
User reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive (7,578 reviews)
Release Date: Sep 8, 2010


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About This Game

It is getting closer.
Something emerges out of the darkness. It's approaching. Fast.
Do you have what it takes to survive?

System Requirements

Mac OS X
SteamOS + Linux
    • OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
    • Memory: 2 GB
    • Hard Drive: 3GB
    • OS: Mac OS X 10.5.8 or newer
    • Processor: 2.0Ghz
    • Memory: 1 GB RAM
    • Hard Drive: 2GB space free
    • Memory: 2 GB
    • Hard Drive: 3 GB
Helpful customer reviews
354 of 388 people (91%) found this review helpful
9.5 hrs on record
Posted: October 26
Get Amnesia they said, it will be fun they said.
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256 of 285 people (90%) found this review helpful
31.2 hrs on record
Posted: October 3
I was constipated all week.
Then i played this game.
Would recommend this game to anyone with severe bowel movement disfuctions
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239 of 269 people (89%) found this review helpful
10.2 hrs on record
Posted: September 30
Pros: Not scary when there's no monsters nearby.

Cons: There's monsters everywhere.
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261 of 303 people (86%) found this review helpful
4.1 hrs on record
Posted: October 17
-Recipe for playing this game-

- 1 cozy blanket (2 is also good)
- 1 computer or laptop
- 1 installed Amnesia game
- 2 nice chairs
- 1 Dark room
- 1 willing boyfriend who has experience with the game
- 1 pillow or stuffed animal to hug (or the arm of the boyfriend, but he might disagree about that when he got puncture wounds from your nails after the first jumpscare)


1. Start up the computer, it may take a while depending on how good your system is. Use the startup time to go on a treasure hunt for the other ingredients. Also make sure that the room is dark enough.

2. Persuade your boyfriend to play Amnesia. It could be that he declines, if so, capture him with a Pokéball.

3. Wrap yourself and the boyfriend in a blanket and sit in the chairs in front of the Computer.

4. Now it's safe to start Amnesia, make sure you keep your distance.

5. Let the boyfriend play it, specially when he is experienced with the game, just sit back and ask silly questions which he probably already gave the answer to but you were too spooked to listen.

6. Enjoy!
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134 of 141 people (95%) found this review helpful
3.8 hrs on record
Posted: November 5
Click for Gameplay Trailer - Review
+ detailed equipped rooms
+ right light atmosphere
- simple architecture

+ good introduction to the game with help text
+ automatic notebook
+ objects stand out
+ many automatic save points

+ great surround effects
+ good english speaker
+ atmospheric music
- not all texts has voice output

+ clean inventar
+ interface does not disturb the atmosphere
- sometimes complicated

+ great tense situations
+ panic and helplessness
+ good switching between quiet and haunted passages

Game Size:
+ solid playtime
+ many different locations
+ 3 endings + 1 secret ending
+ nice physic puzzle
- not replayable

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is to date, the only game that has ever scared me. Not scared as in a short burst of shock, but in a heart-pounding, sweat-inducing, I need to stop playing so I can calm down kind of scared.
The player takes the role of Daniel, the main character who wakes up in a dark castle with no memory of who he is or why he's there.
That's the entire setup, and the simplicity of this concept lends itself brilliantly to the sense of isolation that Amnesia conveys so well. Completely alone in the castle, Daniel must contend with all the things going bump in the night on his own, with no map and completely unarmed save for a lantern.

It understands that the imagined far outweighs the known in its psychological punch, and it gives you enough audio and visual cues to imagine a very carnival of horrors.
This is every part the worthy successor, with considerably higher production values, bags more atmosphere, and a deeper exploration of the parallel themes of horror and insanity.
There's not a weapon in sight: it's all about the puzzles, exploiting the neat physics engine, combining items to apply to the environment, and hiding when the nasties come.
Spooky, shadowy castle rooms add to the uncanny feeling that something awful is about to happen any second. Most of the rooms provide subtle chills, through the presence of ruined walls, smashed-open ceilings letting in rain, and lone candles sputtering in the middle of lonely cellar chambers.
Going insane comes with interesting visual effects as well, including smearing colors, teetering camera angles, and bugs crawling across the screen. You never know what's really there.

