Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

I became sacred of pigs thanks to playing this. Scary and unique game.

We are the pig, professor. We are all the pigs

Having never played any other Amnesia games, I played this for the story, and was not disappointed

I have so many questions after playing this game:

Why do the enemies (the piggies) look like they escaped straight from a rejected episode of Looney Tunes? Was I supposed to be scared? And what is the point of having multiple doors when only one door works? Also, why did the devs think cranking up the blurry vision effect to maximum vertigo would make the game more immersive? After finishing the game, I feel like I just got off a rollercoaster.

If I had to describe this game from my perspective, I’d say: imagine some people whining that Amnesia: The Dark Descent was too stressful and too hard, and then the devs came along and gave birth to this game just to lick those people's balls. Additionally, it feels like this game was made under the assumption that players are rocking, at most, 20 IQ points.

Machine for Pigs in my opinion is a big downgrade from TDD. It doesn't connect very well and a lot of great things from TDD are removed, such as; Inventory, Stealth, Healing and Health in general, and more. Along with boring puzzles and unintuitive gameplay can lead to an underwhelming experience. It's not an awful game, it just isn't an Amnesia game. Thankfully it has no real contributing story elements to the other games so you can skip it just fine, however the games story itself is pretty interesting. But that really just makes this a walking sim. I wouldn't recommend buying at full price, but please do play The Dark Descent, Rebirth, or Bunker as those games are phenominal.

Not as solid as its predecessor, but worth your time

I was a bit on the fence with this game. On the one hand A Machine for Pigs is a bit of a letdown after playing The Dark Descent. On the other hand, I did have some fun and enjoyed the story.

A subpar sequel

Let's discuss why I think many people dislike A Machine for Pigs.

No danger or tension

While The Dark Descent kept you in constant tension, keen to unveil the next bit of the plot, and shit-scared of exploring the unknown, A Machine for Pigs fails to do so. For instance, I never once felt I was in real danger. This was true to the extent that upon encountering the first real pig I just stood there thinking it was another "pig apparition" that would soon go away. Until it mauled my face, that is. Moreover, not needing to manage lamp oil and tinderboxes leaves the player to a very relaxed exploration with no pressure.

Poor story development

The story is good, but I think it doesn't deliver much until the end sequence, and when it does, it's all done precipitously.

Too linear

The exploration part is lacking too. None of the previous games from Frictional Games were open-world or anything close to it, but within your cage you had enough freedom and choices to feel like you were exploring a wide area. Not this time, though. This game will hold you by the hand and lead you to the one and only path in one of the most linear games I've played in a while. Of course, it must be quite hard to make a non-linear game when your character does not have an inventory to carry items. Yes, you read that right; there's no inventory. I think this simple fact contributes to 2 of the big flaws in this game: the aforementioned linear nature and the simplicity and ease of the puzzles. I never thought I'd say this, but the puzzles in this Amnesia entry are so easy that they are irrelevant to the game experience. No thought, no challenge... you may as well not have them. Unfortunately, if they removed them this would be Amnesia: the film and they probably didn't have the budget for it.

Watered down Amnesia

One thing I notcied, and struck me as a bizarre design choice, is that they seem to have severely reduced the interactible objects. In all previous games most objects in every room could be interacted with; drawers opened, chairs tossed around, vases, planks... in this one you can only open some drawers, most objects are just for decoration (including most doors), and the only ones that have carried over the ability to interact are the chairs. Seriously? Chairs?!? Of all bloody things? The one thing you've never, ever needed in any game? This has the additional drawback that pretty much spoils most puzzles. Not that you needed any help to begin with, but if you spot an object you can grab it's a good indication that you'll need it to solve the next puzzle. What makes it even stranger is that the menu windows etc. look identical to The Dark Descent. This means they intentionally thought they should cut down on that front and not let the player do much. Very sad if you ask me.

An interesting experience

Still, after all that, I would recommend this game because it was fun and has good things going for it. The music is astounding - probably the best I've seen from Frictional Games - and it does help build their trademark atmosphere. The house, the streets, the machine etc. are all artistically spot on as per usual. And the story, even if rushed in the end, was good overall. You will have a few jump-scares, even if nowhere near the quality of those in The Dark Descent.

