Buy Penumbra Collectors Pack

As someone who has played this magnificent horror game on every difficulty, the title of this game should be changed to Dog-Slayer DX.

First of all, I am a big fan of amnesia.I really like the genre.It's the only game that scared me that much.I thought it would be the same for this game but....... I was wrong.I mean seriously dogs and spiders ?I know it changes in the second episode but DOGS AND SPIDERS??? I expected some ♥♥♥♥ed up zombie thing not a dumb dog that is just pain in the ♥♥♥.I have also experienced some bugs in the game which were pretty annoying(objects going invisible etc.) but I believe the reason is I am using a Mac(a.k.a. ♥♥♥♥♥♥ computer ) .I hope the second game is much better than this one.I will update the review when I finish the game.

*installs game*
*opens game*
*snowstorm*
*sees a metallic hatch*
*goes in*
*finds way to mines*
*goes to office*
*thinks 'no spooky at all'*
*comes out from the office*
*sees a dog*
*closes the game*
*cant sleep*

Gr8 m8 i r8 8/8

Since I'm in a reviewing mood I thought I'd write a review about this game.

Honestly, I really wish there was a "Meh" button for reviews instead of giving it a Positive or Negative because that's exactly what this game is, however I'm leaning towards Yes so I'll give a positive review.

Penumbra Overture is the first in the series, the game after this is Penumbra : Black Plague and you have an additional game which is Penumbra : Requiem which is just a puzzle-solving one. These games are surrounded in horror, puzzles and story telling.

Length/Replay Value
First thing that pops in to my mind when I'm purchasing a game is the actual length of the game and how much replay value it has. I purchased this game at the end of 2014 and didn't really touch it up until this day where I managed to finish it in pretty much one sitting. This game on average will take around 5-6 hours to complete... yes I said it... 5-6 HOURS! To me, I think that a horror game such as this deserves much more time to it. Is this game one I can go back and play? Not really. Maybe in a few years since I finished Penumbra : Black Plague a few years ago and now I've got the urge to play it again but other then that there isn't really anything to do in the game. No collectibles or anything like that. Just a game which requires you to avoid dogs, solve puzzles and be trapped in some creepy atmospheric mine. The replay value just isn't there.

Graphical
The game was released in 2007 and still looks pretty damn good considering it was released almost TEN years ago! Of course, it won't be as good as modern day games but for it's time I would have said that this game was great and it still is!

Gameplay
The game itself is actually very immersive, the music is creepy which really adds to the scary atmosphere and you are stuck underground in mines/caves with flesh eating dogs after you, massive worms and caves full of spiders, solving puzzles and trying to survive. Sounds cool right? Weeelllll... the game does start off great, the first time you enter the mine and hear the sound of a dog really does shake you up! But as the game progresses you realise that there is a lot of repetition that is used. You see, throughout this game there are sections where the level layout is very identical... similar looking corridors and mines which branch off different ways to different rooms which require you to go to in order to get specific items to progress and using them specific items to open a "locked door" in one of the corridors. It gets boring after a while and what makes it even more boring is that the monsters that roam the corridors/mines are just dogs. In the caves there are spiders and there is a part with a worm but we're talking corridor/mine sequences... pure dogs. Unlike Black Plague where that had the Tuurngait [http://penumbra.wikia.com/wiki/Tuurngait_Infected], this one had dogs that you had to constantly avoid and could easily be avoided by throwing beef jerky around and locking them in cages. The Tuurngait actually carried flashlights in some stages and could see you in the dark, the dogs couldn't do that. I went through the game without getting spotted by a dog once because all I did was wait corners and wait for them to pass. That's another thing that annoyed me, Dogs are supposed to have really good noses and be able to smell stuff better than a human can yet they couldn't smell a sweaty guy trapped in a mine who was sneaking behind them or right around a corner, staring them in the face?

SCARE Factor
Now this is a hard one, I don't know if it's because I'm getting older but games don't seem to scare me as much anymore unless it's a jumpscare but we all know they're no good in a horror game master-piece. Amnesia seemed to get it right. Back on point, this game had no jumpscares but was actually quite creepy when I played it briefly in 2014. If hiding from dogs, running from spiders and worms is your cup of tea then good! The atmosphere was kinda creepy? Personally though, this game didn't really have me scared or on the edge of my seat, If I was to rate it out of 10 on scare factor I would give it a 3.5/10


OVERALL
The game itself is quite an interesting game to sit down and play if you're in to puzzle solving and a slight bit of horror at the same time. It isn't that long and isn't on the edge of your seat scary so if you're someone with a weak heart and who hates scary games then this may be for you! Would I say it's worth it's price? Yeah. However, Black Plague was scarier in my opinion. :)

This is the game that changed the horror genre once and forever. It became the point of no return. This is indie low-budget game that influenced the industry up to AAA blockbusters. Outlast, Daylight, Alien Isolation, all these run-and-hide horror type games grew up from Penumbra and tried to evolve its mechanics in some way or another with no doubt. Nevertheless this game started it all, started so called new golden age of horror games.

Penumbra: Overture is the first in a series of horror games released in early 2007. While the developers like to class this as a first person adventure game, I would also say there is quite a lot of elements of survival horror and psychological horror.

The game uses a game engine called Newton Game Dynamics which is known for it's physical and realistic simulations. The adventure portion of the game focused a lot on physics based puzzles as well as a physics based combat system (i'll get more into that later). You can also play a lot of this game as stealthy as possible. The AI in Overture is well coded and respond realistically to noises and light. There are also no guns or fire arms so your combat mechanics are based around manual weapons such as hammers and pick axes.

