Originally published on April 28th, 2011 at GamePro.com
As the giants of the horror genre – Resident Evil, Silent Hill – have traded in suspense for action, Amnesia: The Dark Descent's free expansion pack, Justine, hurtles forward, deeper into the disturbing rabbit hole it started falling down last year. And while that's a refreshing change of pace for horror fans who prefer less shooting and more dread, I started up this add-on with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Amnesia's haunting world has an uncanny appeal, but Amnesia was not the kind of game you played for “fun”; long sessions with it drained you-- no matter how much you enjoyed what you were doing.
That feeling of uneasiness became worse as the boot screen told me that “death is final – nothing will be saved.” It lives up to that promise; should the sightless monster chasing you catch you off-guard, the game exits to the desktop. And in case you're wondering, I came across the exact scenario you may have envisioned – I died right before what I found out later was the end. But don't worry too much about losing hours of progress, as the entire experience lasts a little over 2 hours. And, once you know how to make your way through Justine's three puzzles, you can cut that time down to under half an hour. No running out of lamp fuel or worrying about your character's sanity; just solve the puzzle and move on.
Justine's puzzles, each with a prisoner and a way out, will take up most of your time with this free expansion. And here the expansion's main hook reveals itself; “This time it will be a trial of character.” As a female voice tells you via phonograph, you can save each of the prisoners by solving the puzzle in each room. But temptation sets in as you discover that the easier way out of the room involves condemning each prisoner to death. You can cut your playtime in half by taking the path of least resistance.
This system presents the concept of morality much more naturally than games usually do. As someone who usually strives to be an exemplar of virtue in these cases, I have to admit I took the easy way out in one of the three rooms on my first go-- immediately regretting it. By skipping the puzzle, I denied myself both the gratification of solving the puzzle and the satisfaction of not giving in. A much worse punishment than missing out on a few intangible brownie points in other games.
I felt even worse when I found out who it was that I killed. Amnesia is that rare game that not only horrifies, but doesn't treat death as a common occurrence- each time a character dies, it has weight. Notes can be found around each room, and they serve as the main story thread along with the phonographs placed before and after each trial. The notes will tell you about who the protagonist and the three prisoners are, as well as how the expansion ties into the main game. As is fitting with the overall Amnesia series, Justine sticks to narrative minimalism, with the key points happening in the environment, and the exposition being optional. And by the time you figure out why you're stuck with these characters, you'll have found a much more intricate and amoral tale than you might have expected.
Even as a free piece of experimental content that accompanied the Portal 2 launch ARG, Justine makes Amnesia a better value and overall experience, as well as continuing to make a great case for Frictional Games' direction in the horror genre, regardless of where its forerunners may be going.
PROS: Organic implementation of morality; retains the game's imposing
atmosphere; lack of saves ratchets tension.
CONS: Short length means not having to worry about your character's longevity;
trial design loses its haunted-house appeal after a single playthrough.
Score: 4/5
