, and above all it's poorly optimized.
Did I also mention it's made by the team behind 'Dear Esther'? There's no need too, because it feels EXACTLY like it. This isn't horror. This is just a quick (really quick; as in 5 hours quick) stroll.
This game has devolved more than it has evolved.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013This is Dear Esther 2. Not amnesia. Most of the gameplay elements from the first game has been removed. They try to make you scared by making you lantern blink but this just spoils the moment of surprise
Sep 11, 2013Perhaps I'm just not a fan of the work that The Chinese Room does. What was supposed to be an 'interactive horror story' is really nothing more than a walk through dark and empty maps with nothing to do and not much to be scared of. By the last hour I found myself running through the rest of it wondering when it would be over because I was starting to get bored. I generally like the idea behind this game, the story, the setting, the enemies, it's cool and all but the short length and few enemy encounters, and all the mechanics they took away from the first amnesia really left me scratching my head. It feels incomplete to me, is the best way I can describe it.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013Dear Esther 2 aka Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. What an waste of potential. If this would be made same way as the original, but with its own layout, it would be a big hit. Unfortunately thechineseroom have no visions of pleasing loyal fans of original Amnesia and Penumbras. It seems that they didn't even want to make spiritual successor to original one. Frictional Games has put itself in place similar to as when down syndrome child gives you painting, you are just not allowed to say, that it's piece of This game should not have anything to do with Amnesia brand. One point for partially improved visuals.… Expand
Sep 13, 2013This game shouldn't be exist. the chinese room ruin the good name of this brand. I don't know why Frictional decided to give his game to another team, but the result is a disaster. Amnesia: a machine for pigs is the worst sequel you can imagine.
Sep 17, 2013my previous comment is pending to be revised sooner or later. my previous comment is pending to be revised sooner or later. my previous comment is pending to be revised sooner or later.
Sep 11, 2013Very short, you have to read to understand the story, invisible archenemy, stupid monsters...
Honestly, there is no exploration benefits nor places where you can hide from the monsters, because you dont need it. The game takes only 3 hours to play through and there are only a few scary moments...
It is a great game, no doubt. But it is not Amnesia
Sep 11, 2013This game is not even worth checking out, its not even close to the first amnesia, all the jump scares are cheap, and the monsters AI is stupid, wish I could get my money back, 0/10 would play again.
Sep 11, 2013Amnesia: A machine for pigs is a disgrace to the original Amnesia. Why the hell did they have to join forces with The Chinese Room? Dear Esther was a tech demo, not a game and they forced their way into this game basically ruining it. There are no mechanics: the game is just a scary tour. And the worst part is its not scary, not even close to The Dark Descent. The story is boring, you don't feel like you are in the main character shoes, you just push WASD and avoid 2 or 3 ridiculous monsters, face the same water monster as in the first game, sprinting for like 5 seconds in a straight line, and just running through the game like its was a chore after half of it. Amnesia: The Dark Descent scared the crap out of me, challenged me with esploration, resources management and enigmas. I actually had to read the notes. Amnesia: A machine for pigs most amusing moment was grabbing pigs and throwing them. I cannot bother to read the notes and I am not scared or even interested in whats going on. This is a failure and I hope the guys at Frictional Games understand they will not be able to sell again many copies riding the hype that came with the name and the youtube abuse of the game. I hope they take the full brunt of our disappointment and change path if they intend to go for a third Amnesia. Don't dumb down your game, don't strip it of the mechanics that made it good. We are gamers and we want to play, if we wanted to watch a horror movie we would've gone to the damn movie theatre!… Expand
Sep 11, 2013I understand that atmosphere and everything, and how it has a great "literary" experience. But.. I don't really play a game to read for hours. And a lot of the time you have to sit back and re-read to even understand what the stuff is trying to say to you. And the constant noise... oh my god. Is that ever annoying. I don't understand why they thought putting a million different "scary" noises would do anything... it only serves to annoy the crap outta me. Otherwise... its not the dark descent. I'm sorry, but I started playing amnesia because it was SCARY and the puzzles were actually challenging. Its none of the above anymore. Yea, atmosphere is nice... but I wasn't expecting to play a dark version of dear Esther... I can't even build my cool forts with boxes to hide from monsters anymore. I'm still going to play it... but i'm not going to be as happy as dark descent made me.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013I've been looking forward to this for a long time, but I have to say it's my biggest gaming disappointment of the year. This game is not really worthy of the name Amnesia at all as its just so different and in my opinion not in a good way.
They have removed several gameplay mechanics of the original and replaced them with, well nothing actually. You can't manipulate the environment at all unless its puzzle related, of which you just bring an item to a certain place or pull levers to progress. In-fact, there isn't much gameplay at all now. Its a very linear short experience, around four hours at best.
The horror aspect basically now relies on jump scares, shaking the screen, and loud noises, something the original never had to resort to. In fact once you realise how terrible the monsters AI is after the first few encounters and how bad they are at actually catching you it isn't even scary anymore, plus your warned whenever a monster is nearby by your flashlight flickering. There's also only about 5 places in the entire game where you can actually even be chased.
The only good points I can say about it, is the storyline isn't that bad, it has a good soundtrack, sound assets and the atmosphere in general is good up until that point you cease being scared for the above reasons anyway.
All in all though a huge disappointment.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. j'ai vraiment était déçu par ce nouvel Amnesia, que dire si ce n'est que je me suis ennuyé quasiment tout du long, je m'attendais a chié dans mon froc, et au finale rien du tout le jeu ressemble plus a un jeu d'énigme qu'a un jeu sensé faire peur, très linaire et énigme facile, des tonnes et des tonnes de note a lire, qui en deviens lassant et que l'on fini par zapper. graphiquement il s'agit du même moteur que le 1er du nom, rien n'a était amélioré et déjà a l'époque le moteur graphique faisait sont age, alors a l'heure d'aujourd'hui je ne vous raconte même pas, la bande son quand a elle est pas mal, elle relève un peu le niveau, et quand a la duré de vie il ne m'a fallu que 3h pour finir le jeu, c'est court certes, mais déjà bien assez long, tant on s'ennuie et qu'il nous tarde de finir ce jeu pour passé a autre chose. Un conseil, si vous chercher un jeu ou votre caleçon s'en souviendra foncé sur "OUTLAST" bien meilleur a tout niveau.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First things first, the story of this game is really good and i really liked the ending. Okay, the storytelling was quite straight forward and it was kind of obvious, that the children were already dead, but there were also some nice plot twists and overall it was pretty good.
The graphics were also rather pretty to look at and they helped to build a spooky atmosphere.
But the huge problem I had with this game was everything else.