Spend too long in the gloaming, and madness beckons. As Daniel's sanity starts to stutter, imagination plays merry hell. Insects skitter across your vision, the input-lag between mouse-gesture and action goes to hell, the ground lurches sickeningly, and you'll hear things – whispers, cries and horrid noises, one of which can only be described as someone pulling crabs apart.

Actually solving the puzzles shouldn't be too difficult for anyone who's played adventure games before. Despite the bizarre and often disturbing states of the sewers, morgues, and downright revolting torture chambers later on, the solutions often require you to collect a few objects and combine and apply them in simple ways. The game makes this easily manageable by confining solutions to set areas, meaning you don't need to worry about backtracking all the way to the start of the game if near the end you worry that a particular puzzle might require an overlooked item.

This is one of the scariest games in recent memory. The loading screen recommends you turn the lights off and play with headphones, something I'll strongly echo. It was without a doubt one of the most difficult, draining, and stressful gaming experiences I have ever had, but it's also an absolute masterpiece.

Your help is greatly appreciated :)

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120 of 129 people (93%) found this review helpful
35.7 hrs on record
Posted: November 12
By far, the strongest laxative ever made.
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84 of 89 people (94%) found this review helpful
8.2 hrs on record
Posted: October 26
Similar to the Penumbra games, Amnesia: TDD is all about atmosphere and storytelling. The biggest difference between the two series is that Amnesia does include more of the classic horror induced moments of being chased and hunted. Not that Penumbra didn't have a bit of that, but I'd say in Amnesia, there were specific moments designed to inject some action.

Overall however, the game is paced similarly. I could wander about, sip some coffee, read my notes and mementos and take in my surroundings.
This may sound casual but what Amnesia succeeds in doing is creating a sense of dread. Brennenburg Castle is a miserable place and rarely do you find yourself feeling too comfortable. When an enemy does discover you and then gives chase, it is probably one of the more scary moments I've experienced in a game. The music, the blurriness of your view, the sound of the monster chasing you...not to mention, when you do finally get behind a closed door and find a hiding spot, you then get to watch as the door is violently brought down into pieces. All you can do is hope you're not spotted as you stare at the wall (there is a "sanity" element if you're new to these games). IRL, I am guilty of some audible "gasping" during these moments. During one particular chase I couldn't find an adequate path to get away from my pursuer and let out a frightened yelp that I am ashamed to even admit. Though, it is important to mention that I allowed the game to get under my skin purely because it was better that way. I could have played it and completely steeled myself from letting it get to me (e.g. left the lights on, lowered the sound, casually approached the objectives), but what's fun about that? For me, nothing.

As far as the story is concerned, I felt compelled to move forward to find the next clue. I could feel a bit of excitement (or perhaps it's better described as relief) every time I saw a new note to read or completed a puzzle. Naturally I won't reveal any spoilers just in case someone does read this review.

I must emphasize that this is not a game full of jump scares and over the top gore. With that being said, there are some very disturbing scenes that you come across. I walk away from this game still thinking about some of what I experienced. Not just from the imagery but the story in general. Per the recommendation from the developers when you first start the game, play with the lights off, don't worry about saving and allow the story to drive you forward.
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125 of 149 people (84%) found this review helpful
66.9 hrs on record
Posted: October 7
All the dead people have real ding dongs, ten outa ten!
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104 of 127 people (82%) found this review helpful
58.7 hrs on record
Posted: October 9
The only person who is not naked in this game is you. 10/10 would stand on a pile of dead naked men again.
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39 of 39 people (100%) found this review helpful
38.8 hrs on record
Posted: October 6
I actually do reviews for games on Giant Bomb and PC Gamer... and one game I have trouble reviewing is Amnesia Dark Decent. It's not that I'm indecisive it's just, I can't find the proper words to ever describe this game. You couldn't possibly understand what this game means to me. You might like it and the horror genre would say it's a great game but to me it's more. This game single handedly restored my faith in horror games and got me playing them again. After Resident Evil 5/6 and after Silent Hill Homecoming and Downpour I stopped. Stopped playing, stopped reading up on, stopped caring about horror games. Resident Evil I saw coming but Silent Hill too? This mass appeal mindless action ♥♥♥♥♥♥*t needs to stop. Survival horror was the genre that got me into gaming and then I saw the genre just up and leave us fans for more sales from the Call of Duty players. Action is where it's at? As the head developer for Resi 6 said "Survival Horror games are no longer popular, we needed a new direction and new ideas" well guess what... Amnesia proved Survival Horror still has plenty of new ideas to bring to the genre and proved that the genre is not dead.

