Penumbra: Overture
Friday, January 16, 2009
Penumbra Overture is a horror adventure from the Swedish developer Frictional Games, and is the first part of the Penumbra series.
A dangerous obsession
Penumbra Overture starts off with a letter written in a way so as to assume that the author is already dead. The author in this case, is the main character, Phillip. The letter raises not only our curiosity but did also arouse Phillips curiosity in the same way. Shortly after his mother died Phillip received a letter from his long-lost father.
Phillips’s father has been missing for thirty years, confusion and curiosity puts a strain on Phillip and the obsession slowly begins to grow within him. Phillips father Howards uses the letter to Phillip to beg for forgiveness, but also to destroy the notes that his father has left, however Phillips becomes a victim of his own curiosity and starts investigating the disappearance of his father. The clues leads him to Greenland, where Phillip is soon without help in the middle of a snowstorm, where Phillips fears for his life he accidently stumbles upon an old vault and uses it as protection from the harsh weather. A few steps down the ladder Phillip loses his footing and falls into the darkness, little did he know what kind of evil awaited him there.
It’s interesting how curious you get playing this game, the story really is a big mystery at first. You will notice quickly that this is a game where you yourself have to piece together all the clues, and that it’s a game with a big focus on adventure. The overall atmosphere is dark and scary, and both you and Phillip may ask oneself: What am I doing here? And how could this happen to me? With little else to do, the only solution is to continue on into the darkness.
Among the dark caves and ancient writings
The gameplay is a nice mix of different genres, but basically this is a horror adventure game in first person view. Unlike other games in the same genre the mouse plays a very large role in the game. With the mouse, you can open the boxes, turn controls or levers and carry objects that can be used as weapons.
If you are going to open a drawer you’ll have to point at the drawer and then drag the mouse towards yourself and thus mimics the movement you do in real life. Pretty clever solution to make the player feel more immersed, the only time this actually feels clumsy is when you are using weapons where you will have to fling the mouse left and right to mimic slashing movements, it does not feel quite right since the controls are not that responsive when it comes to such actions, it leads to a lot of frustration and profanity in stressed situations.
All the other times the controls are really nice, a shining example is when you hear something on the other side of a door, so walk to the door and slowly use the mouse to open the door. To hear the cracking and creaking of the door is certainly is certainly a good way to induce panic before the door is even open. During the game you will happen upon dozens of notes from people who have been there before you, which raises more questions without answers, and broadens the mystery more. These notes, whether it’s notes of a crazy mans ramblings or some kind of scientific reports, they still are equally interesting to read and very captivating. They are also one of the main factors of solving some of the puzzles throughout the game.
The entire game takes place in 3d where the graphics are somewhat outdated, but we still find gems like motion blur, depth of view and a grainy filter that gives the game a very nice cinematic feel and it’s also a little extra spice to the horror using a classic flashlight to guide your way. The in-game models of enemies is not the best though and look kind of tacky, it may be because it’s a budget game. However it’s in the sound effect and music where the game really shines.
The sound effects in this game are few but they are used very well, it’s simple sounds that makes the hairs stand and it is also in the voice-acting that gives the game some extra flair. Although there are few voice actors, they are still worth gold and does a good job of giving a scary mood. The main character lacks a voice though, except in the prologue to the game, but I see this as something positive since you don’t have a character reading the notes, it’s you doing it in your mind. I believe it makes a big difference of the feeling of immersion.
Conclusion
Penumbra: Overture is definitely a good game, even though it’s a budget game. There are also many budget games that do not reach all the way, but Penumbra: Overture is doing a damn good job as a horror adventure. It may be a bit buggy and does not have the most awesome graphics but in the horror genre, it is the feeling that counts, and you know what they succeed very well, and you know what? They actually kick bigger developers ass when it comes to using the little resources they had and making the best out of it. The game ends with a dramatic end end, and a strong curiosity for the next part. As long as you patch the game, you will run it fine. I think that everyone should give Penumbra: Overture a fair chance, especially if you like horror adventure genre.
It’s a great game.
