EPT![[image loading]](http://i43.tinypic.com/2qdwx8x.jpg)
Penumbra, it made him piss himself. Twice.
Where to begin with this, let's see. Well, do a search for Amnesia on TeamLiquid and you are bound to come across several topics covering it, of people who have played it and their thoughts on it, etc. You have countless videos of "let's plays" on Youtube and people just being scared shitless in general from it. However, it seems like far fewer people pay attention to Amnesia's spiritual predecessor, the Penumbra series. Seeing as how I played through the Penumbra games the past few days, and as I am typing this, just finished Requiem no more then a couple hours ago, I suppose I can give a good enough opinion on the series. I also plan on giving some feedback on my personal experiences and opinions on the games. First, a little history on the developers of these games. I don't plan on spoiling much but I will be going over the story and the structure of the series so reader beware I suppose.
![[image loading]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pqPgu_2nsGE/Tr4H-7wXrxI/AAAAAAAABig/G-_QC9pDN4A/s1600/Frictional+Games.jpg)
Frictional Games logo
There isn't all that much to say about Frictional Games, They are a small two-man development team with music and narrative design performed by two external staff members, based in Sweden. According to Wikipedia, a total of 5 people work at the company. Before there ever was a Penumbra, or any game they had in production, they had a tech demo in 2006 showing off the capabilities of their HPL (named after H.P. Lovecraft) game engine. An enhanced version of this was later used for Amnesia. While it was never intended to be a commercial release, it was recieved very well. Frictional Games decided to develop the Penumbra demo into a full-length game.
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/37/Penumbra-2006-Tech-Demo.png)
Screenshot of the tech demo of Penumbra, from 2007
However, Frictional would end up making a trilogy of games. Penumbra: Overture was released in 2007, with the sequel Black Plague being released the next year. An expansion, Requiem, was released in 2008 as well and attempted to tie up loose ends with the story. I plan on talking about the major catagories that all the games have in common such as the story, sound, interface, etc. I plan of going a little more in-depth about each game since although they have alot in common, there are subtleties that makes each game unique in it's own way.
"I guess it's good to stick to what you know, and Frictional seems to be stuck, nailed, and rivited
to what they know, and what they know is how to make me poo my pants" - Zero Punctuations Amnesia review
Overview:
Story: Set in the year 2000, Penumbra: Overture follows the story of Philip, a thirty-year-old physicist whose mother recently died. After receiving a mysterious letter from his supposedly dead father, Philip follows a series of clues that lead to him to a mysterious location in uninhabited northern Greenland. The harsh cold forces him to take shelter in an abandoned mine. Unfortunately, the mine's entrance collapses as he enters it, and he is forced to move deeper inside. Over the course of the series, you learn about your fathers fate and just what is manipulating the environment and what the source of all the tragedy that occured there is coming from, an entity known simply as the Tuurngait. It is the cause of everything and at the same time, it sympathizes with Phillip but must be defeated and put to rest. I really wouldn't want to spoil some of the intricacies of the plot by explaining more of it.
Graphics: The graphics are pretty bare-bones and basic. Some of the monster animations like the worms are pretty decent. Once you get inside some of the structures, it shows off a bit more. The decay of the buildings really stand out, you get the feeling that this place has been relatively abandoned for decades. I have heard reviews say that the greyish look of everything kinda got old, but I think that was kinda the point. Everything is supposed to have a decrepit look to it, however the bland environments do get stale though. The lighting and shadow effects were fairly good on the other hand.
Sound: The sound is extremely well done, and compliments the environments perfectly. As you are just out and about exploring and avoiding enemies, you have haunting melodies to compliment it, reaching tempos that seem to give you constant anxiety about what's around the corner. Once spotted by something, the music instills fear and makes you just want to get away from wherever you are as fast as possible. Othertimes it is sort of mysterious or uplifting when finding something written down or finishing something vital to the story.The monster sounds also stand out. The voiceovers of the infected are unnerving to say the least. There is a part in an area with abandoned dog kennels and you constantly hear the bark of dogs once in awhile. The Grey Rock Worms give off this deep, loud, almost whale-like sound giving you a "holy shit, what was that?" moment. It does its job well of pulling you completely into the game. I thought the voice acting was pretty well done also, especially Red, although there was not much spoken dialogue in the game.
Interface: I think this would be more about controls and stuff like that. The menus are fine. I will say this, before the game starts you adjust the gamma, make sure this isn't too bright, please. If you can see the walls when you don't have a light out, then the gamma was set too high. Darkness in these games is everything and is crucial to getting the full experience out of them.
In the first Penumbra game you get a pickaxe to manipulate the environment, and defend yourself against dogs throughout the game. It is clunky as hell however. You press down the left mouse button to center your screen and move the mouse back and forth to swing it. Even though you have the option to fight, you simply won't because it's just better to save time and run than to get on a crate and swing awkwardly hoping to kill the dog within a decent amount of time (not likely because it takes quite alot of hits to kill). Luckily, this is only a problem in the first game, as you have no weapons in the 2nd game and no enemies to kill in the third.
It's also pretty unique in that you never really interact with someone else face to face. You hear the voice of only two other people during the whole series, and it just adds to the desolate, hopeless atmosphere of the whole series.
![[image loading]](http://megatile.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/eatitdog.jpg)
A rare moment of victory. If you see a dog, either get on top of a crate or run. Never stand your ground.