I think I should describe what I experienced when I played the game. Note that I did not read any reviews beforehand and just jumped right into it, expecting a game like Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
It started out pretty creepy, but suddenly I noticed I couldn't interact with anything. After five minutes of running around searching for something to interact with, I figured there was nothing. Okay. Perhaps people did not like that in "The Dark Descent". Next I found the lamp. I tried to open my inventory, but there was none. Then came the puzzles. Except there were none, just carrying item A to point B and pulling lever C. Then I saw the monster for the first time, whilst refilling my tank with something (oil? I don't remember what that black goo was). I was pretty excited and afraid when it started to bash down the door in front of me. I hid in the corner and faced the wall, hoping the tactics of "A Dark Descent" would still work. After ten seconds, the monster stopped the bashing and left. I was a little disappointed but went on my merry way. When the monster ran past me for the second time, I was scared again. That was the last time in the whole game.
And that is the biggest problem I had with "A Machine for Pigs". It was not scary. Sometimes I had the feeling that the monsters were afraid of ME. You just have to turn out your lamp and they won't even notice you. And when they do, run 6m and they stop following you. You won't go insane looking at them. The sanity meter? You have none. And you have only 4 encounters with those normal monsters in the whole game! 4! Why only 4? That is NOTHING!
Then came the waters of doom and the famous splooshers... wait? You just see them? You don't interact with them? That is right. It felt like a zootrip. Hey, honey, look over there? That is a tiger. And that is an imp. Ridiculous. But there is a chase with the monsters. You fall down a bridge and run over a fenced alley to a ladder. 10 seconds max. And the chasing monster is too slow to catch you even if you stop. And then it all went REALLY downhill...
You go to the surface after a long quest and... BOOM, pigmen everywhere! Excited? Don't be, they won't attack. About twenty of them and THEY DON'T ATTACK. Why not? That would have been great, sneaking through a burning, pigmen-infested city... but no, you have ONE pigman at the end of the level that chases you down an alley. After you trigger him. Or you just stop in front of the invisible "the pigman can see you"-line and look at him. Felt like being in a zoo... oh, wait, deja vu.
But after you trigger him he starts chasing you and... you can just turn around and run through him. I played bullfighting with that stupid thing for about 2 minutes, then I left him alone back in the streets. I hope he is alright. Was the best friend I had in the game And that was it.
No wait, I think there was a bossfight. Kind of. With two stages. The boss is a teleporting electropigman I s*t you not). The first time I barely saw him, because I already solved the "puzzle" before he could appear and he just burst into lightening. In the second phase he chased me through some corridors. I died once, because I wanted to see how many hits I could take from him (hoping he was a one-hit-killer like the brute). It took him 4 hits to kill me. Pathetic. By the way, I died once before that in the game against a normal pigman (for the same reason). He was weaker than his teleporting counterpart, he took me down with six hits. Yes, I am not making this up. Sadly not. But back to the endboss. He once had me cornered but I was saved in the last moments. By whom? By HIMSELF. He jumped into me and teleported away. Why did he do that? Who programmed that AI? And afterwards the game was over.
It took me about three hours a little bit more perhaps) to finish the whole game. It would have taken less time without the fun I had with the pigmen. Yes. FUN. In a horror game. Great.
Okay,I think I said enough. I am so incredibly disappointed. I waited almost two years for this. I was so excited I couldn't sleep the night before release. And this is what I got? Well, if this would have been called "A Machine for Pigs" it would have been quite a funny little game. But this had nothing to do with what I had expected of an "Amnesia"-Sequel. Nothing. Perhaps I should have done more research about the whole game. But this was not worth the wait.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013El nuevo amnesia no me pareció para nada bueno. Le quitaron demasiadas cosas y no agregaron completamente nada. Donde está el medidor de cordura, mi estado de salud, etc etc etc etc. donde está esa oscuridad infinita que me hace desear no avanzar. Ya no existe. ¿Por que trabajaron con los desarrolladores de Dear Ester?!!! por que?!! Los enemigos son demasiado estúpidos. El juego recurre a pobres movimientos de pantalla para asustar. El primer amnesia es una obra maestra, pero este deja mucho que desear. Outlast es mas amnesia, no puedo creerlo. Estoy muy decepcionado.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013TDD= The Dark Descent AAMFP= A Machine for Pigs Okay, so, I was waiting for the game right when it was announced, I think it was a year ago, it sounded great, Frictionl games thechineseroom would work perfectly right RIGHT?! I will start now. Music The music is decent, its not a masterpiece, but fits the "atmosphere". Voice acting: Voice acting alone was "okay" but it takes away the main thing that the first amnesia had the feeling of being alone.
Graphics: The first Amnesia had good graphics for an indie game in 2010- mediocre when compared with AA titles, but in the Machine for pigs the graphics are not even mediocre, theres a lot of recycled textures from TDD, that dont even fit in the industrial-like era of AAMFP.
Gameplay: Okay guys, this is the worst part..
I loved TDD for all the interactive enviroment, the inventory system, a light source the Lantern that always didnt have enough oil, but in AAMFP....YOU DONT HAVE AN INVETORY! No you dont, you just have a an upgraded version of the lantern with UNLIMITED "battery", you cant interact with the enviroment, only with chairs and some drawers, not even all the doors!
The monster: This is a little spoiler so if you still want to play the game skip this paragraph.
In TDD you were chased by a horrific human-like creatures, but in this game youre. chased. by. a. PIG!
Yes, a PIG. It isnt even scary and everytime you meet it in the game it just squeels the all time same sound effect and runs away..
Oh yeah, the story, I will summarize it in one sentence: You have to go turn on a scary machine.
Dont buy it, it isnt wort it, if you like a chllenging horror, go for The ol´silent hill games, but not this, its not even a little bit like the first Amnesia.
2/10 For music.
I am not even angry anymore, Im sad you fu**ed up thechineseroom.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013Where are the mechanics ?
Everything that made the first Amnesia brilliant was removed. You are left with almost no mechanics.
You can open doors, pick up notes ...and that's about it.
It's a dull experience with little to no mechanics, awful puzzles and overcomplicated story telling.
Sep 11, 2013Sorry about the low score but if you read you will know why
Well what can I say, I was worried about this game and thought it would be Amnesia exactly the same as the first one, now i wish it was. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is a game that has been streamed down as much as possible to give them a wider audience the puzzles are no longer puzzles, no sanity bar, regenerating health and no inventory.
The game lacks fear and suspense, you can now run around the enemies as long as they don't hit you 3 times your fine, you always know were your going as the game is so linear, so run forward and eventually a gate close on the enemies. everything is scripted, so no more random encounters which you had in the first game, which is sad. and the story is uninteresting you just wish it would end. fortunately the game is around 4 hours long and even less is you don't read anything
I don't have a lot of good to say about this game as even the graphics are poor, very low polly textured static meshes. you like picking up glasses or any object you can see and smashing them against the wall, well its been taken out.
overall i'm hoping this was just a spin off and this was just something just to keep us going until Amnesia 2 (if there will be) .
