Amnesia: Rebirth - sequel to Amnesia: The Dark Descent set in the desert of Algeria

[Darth Roxor]

Lmao, the story and writing of this game was actually outsourced. That explains a lot.

 

[Wunderbar]

That explains a lot.

but not the pacing, over-reliance on jumpscares and railroaded level design.

 

[Darth Roxor]

That explains a lot.

but not the pacing, over-relying on jumpscares and railroaded level design.

Under 'our work' on the website, rebirth is tagged with 'Coding, Direction, Narrative Design, Story Design, Writing'. Sounds like "direction" could encompass all those things you mention.

 

[Wunderbar]

That explains a lot.

but not the pacing, over-relying on jumpscares and railroaded level design.

Under 'our work' on the website, rebirth is tagged with 'Coding, Direction, Narrative Design, Story Design, Writing'. Sounds like "direction" could encompass all those things you mention.

looks like that writer who resigned did the most important work at the studio.

 

[Wunderbar]

seems like a cool dude. RIP Frictional games.

 

[Darth Roxor]

I was kind of late to the computer RPG party, because playing a lot of tabletop RPGs made me think they were pretty bad in comparison. I did start liking them around the release of Fallout 2 and played a bunch of the RPGs released around that time. I still consider Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura to be one of the best computer games I’ve ever played. You see, the thing about being a tabletop RPG player is that I’ve played and hosted easily over a hundred different stories in this very free and responsive type of play. Going to computer games, it’s really difficult to get excited by the storytelling because it’s rarely that interesting. Not because it doesn’t tell the right stories, but because I never feel like I’m really doing anything. I feel like I’m slowly moving a movie forward. It’s like all I do is power the projector by pushing keys. People often get dumbstruck when I don’t go nuts over games like the Last of Us. They are great at story, they tell me. Yes, they really are, but we have always had good writing and conventional storytelling. Look at the Sierra games from the 90s. They are absolutely fantastic in that respect.

 

[some funny shit]

I think Rebirth is B game, thats why it was outsourced and core Frictional Games is working right now on A game, different setting?

EDIT:

Frictional Games' next project after Amnesia: Rebirth will be "horror-ish" but won't be a horror game, the studio has revealed in Edge Magazine.

In an interview in issue #346, Frictional's creative director Thomas Grip discussed that the studio's next game won't be a horror game in the same sense as Amnesia: Rebirth.

Grip said: "It's horror-ish, but it's definitely not a horror game at all in the same sense that Rebirth is a horror game," Grip says. "There are going to be horror undertones, because our aesthetic senses are of a certain kind, but it's not the hard focus."

 

[Ivan]

That explains a lot.

but not the pacing, over-relying on jumpscares and railroaded level design.

Under 'our work' on the website, rebirth is tagged with 'Coding, Direction, Narrative Design, Story Design, Writing'. Sounds like "direction" could encompass all those things you mention.

yep, everything to do w.otherworld is severely underbaked...or rather

 

[Ivan]

Story spoilers

Spoiler

which of you monsters were ok extracting the fear juice from the captive man? I didn't have the guts to do it

Spoiler

the game was so on-rails it didn't even cross my mind that you can avoid torturing that guy.
anyway, the torture was lame because it happens off-camera, and Tasi herself barely reacts. What a psychopath.

Spoiler

that blows, those diagrams of what WOULD happen were disgusting. do they at least lift the curtain to show the result?

 

[Darth Roxor]

I think Rebirth is B game, thats why it was outsourced and core Frictional Games is working right now on A game, different setting?

EDIT:

Frictional Games' next project after Amnesia: Rebirth will be "horror-ish" but won't be a horror game, the studio has revealed in Edge Magazine.

In an interview in issue #346, Frictional's creative director Thomas Grip discussed that the studio's next game won't be a horror game in the same sense as Amnesia: Rebirth.

Grip said: "It's horror-ish, but it's definitely not a horror game at all in the same sense that Rebirth is a horror game," Grip says. "There are going to be horror undertones, because our aesthetic senses are of a certain kind, but it's not the hard focus."

that screams walking sim

rip frictional

 

[Jenkem]

"horror-ish but not a horror game" already describes rebirth.

 

[Runciter]

So just in the opening 15 minutes Rebirth consists of:
- cringeworthy melancholic narration
- cringeworthy emo shit dialogue on the airplane
- jarring alternate universe flashes in view from airplane window
- first-person sequence with no control
- QTE
- cringeworthy snowflake notes outside the airplane ("the pilot is good but he's so charming - i must warn some_woman")

WTF is this shit? I would have settled for less than SOMA but the first impressions are that this is something else entirely.