An independent plot

Another good thing about it is that the plot is 99% independent from The Dark Descent. If you couldn't finish that one because you got a pacemaker or you couldn't keep up with clean underwear, then you're in luck because the story is self-contained. There are a couple of references to characters in The Dark Descent, but you don't need to know anything about them to fully enjoy and understand the story.

Final thoughts and score

I think the game is mainly criticised because it's certainly a step down from the previous one, which is a masterpiece. If you ask me, such simple puzzles make the game just slightly more interactive than games like Detroit Become Human or Fahrenheit, and I can see that putting many people off and consequently thumbing it down. If we consider it standalone though, - let's self-induce temporary amnesia just like Daniel did and forget the first game exists - I think most people would thumb it up. However, they would do so with a caveat: don't pay full price for this game. It took me 6 hours to beat it and the full price seems to be £16.75. Hmmmm... not so sure about that. I'd say don't pay more than £5: this is a 12-year-old game that is very short and has near-zero replay value... unless they come up with direct sequels or prequels. "From Russia with oink", "You only oink twice", "License to oink", and of course, "Top oink". 6.8/10.

Very Good

I feel like A Machine For Pigs gets a bad rep from players because of how different it is to The Dark Decent, but I think it has a lot of really great qualities that get overlooked.
It has it's flaws, sure, there is no such thing as a perfect game. Even though it crashed once or twice and even though the actual danger took a long time to kick in, I think the story, the music, the voice acting and the world created was more than enough to carry it.
I'll admit, the ending got me way more than I expected.

Just, give it a chance. Keep an open mind going in. Let it surprise you.

The game and the story? Great just like Dark Descent, albeit a bit different in gameplay. The stability of the game? Horrid. I can't in good conscience suggest this game to anyone cause you WILL get a ton of crashes and they WILL erase a decent bit of progression if the level is particularly long.

3/4 of the game were fine. The ending was a bunch of slop

pig

I love this series of games! PLAY IT!!!!!

не страшно, но интересно

Now see here its a good game but expect it to crash a lot and it is a much different experince compared to the dark decent but the story is a hard carry

Mix of moderately creepy, effectively grim, and often extremely goofy, overall pretty charming. Could do with a little more sense of "threat" from what enemies there are. Mechanically, it's done away with some of the more effective tricks from Dark Descent and I don't know that the tricks which replaced them is necessarily better -it has an annoying habit of showing you a pigman who immediately wanders away without seeing you and then vanishes, but summed up- a short and enjoyable, if rather shaky and inconsistent ride.

loved it, after tdd i had very high expectations. there is something about the amnesia games and it leaving an impact after, its mild yet very exciting even story wise. sometimes it was difficult to follow the story and there werent many encounters + the only thing i am negative about is the slowmotion when you enter a certain area that just lasts too long for my liking. other than that its totally worth the time and price

₍ᐢ･⚇･ᐢ₎

A Machine for Pigs was a pleasant surprise for me because ever since it came out fans of Amnesia: The Dark Descent kept nagging on how it was a complete disappointment, and here my friend I completely disagree after playing it for the first time. As an amnesia game I honestly give it a 6/10 because of the lack of significant threats and mechanics that were present in the prequel. However, as a standalone game I can easily give it an 8/10 for the grimy steam punk aesthetic and the fantastic story that keeps getting better the more that you play. Overall, this game compensates for the lack of horror with an awesome story that makes it a great experience in my books.

Excellent, thought provoking story. It is very light on gameplay mechanics aside from some light point & click-esque puzzles. But I had an enjoyable 4.5 hours. If you are looking for a narrative driven horror game, this is worth your time.