I don't like giving out scores but how much the game is worth so i give it a 5 Gbp (Pounds) meaning bear minimal effort has been taken to make this game and if it does sell well its because it has the name Amnesia in the title.… Expand
Sep 12, 2013There are lots of things that I could criticize the game for, but I think I can sum it up by saying this:
A Machine for Pigs entirely fails to be a horror game. It mostly fails to be a game. And as a storytelling exercise it is overly pretentious and poorly executed.
Sep 12, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs falls well below the standard set by Amnesia: The Dark Descent and it was not the experience that I was hoping for. I was hoping for horror like the sounds of torture victims being carried by pipes to prisoners cells that made The Dark Descent so memorable. I was expecting to see horrifying machines doing horrifying things to helpless victims but that is not what I got. I didn't get to see a human being turned into a Pigman which I thought would have been at least part of the climax of the game. Speaking of the Pigman I found this monster to be cute which is not a good quality you want in a supposedly terrifying horror monster. The story was average not great and left a lot to your imagination which like I stated before was extremely disappointing. There is nothing controversial about this game other than the mixed reviews it has been receiving. It is sad to say that Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is a completely forgettable game.… Expand
Sep 14, 2013A:amfp was marketed as an Amnesia game. Sold as an Amensia game. Its nice that it wasn't mean to be an Amnesia game, but you can't sell apples to people and then flip you wig when customers get pissed off when they discover you actually sold them oranges.
I understand FG and TCR are relatively new to the major gaming market, but welcome to marketing responsibility folks. I wish art houses like TCR could make really cool and experimental experiences without the need to worry about pesky things like customers and brand identity. But you know what, they sold the game for a profit, people paid money for a promised product, they got something different as evidence from the mixed reviews and now its time to sit down and think about not how you want to make games in the future, but how you market them from now on.
Overall good job on the game A:amfp. It was a good game. Wasn't my cup of tea as I still consider the story to be shallow and pretentious. The scares were intellectually cheap in my opinion. Using ambiguity recklessly, and relying on shocking narrative just doesn't do it for me. But the atmosphere and sound assets where phenomenal. In terms of marketing, really poor job guys.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013As far as i played a machine for pigs i can say this: It nails the atmosphere in any way. You are scared even if there aren't any monsters around. the voice acting is done well and the scares are from well done to amazing. its a small step backward from The dark descent. The ammount of stuff you can pick up is limited, and the diary pages are not voice acted. Overall this game has a very good story and a horrorfying atmosphere!… Expand
Sep 12, 2013This game was seriously crap. EVERY SINGLE THING on The Dark Descent was epic, this game was just a masterpiece. A little unknown producer made a game that was as mindblowing as Half Life for me, when I played it the first time. It was so detailed and the engine was created so free, you were able to throw anything around and pick up anything. It have been that little details, that aren't necessary for the whole plot but make a game more interesting and beautiful. I have to say, Amnesia The Dark Descent was one of the best games I've ever played. I was simply fascinated... I was waiting so hard for their next project, because I could clearly see how much better Frictional Games got with releasing ATDD, after Penumbra, they just got better and better. Then I bough this new Amnesia.... And I just couldnt understand how can Chinese Room and Frictional Games feel good with releasing this bunch of shi*! I start the fu***** game, and the first thing I see is an ugly intro, where i see some kind of lightenings that come out of a machine and look like it have been some crappy mod of one single person or if it had been a game from year 2000. I walk around and see that I can't take ANYTHING in this engine, only some chairs. I see that my lamp has infinite power... I see no inventory. No mental and physical condition. My reaction: WHY DIDNT U JUST USE THE SAME ENGINE AS IN DARK DESCENT AND MAKE ANOTHER STORY, THEN WE GOT A GAME THAT IS STILL 1 MILLION TIMES BETTER THAN THIS CRAPPP!!!!!! I mean seriously, we all enjoyed Justine more than this sh**. HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FEEL AFTER RIOT WHEN WE SEE A PIANO IN A DARK DESCENT GRAPHIC GAME THAT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS DONE IN 1 MIN. THIS PIANO WASNT EVEN 3D. IT WAS JUST A BIG BAR WITH WHITE KEYS DRAWN UGLY INSIDE. I mean i feel kinda kidded by Frictional Games with releasing this. How am i supposed to react when I Dark Descent graphics mixed up with some ugly, mod-like graphics that look like being released in a game from year 2000. I cannot find anyhing good at this game, for me this is clearly 0 points… Expand
Sep 12, 2013This is one of the most unique games ever created. Bold, daring and ambitious, although it has some debatable setbacks, it's essence is something you do not see in a video game. It is created and crafted with love, which is witnessed in the attention of the slightest details, every little bit of this game tells a story, shows us a full-blooded world. The only thing I wish was dread moments which were present in first Amnesia and Penumbra, which this game desperately needed. If that was included with some more polish with basic gameplay mechanics, and maybe some plot-point alterations, this would have been a perfect game.
Don't take notice of the consistent whining about lack of inventory, sanity system or puzzles; This game offers much more than those trivialities.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is a regressed, disgraceful, version of The Dark Descent and should be avoided by anyone expecting the same quality and experience of the previous title. Most of the game's functionality has been stripped and removed completely, such as: - Inventory and Item management - Sanity (Replaced with scripted 'Insanity' effects during events that last only a few seconds)
-- No Sanity potion
- Item pick-ups such:
-- Oil (Your lantern can stay on indefinitely)
-- Tinderboxes (Light as many candles as you want)
-- Laudanum (Health regenerates quickly now, no need for potions)
-- Puzzle pieces (You have to carry the items by holding them and walking)
- Most objects in the game are static and non-interactable. The only items that are interactable are puzzle-related pieces.
The puzzles in the game are non-challenging and provoke no intellectual problem-solving. Anytime there is a "puzzle" you receive a flurry of journals indicating what exactly you must do with very little effort on the developer's behalf to deceive the message. No challenge whatsoever.
No voice-overs for the journals or documents.
The lighting in the game is practically useless. I understand by keeping the game dark it creates fear and suspense in the player, but this is ridiculous. A typical light, such as a desk light, will illuminate an area of about three feat in diameter. There is no ambient lighting or bounce lighting. You could light 20 desk lights (which probably have at least a 40watt bulb) and still have a majority of a room pitch black.
The post-process effects are awful. They coat the screen in a thick green or blue colored filter that washes out all other colors and tints everything green or blue, even your lantern spotlight.
The AI pigs aren't scary. Not in the slightest.
