Lovecraftian Chills
The torch of adventure gaming, fumbled by the mainstream industry, has been neatly saved from extinction in the last couple of years by independent developers--but oddly enough, most independent adventures tend either to be humorous (like Al Emmo and Dave Gilbert's work)--or horrific in nature (like the Delaware St. John games). Penumbra falls into the latter category--but with some clear differences, both in terms of technology and approach.
Technology? Yes; while Penumbra is in many ways a conventional inventory-and-puzzles adventure, it uses a physics engine--so that objects can be used creatively in the environment, rather than via prescripted sequences, making puzzle-solving less a matter of guessing the developers' intention, and more a matter of figuring out how things work.
Penumbra excels also in imparting genuine chills; like Myst, it's set in a land largely devoid of others (well, Greenland is like that)--and like the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, it's more genuinely chilling than most of what passes for cinematic horror, because more is implied than shown (though monsters do appear at times).
Similarly, while Penumbra allows combat, it's generally a bad idea: some have criticized the difficulty of its combat controls, but we actually think it's appropriate to the game. You're a scholar, not a warrior--and while you can take a shot at times, the likelihood is that it will go astray, and you'll wind up gnawed into bloody gobbets in the myriad teeth of a hideously disfigured eldritch horror. Sounds about right to me; maybe you were trained as a Special Forces assassin to parachute behind enemy lines and liquidate suspected VC sympathizers back in '68, and could blow 'em all away real easy like, but me, I'd be lucky to remember that there's a safety on this thing. Death at the hand of gibbering horrors, here I come. In other words, while you have the option to fight, most of the time sneaking around is by far the better choice.
The story is, alas, on the cliched side; a pity, since story is one of the main aesthetic axes on which adventure games excels. But still--how many games, or for that matter how many horror stories or movies, evoke a prickle down the neck, a genuine frisson of disquiet? -- rather than a startle or gag reflex, the stock in trade of cinematic "horror," which with rare exceptions, barely merits the term. Stick with the written word, old thing... Or games like this one.
The developer says:
Penumbra: Overture is a first person adventure game which focuses on story, immersion and puzzles. Instead of using violence to progress the player has to use his/her wits to guide Philip on his quest to unravel the past.
Played from a first person viewpoint, Penumbra is very different from other adventure games. Not only is it powered by a 3D engine utilising cutting edge technology, it also has an advanced physics system which allow for a never before seen environment interaction. The player can open drawers, pull levers, pick up objects and more using natural mouse movements creating a highly interactive and immersive game world.
The weapon system differs from your average game; swinging a melee weapon is done using the mouse which increases the realistic feel of combat. Fighting enemies is not something best done with brute force though, in most situations fighting is a last resort and the player is often better of using his/her wits. The AI of the enemies will also do its best to hunt and scare the player. The creatures encountered can break down doors, use group co-ordination, interact with the physics and more.
Penumbra: Overture will keep players on the edge as they have to explore scary and immersive environments never knowing what is behind the next corner. The world is detailed, graphical as well as a story wise making the player feel part of the world as secrets are uncovered.
Story:
Like all good nightmares, Philip's begins with something all too real - his mother's death. The days following the funeral are characterized by nothing, save for an incessant feeling of abandonment. Until, that is, he receives a letter from a dead man.
Philip's father left before he was born, taking his reasons with him. Now, here he is, opening up the door from beyond the grave. That door leads to more questions, and those questions lead to Greenland. Philip follows the clues - they're all he has left.
On leaving the final signs of human civilization behind him, in search of the location mentioned in his father's ambiguous notes, Philip wonders if he's left some part of his humanity behind as well. Soon, that will be the least of his fears.
Now, Philip needs your help. He's found an inexplicable metal hatch, in the middle of a frozen wasteland. Inside, is something yet more unfathomable.
Step into the unknown.
Reviews
"Where Penumbra really wins through however is in its storytelling and puzzle solving."
- Play.tm
"Penumbra: Overture will surely strike a chord with fans of adventure and horror games."
- Gamer's Hell
"For such a small development team (4 man) this game is a great one."
- Games Xtreme
"Penumbra mixes adventuring with first-person action, throws in numerous puzzles and just about comes out smelling of roses - even if they have been trampled by zombie-like dogs."
- Pro-G
"Genuinely creepy."
- Eurogamer
"Big-name horror titles such as Resident Evil and F.E.A.R can certainly learn from some of the things that Penumbra gets right, and just goes to prove that getting back to basics can shine the light for progress."
- Boomtown
"It's not often that you see a survival horror blended so seamlessly with adventure..."
- Adventure Gamers
"Even with these eccentricities, Penumbra: Overture -- Episode One remains a great spookfest. The physics engine, the unremittingly grim and bizarre storyline, and the fact that you can be killed at almost any moment by some creature lurching out of the darkness really get into your head. Bring on episode two."
- GameSpot
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