At this point in time the survival horror game genre has been around for awhile, and there's plenty of games to choose from, so much so that maybe the whole experience has grown stale for you. Maybe there isn't enough horror games that really break the mold and experiment, or maybe they just aren't scary to you anymore (I can't relate since these games still scare the piss out of me.) While it's true that survival horror has been a staple in gaming for the past decade, it's important to remember a time when this wasn't the case, a time where a really good survival horror game was damn near impossible out side of Resident Evil or Silent Hill, a time before Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
Amnesia was a truly groundbreaking title at the time, and even today still remains an original piece of gaming history that's still a thrill to play through. The Dark Descent follows Daniel, a man who awakens inside a castle with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Basically the game's story is you exploring the castle, collecting notes and diary entries, and solving puzzles to discover yours and the castle's darkest secrets. All the while you're hunted by a mysterious shadowy force, psychological moments and visions, and most notably a ton of freaky monsters. Without a weapon to be found, your only options are to run, hide, pause the game and cry a little, or all of the above. It doesn't sound like anything new nowadays, but remember a decade ago games like this really weren't a thing before Amnesia.
What made The Dark Descent so unique, even today, is the sanity meter. Basically when Daniel experiences enough scary or unsettling moments, his sanity goes down. As it goes down your vision starts to warp, and you'll eventually die. Most commonly this can happen in darkness, which is unfortunately what most of the game is shrouded in. With lantern oil and tinder for candles sparse throughout the game, the survival aspect of this horror title is cranked up to eleven from the very start. While in other games you can hide in the shadows enough for an enemy to leave, you can't do that here, forcing you to face your fears, adapt to the environment, or die cowering in the shadows or at the hands of a monster. No game since has utilized this so perfectly, it constantly puts you on edge and makes you think long and hard about your choices as you light your way to the end of the game. Also, even just looking at a monster can drain your sanity.... fun....
Aside from that the game utilizes plenty of puzzles to get you through to the next area. Unlike games like Silent Hill or Resident Evil, these puzzles are a lot easier to figure out, while at the same time not holding your hand. You still have to think about it a bit, and it's still rewarding when the lightbulb in your heads goes off and you finally figured it out. The game's wonderful physics system, obviously inspired from the likes of Half-Life, makes the puzzles even more fun to figure out as well.
Graphics, story, and cinematics are all on the backburner in this game, which prevents it from being a truly perfect title for me, but it's impossible to ignore how impactful this game has been in the gaming industry!