The level design is built with linearity in mind. In The Dark Descent there were times where you would have to backtrack to a certain areas to ultimately be able to progress; that has been removed.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013When I heard there was going to be a sequel I was over the moon, until I read it was being produced by The Chinese Room... I thought, under the eye of Frictional it surely can't go wrong... Boy was I wrong.
This game is wrong on so many levels, no tinderboxes, lamp fuel, no real monster chases or hiding, no inventory, even the story is badly written compared to Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
I have been a very long time fan of Frictional, but I will not play another game developed by anyone but them from now on.
Save your money and buy Outlast and Amnesia: The Dark Descent instead.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013Yes, I played the original. Yes this is just as good. Where gameplay has been simplified, improved story telling has taken its place. Where jump scares have decreased, improved atmosphere and dread has taken its place.
It is not another Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
It is instead Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.
And thank you, The Chinese Room and Frictional, for that.
Sep 11, 2013The most frightening part of this game was the story line. Thanks to(EldritchW) It literally removes all valid gameplay from previous titles, There is no more resource management, no more insanity. At least 50% of the game in Penumbra was storing stuff in your inventory, using them for puzzels, this was slightly less focused on in Amnesia, and taken out completly in MfP There is no advantage to just staring at the monsters from
your corner in the dark and look at them move around.
Not scary at all what happend in all those months working on this game?
I barely scared once and after about 20 minutes of playing there was nothing left that could let me freak out!
If you want to laugh this is the best game for it!
Shame on you, chinese room and co.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game was a huge letdown for me. I didnt even finish it. To sum it up this is how I felt playing the game: Its halloween. The premier haunted house in your area is finally open. Youve been waiting a year to come here! Your last experience was very enjoyable and you cant wait to see the new and improved version. You enter, theres build up and more build up. Youre so excited! This attraction is about to get terrifiying any second! And then... theres an equipment malfunction and the power goes out. And for your safety they have to shut the place down and you have to leave. Thats what playing Amnesia:MFP is like. The original has a very special place in my heart. That sound you hear when you encounter a monster still gives me chills.I remember being in the prison and I was being chased by a monster and I was scared for my own life. No other game has done that for me. I love getting my friends to play the original and seeing the look of terror on their faces and having them say, "This is too intense man, I cant play this." This game is far from that. So much wasted potential. The best part is the intro. When nothing happens. The house is at least spooky and I liked exploring it. Once you enter the secret chamber in the cathedral the game goes to There are no surprises, no shock and awe. The environments are very linear and bland. The monsters arent threatening. They are just goofy. Pigs arent scary. The Monster animation is poor. Monsters are too easy to evade because the game alerts you when theyre nearby by making your lamp flash. The whole time I felt like I was playing some walking simulator with random earthquakes. The environment is constantly shaking whenever you complete a lame puzzle or it is used as a cheap scare tactic. Which didnt work at all and was very annoying. All the mechanics that made the first game good are gone. No tinderboxes or lamp oil. No inventory. And the worst part is there is no insanity or health meter. Big mistake. And the story isnt even interesting. I get the meaning behind it. But I dont care. I didnt want to read a novel or ponder about modern society. I wanted to play a scary game. The game made me jump once and that was because I was so bored I wasnt paying attention. The whole time I was hoping; praying the game would get better any second. That time never came. Oh yeah, and the end where all the pig monsters are released into the city was laughable. I felt like I was on a ****ty version of a disney ride. So fake and stupid.… Expand
Sep 13, 2013This game is literally a downgrade from the original Amnesia, truly disappointing.
The game itself feels way more linear, you don't have to do nothing else but move forward and solve the easiest puzzles you will ever see in your life and run from the enemies, hiding spots have been removed and the sanity system was also removed too. Interaction with the environment was something unique about the previous Amnesia, in this game you cannot interact with anything more than buttons and some props blocking some doors. It's also very sad that the health recovers automatically now, it makes you feel way more safer than in the previous game, where if you were at low health you would be constantly looking even in the darkest places scared looking for an item to recover your health.
The replacement of the lantern was a good idea, but it just shows how much they wanted to cut down the exploration, you don't have to look for oil anymore, not even for keys, the inventory itself was removed.
The story was good, but it's not good enough to cover the huge flaws this game had.
It's really sad to see how the Amnesia series has stepped down to this.
You can get this game for 20 dollars i think, it's not worth it. If i were you i would get it for 5 dollars at least.… Expand
Sep 14, 2013Machine for pigs was a huge disappointment after Dark Descent. They removed many elements, such as sanity, inventory and tinderboxes. You can't grab many objects as you could in Dark Descent. This is like a walking simulator, not a horror game.
Sep 21, 2013This game took very little effort and time, so little time in fact that I can't imagine paying more than 10$ Let alone 20$. -1 Not nearly scary as the first, not as grim or dark its literally lit everywhere -1 Way short less than 4 hours of game play and I finished it just a moment ago in 2 hours 30 minutes -1 No threats, I died once on purpose, that was all -1 Puzzles not puzzling at all, everything you need is located right next to you and journal tells you how
-1 Very confusing story and as you progress it gets boring and some of it makes no sense
-1 Ending, climax of the story was weak, very very weak and predictable
-1 No inventory, no combining, no oil no limited resources
+1 Awesome voice acting
+1 Amazing sound track
+1 Bacon! Couple of throwbacks to the first game
As a fan of Frictional's Penumbra series and Amnesia the lacking of puzzles and the shortness makes this less of a game an more of a mod on the old engine. You can't interact with 90% of the boxes and items like you could in the first and the paths are all straight forward.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013More Dear Esther than Amnesia... not for everyone's tastes, slow paced and atmospheric with great reliance on written story (notes, journal etc...). Some will love it, others will hate it but most of all... you will never know by reading a review... It's just not the type of game that even the most objective review would be worth taking for granted. I love it, it's a work of art... and I'll rate it accordingly… Expand
Sep 10, 2013This is an amazing game, great storyline the graphics are awesome. If you played the original Amnesia you won't be upset with playing this game. So many hateful comments towards this game.
Sep 13, 2013Overall not a rememberable game and wasn't what i was expecting. They got rid of a lot of things that made the previous amnesia and penumbra games great. They got rid of the puzzles. They got rid of inventory drops like laudanum, oil and craftable parts. They got rid of having to hide from the monsters. They got rid of the suspenseful music, and in the end the storyline was pretty mediocre.
If you want to play a good HPL interactive horror game try out the old penumbra games...… Expand
Sep 11, 2013A esta porqueria de juego le doy un 2 y porque el sonido no esta nada mal. El resto es todo basura, una autentica porqueria. Graficos de ps2 Jugabildiad basada en mantener durante 4 horas la W para avanzar y girar el raton en algunas curvas o esquinas. Historia que esta medio bien y que luego se va a tomar por culo. En fin una mierda de juego 56.000 VECES PEOR que la primera parte que s una obra maestra y otras 56.000 veces peor que OUTLAST.