Amnesia is art.... it's artwork crafted by brilliant minds. Look past all the fun scary chases and the jumpscares, just look at the game. A first person game that doesn't have weapons? Yeah imagine that. You hide and run from monsters, much like people would do in real life. But if you break down the level design, the choice of imagery, the methodically detailed environments. You will see true beauty within. If I may quote some negative reviews here "water monster wasn't all that great of an enemy, he doesn't even have a character design. It's lazy...." yes they had limited resources however this isn't lazy design choices. The fact that you cannot see the water monster is more terrifying than any other creature in the game. It plays off your imagination, the fear of the unknown. Your mind subconsciously filled the blank with your worst fear which gave this monster so much memorability. The water monster is one of the most memorable moments, everyone talks about it and that's the reason.

After such a horrifying experience with the water monster, what happens? You walk into a well light room with a fountain that supplies the calming sound of running water, a hole in the ceiling with light seeping through (one of the first times you see the light of day in this game), beautiful music plays softly in the background and the room has a tint of blue in the air. This is no randomly designed room, no this is a reward. This is saying "Hey you made it through that horrible experience, breathe relax a bit. You deserve it" and that is something I haven't seen before. No stupid achievement unlocked, no legendary loot, no high score and no misspelled CONGRADURATIONS. In a game that plays on your fear and emotions, they reward with such. They made you crap your pants, now they're making you feel relaxed. And that means more than any achievement.

The story is rich and it plays along with the tension in the game. The enemies aren't scary on the level of a jumpscare but rather the fear of being chased. Jumpscares are cheap thrills, true fear is much harder to achieve in a gamer and much more satisfying for the gamer. They accomplish this in many ways. Never knowing what danger lurks beyond the glow of your lamp, the dark abyss continuously hunts you down, the monsters are not just some scary looking monsters for the sake of "boo look at me I'm scary" they're people you tortured and sacrificed for your own safety against the darkness, their disfigured bodies are representations of the guilt you bare in the deepest parts of your conscious despite suffering Amnesia you still feel it, led astray by someone you thought you could trust, no escape or easy way out the only path is down and it's bathed in darkness as you descend slowly into your past with each step you lost sanity, walls are shaking, the crackling sound of your own mind is louder than your beating heart as you're chased by a horrifying disfigured creature you created, the sound of screeching can be heard when they're getting closer letting you know how close you are to death.

Oh... jeez I... I can go on and on about this game. Hell I want too... but if this gets any longer it will be considered a novel. The best thing I can say about this game? Play it... please. I beg you if you're a fan of horror games, if you like being scared, if you like a good story or immersion or hell if you just want to play a damn good game; play this game!

