Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

Systems:

• Windows PC
• Mac OSX
• Linux
• Releases:
  • 2013

Publisher:

• Frictional Games

Developer:

• The Chinese Room

ESRB Rating:

• Not rated

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is the indirect sequel to Amnesia: The Dark Descent. The horror game follows Oswald Mandus, an industrialist and butcher that has awoken from a supposed fever with no memory of the past few months. After learning that his two children are in danger from the mysterious Engineer, Mandus rushes to aid them. As Mandus struggles to find his children, he begins to remember the gruesome nature of his lost memories and uncover the mystery of the ever-present Machine.

General Comments

Though the game is currently not rated, the previous game Amnesia: The Dark Descent was rated Mature (M) by the ESRB.

Aquatic Violence

Invisible monsters are in the water during the Factory Sewers and Bilge Pumps levels. They cannot harm the player as long as the player stays out of the water. However, during the Bilge Pumps level, the catwalk the player is traversing will collapse into the water, and the player must hurry to the next platform before they are attacked.

Blood

Blood is extremely common throughout the game.

Body Horror

The man-pig enemies are, as the name implies, a twisted combination of a man and a pig. Documents reveal they were once human.

Cannibalism

Some documents reveal that Mandus maintained his successful meat factory by turning humans into sausages and selling them.

Claustrophobia

At several points, the player must crawl through small spaces, such as vents.

Darkness

Darkness is a primary game mechanic, and the player must use an electric lantern to light the way. The lantern never goes out, but it will flicker when enemies are near and the light may attract enemies. Enemies can appear suddenly out the darkness.

Dead Bodies

Dead bodies can be seen throughout the game.

Death of Family/Friends

Mandus’s wife is mentioned to have died in childbirth.

At the climax of the game, the player learns Mandus murdered his sons after foreseeing their death in World War One.

Dehumanization

One of the primary themes of the game is the dehumanization of the poor, which Mandus alternately fights against and actively participates in.

Depiction of War

Although never directly shown, a major plot point involves Mandus forseeing WWI and all the horrors that come with it.

Disease

It is implied early in the game that the Player Character was suffering from a fever before the events of the game.

Electrocution

The player can electrocute a man-pig to death late in the game.

If the Player Character continues to attempt to touch the control panel after destroying it, they may be shocked.

Emotional Abuse

The Machine manipulates and later taunts Mandus, primarily through exploiting the well-being of Mandus’s children.

Existential Despair

The game raises some questions about life and its meaning and/or meaninglessness, as well as the inevitability of death.

Ghosts

Mandus’s children appear regularly throughout the game, and at the climax it is learned they are dead. Whether they are ghosts or hallucinations is left unclear.

Gore

Gore is extremely common throughout the game.

Graphic Violence

While the player cannot engage in combat, some sequences involve fleeing from monsters, who will attack and kill the Player Character if given the chance. These attacks are briefly shown before the Player Character dies.

Jump Scares

There are quite a few of these within the game, usually by way of monsters suddenly appearing.

Kidnapping

It appears early in the game that Mandus's children have been kidnapped. It is later revealed that they were not.

The Machine eventually kidnaps a large portion of the population of London, with the intent of murdering them.

Murder

Mandus murders his two children and the Professor.

The Machine plots to murder a portion of London and is implied to have plans to continue to murder others.

Psychological Horror

The content of the story and atmosphere is meant to inspire paranoia and fear. The Amnesia series is considered part of the psychological horror genre.

Psychological Trauma

Mandus arguably suffers trauma from the death of his wife and from being manipulated by the Machine.

Stalking

In the first part of the game it is revealed that Mandus had outfitted his home with secret rooms so that he could spy on others. In particular, the player finds a room where Mandus would spy on people bathing.

Suicide

The game ends with Mandus choosing to kill himself to stop the Machine.

Supernatural Evil

The Machine qualifies as this, and the man-pigs may as well.

Unreality

There are a few instances in the game where the area may suddenly change without warning. This happens somewhat subtly in the Factory Tunnels: after completing a portion of a puzzle, the player must go through the door they came in. Rather than being the short, straight hallway it was before, it is instead a winding hallway with a monster in it.

Late in the game, during the Tesla level, the player’s surroundings suddenly change within the space of a step and must flee a monster. Once they have escaped, they will find themselves back where they were.

The constant appearance of Mandus’s children may be the result of a hallucination, although they may also be ghosts.

Victim Blaming

The Machine attempts to convince Mandus that the horrible things that are happening are his own fault.

Violence Against Children

The player eventually learns that Mandus murdered his own children.

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