Slightly disappointed by Penumbra Overture

[flcn27]

Yes, that's right. I'm a bit disappointed by Penumbra Overture. The reason? I've already completed Amnesia so I guess I got used to the horror.

Apart from the first dog, I was never really scared. You quickly get used to the dogs and evading them is easy if you watch their patrol patterns. The spiders are annoying but not scary (imo). I've played for 2 hours but apparantly I'm almost near the end and I have to say that I expected more from the story as well. I was hoping to find lots of clues left by my father and explore a creepy mine. Instead I am forced to turn on the lights in the mine and there's even a person (Red) talking to me. This killed all the tension for me.

I still think this is a great game. It's just not what I expected. I expected to be trapped in a mine, feeling lonely and having no other option but to hide from the monsters and find an exit. I miss Amnesia already, where I had to hide in a closet and never knew when I would encounter another monster. In Penumbra I can always see the dogs before they see me and then I just wait until I can sneak past them.

Any suggestions? Note that I'm already playing in a dark room and with a headset. I found it harder to immerse myself in this game than in Amnesia though.
I also bought Penumbra: Black Plague so I think that game will be a lot more frightening . But I wish I could enjoy Overture as well, just as I enjoyed every minute of Amnesia.

[Brute]

You should keep in mind, that Penumbra was Frictional Games first real game. It is clear, that the physic and settings are not as good as Amnesia. And both are different games with different settings and engine.

But it is o.k, when Penumbra wasn't like you expected. Depends on the person, who played the game. IMO Penumbra was really scary, especially Black Plague. Don't know why. The atmosphere of an abandoned mine full of monsters should been scarier, than just an complex called Shelter. But I don't care. I had my shock effects in the game!

But Overture has a heavy atmosphere killer: The Fight System. (Bam Bam Baaaam!)
Way to easy to kill the dogs, don't you think?



But NOW you have the opportunity to create an own Penumbra in Amnesia using the Editors .

[flcn27]

Here I am telling that I'm disappointed by the fear factor in Penumbra. And immediately the game punishes me for it . I was looking at a map of the area (on a wall), then I turned around and there was a dog who was charging me. Holy shit that was scary . I think Penumbra has better puzzles than Amnesia and the story is pretty good. I just miss the ambient sounds from Amnesia, the tougher monsters (to evade and kill) and the hiding in dark corners/closets. Killing dogs is indeed easy so I try not to do that unless I have no choice.

I also expected a mine to be really scary but all the lights and the fact that Red is talking to you makes it a lot les scary because you know that you're not alone. You also know that you're essentially "more powerful" than the monsters (because they're so easy to evade) so the feeling I got in Amnesia (feeling underpowered) is gone.

I'm almost done with P:O and enjoyed it quite a bit, it just didn't meet my expectations. But maybe P:Black Plague will .

[Brute]

Ok.
I found Penumbra also very fun. So much opportunities for barricades and funny accidents. I remember when I first time tried the dynamite. Didn't notice, that I had left fallen it. What happened? Philipp gets ear raped!
And I also build rock traps to kill this freaking dog. Damn this was funny!


And the most f*cking epic scare scene was in Black Plague. This f*cking body in the kennel! Got a heard attack, you can't imagine this!

[flcn27]

(10-30-2011 05:46 PM)Brute Wrote:  Ok.
I found Penumbra also very fun. So much opportunities for barricades and funny accidents. I remember when I first time tried the dynamite. Didn't notice, that I had left fallen it. What happened? Philipp gets ear raped!
And I also build rock traps to kill this freaking dog. Damn this was funny!


And the most f*cking epic scare scene was in Black Plague. This f*cking body in the kennel! Got a heard attack, you can't imagine this!

Haven't played Black Plague yet so I have yet to see for myself
I just completed Overture. The ending was.. confusing. I appreciate the game a bit more than when I wrote this thread. I think I would've enjoyed Overture more if I played the entire Penumbra series before Amnesia, but oh well .
Those things sound like fun. I have to admit that I used ZERO dynamite, flares or even my flashlight. I just used the glowing stick all the time and that's it.

[Brute]

LOL Me too. I don't used the flashlight or flare, cause the glowstick was bright enough.
Well then. You now your next task, my dear student?
PLAY BLACK PLAGUE! And tell me, what you learned! Fits very well during Halloween, don't you think?

[flcn27]

(10-30-2011 06:36 PM)Brute Wrote:  LOL Me too. I don't used the flashlight or flare, cause the glowstick was bright enough.
Well then. You now your next task, my dear student?
PLAY BLACK PLAGUE! And tell me, what you learned! Fits very well during Halloween, don't you think?

Haha I just started it. Damn the start was already more frightening than all of Overture. Especially when I encountered my first monster. I was hiding behind the desk and praying that he wouldn't find me, just like in Amnesia . I'll post some more impressions in this thread!

Unfortunately we hardly celebrate Halloween in my country. They had Scary Movie 4 on the television and a local theme park has a Halloween theme, but that's about it.

[Brute]

Yeah Penumbra BP is very creepy at the beginning and more scarier than Overture. You will have more scare events soon, my friend...
Oh and when you finished this, you should play Requiem too. It is not scary at all, but it is important for the story and it has interesting gameplay!

[hollowleviathan]

Well, for me being stalked and talked to by a clearly unhinged and bizarre Red is no less creepy than finding the frequent points of recollection in Amnesia of Daniel chatting with an amiable Alexander. But yes, the dogs are a bit less frightening than the horrors in Amnesia, but even that is only because you don't know what drove them up out of the caves and made them look so diseased.

[Googolplex]

@flcn27
Penumbra's atmosphere is much more creepy than Amnesia.
In all terms, Penumbra is a better horror experience, more creepy and more puzzles.
Yes, Red talks to Philip. But in Amnesia are much more people talking.
Ane Black Plague is a pure nightmare!
In Amnesia you can't do anything. There are just you and the castle.
You can't really interact with objects and use the physics to solve puzzles.
You only have to go through the castle with some less easy puzzles, not really physics based.
Yes, it has some more horror elements, but Penumbra lets you feel more lonely and creepy.

@Brute
What you said is wrong, the physics in Penumbra are better than in Amnesia.
And the combat system is not an atmosphere killer, it improves atmosphere.