Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

my game keeps crashing when trying to load the final room. i really don't care, i am not missing very much. mid game, not fun but a little spooky.

There were like 6 pigs

game isn't too scary but is good at storytelling
very straightforward
some things are confusing, why the main character changed his mind in the first place from the start, but still enjoyable
almost like our character has some kind of amnesia

Why on earth would you remove everything good from the first game and amplify every bad part, if i'm playing a game id actually like to play the game for more then 5 seconds with no interruption

Solid short horror game, with good spooks, excellent atmosphere, and writing authentic to H.P. Lovecraft.

in gameplay terms a massive step down from the dark descent, but the writing here fucking COOKS anything that game was doing. absolutely worth playing for a fantastic story, once you get past the stripped down nature of the game itself.

My personal favorite of all the amnesia games. The story was really good and the game was not super scary.

This game being so mediocre 95% of it, and then suddenly throwing peak fiction at you in the last 5 minutes, is something that will never truly cease to impress me.

HEAVY SPOILERS BELOW!!!!!!

"Your sons will drown, lungs full of mud and sharpnel, on the banks of the Somme. You wanted to save them from the horror to come."

"I have stood knee deep in mud and bone and filled my lungs with mustard gas. I have seen two brothers fall. I have lain with holy wars and copulated with the autumnal fallout. I have dug trenches for the refugees; I have murdered dissidents where the ground never thaws and starved the masses into faith. A child's shadow burnt into the brickwork. A house of skulls in the jungle. The innocent, the innocent, Mandus, trod and bled and gassed and starved and beaten and murdered and enslaved. This is your coming century!"

"I lay there, and watched the god I had created die. At the end when we were cold as the stone we had hewn his body from. When the lights were nearly all extinguished, we heard in the silent distance, the Manpigs singing to one another. Then, as the last lights were gone, and we lay together in the deep, they drifted away, and all was silent. Such a silence, I have never known. And as the dust settled on my open eyes and we lay together embraced forever, I heard miles above us, the sounds of the city turning over in its sleep. A church bell ringing out. And in that moment, the new century was born."

Absolute cinema and peak writing.

Nothing like waking up from a fat nap to find your entire family missing and a strange man yelling at you to fix a machine you forgot you made... More linear that the other Amnesia installments, but an interesting story like the others. Not my favorite of the series, but if you're looking for a spook that's primarily atmospheric/story rich this is a great pick.

It's a great experience, maybe just not such a great game.

The story, voice acting, ambience, and music are all fantastic, and the Bataille-esque ideas and concepts that the narrative explores are fascinatingly grim.

The gameplay is stripped down and basic. It's more of a horror-themed walking sim than an actual horror game. It's not scary; it's linear, simple, and borderline unengaging to play, but as a method of delivering story, it works just fine.

It deserves more praise than it gets. I can understand disappointment if you look at this game as a sequel to Dark Descent, but as it's own entity, it scores well above what most people give it imo.

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is a slow moving, kind of scary, heavy on the graphics game that could use better lighting. I set the gamma down to 0.9, but there is still a kind of washed out fog over it all that probably looks better on a different video card. The graphics are good, but dark so it is hard to really take it all in which is just as well as the illusion of greatness is a shadow itself.
These Amnesia games remind me of our scientific roots in alchemy and insanity. They are some of the most twisted themes I have ever encountered. The story alone is a good enough reason to play this snail paced thriller.
There is a slight and infrequent screen stutter that using alt-tab to switch to some other app and then back again fixes. It seems to happen after every time the monster shows up or an animation is played. It is infrequent, but tedious.

I'm rather fond of the first game. but this one is a let down.

It's too short (it took me about 3 hours on a second playthrough, while collecting all notes), and I say that as someone who generally prefers games on the shorter side. The gameplay loop is way too barren; you weren't really doing a whole lot in the first one to be honest, but this one has less puzzles, less monster encounters, and less going on in general with its lack of inventory system and sanity mechanic. The puzzles usually boil down to interacting with an object or bringing something a few steps over. The monster encounters are nothing compared for the first one. There are very few where you're actually in danger and when you are, enemies are easily evaded and it requires several hits for you to die from them, so even if they find you it is pretty easy to run away from them. I didn't die once in my Steam playthrough and I'm pretty sure I did't die in my first playthrough on console a few years ago either. The game is also just way less frightening than the first one.