Really good story but less scary, but the horror is still good.

oink

Underrated asf
The story is fucking amazing

had alot of fun with it. the story is more enjoyable and "finished" i want to say than tdd. it is a walking sim but the atmosphere created is very good and youll still tweak out at points. if what you liked from tdd was the atmosphere and story than this is a defo play youll love this one aswell. if its gameplay youre after im sorry vro....

wasted potential, could've been incredible, the first hour was very good... but yeah, then it's wasted potential, it's a game that is very good in theory, but it could've been 20x better VERY easily in practice

Well after playing through it I cannot really recommend the game. it is OK, but honestly too short and not of the quality of the first game. 5/10

This game is like an arthouse filmmaker who's only every watched Harmony Korine and Abel Ferrara decided to play video games for the first time, and the only two games they played were Amneisa: The Dark Descent and BioShock, and decided 'these games are too fun, I need to make them less fun and add more arthouse bullshit. Also, how can I make this game run like garbage on modern hardware, stutter for several minutes loading a new chapter, and crash repeatedly trying to load chapter 10 multiple times, and since I don't want save points, that'll make them repeat the same chapter multiple times. THAT's the experience video game players need'

It's okay. honestly its a bit boring like walking simulator but horror version. Overall not horrible story ig.

Not only did this game crash for me 3 times in the 30 minutes that I played, when I first launched the game, there was already a profile called "Hi", which absolutely was not me. When I clicked continue it spawned me 10 minutes into the first area. This game is cursed and I'm never installing it again.

One of the few horror games to stand the test of time, no remaster needed. If you tire of constant cheap jumpscares in video games, you'll enjoy the atmosphere of the game.

It’s funny to think back that approx. 10 years back, the younger version of me couldn’t even pass the first level in 4 hours of time in Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs before he uninstalled it and left it to “play later” categorization in his Steam Library.

Back to present, finished the whole game under the two and half hours. Well, it is product of the time; Encountered piggies are mostly just grotesque to look at and gameplay rolls around playing tag with them throughout multiple levels with little puzzle elements. Comes also with extra boosted SFX and screen shaking effects.

Final score from current self: 6/10

Final score from past self: 9/10

Simpler gameplay than the others but still really scary

The story is amazing. The gameplay is a walking sim.
It's not bad... it's just not as good as the first game.

⭐ Rating: 6.5/10 ⭐

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs takes a different approach from The Dark Descent, shifting away from complex gameplay mechanics in favor of a more narrative-driven experience. Developed by The Chinese Room, the game leans heavily on storytelling, atmosphere, and psychological horror rather than resource management and survival elements.

Pros:
✅ Strong atmosphere – The game excels in environmental storytelling, with eerie sound design and disturbing visuals that create an unsettling mood.
✅ Compelling narrative – If you enjoy deep, philosophical horror with themes of industrialization and human corruption, the story will likely intrigue you.
✅ No resource management – No sanity meter or inventory means a more streamlined experience, which some players may appreciate.

Cons:
❌ Less interactivity – Unlike The Dark Descent, there’s no real inventory system, and puzzles are minimal, making gameplay feel simplified.
❌ Short playtime – Can be completed in around 4-5 hours, making it feel more like a long interactive horror story rather than a full-fledged survival horror game.
❌ Less scary – While still disturbing, it lacks the same level of terror and tension that The Dark Descent had, due to the removal of sanity effects and fewer monster encounters.

Final Verdict:
If you go in expecting another Amnesia: The Dark Descent, you might be disappointed. However, if you’re a fan of atmospheric horror and enjoy games like Dear Esther or SOMA, you’ll likely appreciate its narrative and unsettling world. Worth playing for the story and atmosphere, but don’t expect the same level of fear and challenge as its predecessor.

💀 Recommended? Yes, but only if you enjoy story-driven horror.

Honestly this was a really enjoyable horror game, I'm not sure why it got absolutely ripped to shreds at the time other than it being a sequel to Amnesia.

A beautiful story doesn't save A Machine for Pigs from it's lackluster gameplay and regular crashes.

That said, I would be interested to see what a third party developer could do with the new systems developed by frictional since The Dark Descent's release.

Really eerie environment and story

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs Review

Summary:

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This game was definitely a step back in the horror feel that The Dark Descent brought, and was more focused on story. There were definitely still some scary moments in this game, but it was story driven for sure. The game is very very short, and felt more like a DLC then a full game. The game took me around 6 hours to 100%, so causally playing will be even shorter. That being said, I still really enjoyed this game and the environment you play in. The choices are pretty straight forward and lead you to the exact result. I thought that the story was very interesting and was very tragic. Not as scary, but still worth the play.
A firm 6/10 overall

Storyline:

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This game follows Oswald Mandus, a wealthy industrialist who awakens with a fractured memory after a mysterious illness. He finds himself in his mansion, where strange and terrifying things are unfolding. As he explores the mansion and its underground factory, he uncovers disturbing truths about his involvement in a horrific experiment. He is talked to by someone named "The Engineer" telling him that his sons are trapped below in the machine.

