This is without a doubt Frictional games best and most scariest game yet.
Story:
The story is it the somewhere in the 1800's you are a man named Daniel. You seem to be in pain and have no memory where you are. You are in a castle and you find a note from yourself saying you need to get to the center of the castle and kill a man named Alexander. It tells him to not be afraid and venture forth. That is where your journey begins and let me tell you the story is really nice and told very nicely as well.
Gameplay:
The game is basically a combo of first person camera, adventure game, and survival horror. You basically have to get from one area by solving complex to simple puzzles. Now this might sound boring or run of the mill, but trust me the way frictional games handled these situations will have you very interested and up on your toes every chance you get.
As you probably already know the game's biggest selling point is the fear factor. Now lets be honest there is a lot of games that sell you horror like dead space, but dead space wasn't scary. You had too much ammo and the scares weren't that scary. In Amnesia the scares are scary. Every dark hallway looks and feels like there is something lurking in them. The various sounds in the castle make you feel that you aren't alone and there is something or someone is watching your every step. Easily said the game is a bit unsettling and I didn't even get to the main baddie yet.
There are monsters in Amnesia and this is where the game gets extremely frantic. When a monster spawns you have absolutely no way to defend yourself. The only choice you have is to hide and pray to whatever deity you pray to and hope it doesn't see you. The monsters literally spawn out of thin air and will disappear the same way. That's the problem with the monsters. You could explore the same areas over and over again and not get scared. Then out of nowhere a monster comes and you will panic. That's the game's other great factor you never feel safe. There really aren't safe zones, well there is but they never feel safe and the game never tells you where or what the safe zone is you have to guess it yourself. A cool thing about the game is you can make a temporary safe zone. It has a semi-decent physic system that you can pick up objects. Well you can barricade doors with desks or dressers and buy you a few short seconds of time before they come in.
Another thing about the game is you have a lantern and tinderboxes. The lantern is a portable light source that burns oil that you have to find. The light source is so-so not the best, but its better than nothings. The tinderboxes are a finite number of lighters that you can use to permanently light candles or lanterns in hallways. Light does nothing to enemies, but it helps you keep your sanity. You have a sanity meter and when you step into the dark you start to lose your mind. From seeing bugs running up the screen or your screen starts icing over. Yet there is a risk/reward system with light. If you stay in the light you can see and you keep your sanity, yet you can't hide from enemies they can see you. If you hide somewhere in the darkness then it makes it much harder for them to see you.
Yet sadly there are some problems with the game. The first I have to mention is the lack of oil and tinderboxes in a early section and then more towards the last half hour of the game I had too much. I have no idea why but towards the very end of the game they gave me wayyy too much oil and tinderboxes. Yet maybe 2 hours back there was literally none at all I checked all the hidden spots or cabinets it was weird. Another (and this happened to me) you will eventually know when the monsters spawn. Usually after you complete a puzzle a monster will spawn and it gets monotonous after awhile. You will go into a trance and automatically hide when you complete puzzles because you already know a monster is coming.
Graphics:
The graphics are really nice. They really show off a old decrepit castle that is dark and some nice light effects.
Audio:
Amazing just amazing. From the voice actors to the noises in the shadows, the music I mean wow. If you listen with headphones it gets 100x better.
Pro's
Scary, a nice story, some good puzzles, the audio, only 20 bucks, will immerse yourself into this game's world, nice physic system, a really unique adventure with no killing or shooting just hiding and it makes the game fun, 3 different endings.
Con's
The sanity meter is a bit weird cause being in the dark for like 3 seconds makes you lose sanity too quickly, a weird amount of tinderboxes and oil towards the end, well eventually know when the monsters will spawn.
Overall:
Overall I really liked this game. It made cowering in fear a lot of fun. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who loves horror games.