BUY AMNESIA THE DARK DESCENT & OUTLAST.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013AMFP is not what i expected it to be. You dont have an oil lamp (runing out of oil) like in "The Dark Descent". Your lamp in Machine for Pigs wont go out.
Another thing which is very dsappointing for me is that you cant open all doors. This makes the game very linear. You always find your way.
In TDD you could open all doors and explore the whole world which makes the game more scarry too because you never knew what happens next. But now you just have "one way" and you can guess whats coming next. Thats why i'm totaly disappointed from "A Machine for pigs"
The Graphic is the same like in the first game i think, but thats ok.
My advise to you: Invest your money in buying "The Dark Descent". You have much more horror there and, whats important too, you can play Custom Stories. A Machine for pigs doesnt support custom stories and i think its not worth the money.… Expand
Sep 12, 2013The first word that comes to mind when thinking about Amnesia a Machine for Pigs now for me, having completed the game, is "Pasturized"
This is both a good and a bad thing. This is an amnesia that anyone can pick up, play, and be spooked by. There won't be any moments when you have to just stop playing. If you die you just get right back up again in the previous room. If you get attacked you can sprint past whatever's attacking you. The control is NEVER taken out of your hands except in a few key moments when there's no visible or audible threat present. Your character's sanity doesn't cripple in fear of the dark. You don't lose control and hear a heart start beating faster when gazing directly at a monster…
And let's talk about the monster. He's short, fat, and comes off as a little non-threatening. When I first saw the Pigman I actually thought of him as a really sympathetic character. And then he became a down-right comical character. And I really don't think that's what the creators wanted to go for in the least bit at all.
This is a game from the makers of Penumbra: One of the most terrifying survival horror experiences I've ever played. And a hell-of-a brain teaser to boot. These are the guys who made a game I actualy had to QUIT because of how difficult and unsolvable a puzzle was. And with Amnesia A Machine for Pigs I managed to complete the game on its first run, without having watch any let's plays, without any prior knowledge to the game or its puzzles, in just under 4 hours.
I kept asking myself: Is this the best tool engine they could have used? Did their scenario designers have enough trigger mechanics at their disposal? Because a lot of the jump scares and scary portions of A Machine for Pigs are triggered by just opening a door, or turning a vale: In fact almost all of them involve valves, switches, and ladders. There was one moment when the game's HELP TEXT actually managed to evoke some honest terror in me. When the game instructed me on how to RUN I was like "oh my GOD am I going to have to start RUNNING FROM SOMETHING NOW?" But that was the most true lovecraftian-style horror-invoking moment for me. And it came from just some help text Dialog.
At the end of the day, Amnesia: A Machine for pigs is good for a few jump scares, but that's about it. You might get more joy out of it watching people do a lets play in the dark and getting really scared by goofy looking pig men. That's about it really. One part near the end had my heart racing only because it was a maze with a teleporting monster inside- Pretty damn horrific! But at the same time I also had moments where I felt like I was playing Half Life 2- when the city was being ransacked by an army of pigmen. Normally comparing a game to Half Life 2 would be a compliment, but in this case it just felt really out of place. It's like I was a small cog in a much bigger story that was going on and I only got to see a few hints of it- mostly due to the game's low budget- minimal use of character models and it's attempt at making the user feel disconnected from the world. The over-use of the same animations again and again also bothered me.
The best kind of Horror in my opinion is the kind of horror that stays with you. Long into the night, after you've put down the book or game, your dreams are reminded of it, your subconscious is so drawn to the terrible consequence of it that it just ruminates about it over and over again- so it infects your dreams, your psyche, your soul- and changes you at the core, making you think about the world differently than you did when you first came into it… Perhaps even developing new phobias, new fears, of the dark, of tight spaces, of even silly things like Spiral Patterns or Children's Literature.
You know that kind of horror, right? Or perhaps you've been reminded of it.
The key, dear viewer, is that for every Pasturized horror game out there, we need another Penumbra- or an Anna, and in my opinion Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is not a diamond in the rough- It's a roller-coaster, you scream then you get off and it's over. It's just another poster on the wall of high-budgeted out-of-touch mistakes which forgets the message of the original and forgets about the entire concept of true, lingering, fear…… Expand
Sep 10, 2013Here is my review, i've just beaten the game and this is 100% honest not biased bullcrap like half the stuff is on here. ie. NO TINDERBOXES!?!?!?! 0/10
Okay, first off, the atmosphere, I thought was actually a tiny bit better than TDD. The surroundings are much more intricate, although it feels as if it was kind of borrowed from Bioshock. Overall, the insides of the machine/house are both creepy, steampunky, and nice.
Second, The enemies.... and this is where it goes downhill. So, I died once in this entire playthrough, and that was when I was walking down a hall and didn't notice an enemy spawned right behind me. The other times, I ran straight past enemies (even the boss enemy!) every single one... The enemies can do well to invoke panic, running around in a circle trying not to die while also trying to figure out a puzzle is extremely stressful. But in this game, it wasn't too bad just running past all the monsters, even in a narrow hallway. Compare this to TDD and you want to avoid those grunts if at all possible because they are evil incarnate. One of the most nervewracking parts for me in TDD was the Sewers, when you had to lure the brute away with a rock, that thing was terrifying, it was faster than you and killed in like one shot, and here you are, throwing a rock, then you run around the corner, only to realize you threw it wrong and you end up staring the brute right in the face (not fun mind you), there isn't really anything that scary in AMFP although there are a few encounters that bring about panic.
Third, The story, it was interesting, a lot of it didn't really make sense until I actually quit the game and thought about it. I still am a bit confused on if there are multiple endings or what and exactly certain aspects of the plot, so maybe we will get some more information in the future.
Fourth, The gameplay. This is it, this is the most griped about issue. This game is EXACTLY like TDD in terms of gameplay, same engine, same mechanics, everything. The thing is, for whatever reason, they left the physics engine in, but decided to make it so you can not pick up all objects. Sure there is a thing or 2, maybe some pool balls, but that's it. Nothing else. Which is a step back from TDD where you could barricade yourself in a room with boxes, or talk to an inanimate statue. Next, no insanity, no oil, no tinderboxes. This kind of takes away from the survival aspect, but lets be honest, the lights play a huge part in the game and oil and tinderboxes wouldn't make sense in 1899. However, the no insanity part really annoyed me, it was iconic and now it's gone. THE MAIN ISSUE is that the game is 4 hours long... at best. I took my time, read all the notes, checked every door, thought it took forever, nope... 4 hours. It seems longer than that, but it was 4 hours. I beat the entire game of Fallout 3 in 7 hours my first time and that was just doing the main story!