Mandus had been experimenting with a machine that could make huge amounts of pork to help combat the hungry. However, the machine became corrupted and also so did the people involved, turning them into things called Manpigs.


The Engineerbetrays Mandus when having him turn the machine back on, and lets Manpigs loose onto the street taking and killing victims. As Mandus unravels his past, he realizes his own role in the monstrosities, including the fact that the machine is still running, powered by human suffering. He created the machine for human sacrifice to self mankind from itself. His evil and twisted soul is merged with the machine and creates "The Engineer". Like in the first game, an orb seems to have a tie in to the story.

Mandus learn's everything of his past and decides that the machine must be stopped and destroy it for good. The Engineer tries to stop him to his best abilities, but fails, and Mandus succeeds in destroying the machine and them.

It was a very interesting story, but also quite sad in the way that it is played out. I think the story obviously carries this game and is the best part. 8/10

Combat & Gameplay:

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The gameplay mechanics are very basic but in my opinion hold up very well and do not feel clunky at all. You carry a lantern and pick up items that can be important to the story that will be used from your inventory. This is exactly like the first game, and this feels even more refined then the first. 8/10

Collectibles:

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One of the achievements in the game is to get all of the notes, so you need to make sure as you progress you are grabbing them all. That is really the only collectible achievement in this game, so not too bad. Could have maybe used a little bit more, but that is okay. 6/10

I recommend following Division's guide, as he makes it very simple to find everything:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2981456003

The Manpigs always looked a little funny walking around, made it easier to be less SCARED!!!!!! ;)

Honestly, I wanted to love this game! Anyone who knew me back when this came out knew I was so SO pumped for this game! Then it came out and just fell flat.
I'll admit, the story is GREAT! The atmosphere is GREAT! The music is PERFECT!!!
But the gameplay itself? It's pretty mid. You can only interact with things the game wants you to for story progression so no more throwing things at the monsters. You automatically heal instead of needing to find healing items and most importantly, you can take like 5 hits from the monsters, In The Dark Descent you had 2 max, so you can sprint past these monsters, take a few hits in the process and heal up afterwards. There's no real risk meaning there's no real scare.

If you're after a story, then the story here is great, just be ready to go through some boring game play to get it

To a lot of people, especially fans of original The Dark Descent, A Machine for Pigs has cemented itself as one big disappointment to the point that I'm pretty sure it's never mentioned later in Rebirth. Mainly because it seems like The Chinese Room has cut off a lot of horror elements since their first trailer for the game in favour of story and atmosphere. In the original every time a Grunt showed up on the level you risked getting caught if you weren't careful because it was an actual physical presence and therefore a threat, and it could show up anywhere. Here, however, unless you are in a specific arena-like section or a scripted chase sequence Wretches act as nothing more than a cheap scare simply to SHOW you that they are everywhere around you except they don't react to you at all. In some places around the levels there are oddly convenient hiding spots as if the Wretches were meant to be there for you to hide from but sadly they never come into play. Not to mention somewhat wasted potential of Wretch variants.

The Dark Descent's story was relatively straight-forward, coherent and somewhat grounded in possible reality. Every piece of the narrative fit together with just enough ambiguity to keep you guessing the whole way through. And in the end the whole journey can have a satisfying payoff. A Machine for Pigs cranks up that ambiguity to ridiculous levels. The general idea of events is there for you to piece together but the narrative is very on and off about the clarity of details it's trying to sell you with a bitter-sweet ending to top it all off. It's a chilling psycological horror story and it makes just enough sense to work but once you start thinking about its details it's actually pretty bizarre and over-the-top and it starts getting hard to believe.

BUT! All that aside, if you simply try to immerse yourself in this world, if you just take everything at face value this game is quite an experience. The atmosphere of the world you're thrown into is haunting, suffocating and still manages to keep you on edge. Sound design really makes you feel like a lonely insect trapped in a gigantic yet tight, cold yet living, merciless machine ready to crush you the moment you take the wrong step. Level design and overall style work at helping you believe the Victorian Industrial Revolution era you're in. The soundtrack is incredible and wraps the atmosphere of the game together wonderfully. And though the story is ridiculous, at the end of the day it works though probably not to the extend it was hoping for.