The combat system is the one aspect that I disliked to begin with; it is very hard to control as you actually have to swipe your mouse in the movement you would like to hit the enemy. It can sometimes get very confusing and you may end up turning your camera 180° without wanting to, then getting smacked in the back of the head, which at times can be the difference between life and death. I found I was able to get to grips with the technique eventually, it just took a lot of actual conscious thinking when I needed to use it. It's certainly not a mechanic I would like to see implemented in other games, at least not in this form.

Your main focus when playing is on exploration and classic adventure game object and item interactions. Most of the puzzles require searching for keys or other objects which can be placed in another object, such as batteries or motors. All of the puzzles resolution can all be found in the game; there are no wacky puzzles that are really impossible to work out. Clues can be found in books and letters, which again are found all over the game. The game is split into four chapters, each of these chapters has one "big" puzzle which may stump you for a while, they normally involve some sort of maneuvering of some kind, for instance my favorite is a steam pump floor and you have to memorize the pattern in which steam is pumped out of the floor, that puzzle alone takes a ton of thinking and memory skills to progress.

Graphically, Overture looks like a 2007 game, this is not a bad thing - it's just very dated. At the time this would of been a very good looking game. There are however fan made texture mods which make the game look amazing, and if you are confident in installing these type of mods, I would highly recommend giving it a try.

As with most horror games, the music and audio plays a massive role in Penumbra. Like I said at the start, this game has a lot of physiological horror elements. At times there isn't actually anything physically to be scared of, however the music tempo changes and suddenly you start hearing thumping sounds, then all of a sudden you are on the edge of your seat wanting to throw your headset on the floor. Penumbra does the audio side of things brilliantly; in fact if you we to play the game without sound on at all, it wouldn't even be remotely scary.

The story mode of Penumbra took me about four hours to complete, which is a solid amount of time for a adventure game like this and I was ultimately happy with the conclusion. Luckily you don't have to pay for each of the games in the series individually, so the price for all three is very well compromised with the length of the game.

I didn't have any technical issues with the game either, the game runs at a silky smooth 60 fps, and can be played at full higher resolutions which is always nice to see from older games.

If you are a fan of the horror and/or the adventure genre of games, you will certainly find alot of enjoyment in Penumbra. This is certainly a series that I am looking forward to playing the next installments of in the future.

If you found this review helpful, please consider giving it a thumbs up. You can also find more reviews over at http://www.completingthebackloggroup.com/

http://store.steampowered.com/app/22180

Would you like to know what was before Amnesia? If yes, Penumbra is for you as you have a chance to see the first survival horror game of Frictional Games.

Although not as terrifying, Penumbra Overture is still a relatively scary and interesting game where you pick up the story of Philip who has just arrived to Greenland to find his father based on the mysterious letter he'd received from him. To make it even more interesting: Philip had always thought his father had been dead.

The game puts emphasis on physics-based puzzle solving and physics based combat. Combat would be a bit harsh as usually the best thing to do is to run and other than a pickaxe or hammer we will not have any weapons at our disposal. Now, similarly to Amnesia, the protagonist has his own notepad where he writes his thoughts so this is how the story will gradually progress.

While somewhat short, Penumbra showed something new in this genre and those who liked the Amnesia games should definitely give this one a try.

Forget Amnesia, this is Frictional Games' underappreciated child that needs more recognition. Compared to Amnesia: The Dark Decent, this game brings more feelings of terror, two-fold the amount Amnesia had on me. In Penumbra, you cannot just run and hide from a situation to make everything okay, in most instances you are faced with a challenge to complete all while being stalked by a demon dog or infected crazies, which can be extrememly overwhelming. The storyline is intruiging, and the visuals are pretty good for a low-budget horror game. The monster AI can be a bit stupid at times, but it doesn't really take away from how terrifying they are. This is a game you will truly find yourself immersed in, and I would recommend it to any horror game fanatic (who doesn't already own it).

9/10

The most important fact here is Penumbra isn't a Amnesia game!

#Discussions_QuoteBlock_Author

Penumbra: Overture is a first person survival horror game, emphasizing on survival and problem solving instead of mindless violence and gore.

One of the best survival horror games i've ever played...

I love the Survival Horror style, but i'm so bad when i play puzzle games, in Penumbra Overture we have a quite simple puzzles (Don't worry) . Most of them consist of finding a way into locked rooms and discovering notes left by former occupants, and using clues left in the notes to make machines work or to put together various paraphernalia to aid in your escape. Remember... You must read the notes, because they are very important to understand the story!

I think Overture it's the best of all three games in the Penumbra series, because are so nostalgic when i play it. If you played Amnesia, there is a chance you'll like this game, because Overture is ancestor of The Dark Descent.

You play the game from a first person perspective, utilizing the ''WASD'' buttons for movement, and various keyboard keys for additional actions. You can use the mouse for specialized and realistic interaction with objects in the game. Quoting from the manual, “Almost all interaction in Penumbra behaves in a physically realistic manner…You grab an object by pressing and holding down (the left mouse button). To let the object go, just release the same button.” (just like Amnesia)

Note: Be careful, your game is automatically saved when you reaches checkpoints, or when you click on artifacts (special items).

To finish, i really recomend this game if you appreciate a simple game who can give to you a special experience using puzzles and the Survival Horrors mechanisms.

I swear, I've never muttered to myself "I'm so damn lonely" in a game except this one. Its atmosphere is great.

You're tucked away at some old abandoned mine with almost no hope to escape and you're not even sure why you're there in the end.