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

[AN4RCHID]

Played through about 7 hours today. Feels like I'm right near the end, but who knows

Spoiler

I just activated the portal. I am getting pretty sick of all the lucy-with-the-football moments in this game. There's always some scripted deus ex machina that foils my attempt to travel ~1 mile across an empty desert to get to this stupid village. Would like it if I could just get there and advance the plot already.

Initial thoughts -
- I do not care about this love story in the slightest and I wish it wasn't there.
- The mother/daughter storyline and mechanics are not bad, I kind of like it. It adds something to the game at least.
- The Fort was the best part so far. I was hoping that was a sign of the game opening up, but then it goes right back to the railroading.
- I hate these enemies. Stealth doesn't seem to work; even when they aren't aggro'd and I'm completely hidden and standing still they home in on my position. Not sure how I'm supposed to be dealing with them. The visual design is also v. generic, and there's no variety
- Too much exposition, too many cutscenes. Especially in the first ~45 minutes or so, that was really a slog to get through. I could have done without any of the exposition about the otherworld.
- Music and visuals are pretty nice, still a step down from SOMA

 

[AN4RCHID]

Finished. Didn't like it much at all.

Apparently I got the bad ending because getting caught suddenly has consequences at the endgame. meh.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

If anyone is interested in the Password for the _super_secret.rar file:

Spoiler

7UI84S3D3AN2XJ36E7G5J26KA3Y9

 

[Ringhausen]

Yeah, the beginning was truly atrocious (and the stupid memories never really end), but once the game gets going it was in parts just as good as the Penumbras of old imo. Puzzling around in the ruins and exploring the lovecraftian hellscapes was great. The Otherworld with the pods was like the future in the Matrix, but instead of just using humans for energy they literally want their PAIN. So cool!

I do have to admit that I was triggered by the husband being a sandnigger. Like in a modern setting yeah, sure, whatever. But think what a whore the girl had to be to touch an Arab back then. And considering how protective they are of their own women, it's disgusting that he'd go sniffing around a white woman.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Soundtrack is out now.

https://mikkotarmia.bandcamp.com/album/amnesia-rebirth-original-game-soundtrack

 

[AN4RCHID]

Soundtrack is out now.

https://mikkotarmia.bandcamp.com/album/amnesia-rebirth-original-game-soundtrack

If there's one thing I can't criticize it's the OST. Soundtrack is nice

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Boleskine]

https://frictionalgames.com/2021-03-amnesia-rebirth-mac-version-cancelled/

Amnesia: Rebirth – Mac version cancelled


We’re coming to you here with some sad news. We’ve always prided ourselves with being able to supply our games on PC, Linux and Mac, but we have now encountered some serious problems with the latest versions of MacOS. Even though we’ve put in tons of effort trying to fix the issues – so that SOMA and Rebirth supports MacOS – we have finally had to give up. We simply cannot manage it.

This means that SOMA won’t fully work on the latest version of MacOS (audio will not work to be more specific) and that we won’t be releasing Amnesia: Rebirth on Mac at all. We are truly sad for those of you who have been waiting for this version to be released.

We wanted to share some more details about the problem with you here:

• OpenGL was deprecated in macOS 10.14 (Mojave). Newer macOS can still run OpenGL games but there are no tools to help development. If a graphics related bug occurs we are blind and have to guess what’s going on, which increases the workload per bug to extreme levels.

• Changes to the audio drivers in macOS 11.0 (Big Sur) has caused our sound engine to stop working. We have been in discussion with our third party partner and they have no plans on updating the sound engine to support the latest macOS. This means we would have to change to a different sound engine, meaning a complete reimplementation of all sound effects without even knowing that we could reach the same quality.

Really sad news of course but we now feel we have exhausted all our options and will simply have to fold under these problems.

 

[OSK]

Mac users should get used to this. Apple seems intent on sabotaging Mac gaming. No one is going to use Metal.

Linux is, without a doubt, a better gaming platform.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

https://frictionalgames.com/2021-03-amnesia-rebirth-five-months-later-and-soma-sells-1m-copies/

Amnesia: Rebirth – Five months later and SOMA sells 1M+ copies

It’s now been nearly 5 months since Rebirth was released and it’s high time we come to you with an update, don’t you think? But let’s start with an announcement that is even more overdue:

SOMA – sold over 1 million copies on PC
We’re of course delighted to announce that SOMA has sold more than 1 million copies on PC and quite a lot more if you combine it with sales on PS4 and XBOX One. We passed the milestone some time ago but we just haven’t gotten around to announcing it until now.

