Digging your own grave… Develper: Frictional Games
Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Genre: Adventure, Survival Horror
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac
Mode: Singleplayer
Release Date: 25th of March 2007/ 12th of February 2008/ 27 of August 2008 in sequence
System Requirements: OS: Windows 2000/XP, Processor: Pentium 3 @ 1 GHz or Equivalent
Memory: 256 Mb, Video Memory: 64 Mb, Video Card: nVidia GeForce 3 / ATI Radeon 8500
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible, DirectX: 9.0c
An oasis to the horror adventure games. It has been quite a while since any decent game could actually be called a horror one. Achieving the title of “Horror” isn’t easy, but Frictional Studios did manage.
Plot
In Penumbra Overture, Philip, the protagonist of the series, received a letter from his father who left before his son was born, shortly after Philip’s mother died. In the letter, after some words asking for forgiveness, there were instructions and a key for a safety deposit box in a bank. Philip visited the bank and found out that his father was declared dead thirty years ago and that he was the executioner of the account. In the box was a book and some notes that Philip was instructed, by his father’s letter, to destroy. But his curiosity couldn’t let him do that. The book contained scientific stuff which he couldn’t understand, while in the notes was described an inhabited location in Northern Greenland. Philip booked a flight and then boarded on a ship to get there. Then you take control of your character. When you get off the ship and pass through a blizzard you will find a frozen hatch which is the entrance to an abandoned mine. Once you get in there is no way back, so your only option is through a sealed door hidden into the mine leading deeper in the ground to the unknown.
As for the Penumbra Black Plague, you take again control of Philip. He is fainted and locked in a room. Screams are heard from a room nearby and Philip desperately will try to dinf a way out. As he moves on he will slowly realise what was going on in here and what happenned to the mine's staff and scientists.During Black Plague you will explore a (not totally abandoned) scientific facility called The Shelter. Philip will try to find a way to escape this facility, an effort which leads to failure. His only chance for leaving this mine is sending a message outside calling for help.
Unlike the first two games, Penumbra Requiem’s doesn’t follow the plot. You control a strange man( Frictional Studios doesn’t give any clue if he is Philip or not). Only in the last in-game video, he seems to be Philip but it never gets clear. You also don’t get any clues about your exact location.
Gameplay
Penumbra episodes are first-person adventure horror games. They are mainly based on puzzle solving. Your mouse works like a hand. Left click is for grabbing an object. If it’s not too heavy you can move it by moving your mouse. You can also throw it by grabbing it and then pressing right click. Drawers or doors can be opened if you «push» or «pull» to the according direction with your mouse. There is a notebook, where Philip keeps the notes that are scattered all over the game, which may give you some useful hints to solve the puzzles.
Your allies against the underground darkness are a glowstick, a flashlight and some flares. Except from these items, in your inventory, you can collect more things like painkillers (for maintaining a good health), batteries (keeping the flashlight on), keys and other stuff.
The thing that distinguished Penumbra from other horror games is the absence of weapons. You are literally not going to get any actual weapons. Penumbra Overture and Penumbra Black Plague belong to the rare games that you have to think twice before running around without reason or making all kinds of noise. Frictional Studios make it clear from the first moment; Philip is just an ordinary man who can’t go on a rampage killing everything in sight. Also, one or two will be enough to kill you. Of course, you will find a hammer and a pickaxe that can be used as weapons, but (assuming you play in hard mode) they will not do any significant damage.
In Penumbra Overture, Philip faces spiders and undead patrolling dogs and in Penumbra Black Plague there are creepy zombie-like creatures (which some carry a rusty axe). Stealth is your best defense against them. Just hide in a dark corner and switch off any light source. In a few seconds, Phlip’s eyes will «adjust» to the dark environment and you will be able to see the enemies, mostly at close range, but they will not be able to see you. You can also use items to cover yourself, i.e you can move a barrel in-front of you. So, you let them pass and then you go on, or else you probably going to end up dead. However, if an enemy approaches very close and you stare at them Philip can panic and blow his cover.
On the contrary, Requiem is an entirely puzzle-solving game with no sense of danger, since there are no strange creatures willing to kill you. You solve the puzzles in order to collect a certain number of «keys» and the next level’s door will be unlocked. Requiem is not even as dark as its predecessors. The way the environments are designed and its ending video are the only things that make this last episode part of the Penumbra series.
Sound
Frictional Studios should be proud of their first game series’ soundtrack. In all episodes, during the whole game, you hear pieces of exquisite ambient music. You may consider it as soft and creepy. But, I’d better describe it as depressing. This feeling enhances the first impression you get from the game; that the story will not have a happy end. It’s like watching Philip digging his own grave deeper and deeper. The in-game sounds like undead dog’s growl, door’s creaking and a man’s whispering words you can’t understand add points to the scary side of Penumbra. Despite the fact that you don’t hear Philip speak, voice-acting is really amazing. In Overture, Red, a mad miner, talks to you through a radio. In Black Plague, you can hear your sarcastic other-self, Clarence, talking to you. You are never going to meet these characters in the game but their voices are an imposing element for the game.
Graphics
Penumbra series, as you have already figured, is mostly based on its story and scary atmosphere to succeed. This doesn’t make it necessary, that its graphics are bad; they are just acceptable and more. Indeed, Frictional Studios didn’t care much about the graphic quality, but the game itself doesn’t need it. Most items have a nice detail and that’s it. You are always underground (except from some minutes in Black Plague) where the sunlight can’t reach you or your environment. Obviously, your flashlight is not enough to see everything in detail. Furthermore, Frictional Studios emphasized where it was truly needed. Blood is all over the place, lying on walls or on the floor. There are human or animal corpses picturing what is going to happen to Philip if he doesn’t get out of the underground «world» soon enough. Enemies are low in details too, but this is also part of the «illusion». Everything is so dark, so the graphical quality doesn’t need to be at its best. Despite the minor graphical simplicity, Penumbra has once of the best physics engines. Nearly all items can be moved, carrier or thrown way. According to the strength of your throw/swing, accordingly the item you throw/hit will move. A harried opening of a drawer will move all of its componets to the front, just like real life. Graphics are good but physics are simply magnificent.
Plot 7
Gameplay 8
Graphics 7
Sound 9
Constitution 9
General 7,5
Pros: Creepey atmosphere, good pieces of ambient music, plot, puzzles, voice acting, physics
Cons: Despite the dark environment graphics could be a little better, Requiem’s lack of enemies and its predecessors’ atmosphere, Requiem seems to be out of the blue from the two previous episodes
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| Once you get in....there is no way out |
A masterpiece of horror…and anxiety. A good series that shouldn’t be missing from your collection.
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