This is without a doubt my favorite game of all time. The favorite game, not one of. That's hard to say, but it's true. I never game 10 out of 10. I always made fun of other reviewers who did, saying no game is perfect. 10 out of 10 is saying it's the masterpiece of all gaming and cannot be improved in any way, shape or form. However, I've seen my mistake. You don't give it a 10 based on some score that means nothing to anyone else other than you. You're giving it a 10 based on the experience the game gave you. And based on that, Amnesia The Dark Decent was given my very first 10 out of 10.
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56 of 67 people (84%) found this review helpful
11.7 hrs on record
Posted: July 27
"My name name is...........Daniel" and that's the start to this dark and totally engrossing horror game that grab's you by the scruff of the neck and refuse's to let go of you until you have finished it and seen all the horror's that it has to offer.
This is one game i had on my radar for a long time and one i had heard a lot about,either written or from friend's who have played it and the word's "CLASSIC" and "GENRE DEFINING" have been mentioned on more than one occasion.
But i allways take this with a pinch of salt and allways make up my own mind,but trust me when i say that the two phrase's that i just mentioned dont do this game justice as it is both of these and so much more.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Trailer - YouTube

You start to play not knowing much other than your name and that for some reason you are here to do something that will affect not only your life but that of other's as well,and as the game progress'es you will come to learn not only the nature for your being here but that of the scream's that haunt the castle you find yourself stuck in.
And that's all i will say on the story of the game as you should find the secret's this game hold's and the many twist's it take's on your own as nothing is more horrifying or scary as not only hearing but witnessing these thing's for yourself first hand instead of after the fact.
The sound and music in game is top notch and really help's in setting that "OH MY GOD" type atmosphere that a lot of games like this seem to lack,this is down to the work of the composer Mikko Tarmia without who's music the game would (to be honest) not have the impact it does.
He is currently working on Frictional Game's next project SOMA which i for one am waiting for with eager anticipation!!!!

Amnesia The Dark Descent - Soundtrack - (Mikko Termia) - 04

All the spoken dialogue in game is delivered to perfection as well by the voice cast and some of it just has to be heard to be believed as to how good it actually is (and for a game like this that's all about delivering a powerfull story that's what was needed,not some half baked ham handed attempt-"HAMMER HORROR" movie's anyone).
The gameplay range's from puzzle solving (finding items that are laying around in the castle) which can be quite frustrating as some puzzle's can be quite offbeat to running and hiding from the monstrositie's that pervade in this dark and forboding castle from hade's (a lot has been said lately about game's using this mechanic but here it suits the game and makes it more nerve wracking to play).

Amnesia The Dark Descent: Closet Hiding! - YouTube

So would you like this game and the answer is yes if you are looking for a classic and one of the best game's the horror genre of games has ever had to offer but if you are not one for this type of game and want something a little more action packed instead of full of story and an interesting and horrific tale then i would look elswhere.

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47 of 54 people (87%) found this review helpful
2.8 hrs on record
Posted: November 19
You go insane after looking at bald, naked men.
What even.
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24 of 25 people (96%) found this review helpful
7.8 hrs on record
Posted: November 17
Your enjoyment of Amnesia: The Dark Descent hinges almost entirely on what you expect to get out of it.

As a horror game, certainly what it’s advertised and probably considered by most to be, it shockingly comes across as rather...uninteresting. It does an amazing job setting a tense, foreboding atmosphere, layering on copious amounts of disturbing exposition and twisted imagery. And then sort of throws it away when it attempts to bring it all to boiling point and scare you out of your wits, relying on a sluggish, rather dimwitted monster which is rather less than frightening and scare tactics which all too quickly become predictable.

The sense of dread I felt when I first awoke in the mysterious castle that makes up Amnesia, was lost after just a few hours, as it became dreadfully easy to guess exactly when and how the game would attempt to scare me, no matter how much I kept hoping that it would reject my expectations. Picking up key items, opening a particularly unappealing door, or finding a note; Amnesia’s list of triggers is short and used liberally, making for an experience that quite frankly left me a bit annoyed at how little it managed to get to me. I was practically begging to be scared by the end, but aside from a few very brief standout sections Amnesia almost does more to set you at ease than it does to freak you out.

I say all this, and yet, Amnesia is still immensely compelling as something completely atypical of what I would have guessed: a traditional adventure game. Behind the gruesome imagery and very effective atmosphere, the excellent puzzle designs and exploration were what kept me intrigued and wanting to come back to the game. Though they’re often simple in design, there’s a rewarding logic to each puzzle that makes them unexpectedly enjoyable to solve. Frictional Games manages to make blind exploration and continual backtracking interesting and continually stimulating, with each area you visit being visually distinct and engaging, and often holding within contextual exposition that creates a great sense of place and causes the castle to feel far larger than just the areas you explore.