It still has good atmosphere though, and the soundtrack isn't bad. If you really loved the first one, you may want to play this one just for the experience (if you get it on sale or in a bundle) since its so quick and easy. But I would't recommend it in general.

Thank you, RagnarRox, for your Amnesia video inspiring me to re-play this. Truly over-hated and under-rated. A fine game that does things differently than the first Amnesia, somewhat to its detriment. But dropping from a 10/10 to an 8/10 still isn't garbage. And with a story that doesn't quite hit the masterpiece level of SOMA, but still is a solid experience, I can recommend horror fans to give this another honest try.

love the amnesia series. great game for what it is, id say easier than the first one, due to the lamp (amnesia darkness is driving me crazy). cool puzzles and i like pigs:)

While I'd like more, grander atmospheric environments to explore, and while the climactic action sequences fell rather flat (at least when Amnesia: Rebirth does this, it's comparable to the likes of Outlast), I did find that the dramatic story was actually very enjoyable this time around! That I am partial to the style of the prose is no doubt a factor.

The gameplay is, rather infamously, neutered from Frictional's other works, but I enjoy walking simulators quite well, so no points lost from me!

Overall, despite the visual presentation, poor both in graphical fidelity (for the time) and in performance (even on a modern machine!), this is a solid recommendation!

I think it was okay. The game doesn't spell out every detail about the story, but if you pay attention to your surroundings and care to read notes, you might enjoy it. Otherwise, it might not be worth your time as it is a walking sim with some interactions. Kinda like a visual short story. The real monsters aren't the pigs

It seems like a lot of this game's negative reviews are a result of people's expectations for the Amnesia series. If you really want a horror game with deep gameplay, go play Amnesia: The Bunker. If you're less demanding about what you want the game to be, A Machine For Pigs gets a strong recommendation from me. It accomplishes everything it sets out to do and it does it spectacularly.

Its highlights are the story, the music and the voice acting, paired with solid and evocative environment design. This game has unquestionably the best story in the series and one of the best horror game narratives of all time. If you value narrative in games, this one is a must-play in my opinion. If you don't, then it probably won't be for you.

Fans of The Chinese Room's other games (namely Dear Esther) will not be disappointed, as long as you have the stomach for a little bit of horror.

If you liked Amnesia: the Dark Descent, do not play this game. It is a straight line with no puzzles and few hazards.

It's so bad that, at one point towards the end, the game breaks the fourth wall with an on-screen tip to let you know that you can interact with the environment to escape a room—it only has to do this because you aren't used to trying anything, because otherwise it is never necessary.

It's not really like the other Amnesia games, in fact it feels like a story mod. The ambiance is great, the story is good but the game play is not interactive and the puzzles could barely be called so.

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is the spiritual successor to the classic Dark Descent: a revolutionary and terrifying experience. So is this game just as good? The answer is more complicated than just a simple yes or no, but most people would agree that this game is a pretty big let-down. So lets see what it has to offer.

The game is quite similar to the original: you walk around, solve puzzles, get chased/scared, and try to understand the story. That last part however is way more important here than the in previous iteration. In The Dark Descent, it felt like the story was secondary to the gameplay, many people played it not because of the story, but because of the horrifying monsters, the cool mechanics etc. You could play the entire game without reading any notes or paying attention to the dialogue and still have a great time. Here, however, the story is the biggest and most important part of the whole game. And if the story was some amazing masterpiece then I guess this game would have been better received, however its just okay, and just okay is not enough in this situation. The game is about half as long as the original, or just 4 hours long (I took more time to complete it because I explored a lot and got every achievement), certainly not enough time to create a great story that will get people invested. The atmosphere is the best part of this game in my opinion, it really does manage to make you feel like youre in Late Victorian Era Britain, I love it. The music and voice acting is also good, especially for the main character, however some of the sound effects they use are kind of out of place and there is no chase music. The characters are fine and the graphics are about the same as The Dark Descent. The puzzles are simple, almost too simple, I got stuck for a longer period of time only once in the entire game. The achievements are pretty easy but you may need to play the game a second time to get them all. And now, the biggest issues: first of all, they completely removed the inventory system, making the puzzles very easy as you can no longer combine items or use items that you picked up earlier, and along with removing the inventory they also removed oil and tinderboxes, meaning you can use your lantern forever. Also gone is the sanity system that didnt let you look at enemies or stay in the dark for an extended period of time. Another big issue is the monsters in this game. They are simply not as scary as the ones in the first game (The lack of chase music being a big part of why this is). A big part of the first game was that almost anything could be picked up and thrown around, in this game this mechanic has been neglected, you cannot pick up as many things. All of these factors make the game feel very underwhelming compared to its predecessor.