Fifth, the scare factor. The first half of the game is just buildup, you are sitting in suspense, you know it is coming, but you don't want it to. Suddenly the game hits you with it HARD every damn room is filled with the monsters. Only theres one major issue. Most of these rooms don't have patrolling enemies (Jesus Christ I was terrified that that was the case!), but rather simple scripted events where they walk past you and that's that. There are certain patrolling monsters but they are very few in number. The monsters are necessarily as terrifying as in TDD either, they look like a typical video game bad guy not some weird bipedal thing without a head and a sword grafted into it's arm, so it kind of takes away from the horror. Overall, the atmosphere and the sound work together to still make it terrifying, it's just that it isn't as scary as TDD.
Overall, if you look at it as the next game in the series of Amnesia... it's junk... if you look at it as a standalone game and don't compare it to Amnesia at every step, it's pretty decent. I give it 7/10 because I take off 1 for the terrible enemies, 1 for the short gameplay, and 1 for the linear story. It's still scary as hell, is a nice experience, and still worth $15.… Expand
Sep 17, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As an avid Amnesia: The dark descent fan, I am extremely disappointed with A Machine For Pigs. For starters, the monsters are laughably easy to avoid. Every time there was an actual encounter with one of the walking pigs, I could literally run right by them, be chased for a few seconds, and they would give up. In the original, the monsters would actively seek you out for a very long time, forcing you to run in the darkness as the terror-meter blared, and tremble in a dark corner as they approached. The fact that you can stare at the new pig monsters with no ill effects is another minus, for I'm sure we all remember the horrible repercussions of staring too long at a monster in ATDD (being discovered and promptly chased from here to Marathon).
The removal of the inventory was another major letdown. One of the best little features of ATDD was being able to pick up pretty much anything and investigate it, and possibly store it in your inventory. In AAMFP, you can pick up a few chairs, not that you need them to throw at monsters since they don't really chase you. Removal of the need for light was also a terrible mistake, in my opinion. Without the need for light, the horror factor of running into a monster was incredibly diminished. The lantern in AAMFP even flickers to let you know that there is a monster nearby! The few jump scares involving the pigs ended with no chase, no continuation of the feeling of dread, no follow up monster. Just silence and confusion on my part.
On the plus side, the story was fairly good. I absolutely loved Mandus' character and the way the plot unveiled, but it was a bit predictable. After the experience of realizing that Daniel was torturing people in ATDD, finding out that Mandus was the saboteur and the inventor of the Machine wasn't that shocking, just kind of "Oh, yeah. I thought so."
In addition, the game kept crashing on me in the middle of the most tense moments, causing me to quickly loose interest and immersion, whereas ATDD told me how to play the game for the best effect and ran smoothly on the highest graphics settings.
Not worth the $20 I spent on it.
Pros: Soundtrack, first 1/2 of plot, graphics
Cons: Monsters, lack of inventory, no environmental interaction, weak last half of plot, everything else… Expand
Sep 23, 2013This game is a disappointment. The developers have forgotten that they were creating a game for their customers; a game is more interactive than this walk-through, which only has a few boring puzzles. Instead, what they have dumped on the customer is their attempt at writing a poorly told short story and expecting you to pay for something they consider 'art'.
This is not art and it's not a good story. If a book editor were to review the text, so much of the material would have been deleted because it doesn't add anything to this amateurish effort. Certainly, no editor would have published this as a novel or novella, so the game publishers would have to resort to self-publishing. And the game developers did just that. They have self-published some bad fiction and disregarded good game development.
I'm not exaggerating when I say this story is bad. It can be summed up in a few sentences: "Oh God, I'm so tormented," "Oh God, I'm so tormented," restate background information with different prose, throw in enigmatic monologue and information and have the main character think about the same information, again and again. Most of this story is just static word pictures and it's often told in flashback (zzzzzzzzz). You, the gamer, and Mandus, the main character, never really do anything.
So now, I'm having a bad flashback, recalling the moment when I had purchased and played this boring game. I wail, gnash my teeth and pull my hair. Falling to my knees, I pray this bad game might get better. With tears and hope in my eyes, I look at the monitor but there is no change; Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is still a terrible game and a boring story. Oh God, I'm so tormented!… Expand
Sep 14, 2013I am really disappointed from this game. There are only several times when you are scared (one or two), and the riddles are really easy. The game is really short, about 4 hours long, and an hour of it is just the start, which doesn't include nothing. The game doesn't have the sanity system and inventory, and the lantern doesn't run out. Only when you finish the game you feel that you only started, which is really bad. I am deeply disappointed from the game.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is completely different from his great predecessor and from the Penumbra series. The gameplay has been greatly simplified, the interaction with the environment has been reduced and the scary atmosphere is less intense than in The Dark Descent.
Personally I don't like the vision which has The Chinese Room of a game as a "walking adventure"... And unfortunately that's what A Machine for Pigs really is.
The game is way too easy for being a survival horror game, and the enemies AI is worse than what we have seen in The Dark Descent. The gameplay has not been improved during this three years of development, resulting in a slow and boring gaming experience.
However, the soundtrack composed by Jessica Curry is simply great and it blends perfectly with the story which is quite engaging, even though I have found it way too complicated and pretentious.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013After completing the game in just 4 hours I have mixed feelings about it.
Let's start with the game's strong points. First of all, even though the graphics might not be the best, the atmosphere is overwhelming, like it should be in a horror game, but apart from that there are only a few moments in the game that you get scared and most of the time they don't last for a long time (it's either a sudden loud noise, or a door slamming in your face). The story is well written, even though I personally didn't like it that much, so I guess that's a plus as well. Finally, the soundtrack is really really nice and it's probably what I enjoyed the most in my playthrough.
While the above are probably enough reasons for somebody to buy the game, allow me to mention its main weaknesses. First of all there is barely any "gameplay". Apart from a couple of fairly easy puzzles (like moving an object from 1 place to another and activating some switches) there is not much more you do in the game. Personally, I remember maybe 2 instances that I actually had to sneak past a pigman and about 2-3 more that I got chased by some larger enemies and actually took some damage. That is all. The adventure element isn't exactly there either. You don't even have an inventory, so it's more like an exploration game interactive story, which this makes it an easy game with no real replayability.
Overall, I wouldn't say that the game is really bad or really good. Some people will love it, some people won't like it at all. My rating would be a 6.5 if I could give that, since the weak gameplay kinda ruins it for me.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013If you're willing to accept the fact that not everything is the same as TDD, then this game will suck you right in and won't let go. Otherwise, you might be disappointed.
