Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a survival horror adventure game by Frictional Games.
You take on the role of Daniel - a man who wakes up to find himself in a mysterious German castle, with his memory completely missing. Daniel must explore the castle and learn it's mysteries, as well as rediscovering his own past.

Played from a first-person perspective, the first brave move by the developers is keeping the player weaponless, forcing them to use their wits to evade and conceal themselves from the malevolent denizens of the castle. Gameplay is mainly exploration with some puzzle solving - there are quite a few fetch quests as well. The player must also avoid the dark forces that are pursuing him.

Daniel has a simple health system, but also needs to look after his sanity as well, otherwise he will faint and become vulnerable. Hiding in darkness and witnessing horrible things drains your sanity, in a cruel twist hiding in darkness is sometimes the only way to evade an antagonist, so it becomes a balancing act. You do have a lantern that has a finite supply of oil as well as tinder boxes that can be used to light the way, but again these have to be carefully managed. The difficulty level ramps up very quickly, this might put off casual gamers

The graphics are nothing special but are well suited to the atmosphere of the game, with the crumbling old castle well-textured and imaginatively detailed. The game engine means that we can throw boxes and barrels around, which is sometimes necessary for creating barricades or steps.

The sound is very well done, there are ominous creaks and groans, and you'll find yourself straining your ears to listen for pursuers. Sound becomes a major factor when you're hiding and trying to work out if you're still being chased. There's also some really nice music that suits the mood very well.

This is easily the scariest game I've ever played. It took me ages to finish because I didn't like playing it an night. Periods of exploration and puzzle/solving are punctuated by moments of sheer terror, and you'll find yourself soon jumping at every little sound or shadow.