I would recommend this to a person that hasnt played or watched The Dark Descent, because on its own its an okay story focused horror game. To the people thinking that this will be a great sequel, not so much. I certainly would not spend 20 euros on this, waiting for a sale is necessary. If I could choose a mixed feelings option, I would, but since that doesnt exist, I cant say I recommend this game.

The game lost me until Mandus turned to the camera and said, "Huh... appears to be like a machine... A Machine for Pigs..." That and his line "What is this? Some kind of Amnesia??" really sealed the deal for me. This is the best game I have ever played.

Gameplay was boring, since it was far from The Dark Descent. Walking simulator.
Story was dumb
Game wasn't scary, although the pig enemies were disturbing they weren't used well at all. Same scare tactic everytime. Plus no insanity mechanic and no chase music.

Great story. Great on Steam Deck. Great for chilling out. Not challenging but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It made me think.

Very good story

Just finished this game and I would not recommend playing it

underrated, but so much missed potential.
i LOVE the setting of this game, the atmostphere is incredible, but the game is upsettingly let down by a lack of gameplay. Why get rid of the sanity? health meter? inventory? lamp oil? puzzles? its all gone..
All of the gameplay charm of TDD vanished in this game, but that being said, the story and ESPECIALLY ending are 1000% better.

Basically a walking simulator, including "scary"? atmosphere, but I found it quite annoying and boring. Do not recommend.

It's a walking simulator, surprising no one who knows what Chinese Room have put out before. The weakest entry in the Amnesia series, and a free skip for those looking to experience the whole thing. You are missing nothing with this one that can't be experienced by reading the Wikipedia page for it.

govno

It's like the other one but worse. That's all you need to know.

Let's assume you liked the first one, or are even one of those people who praise it as being a masterpiece in horror gaming.

Well this one takes the any real good that the first had, throws it out the window, and replaces it with goofy pig monsters and a bad story.

decent, confusing in some parts but decent.

I did not finish this, but I am sure it would be good. It just didn't hit the Amnesia vibes for me. I'll probably finish it eventually.

So far so good...

"On rails" cinematic horror. Not nearly as good as Dark Descent but if you don't go in expecting a sequel to that you might enjoy Machine's story telling and neat visuals. The removal of the inventory systems means a lot less survival in your surival horror and simplified puzzles.

This game is such a good balance of basic game mechanics, and storytelling. I love how this was very story oriented to the point where everything you interact with tells you something about it. At parts it was terrifying, at others it was intense but bearable. I recommend this for anyone who is really looking for a story rich game that is mentally traumatising whilst fun to play! As someone who has completed the game 100% It is enjoyable through and through!

Boring AF.

The final dialogue from *Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs* evokes themes and imagery reminiscent of several literary works and styles:

1. **Wilfred Owen** – The mention of "mud and bone" and "mustard gas" strongly recalls Owen's war poetry, particularly *"Dulce et Decorum Est"*, which vividly depicts the horrors of World War I, including gas attacks.

2. **T.S. Eliot** – The apocalyptic tone and imagery, especially phrases like "autumnal fallout" and "child's shadow burnt into the brickwork," echo Eliot's *"The Waste Land"*, with its fragmented vision of societal decay and destruction.

3. **Joseph Conrad** – The line "a house of skulls in the jungle" may reference Conrad's *"Heart of Darkness"*, which explores the brutal exploitation and dehumanization of colonialism.

4. **George Orwell** – Themes of mass oppression, dehumanization, and the line "starved the masses into faith" could align with Orwell's *"1984"* or his essays on totalitarianism and war.

5. **William Blake** – The stark juxtaposition of innocence and brutality echoes Blake’s *Songs of Innocence and Experience*, where innocence is corrupted by the evils of society.