Sep 12, 2013For having an extra year than the planned release date, this was an utter disappointment. I've never even felt so strongly to write a review before but this game was absolutely abysmal. I finished it in 3.8 hours, encountered a couple monsters, and never died. There were zero scares, which means this, as a horror game, is terrible. I am a huge fan of horror games also: the first amnesia, nightmare house 2, cry of fear etc. This game doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the presence of those games. Biggest waste of $20.… Expand
Sep 14, 2013How can you develop a game for so long and have 4 hours of gameplay as the result? I mean, if those 4 hours were the most intense of my gamelife then alright, I'd pay for that. But this game delivers 4 hours of straight walking through the same boring scenery again and again. It's like going into some horror house at the fair. Wow, I was sooooooo shocked. Story wasn't captivating at all and the brutality and abominations of Amnesia: Dark Descent not even reached by a tiny bit. Worst game of 2013 confirmed. Don't buy unless you like to "play" a dumbed down version of the true Amnesia.… Expand
Sep 11, 2013If you're looking for Amnesia with more stuff, you won't find it here. AMFP is a different game, with its own strengths and weaknesses.
Pros: Very atmospheric, excellent soundtrack and sound in general, good voice acting, some of the puzzles are well thought out and you have to be observant and manipulate the environment correctly to solve them. Also, the story is in my opinion better than the first game, although the villain's motivation is grade-school levels of simplistic (people suck, let's kill everyone), but at least it's well presented and comprehensible.
Cons: Highly annoying blue tint glow makes the game tiring to the eyes, it is stripped of all gameplay elements apart from puzzles and a couple of chases, the new lantern lights about 2 feet ahead of you so it doesn't really do much and makes it hard to even look at a lot of the artwork that the devs clearly put a lot of work in, which is a shame. The game is about 3/4 as long as the first one, it is also not very scary.
AMFP won't please everyone and is rather short, but it's enjoyable while it lasts, it's very atmospheric, well presented, polished and presents its story well enough. It's not extraordinary, but worth the price in my opinion, and it's waaaaaay better than embarrassing trash like Slender.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013One has to acknowledge that this game was produced by a different studio with only Frictional Games finishing the game off (tweaks, polish etc) so of course there is going to be a lot of differences. Just because it has the same name doesn't mean you have to then expect it to play exactly the same.
I like the new direction myself as I feel it is more realistic (No lantern in the world uses up all its oil in a space of a few minutes) and why should the dark make you go insane exactly (the noises and breathing are enough)? It just makes more sense to get rid of those game fillers and to concentrate more on the journey through this world without having to fumble about searching for some more oil because you are about to run out.
I've played for an hour and if you immerse yourself into this world you can have a lot of fun. Always curious about what is behind the next door, or through a secret passage. I will update as I go, but so far I think it is a solid game that has a lot of good qualities that certainly outweigh the negatives and therefore gets my recommendation! Must be played in the dark with a good pair of headphones!… Expand
Sep 11, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game gets a C+... but it should have been an A.
Mechanically, musically & atmospherically 'a machine for pigs' is perfect. But what wins the game its C+ is its confused, unorganized writing & story. From what I understand, the crew at frictional sacked their old writer (or writers) from 'the dark descent' for dan pinchbeck the guy who wrote for the indie adventure game 'dear esther.' and, as someone who has played 'dear esther,' I can tell you... the writing in that game is not very good.
as I was playing 'a machine for pigs' I developed several questions, none of which were satisfactorily answered. pretty much all of them had to do with the basic parts of the plot, such as:
- why are there secret rooms in my house? are these to spy on my own wife? my children? why?
- why did I begin the game in my bed, which was surrounded by a cage?
- who let me out of the cage? and aren't I mandus, the boss?
- for that matter, why did I build 'the machine'? what is its purpose? is it to collect the vitae and become immortal (like alexander of brennenburg in 'the dark descent')? to bring my sons back to life?
- I do not understand the character of Mandus, his saboteur alter-ego, or the evil mandus which is personified by the machine. none are really explored or have their motives explained. and this is very important because if you're going to have these 'different manduses' having conversations with each other, they need to be distinguishable.
- what happened to my sons? my wife? I seem to understand that they died but why is this not more clear to me?
- for that matter, why am I an amnesiac in 'a machine for pigs'? was amnesia a necessary plot element to keep?
- what the hell happened in mexico? how did it affect me? this is not clear.
- and who is the professor? why do I speak to him on the tapes?
I'd also like to add:
- there were too many notes. 'a machine for pigs' must have had 4x the notes of 'the dark descent' in a much shorter game. and all of them were filled with extraneous nonsense, couldn't keep on topic.... and somehow still failed to explain to me even the basic parts of the game (see above).
thinking about it now, this game really pisses me off. why? because this should have been even better than amnesia. I understand the vision they had: the vitae alexander strove so hard to collect in 'the dark descent' (which he used to become immortal) is being collected in this game now on an industrial scale. but, like alexander found that animals were a lackluster source of vitae, so, too, in 'a machine for pigs' mandus finds it necessary to extract the vitae from humans. here then come implications of a conspiracy, in which murderers are hired to bring in dead bodies. in which graves are robbed of the recently deceased. and in which imbeciles are brought in from overcrowded mental hospitals. then, the machine is unleashed over all of london in an orgy of horror. but, when this happens its constructor, seeing his own wickedness, decides to the destroy the machine. but this whole vision is exectued poorly. the writer and the producer are at fault here. everyone else did their job.… Expand
Sep 10, 2013Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs is an okay game, with no cheap jumpscares, scary moments, and a frightening atmosphere. It's not as scary as Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Nothing will beat that. It has some problems with shadows. But! It's hell a' scary when you play it. You encounter pigs. Not normal pigs. But buffed up, HUGE pigs.
Sep 17, 2013I come bearing sad news, gentlemen.. I've now played through the entire Machine for Pigs story, and I have found only sorrow. While Frictional Games has been doling out games full of delight for some time (Penumbra Series & The Dark Descent were amazing!), they have finally released a dud. I can't tell you all how sad and wrong I feel saying this, but it's true. I'll try to explain my reasoning as clearly as possible.
Down to Bidness: Why is this game getting bad reviews? What should veteran players know before buying?
1. Painfully linear. The Dark Descent had a great map. You'd travel through great halls, small caverns, and terrifying corridors, all in search of the secrets behind the castle and its.. residents. While it was linear, it didn't 'feel' linear. Well, A Machine for Pigs really tried to stick with this equation. However, I ended up feeling like every room with a puzzle was simply built at random, with no reason for the randomness other than keeping you there a little longer. It almost felt like the rooms were built to extend game time, and confuse! I asked myself about 1/3 into the game... "Where's the elevator or stairwell in this place? This isn't efficient at all!" I couldn't 'place' myself there, because it was such an unrealistic build.
