Amnesia: Rebirth stars Tasi Trianon, who finds herself in the Algerian desert with no memories of what’s happened in the past few days, and something awful out there in the shadows. And yup, Rebirth sounds like Frictional horror to me: first-person horror game with puzzles, monsters, and limited mental and physical resources, though the devs say they’re going harder this time. “Amnesia is not just another haunted house spook-fest, but an emotionally harrowing journey,” creative director Thomas Grip explained in today’s announcement. “We aim to go beyond simple jump-scares and to affect players on a deeper level. While Rebirth will contain the terrifying encounters and sights you expect from an Amnesia game, it has a lot more focus on narrative than previous entries in the series. We want the player to form a strong bond with Tasi and intimately share her tribulations. This will not be your run-of-the-mill horror experience.” As long as monsters keep their tongues primarily inside their bodies this time, frankly I’m okay with it. Well, I say I’m okay with it but I definitely did stop playing Frictional’s last horror game, Soma, until they added a Safe mode with friendlier monsters - and even then I was cacking it. I’m a big stupid baby, okay, but I really like horror and frequently fail to act in my own best interests. That’s the Halloween spirit, isn’t it? Amnesia: Rebirth is coming to Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store on the 20th of October. They’re making it for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and sure I guess PlayStation 4 too. Frictional last week celebrated the tenth anniversary of Amnesia: The Dark Descent’s launch by sharing some ideas which didn’t make it into the finished games, including trampolines, Jesus, pistols, and a puking baby-plant.
