I like horror stories, but I hate 90% of horror games out there. I like stories that don't take themselves seriously, but I hate 90% of comedy games out there. I'm a Silent Hill 2 fanboi, and a Fallout 3 fanboi. I have a thing for Ukranian games. And that's about that.
I just love your avatar name - Extra Doctor - LOL! That would just piss off my ex. I may in fact use the next time we meet to highlight the sillieness of taking oneself so seriously!
Don't let the pixelated arsty-retro style thing fool you -frankly, I hate it when indie developers go for those kind of graphics-, Lone Survivor is an incredibly immersive game, one that captures the whole "survival" aspect of survival/horror like no other game ever managed to, and in terms of atmosphere -and I do realize it's gonna sound a bit too much, but try the demo out if you don't believe it- Lone Survivor is more of a Silent Hill game than any Silent Hill has been since the second.
Amnesia is the kind of games that put all other games in perspective. The first thing that hits you after playing this is the realization that there hasn't been any game so true to the horror genre in its more pure form since the first Silent Hill.
As I say all the time, developer Frictional Games might just be the freshest, most interesting group of minds to grace gaming in a good while. Reading about their thoughts and ideas in their blog is the kind of experience that brings back the hope in gaming.
And it's not just words: Watching the progression made from Penumbra: Overture to Penumbra: Black Plague and then to Amnesia is akin to watching a firmly, steadily ascending curve of game design.
Finally, the success in sales and reviews that Amnesia achieved (along with that of Minecraft) sends out a strong message to other indie developers about being true to your ideas and never compromising.
You're gonna read a lot of horror stories about how this game sucks and their mean mean developers are harrassing poor victim game critics around.
On the other hand, I found the game to be fun enough (and surprisingly high quality, considering the price tag), and if you hit the Steam forums you're gonna find out that at least one of the developers is not only as polite and nice as they come, they will also hear your every complaint/request and strive to attend them right away.
Make of that what you will. Me, I think the game is good enough for the money, and from my personal experience the developer really deserves being supported.