For those of you who have been following our blog you might have read Thomas’ previous blog posts, such as the one made 6 months after the release of SOMA. There he mentions the fact that the game wasn’t really selling to its full potential but that we were hopeful that sales would continue growing over time. Reaching the one million milestone once again shows that our games have a really long tail and the way we like to interpret that is as a seal of quality and that our games receive a strong push over time through word of mouth. The game even sold quite a lot more last year than it did the year before that, but that has probably a lot to do with the buzz surrounding our studio thanks to the Rebirth release.

Anyway, we are truly happy and grateful that so many seem to have taken SOMA to their hearts. The project has generated revenue far greater than the investment but it’s the amazing reactions and feedback that we receive from our players that we cherish the most!

Amnesia: Rebirth – Sales
Now, looking to our latest game, Amnesia: Rebirth and how sales are going some 5 months after release.

Let’s start with the release date on the 20th of October last year. That day is by far the single best selling day in the studio’s history. The hype for Rebirth had built up, and as great reviews and wonderful “Let’s plays” started emerging just before the release, the game went to the top of Steam’s best seller list and stayed there for a few days. From that point onwards the game took on a similar sales trajectory as SOMA had, but during a pretty cluttered release period (with some big releases such as Cyberpunk 2077 in December for example) the sales went down a bit from there. The daily sales in the beginning of 2021 were a bit lower than what SOMA had at the start of 2016 – and it stayed like that for a while. However, sometime around mid february the sales really picked up again and we’re now back on a very similar trajectory as the one SOMA had.

As of today we’ve sold more than a hundred thousand copies of Amnesia: Rebirth and we feel really optimistic about the future for the game. We’ve seen a recent increase in “chatter” about the game and it is receiving a lot of love and praise. This combined with future sales events as well as a bigger update that we’re currently working on (news will follow shortly) we feel certain that the project will turn profitable in the not too distant future.

TL;DR

Rebirth so far only sold 100k units. That's fairly weaksauce compared to SOMA, but that won't deter them from talking it up as some sort of success story.

Frictional – A two project studio
Looking to the future we are truly hyped. The project of developing Rebirth has really laid the organizational groundwork for how we as a studio can work moving forward and we have just initiated production on the next game (which has now had tons of pre-production time during Rebirth) and we’re kicking off pre-production on a second project as we speak.

Oh that will be a long wait.

 

[Jenkem]

Basically Frictional attributes Rebirth's mixed critical response to players failing to connect with Tasi and her unborn baby. Players were supposed to feel like they were really pregnant, and avoid monsters and damage lest they hurt the baby. Yet another dev that will just make excuses for their bad decisions rather than take ownership. Frictional Games is done.

A big part of the game relied on players immersing themselves in the role in order for the whole experience to work. We didn’t know if we would succeed with it and how it would be received.

As expected, playing as a pregnant woman and caring for your unborn baby didn’t resonate with everyone. Even though we knew this going in we probably underestimated how big of a turn-off the pregnancy aspect would be for some people, to the point where it completely overshadowed the rest of the game.

However, when it all worked, it did so with extreme potency and the result was a very powerful experience. For many players the pregnancy aspect evoked exactly the sort of feelings and raised the type of questions we were hoping for.

I didn't even get to any shit involving the baby because Tasi wouldn't shut the fuck up and every time I looked at an object I would get a fucking flashback. It was annoying as shit and made me refund it. "immersive" my ass

 

[Jenkem]

The weeks following the release of Rebirth was a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to reactions. While articles, reviews and a lot of streamers were predominantly very positive, there was undoubtedly a group of players who did not appreciate the direction in which we took the game.

the people we paid absolutely loved the game!
the people who paid us hated it! fucking nazi gamers, right??

 

[Infinitron]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/999220/view/4928599729828189579

Adventure Mode Out Now!
The free Adventure Mode update for Amnesia: Rebirth is out now!

This new mode allows players to experience the game with reduced scares, where you don’t have to worry about darkness nor monsters attacking you.

Continue reading and check out our Dev diary for more info:

When we released “Safe mode” for SOMA some years ago we didn’t really know how it would be received or if it would make a difference at all to the players out there. Today we know that it was well worth the effort and that the mode allowed a whole new audience to experience the game. We got a lot of player feedback from people appreciating SOMA’s safe mode, and nearly every single interview leading up to the release of Amnesia: Rebirth contained the question “Will it come with a safe mode?”. This indicates to us that the mode has had an important influence on SOMA’s reception. Now, we’ve created something very similar for Rebirth.

Safe mode allowed players to take in SOMA’s narrative, atmosphere, story and theme, without having to worry about monsters attacking them. And even though Amnesia: Rebirth has a foundation in the same kind of horror that once made Amnesia: The Dark Descent so successful, the game shares many characteristics with SOMA.

With Adventure Mode we hope that new players, that have a hard time handling horror as a genre, will get to experience Tasi’s story. That they will get to immerse themselves in the character and the unforgiving environments of Rebirth, as they fight for survival for themselves and those closest to them.

