should i get penumbra if amnesia scared the sh*t out of me?

[Adny]

Penumbra does not have pictures of men hung upside getting sawn in half. It has nothing as disturbing as the torture rooms, not really anything to compare to that either.

I agree with Googol in the sense that the Penumbra series was much more relatable; for me, that's a key part of the horror genre (at least if you want to truly scare someone*). The Sixth Sense for example: now every time I get goose-bumps (American terminology, I'm not sure how well that will translate to non-English speakers), I get a certain uneasiness. Or whateverthehell that movie was called where you check your voice mail and its the sound you make when you die, stuff like that is really personal and really gets in your head (I'm still uneasy about checking my voice mail xD).

* = When I say "truly scare" I mean instilling in someone a small fear that lingers with them outside of the game; something that can easily relate to a persons every day life and put them on edge.

Although Penumbra didn't hit as close to home for me, it still feels way more relatable than Amnesia. The torture part of your argument I will disagree with; yes it is rather disturbing, but no one from this century can relate to it. After throwing pieces of a human body into the water for the Kaernk to snack on, I didn't get much out of the torture part.

Things I am personally terrified of: large (feral/aggressive) dogs, and bugs/spiders. Those two fears alone made Penumbra way more personal and scary for me. I will also say I am biased towards Penumbra, it was my first "real" horror game. The only game prior to that was Bioshock, and although it had its moments, it isn't even the same genre.