6. **Biblical imagery** – The apocalyptic tone and references to judgment and consumption ("they will eat your hearts") evoke passages from the Book of Revelation.

The dialogue draws on this rich intertextuality to create a grim vision of industrialized violence and societal collapse.

DON'T BUY THIS! UNPLAYABLE DUE TO CRASHES!

Seriously, I can't even finish the game due to crashes. Throughout the game on each level transition it always crashes the first time, which I worked around by Save and Exit right before and trying again. But further in the game even Save and Exit could crash the game! Still I wanted to finish the bloody game. Problem is near the end of the game, taking an elevator down to next level transition it would crash 100% of the time, same if I did Save and Exit.

I litteraly can't finish this shitty game, which has other issues such as: Blue fog/tint which ruins the atmosphere, nothing scary happening, locked at 60fps and boring too simple puzzles.

Only decent thing was the story is somewhat interesting and the level design is cool. But considering all the negatives: STAY CLEAR OF THIS GAME! DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!

story was pretty good

Great story and writing, but the gameplay and visuals are not as good as The Dark Descent. Still worth a playthrough!

This game is almost like a walking simulator, and a pretty slow one. I obviously didn't expect it to be on the same level as The Dark Descent, but this is just way worse than I had imagined. Resource management, inventory, sanity system have been removed completely, the monsters, at least to me, are not scary and you cannot interact with 90% of the world's items. You are only allowed to do so, if the items are required to progress the story. If you really want to play this game, I highly recommend that you do so when it's on sale, because 20 bucks for this is insane.

Scary

Life is but a pig's dream.

Surely was different than we had from The Dark Descent, but that experience was chilling and thrilling at the same time.
Of course there is no inventory than in the previous Amnesia game, the lantern had an unlimited energy, and there was only one ending.

Other than that, the game was okay. But I think that The Dark Descent is surely one of the best Amnesia games that I've ever played!

Still, A Machine For Pigs was still an experience. It's your choice to play that game anyway.

Under rated

While not as good as the original, the game's story is amazing and worth it.
The story hits really hard, specially today.

Better story, worse game.

Like The Chinese Room's other game Dear Esther, this game is a walking simulator. A very British and pretentious one at that. Virtually all notable features of the first Amnesia are absent here, like the sanity meter and lantern depletion. All that remains is the unique door opening and some very underutilized physics (I swear you can only pick up chairs and nothing else). It may sound like I hate this game but I don't! It story lowkey rules, although too many crucial aspects are hidden behind collectible notes. In many ways I think this is my largest criticism, and probably what turned most off, as the story without them is pretty barebones. Game is also poorly optimized, and janky at times. But all in all still totally worth your time.

I might even prefer it over the first one, but it is definitely the worst game

7/10

Many bugs and crashes !!!

This is honestly my favorite Amnesia game. TDD is classic, but I love how heavily story driven this game is. I wish you could interact with more, and the puzzles and maps are pretty simple, but the story is where this game really shines. I've replayed it several times both on my PC and on a console. The game IS somewhat short, but it was actually intended to be a DLC for the first game and ended up being too big so they released it as a full game instead.

The graphics are the best of any of the games. The story is the best, as well. I wish the gameplay was more involved, but it works, which is more than I can say for The Bunker. The gameplay is far more simplified than the other games; no fear mechanics, no inventory, no health management, and no tinderbox/lantern/fuel conservation (due to the availability of electric lighting in the game's setting). It would be nice if there was more you could do for puzzles and stuff, but I prefer this to how overly complicated The Bunker is (a tower of clunky game mechanics in a trenchcoat pretending to be a game). The game is also well made, and only has minimal bugs. I fell through the floor in one area one time at launch, and haven't had any other issues in the years since. I haven't experienced crashing issues like some other reviewers complained about.

Part of the whole experience in Amnesia is finding out what crappy things you did that led to where you are, and seeing how messy and complex your character was, and this game handles that really well. Rebirth stumbled on it, but they tried. The Bunker did not try or succeed.

This is a good enough game to recommend but it may be the weakest installment in the Amnesia series. It plays more like a "mod" for The Dark Descent than it does a standalone game. Nevertheless, it has some creepy vibes. It takes away its scariest elements but introduces instead a man who may (himself) be going insane.

Great game