All in all, in my opinion A Machine for Pigs is very underrated and deserves a playthrough or two. Compared to the original it's one big missed opportunity and an undercooked dish but on its own it gets the job done at immersing you and keeping you on edge even after you finish it once. It's my personal favourite Amnesia and one of my favourite horror games. Thanks to its industrial setting I fell in love with steampunk and everything related to it. It's such a shame that it's also the only Amnesia game that doesn't have a Workshop support on Steam, I would absolutely love to see what certain enthusiasts would create using its assets since, like I said, the game is brimming with unused potential that in skillful hands could be turned into a worthy successor of The Dark Descent.

BORING AF

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs takes the psychological horror of the original Amnesia and introduces a new, chilling atmosphere. Set in a dark, twisted industrial world, you play as a man suffering from amnesia, slowly uncovering the horrors of his past while navigating a nightmarish labyrinth of machines and disturbing creatures. The game emphasizes atmosphere and storytelling over combat, using sound and visuals to build a constant sense of dread. While it’s a bit more narrative-driven than its predecessor, the unsettling tone and eerie environments keep you on edge throughout. If you’re a fan of slow-burn horror that digs deep into the mind and unsettling lore, A Machine for Pigs is a hauntingly memorable experience.

i honestly like this one more then dark descent. great story good game. played it 3 times just to get 100% achievements

It's not hard to see why fans of the original Amnesia disliked this one. Most of the gameplay elements were essentially just removed to streamline the storytelling and keep the game moving at a brisk pace. A Machine for Pigs can't be a considered a successor to The Dark Descent (which was a survival horror masterpiece) in any way, but rather an experimental spin-off that does its own thing in the Amnesia universe.

If you're familiar with games made by The Chinese Room, you should know what to expect - minimal gameplay that's only there to advance the story as opposed to gameplay for gameplay's sake. While they're excellent writers, their games often don't really work. Korsakovia had a brilliant and surreal atmosphere though was filled with annoyingly challenging first person platforming that hurt the pacing; Dear Esther had so little interactivity or anything of interest happening on screen that you get bored playing within 10 minutes and the whole thing would've just worked better as an audiobook.

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs however is when everything just clicked. The story, atmosphere and light gameplay all came together to deliver an excellent 4 hour thriller that keeps you hooked from start to finish. It's linear to the point of being on-rails and the puzzles have been dumbed down to a mobile phone casual gamer level of difficulty, yet all this can be forgiven as the star of the show is the story, and these design choices were made with the pacing of the storytelling in mind. Nevertheless, the gameplay is still engaging and fun even though it's been heavily simplified.

If you've played the first Amnesia, go into this one with an open mind and enjoy what it has to offer. It's a very different game that's good in its own way.

I'm a huge fan of Gothic horror- and boy does this game deliver. If you've played the Dark Descent, be prepared this one is not similar. The world around you is rich, intense, and expertly orchestrated by Jessica Curry- the only drawback being the lack of interaction with objects. I like to form emotional connections to inanimate in-game entities when I'm afraid, and that is not possible here. Otherwise, it's perfect.
The story is so deep, troubling and anxiety inducing. There are very few moments of reprieve in this world, the in game lore is disturbing and twisted. I've played it about a dozen times between Steam and my consoles.

Misunderstood masterpiece. Incredible story, sound, atmosphere...sadness, dark... bad gameplay tho. as in, they took away a lot of cool mechanics from the previous game. it may not be a good game, but i find it a fine piece of horror media

The story and lore are incredible, and the monologs from this game is some of the most memorable I've ever heard.

People may not like this game from the gameplay and monsters, but the history is top tier movie shit, i loved it!

The ending alone makes this a masterpiece in my opinion.

Crashed right at the peak of the game, restart and forced to do an entire area again, crash at the end of the same level again. This crap is just not built well compared to any of the others. Felt like a walking simulator the majority of the time.

I wish i could give neither a good or bad on this one, more like a meh. A Encapsulating narrative as usual from frictional games, stuck inside a very mediocre "game". Story would have been much more effective as a book or even a movie.