Penumbra: Requiem Review

Not long ago I spoke of a game named Penumbra: Black Plague. I stated that it was the scariest game I ever played. It was a fantastic game but put me off so much I don't want to play it again. I also said that it was a game in a series of three. Penumbra: Requiem is the third of the series and is in some ways disappointing.

I really didn't want to start the game up having experienced horror in the game before, but I did. The beginning of the game is what I expected; it doesn't give you much scope. You are seen at a computer desk in a dark room where a figure suddenly appears and beats you to the head. You wake up in a crazy looking dungeon.

I was optimistic whilst searching the dungeons as I thought something was going to jump at me. I was to some extent disappointed as I searched around and found that this game was simply a puzzle. It has no relevance to any of the games before, just a game that is a puzzler. Only one game popped into my head when I had this epiphany: Portal.

With this knowledge I played on. The game looked and played in the exact same way as the others did. I assumed this would be so as it was made by the same people and is seen as a simple expansion pack. What I didn't expect from a simple expansion pack was just puzzles. This game is quite literally a Portal style game. You even go through portals at the end of the level.

Atmosphere was a massive part of the previous game, Black Plague. With Requiem, this is not the case. The music and sound effects that can be heard do resemble a similar feel to the previous games, but the atmosphere is completely different. There are no corridors or hallways, the rooms are rather large with no real corners to hide behind. As well as the atmosphere, something else shocked me too. There is not a single enemy to be found. Going through the last instalment was a memorable and terrifying experience, but to have gone from that to nothing at all is just surreal. I didn't enjoy encountering enemies before, but the experience was good. In Requiem, this feels almost non-existent. Sure it may look the same, but it doesn't sound or feel the same.

One thing that differed in this game than the previous was that it was rather buggy. When I was wielding a box, I could run at a considerably faster pace than normal, so much so that I couldn't keep control of my character. As well as this, I glitched through a couple of walls at some point, as well as randomly becoming able to jump ridiculous heights in the air. These glitches weren't just one off, they happened on a regular basis on many of the levels.

The puzzle designs are good and very unique. As I said in the last game, the puzzles aren't impossible to figure out, but require a good amount of brain power to work out. As well as completing puzzles, you have to collect orbs to progress to the next level. They are almost impossible to miss and are in some respects pointless as you have to pass them to get where you need to go. The game plays identically to the ones before but instead of picking up items as you go, you are given a torch that has unlimited battery life, a note book, glow stick, and various other small items. The only things you really pick up are painkillers for the rare times you lose health.

The game isn't a very long one, but is one to satisfy those who enjoyed the previous game's puzzles. In my opinion it doesn't feel like it is part of the series. It has the same name and is classed as an expansion, but the game itself just doesn't feel like it should be there. The saying "three's a crowd" definitely applies with this one.