 

[Nano]

Lmao, the story and writing of this game was actually outsourced. That explains a lot.

This Ian Thomas guy is apparently working at both companies: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wildwinter/

He's actually been at Frictional since 2013. The difference is that on SOMA he didn't have anything to do with the writing, he was just a level scripter and programmer.

 

[Alienman]

Big juicy thread about it on steam.

Very interesting. Lots of people seem to feel bamboozled.

Edit:

Also lots of "incels" insults being thrown around

 

[Wunderbar]

Story spoilers

Spoiler

which of you monsters were ok extracting the fear juice from the captive man? I didn't have the guts to do it

Spoiler

the game was so on-rails it didn't even cross my mind that you can avoid torturing that guy.
anyway, the torture was lame because it happens off-camera, and Tasi herself barely reacts. What a psychopath.

Spoiler

that blows, those diagrams of what WOULD happen were disgusting. do they at least lift the curtain to show the result?

Spoiler

yes, but it was obscured with smoke because i picked a fire diagram.

 

[Nano]

Big juicy thread about it on steam.

Jesus, that thread is a fucking trainwreck.

 

[Madawc]

I'm halfway through the game and I like the puzzles and the atmosphere so far. The first 2 hours are indeed a bit slow and uninteresting, but once you reach the fort it changes to a more classic Amnesia experience.

 

[Wunderbar]

I'm halfway through the game and I like the puzzles and the atmosphere so far. The first 2 hours are indeed a bit slow and uninteresting, but once you reach the fort it changes to a more classic Amnesia experience.

fort is like 30-40 minutes long, and the it goes back to a boring walking simulator.

 

[Tancred]

lol that Talespinner studio roxor linked to, whose director was the story lead for Rebirth:

Michelle is a writer and narrative designer based in Vancouver, BC. Co-founder and chair of the IGDA Romance and Sexuality SIG, she has spoken about male sexualization and healthy, diverse fanservice at multiple conferences, including Queerness and Games, PAX Dev, and the GDC Narrative Summit. Her credits include QA for Mass Effect 3, senior writer/editor for the adventure dating sim 1931: Scheherazade at the Library of Pergamum, and current work in sci-fi RPGs, mobile interactive fiction and VR experiences.

Michelle was lead editor on Purrfect Date, and has recently been working on Destruction Allstars, Rise Eterna and Helheim Hassle.

That's just the most lol-worthy bio. Rest of the place is male allies and a disco writer from britbong and trudeau-stan. Go look at their twitters if you want, it's full of the usual SJW screeching about everything you can imagine. Now I understand why Rebirth's main char is a racemixing white woman.

 

[Alienman]

Big juicy thread about it on steam.

Jesus, that thread is a fucking trainwreck.

It's funny, thread are being repeated forever and forever because these people just can't see that it was outsourced even if it's spelled out right in front of them. They list everything that was outsourced on Talespinner. I joined in the thread, but I will say it here also, I think Frictional exist in name only.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

So I finished this yesterday at night in a long binge play.

God thanks the whole experience wasn't nearly as grueling as Tasi's labor pains, or what the ever spoiled and butthurt Internet would want me to believe. On the contrary, I enjoyed Rebirth largely for its great scenery, level design and atmosphere. The writing was overall quite competent, but not as captivating as SOMA's or TDD's. Tasi was convincing, but I couldn't be bothered about the supporting roles in the expedition. And the early moments of the game after the plane crash were outright annoying, with those constant intrusions of memory flashbacks and all that jabbering. As for the monster encounters:

Spoiler

I think the ghoul rummaging around in the fort remains the only really scary one, after that the encounters become more annoying than scary.

Rebirth is more like SOMA than Amnesia, but not as intense and memorable as Simon's underwater journey.

So yeah, it's still a Frictional game. I still remain a loyal fan. Maybe it's their weakest work so far, but that's still comparing it to a high bar. I'd rate it a 7.5/10 (TDD is a 8.5/10 and SOMA a 9.5/10).

Spoilery questions:

Spoiler

Are there any ingame consequences to whether I wanna heal the baby in that chair in the Theatre, or whether I'm just gonna leave for the gondola and spare that poor sod's life?

Spoiler

Also, are there any consequences to how many times I die I'll be reborn? The skin keeps getting uglier but that hasn't stopped me from reaching the "Provider" ending, or any other one.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

 

[HoboForEternity]

well they will never get SOMA level of quality again it seems.

 

[Wunderbar]

reddit gonna reddit

 

[You]

as a male