"Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs" Review

The original Amnesia game truly changed what it means to be a horror game. Its emphasis on cat and mouse, the lack of combat, and the emphasis on resource management made it a groundbreaking success. It created a system where a monster is stalking the halls and randomly passes by you, at which point you have to either hide or hunker down in total darkness and hope he doesn't see you. But, as you spend time in total darkness the character goes insane, so there is pressure to have some light with you most of the time, despite the chance of the monster seeing you.
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, is the sequel to the groundbreaking original, and it does absolutely none of the things that made the first game great. But I'll elaborate more on that later. Right now I'd like to pose a rhetorical question: Does Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs work? Well, the answer is: As a horror game, no. As a puzzle game, no. As an exploratory, atmosphere-based game, yes.
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The scenery in "A Machine for Pigs," is fantastic (1)

Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs trades in the gigantic Prussian mansion for a mansion and a factory in Industrial Revolution London. It is a location that is thrilling and a joy to explore. The atmosphere is palpable, so even with all the various failings that this game has, it is worth it because of how immersive the atmosphere is.
You play as Oswald Mandus, a man who awakens in his bedroom to find that he remembers very little. He knows that he has two sons that he must set out to find and that he is the foreman of Mandus Processing, a factory. But other than that, he doesn't remember much. He makes his way through his mansion searching for his sons and eventually comes across a phone that rings the second he enters the room. A voice comes over the phone and tells him how to save his sons, but he doesn't know who the voice is. From there, Mandus sets out on a quest to battle the efforts of a saboteur who will stop at nothing to keep him from his children.
In the original Amnesia, at some point we are told what caused Daniel to lose his memory, but no such treatment is given to Mandus. We go the entire game without knowing why he has no memory. In fact, for most of the time we are sort of left in the dark. We get occasional glimpses into the past, but for the most part the story is incomplete. Towards the end, the drama really increases, and it is well done, but there are still basically no answers to be found. I saw the main twist of A Machine for Pigs coming a mile away, and when the man on the phone's identity is revealed it is not an incredibly satisfying turn.
Really, the biggest strength of "A Machine for Pigs," is the scenery and soundtrack. The scenery is intricate and well-designed. The pig theme is present through things as small as a painting on a flight of stairs, and in the factory, machinery clangs and hisses to make you feel like you are being toyed with. The part of the soundtrack that is meant to fill you with fear accomplishes its goal, and the part of the soundtrack that is meant to fill in spaces of casual exploration are period-appropriate and beautiful.
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Oink? (2)

But onto the meat and bones of any Amnesia experience: The Monster. If you played the original Amnesia, then you remember the horrifying humanoid form that was torn up in multiple places on the body and with a split open jaw that twisted and separated as it lumbered after you, yelling. The monster in Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is...you guessed it...a pig. Not your friendly barnyard friend, but a gigantic man-pig. Yeah...it isn't that scary. Now, don't get me wrong: Being chased down a dark hallway by a lumbering bleeding man-pig that screams and screams and screams like a pig is horrifying. Utterly...utterly horrifying. Well, it would be, if I ever actually thought I was in danger. For the most part, the man-pig is just in the distance to make you feel dread, but they hardly ever actually enter the fray. And even if they are in the fray, they suffer from the "I walk over here...now I walk over there...repeat" programming. So, these sections that are supposed to horrify you while you sneak past monsters are just elementary games of "ok wait for a minute....now go." It just. Doesn't. Work. And even if you get killed by the man-pig, you just wake up in an unlocked cage....in the next area. There is no challenge, and there is no true scare factor. There were a few sections where they had the man-pig chase you, but it was always down a linear hallway with only one exit. That isn't scary, it is scripted! For all the horror that the hissing pipes and occasional thud in the machinery entails, the monster doesn't do anything.
They even brought back the most horrifying monster from the original: the water monster. For those of you who don't know, the water monster was simply a set of loud footprint-like splashes in the water. They followed you around and the moment you got in the water it would furiously splash towards you. These sections were the most panic-inducing parts of Amnesia, and you had to race through water and leap up onto a surface in a certain amount of time if you wanted to progress. They brought the water monster back for A Machine for Pigs, but they didn't. do. anything. with. it! It was entirely just there in the background, you drained the water, so you never had to dodge or evade them. So, even though I don't ever want to be chased by something that screams like a pig, the monsters in Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs are utter failures.
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The Pig Motif is present throughout (3)

So, now we come to the other ways in which Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs didn't live up to the first one. For one thing, the lantern has no oil. By that, I mean that the lantern doesn't run on oil. It has infinite oil. Oh, and you can also light candles without tinderboxes. In other words, there are no resources to manage. Great. I can have a light whenever I want. Thats totally scary. Not.
There is also no health or sanity system. Your health regenerates, and you never go insane. So basically you need not fear death nor insanity, because the developers didn't think to incorporate these things.
And also, while the pig motif is pretty interesting, it is sort of bashed into your head. Yeah, I get it. Workers are nothing but pigs to the big industry people in the industrial revolution. I got it from the beginning. But it is as if the developers are standing over your shoulder reminding you of that every five seconds.
Also, the whole inventory system is gone. Now, if you need to take a gear or something to a machine, you have to hold the mouse down for the entire walk. It is so inconvenient and annoying and it really makes any puzzles in the game obsolete because the solution is always the same: Carry "x" to "y."
Really, the only thing that A Machine for Pigs did better than the original was the ending. While it left a lot of questions unanswered, the ending to A Machine for Pigs was cerebral and dark and well done.
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Picture speaks for itself (2)

So, in the end, what is the verdict on Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs? It is by no means a failure, but it is by no means great, either. It is a fantastic exploration game, but a horrible horror and puzzle game. It fails in what it sets out to accomplish, but it accomplishes what was just a side aspect of their ultimate goal. And despite the massive amount of flaws, I had a great time playing.
6/10
Better luck next time, The Chinese Room.

Picture Sources:
Cover: www.amnesia.wikia.com
(1) www.geekeccentric.com
(2) www.amnesia.wikia.com
(3) www.strategyinformer.com