The physics engine is what really shines in this game, giving you alot of interaction with the environment. It makes great use of this in its physics puzzles that come throughout the series. The game never gives you any handheld maps that you can take with you during the game but a map of your current area are plastered on the walls once in awhile so you are never far off from finding out where you are. I thought they did a pretty good job with it.
![[image loading]](http://images.jayisgames.com/dora_penumbra_4.jpg)
You are never too far away from a map to get your bearings.
![[image loading]](http://cdn1.wsgfmedia.com/f/u/imagecache/node-gallery-display/penumbra200803052213267dy9.jpg)
Everything is on one general menu with the ability to hotkey certain items. Simple and efficient.
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/21/Penumbra-win-cover.jpg)
Penumbra Overture:
The first Penumbra game gets you started off decently enough. You are quickly thrown into the thick of it. First, the positives. It wastes no time in getting you into the story, and does a decent job of explaining the happenings along your journey. The atmosphere as I have said is pretty terrifying, especially since you aren't used to it yet. It doesn't ever get overwhelming though. This is when you first notice the tension in the game, and it does a great job of building it up and keeping you guessing as to when something will happen.
The main problem is the combat system as I explained earlier, and it's sorta unavoidable that you will have to be using it at some time unless you just want to run away from every dog you see (might not be a bad idea). If you choose to fight then you have to deal with the cumbersome point and click of swinging the pickaxe, which is not fun.
![[image loading]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T0FGJ8YiXOs/SSARhPSDSNI/AAAAAAAAAvo/KnJwkO81IfA/s400/PenumbraOvertureHoundDog.jpg)
Fuck my life.
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6a/Penumbra2-win-cover.jpg)
Penumbra Black Plague: The pinnacle of the Penumbra series in my mind. Gone is the ability to fight back, as well as the dogs. Instead we have the Infected patrolling around the areas. You cannot kill infected with the exception of a couple which are story related, so you rely on Metal Gear Solid style sneaking, figuring out their patrol routes and moving accordingly. Unlike the dogs in the first penumbra which were rather easy to outwit and distract, Infected do not fuck around. If they hear footsteps or some other noise, they immediately check it out. If they see you, they will chase you, far. Being chased by these constantly is one of the most terrifying things I have experienced in video games if not the most.
The beginning of Black Plague gives a short overview of what happened in the previous game so you don't really miss too much of the story. If you are going to play just one Penumbra game, definitely make it this one.
![[image loading]](http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111011232602/penumbra/images/d/d8/Worm.jpg)
The Grey Rock Worm in Penumbra. Otherwise known as, Holy Fucking Shit, Run!
![[image loading]](http://images.wikia.com/spongebob/images/0/0c/Alaskan_bullworm.jpg)
The Alaskan Bull Worm, related to the Grey Rock Worm? who knows.
[NSFW maybe]+ Show Spoiler +
![[image loading]](http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/9451/1077544-zombie_dicks_super.jpg)
In Black Plague, you face humans that have been infected with the Tuurngait virus. What's most creepy is that they speak, and knowing that it used to be human. If you run into one of these, just run. Far away, and fast. They also have bloody dicks. If it's any solace, they are only in Black Plague.
![[image loading]](http://images.wikia.com/penumbra/images/d/d8/608933-dd_pr_large.jpg)
Penumbra Requiem: I feel disappointed by this. It's really just a bunch of puzzle rooms with occasional tidbits of voiceovers and whatnot from previous games. There are no enemies to speak off in this game at all, the only way to die is from environmental hazards. While the puzzles provide a decent challenge, the story never really gets resolved. Playing through it didn't seem to add anything to the story and was a waste of time in my mind. I guess it's better if you enjoy physics puzzles and whatnot though. The ending is complete bullshit also. Definitely skippable.
After experiencing this series firsthand, It sorta disheartens me that not as many people have heard about it or played it. If you are into Survival/Horror games at all then this series should be a must play for you. If you are like me and don't like "cheap" scares, such as random shit popping in front of your face, then this is also a must play, even if you don't really care for the genre at all. This is not a game with cheap scares. It won't really send shit flying at you right from the start, it keeps the tension mostly constant with some small breaks that give you just enough time to catch your breath. These are not long games either. Combined, it took me about 16 hours or so to finish the series, not all that much of a time investment. Despite it's flaws, I still enjoyed it and would absolutely recommend the series to anyone who enjoys these types of games.
I think I might finally cave in and buy Amnesia after this. Also I thought I should share this as well, from the blogspot of Frictional games talking about the one-year anniversary of Amnesia being released, and how Penumbra was still ignored, quite informative. You can read their blog here:
Frictional Games Blogspot: In the Game of Madness
"As Amnesia gained popularity, we already had our Penumbra games up for sale. We were quite curious in seeing how these sales would be affected by Amnesia's success. As Penumbra is quite similar to Amnesia in terms of gameplay and mood, and that both were made by the same company, we thought that we would see a boost in sales and attention for Penumbra. Turns out that Penumbra was almost not affected at all.
The number of monthly visitors for Penumbra are still the same as they were before Amnesia. Same with sales; the monthly total is still a little above 500, which it has been for over two years now. The only influence Amnesia could have had is to keep the average up.
So why did Amnesia have no (or very little impact) on the sales of Penumbra? We think one reason is that main bulk of Amnesia buyers simply does not connect the two. While they are similar, the first look is quite different. Penumbra takes place in present day and Amnesia in the 19th century. Another reason is that whenever there is some exposure for Amnesia, Penumbra is almost never mentioned, so most people that enjoyed Amnesia never learn there is a similar game available."