When you’re not solving puzzles, the disorganized narrative compels you forward, leaving you vague notes that give just enough information to make you want to learn more while rarely telling you the whole story until the very end. Finding the details of this plot are often disturbing and thoroughly unpleasant, leaving me feeling rather mixed about my protagonists actions but nonetheless complacent as I couldn’t leave this story unfinished. The flashbacks/hallucinations that your character often witnesses gives a look into how the castle used to operate, horribly inhumane and driven by some mysterious supernatural element, but all the same a place I wanted to learn more about if only so I could make sense of my character’s madness.

This madness is perhaps the game’s strongest achievement, distorting the world around you and causing you to see things that may very well not be there. Staying too long in the dark wears on your sanity, requiring you to ransack every room you come across so you can be sure to have enough oil for your lantern and tinderboxes to light candles and torches. I was a bit disappointed that these resources came in such large supply, as it made darkness less of a threat and more of an occasional hindrance to your view, but the mechanic was still engaging enough to cause me to pay more attention to the environment and as a result find things I may otherwise have missed.

It’s a little funny to me that despite being let down by the aspect that I expected would have prevented me from even finishing the game, what I found underneath it proved more than enough to push me through the game. If you’re hoping Amnesia will leave you terrified and sleeping with the lights on, you’ll most likely be let down by the underdeveloped, somewhat lazy frights found here. But if you can appreciate the game without those prerequisites, there’s an eerie and twisted adventure game waiting to swallow you whole into its brilliantly realized darkness.
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35 of 44 people (80%) found this review helpful
1.0 hrs on record
Posted: July 10
get chased by a bunch of bondage enthusiasts through an abandoned disney funhouse
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26 of 31 people (84%) found this review helpful
0.8 hrs on record
Posted: October 12
one of the greatest mind messing games i've ever played, and that is while i played it during the day, and at night a total nightmare , the sounds and atmosphere created will have you quivering in your onesies
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20 of 21 people (95%) found this review helpful
13.9 hrs on record
Posted: October 4
I enjoyed this game a lot! For the right atmosphere it is utterly important that you play it with headphones on in a totally dark room. If you don't, you are missing out. Recommended for all fans of the horror genre.
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24 of 30 people (80%) found this review helpful
65.2 hrs on record
Posted: November 5
The best horror game ive ever played. :D
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15 of 15 people (100%) found this review helpful
25.2 hrs on record
Posted: October 29
Amnesia : The Dark Descent is a blend of adventure game elements such as exploration and physic based puzzles in a horror themed environment. They complement each other well, as the places you wander through get gradually more terrifying, the fairly unconvoluted riddles help you ease the tension that can become almost unbearable at times. This is where this game shines, the pace is skillfully mastered, even if you have difficulties persisting in horror games you might very well finish this one. The design is tighly knot around exploration, lightening candles and torches to ward off the darkness, finding the scattered pieces of the story and a death mechanic inconsequential to your progress. The game manages to fill you both with a sense of curiosity as you descent further into the abyss to unravel its mysteries, and a sense of dread to what awaits you in its darkest recesses. You won't be disappointed by its climax.

Amnesia : The Dark Descent is a very enjoyable and rewarding experience, yet a highly unpleasant one, reaching that difficult balance each horror game aims to find. It lasts 7 to 8 hours, and there is the possibility to play custom stories, which I might review here as I go through them.
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14 of 14 people (100%) found this review helpful
11.6 hrs on record
Posted: October 30
Very atmospheric, very scary. Definitley play alone, in a dark room, with headphones on. If you're looking to be scared, you won't be disappointed.
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47 of 75 people (63%) found this review helpful
11.3 hrs on record
Posted: November 2
0/10 not enough tinderboxes.
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