If I liked SOMA, is Amnesia franchise recommended?

[Misa]

I played SOMA and kind of liked it,

now I never played Amnesia games and thinking about playing every Amnesia game, is it worth playing all or some or none?

Thanks

[Neptune Towers]

The Dark Descent is the game that started it all, with a fantastic blend of horror and an interesting story. A Machine for Pigs provides almost no gameplay but features a brilliant and deeply allegorical story. Rebirth is not worth it in my opinion. SOMA is imo the best title ever produced by FG.

[Jeba]

i think theyre all worth trying. tdd for the horror, amfp for the story and rebirth for whatever the people who liked it got out of it

[Misa]

Originally posted by .xXx.W4R10KK.xXx.:

The Dark Descent is the game that started it all, with a fantastic blend of horror and an interesting story. A Machine for Pigs provides almost no gameplay but features a brilliant and deeply allegorical story. Rebirth is not worth it in my opinion. SOMA is imo the best title ever produced by FG.

Why didn't you like rebirth?

[Neptune Towers]

Originally posted by Misa:

Why didn't you like rebirth?

I wrote a steam review in regard to it, but if you want a short version, it would be that it's a survival horror featuring neither survival nor horror. There's basically no gameplay aside of holding W and getting perpetually annoyed by the main character talking incessantly. There are a few puzzles here and there but absolutely nothing to write home about and there is no point to the enemies since you can literally walk past them with no worries. The same with darkness, you can just run through the dark bits and that's that.The story is also extremely thin and poorly thought out. It just dispels the myths of the original game in a rather silly way and carries no real weight of its own or meaning.

Essentially, it has neither the gameplay and atmosphere of The Dark Descent, nor the stories and existential horror of A Machine for Pigs and SOMA. There's just no point to it since the other games do everything so much better.

[Misa]

Originally posted by .xXx.W4R10KK.xXx.:

Originally posted by Misa:

Why didn't you like rebirth?

I wrote a steam review in regard to it, but if you want a short version, it would be that it's a survival horror featuring neither survival nor horror. There's basically no gameplay aside of holding W and getting perpetually annoyed by the main character talking incessantly. There are a few puzzles here and there but absolutely nothing to write home about and there is no point to the enemies since you can literally walk past them with no worries. The same with darkness, you can just run through the dark bits and that's that.The story is also extremely thin and poorly thought out. It just dispels the myths of the original game in a rather silly way and carries no real weight of its own or meaning.

Essentially, it has neither the gameplay and atmosphere of The Dark Descent, nor the stories and existential horror of A Machine for Pigs and SOMA. There's just no point to it since the other games do everything so much better.

Thanks for the info, I guess rebirth is skip-able.

[Neptune Towers]

Originally posted by Misa:

Thanks for the info, I guess rebirth is skip-able.

Well, keep in mind that it's just my opinion. Feel free to look into the opinions of others and consider for yourself. The game did not appeal to me and I do not see it's point in this series, but perhaps it will speak to you in some way. In any case, if you want to play Amnesia games, i would wholeheartedly recommend the old ones prior to this title.

[Crusta]

The game is better than TDD imo. I loved SOMA and i loved every bit of this game.

[THE PETROL BRIGADE]

Originally posted by 𝐑𝐞𝐝♚𝟒𝟓𝟕:

The game is better than TDD imo. I loved SOMA and i loved every bit of this game.

Seconded. I prefer SOMA just a teensy bit more but that's just cause I prefer sci-fi over gothic horror but Rebirth is nonetheless incredible.

[nastys]

The Penumbra series and the unofficial Penumbra mods for TDD are also good IMO.

I also liked Rebirth, especially since it explains some things in TDD.

[Lorster]

I'd first and foremost recommend you to play Penumbra Overture and Black Plague, they're my favorite titles from Frictional Games, and their plot is what got me into the horror genre in the first place.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a very good game, It's the best in terms of horror, but It's story even though interesting, isn't as emotionally investing.
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs on the other hand, sucks when it comes to gameplay, and isn't scary to play, but It's plot, atmosphere and music are brilliant, and because of that I actually like it more than TDD.
Amnesia: Rebirth is a mixed bag for me. Play their previous games first, and then if you want more try it.

[Bullett00th]

Originally posted by .xXx.W4R10KK.xXx.:

The Dark Descent is the game that started it all

Penumbra started it all. And I still consider it to be on top of Frictional's work.

[Neptune Towers]

Originally posted by Bullett00th:

Originally posted by .xXx.W4R10KK.xXx.:

The Dark Descent is the game that started it all

Penumbra started it all. And I still consider it to be on top of Frictional's work.

The Dark Descent was their first hit and cultural shock for the horror genre. Penumbra came before of course, but it wasn't nearly as influential.

[Bullett00th]

Originally posted by .xXx.W4R10KK.xXx.:

Originally posted by Bullett00th:

Penumbra started it all. And I still consider it to be on top of Frictional's work.

The Dark Descent was their first hit and cultural shock for the horror genre. Penumbra came before of course, but it wasn't nearly as influential.

Define 'started it all' then)

If by it all you mean YouTubers streaming their screaming while playing Amnesia, which in turn lead to a plethora of first person horror games with a helpless protagonist - then sure, Amnesia started it.

If we talk Frictional's formula which they still experiment with to this day - then it's all Penumbra

[shundread]

Originally posted by Misa:

I played SOMA and kind of liked it,

now I never played Amnesia games and thinking about playing every Amnesia game, is it worth playing all or some or none?

Thanks

I started with the Penumbra series. It's definitely the weakest title in monster designs, but it does INTERESTING stuff in the story, and its rather experimental engine and gameplay feels more like a strength than a weakness, some of the stuff you gotta do in the game feels so strange that you do get the impression that the game could throw literally anything at you. 2nd title in the series is far better than the 1st. The 3rd title bears little to no relation to the series and can be safely ignored.

Amnesia 1 is good, a step up in technical terms, insanity system is introduced, has some truly tense moments. I started Amnesia 2, but something in the game engine felt off to me and I didn't go far. I remember distinctly wondering "why are all these things glued to their positions?"

SOMA was the strongest title to me so far. It's the one title so far that had me pausing a playthrough for days to brood over some in-game decision I had to make. It's the one game that got me thinking "wow is is all REALLY ♥♥♥♥♥♥". I can only hope Frictional Games can come up with an even more depressing title in the future.

I'm still waiting for the free time to play through Rebirth, so can't say much about it yet.

[Dan Niton]

Originally posted by Misa:

I played SOMA and kind of liked it,

now I never played Amnesia games and thinking about playing every Amnesia game, is it worth playing all or some or none?

Thanks

The dark descent yes, machine for pigs no, Rebirth maybe.