I realize that this kinda defeats the point, but...

[prator]

Can I have some advice on how to make this game less scary?

Don't laugh, I'm just a timid person who has trouble adjusting to the idea of walking around in a dark, cavernous dungeon full of things that want to kill me without a weapon. I played the demo, thought it was cool, and bought it... but now I'm too afraid to actually play. I keep remembering that doglike creature that savaged me in the demo, and I freeze up IRL whenever I consider turning Penumbra on again.

I really haven't gotten far past the material covered in the demo, having just reached the office in the first level of the mines, where that save-point artefact is sitting on a desk. It's kind of sad how happy I was to see that save-point after walking 20 feet from the entrance to the office door...

I don't know exactly why I'm affected this way... I've done FPS games before, and though I do tend to freak out when something beastial pops up onto the screen and starts roaring at me, usually my response is to fire wildly with any weapons I have at hand, which generally solves the problem. Only now I don't have a gun, and I don't know if this hammer is any good, and am not keen on trying it out... I have no problems with being sneaky instead of violent, but the idea that "if my sneakiness fails, I'm screwed," is kind of paralyzing.

I suppose I could turn off the creepy ambient music, and lighten the screen up a bit, maybe put on the Halo themesong for emotional encouragement... But what else could I do? What else should I know about this game that might take the fright off a bit? And is there a return policy?