Playing the game in Adventure Mode still contains the same serious themes and story - and the atmosphere can still be quite unnerving at times - but the experience is going to be much less of a horror experience and more one of an epic adventure.

Here’s a summary of the features that comes with the new Adventure Mode:

• Monsters still exist in the game but they won’t attack you anymore.
  
• Locations that contained pitch black darkness have been brightened up a lot, making environments possible to explore at one’s own pace, allowing for easier navigation and removes some of the oppressive atmosphere.
  
• No active fear mechanic, meaning that you don’t have to worry about taking fear from being in darker areas or near monsters.
  
• A few bonus puzzles.

For those of you who still want the horror experience, the Original mode is still available to you, but we hope that this new mode will be a nice alternative for others.

We are celebrating the release with a 40% discount on Amnesia: Rebirth, and 80% off on all our other games!

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

 

[Spukrian]

If Adventure Mode makes the annoying things go away then I guess it's good.

 

[Tom Selleck]

Finally I can play it

 

[Wunderbar]

I mean the game is already piss-easy, it even teleports you forward if you die to a monster too often.

 

[Spukrian]

It does seem like Frictional has been playing STASIS and Cayne and taking notes.

How I regret these words... Please forgive me for comparing STASIS and Cayne to an inferior product.

 

[Child of Malkav]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/999220/view/4928599729828189579

Adventure Mode Out Now!
The free Adventure Mode update for Amnesia: Rebirth is out now!

This new mode allows players to experience the game with reduced scares, where you don’t have to worry about darkness nor monsters attacking you.

Continue reading and check out our Dev diary for more info:

When we released “Safe mode” for SOMA some years ago we didn’t really know how it would be received or if it would make a difference at all to the players out there. Today we know that it was well worth the effort and that the mode allowed a whole new audience to experience the game. We got a lot of player feedback from people appreciating SOMA’s safe mode, and nearly every single interview leading up to the release of Amnesia: Rebirth contained the question “Will it come with a safe mode?”. This indicates to us that the mode has had an important influence on SOMA’s reception. Now, we’ve created something very similar for Rebirth.

Safe mode allowed players to take in SOMA’s narrative, atmosphere, story and theme, without having to worry about monsters attacking them. And even though Amnesia: Rebirth has a foundation in the same kind of horror that once made Amnesia: The Dark Descent so successful, the game shares many characteristics with SOMA.

With Adventure Mode we hope that new players, that have a hard time handling horror as a genre, will get to experience Tasi’s story. That they will get to immerse themselves in the character and the unforgiving environments of Rebirth, as they fight for survival for themselves and those closest to them.

Playing the game in Adventure Mode still contains the same serious themes and story - and the atmosphere can still be quite unnerving at times - but the experience is going to be much less of a horror experience and more one of an epic adventure.

Here’s a summary of the features that comes with the new Adventure Mode:

• Monsters still exist in the game but they won’t attack you anymore.
  
• Locations that contained pitch black darkness have been brightened up a lot, making environments possible to explore at one’s own pace, allowing for easier navigation and removes some of the oppressive atmosphere.
  
• No active fear mechanic, meaning that you don’t have to worry about taking fear from being in darker areas or near monsters.
  
• A few bonus puzzles.

For those of you who still want the horror experience, the Original mode is still available to you, but we hope that this new mode will be a nice alternative for others.

We are celebrating the release with a 40% discount on Amnesia: Rebirth, and 80% off on all our other games!

Is this for real? Monsters don't exist in Adventure mode. If they exist, they don't attack you. Wow. Let me continue: if they attack you, you get teleported past them to the end of the puzzle to ensure a smooth and immersive experience so you can better connect emotionally with a pregnant protagonist that doesn't shut the fuck up.
These are the same guys that made Amnesia 1? No way, it can't be.

 

[Spukrian]

The matches game mechanic was "borrowed" from another Swedish indie horror game, Unforgiving: A Northern Hymn. Sure, having matches and having them run out probably isn't particularly original in horror games, I just don't feel it's a coincidence. I haven't played Unforgiving but I'm 100% sure that it's better than Rebirth.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

60% off. Highly recommended if you were waiting for a price cut.

 

[Ivan]

Highly, really? Rebirth was massively disappointing, esp after TDD + Soma. Rebirth was such a swing and a miss that it left pretty dumbfounded that it was released by the same folks.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Highly, really? Rebirth was massively disappointing, esp after TDD + Soma. Rebirth was such a swing and a miss that it left pretty dumbfounded that it was released by the same folks.

Disappointing compared to SOMA? On it's own, it was still a well done atmospheric adventure worth playing.

 

[Jenkem]

Soma doesn't have a character that constantly narrates what he's seeing.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Soma doesn't have a character that constantly narrates what he's seeing.

This looks like Jenkem's post.