As I took a look around the expansive sandy desert my plane had crash-landed in, I wondered exactly where the rest of my fellow passengers and the flight's crew had disappeared to. Surely, there would be some remnants of their bodies left behind if I were the only survivor?
Of course, Amnesia: Rebirth wasn't going to offer up all of those answers from the first moments I jumped into the game. If I were to make a success of my experience here, I'd have to put my skills as a player to the test through a series of surreal landscapes and challenging puzzles.
Onwards I pushed, looking for clues as to exactly how and why I had arrived in such a strange location. Deserts turned into caverns, which soon led to dark and gloomy expanses that would bring on visions and memories of a time our protagonist, new character Tasi Trianon, couldn't fully recall.
Developers and publisher Frictional Games have done well to balance the scares and the narrative so that the jumps come in moments you don’t expect them, but don’t terrify you so much that you’re taken out of the immersion they’ve done so well to build.
Whether you’re a man, woman or non-binary, the connection you’ll feel with your female hero is pretty much instant thanks to her being pregnant. Immediately, you’ll want to do everything in your power not only to protect Trianon, but the unborn life she holds under her palm, self-soothing by talking to her future child whenever she feels herself slipping into madness.
When those moments of dread come - and believe me, they’re in abundance - the terrifying setting envelops you entirely, forcing you to confront the demons that may lay in the darkness rather than taking your first instinct of running in the opposite direction into account.
If you were a fan of The Dark Descent, Rebirth will undoubtedly lure you in without much effort. The story here has stronger foundations, but the secondary characters that are introduced throughout the narrative do fall a little flat. Their personalities are thin and whilst we feel empathy towards Tasi, her relationship with Salim doesn’t appear to be fully-baked.
Gamers who can look past this and those who enjoy a classy horror should absolutely give the title a chance. It’s certainly one that’s going to stick with you for many days once you’ve reached its dramatic conclusion.
Amnesia: Rebirth is available now on PC and PlayStation 4. A code for the game on PC was provided in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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