Amnesia: Rebirth

An unforgettable follow-up to a horror classic.

Even knowing some of the tricks and habits of their design, Amnesia: Rebirth was still able to catch me off-guard. It's certainly much more faithful and compelling than another game bearing the Amnesia title, that's for sure. There’s a strong story to be had here, and it does what good horror should: provides an interesting experience, regardless of if the scares land. And, quite frankly, I’m fairly certain they'll land for most willing to take the plunge. Rebirth is quite the worthy sequel to The Dark Descent. That alone makes it a commendable title and an experience worth having.

All you need to know as a horror fan, or simply a brave gamer, is that Amnesia: Rebirth is a masterfully-crafted experience. There are no next-gen graphical features such as ray-tracing to fawn over, but its visuals are still top-notch and performance is solid. Just as important, its audio and sound design is simply outstanding. They come together to immerse you in one of the most terrifying experiences ever to be put into video game form, but one that also makes you think. And that’s perhaps the best thing a game can do, regardless of its genre.

Frictional Games’ long-standing goal to weaponize players’ own fears against them bears fruit in Amnesia: Rebirth, in their most ambitious and tautly designed work to date.

Amnesia: Rebirth beautifully tackles the battle between light and darkness, not just thematically but mechanically too. The areas where it clicks strike an excellent balance of problem solving and pure adrenaline, even if some of the later sections drag due to uninteresting puzzles and infrequent ghoul tussles. But with a consistently engaging story throughout, Rebirth still stands as one of the most thrilling survival horror games in recent memory – one that is anything but forgettable.

Though its scares don't reach the heights of the original, Amnesia: Rebirth remains a must-play horror game for delivering a story more akin to a brilliant novel.

The follow-up to Frictional Games' seminal 2010 horror game tightly hones the developer's approach to story, frights, and frustration.

Amnesia: Rebirth feels a bit familiar at times, but when at its best, this highly-anticipated horror sequel is also truly terrifying.

Amnesia: Rebirth is a sequel to Frictional Games’ Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Sandwiched in between these two games was their 2015 game, SOMA, a modern SF tale set in an underwater lab. Dark Descent was a survival horror game where the protagonist was mostly powerless while SOMA was a more heavily narrative driven drama. Amnesia: Rebirth finds itself somewhere between these two games in providing players with a new experience.

Amnesia: Rebirth won't dramatically shift the modern horror landscape like its predecessor did ten years ago, yet it's an excellent addition to the genre nonetheless. It's a fantastic marriage of SOMA's narrative sensibilities with The Dark Descent's more terrifying pacing, capable of standing out in the now crowded market. It won't replace SOMA as my all-time favorite horror game, but it's up there.

Let’s get one thing out of the way right now: Amnesia: Rebirth is scary. For those of you who were waiting with bated breath to find out if this is the Halloween game for you, then good news, because Rebirth definitely delivers enough scares and tense moments to be considered a worthy successor in the franchise. Pacing issues and repetition sully the experience a little, but its characters and gameplay mechanics make this an expedition worth taking.

Strong gameplay and atmosphere don't make up for obvious plot twists. However, Amnesia: Rebirth is still worth playing for the things it does right.