2. Very little narration, creating a disconnect between player and storyline. I really tried to get into the story, because Dark Descent was simply captivating. Well, don't expect awesomeness in this one. The scariest parts were at the beginning, and they're few and far between afterwards. They tried to keep the story deep, but in the end, they must have decided to focus on other game elements.
3. "6 Hours Played" on Steam. That means it took a maximum of 6 hours & 59 minutes to beat the game. I picked A Machine for Pigs up the day it arrived, because I loved all of Frictional Games' past titles. I played it for a night, put it down about half way through the game, and asked myself, "Why bother?" Well, I had faith in Frictional, so I decided I owed it to them to play through it entirely. Upon finishing it the next day, I felt really frustrated that I had wasted my money, uninstalled the game, and tried to wipe it from my mind as well. It had no depth. You simply walked through spoooooky rooms in order to complete easy puzzles to complete this lazily-described mission which you were not invested in... It broke my leetle heart.
4. My greatest disappointment: No more tinderboxes, and your lantern has unlimited oil... Can you believe that? These items were the one thing that made searching through drawers and side rooms interesting. There's no longer a point in going off exploring, because you won't find anything of value.
5. It's just not as scary. Frictional Games seemed to focus this game more on shock horror than the fear of the unknown. A Machine for Pigs felt like a one-trick pony.
6. Physics were 'dumbed down' from Dark Descent. Did you enjoy throwing such items as bottles, plates, and statuettes in the first Amnesia as much as I did? Well, prepare for disappointment. Throughout the game, you can pick up very few random items past chairs. Why?
7. No more inventory system. You can no longer pick up and hold onto items in your backpack that may be helpful later in the game. You pick items up with your cursor, walk them through a room, and that's it. No more health/sanity meter either. Nothing.
8. No sanity meter no character freak-outs. I don't know if this was a glitch on my system, because I want to believe it was... But the main character rarely freaks out. You have no real need for the lantern, or lighting up rooms. You won't start to hear cracking eggshells, nor will the screen get blurry, with heavy breathing coming through your character's lips. This was such a valuable element from Dark Descent.
9. Everything is really dark. It just doesn't look as pretty as the first Amnesia, since you must use your lantern to see any colors past this blue/green/black filter they've added. You can change the gamma, but you'll never stop squinting to see what's in front of you. You won't care to by the end, because there's little to see in any case.
Conclusions: It felt like a console game ported to PC! It felt dumbed down. It's strange, but it felt like I was playing Bioshock with how it was set up. It played like a clunky Bioshock, minus guns. This game is a far cry from its predecessors. It seems thrown together, and created simply to make money, while the 'Amnesia' stamp promised us all greatness.I'm beyond disappointed, since I trusted Frictional Games with $20. I will certainly buy their next game whenever it releases, because Frictional Games still deserves it in my book! However, not until I see positive reviews. I hate to be harsh, but A Machine for Pigs was a waste of my hard-earned money, which is becoming increasingly difficult to come by nowadays.
I yearn to see the positives of this game, but truly, it's a step backwards.… Expand
Sep 20, 2013Part of the problem with most horror game reviews are simply they are rushed through just to get the review finished with. Put on your headphones, isolate yourself from other people, turn off all of the lights, and play A Machine for Pigs. After playing this game in that kind of isolation, as it should be played, (who would want to watch a horror movie or play a horror game in broad daylight anyways?) what I got from this game was a constant feeling of dreadful anxiety.
A Machine for Pigs is different in the sense of mechanics from The Dark Descent, but it terrified me more than the original title. The sequel takes a step further in atmospheric horror, giving you a horrible dread throughout the entire game. This is where it improves from the original. The previous Amnesia had its pockets where you felt like you overcame a situation and had an opportunity to breathe and relax for a bit. In A Machine for Pigs, you are constantly under an awfully frightening Victorian inspired atmosphere. The writing is incredibly dark and twisted, and the level design is superb. Plummeting further into the dreadful machine had me yelling out loud and screaming; the eerie machinery and loud noises is something that will always be a terrifying mechanism to use, which brings me to my next point, the music.
The music and general sound in this game is by far the best out of anything that I have heard out of a horror themed creation period. A large portion of the game I spent yelling for the loud, sudden noises to stop, in which most cases they did not. This is scary as hell, and so is this game's suddenly deathly quietness in some cases, where the sound of pressure is filled inside your head, making it feel like you can't breathe.
In conclusion, anyone who wants something to stay absolutely the same is not going to be happy. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is a game that changes from its predecessor and actually works and improves on the original. Sure there there are no tinderboxes, no sanity, and no lantern oil, but it is a more story driven horror title. A Machine for Pigs shows that copying and pasting game mechanics from its previous title is not needed to be an even scarier game.
This game took me just under six hours to beat with myself taking my time and immersing myself completely, which is a good amount of gameplay for a $20 game. Yes, this is a different experience, and in my opinion, a much more frightening one.… Expand
Sep 19, 2013It aspires to be an interactive story without an inventory or sanity effects and without the intimidating enemy's of the first the best the game can do to horrify is flicker the lights shake the camera and abuse the audio.
The simple and obvious fact is the amnesia devs sold out and outsourced large portions of the game to the dev team of dear esther, an interactive story can be great, but that's not what amnesia was and it's not what was promised.
Please skip this game, don't reward this kind of behavior grab outlast instead it has faults but it stays very true to the genre and brims with the passion and care of it's team.… Expand
Handing this off to The Chinese Room was a HUGE mistake, and I hope Frictional never repeats it. Dear Esther was awful- one of the worst gaming experiences of my life- so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that their sequel to The Dark Descent isn't much better. Points about the butchering of the gameplay mechanics and the failure to even come close to matching the depth and emotional impact of the original Amnesia's story have been covered by other irate users, so I won't go there. I'd just like to express how profoundly disappointed I am by A Machine for Pigs (terrible, terrible title by the way- that should have been our first indication of how crappy this game would be.) The Dark Descent was my favorite game of the last decade. I'm just going to pretend like this game doesn't exist. All I can say is that Amnesia 2 better be developed by Frictional, and it better be really, really effing good.… Collapse
Dec 12, 2013A Machine for Pigs is a well made and impressive game with a thorough thematic design and atmosphere. As a horror game it is rather spartan yet brilliant in that it let's your brain conjure most of its horrors. Unfortunately it comes with a rather numbing effect that makes later parts of the game feel more formulaic and not as scary.
Nov 5, 2013With problematic pacing and a complete lack of the horror element -that was the highlight of the first game- A Machine for Pigs didn't meet our expectations.
Oct 24, 2013A perfect clash of Dear Esther and Amnesia, focused on straining your nerves while easing - perhaps a tad too much - on the interaction and gameplay. [Issue#234]