It’s not scary so much as it is stressful and irritating.
But in a series known for unsettling you by getting inside of your head, these stingers feel cheap and manipulative. It certainly motivated me to find some light, immediately.
At high fear, you will be periodically afflicted by jump scare-style visions of disturbing imagery, accompanied by a horrible, screeching sound cue. I absolutely hated the new way succumbing to these dark thoughts is handled, though.
The very limited amount of each you can carry serves to build tension, but both are abundant enough that if you’re tenacious about exploration and stingy with your resources, you’ll almost never run out.
You’ll be scrounging for matches, which can be used to light torches and candles, and eventually oil for your portable lantern. But it’s just a re-labelling of the idea that if you hang out in the dark or look at disturbing scenes or creatures for too long, you’ll eventually lose control of your faculties. The concept of “sanity” has been replaced with “fear”, reflecting a more modern and thoughtful understanding of mental illness. Given how much bigger and more ambitious the story is, I was a little disappointed that the basic gameplay is almost entirely unchanged from The Dark Descent. My strategy was generally limited to run, hide, and pray. In a world where inflicting anguish on others can give you actual magical powers, what would be the implications of doing so on an unthinkable scale? The allusions to real 20th Century history are a little on-the-nose, but the presentation is superb so it never comes across as preachy or groan-worthy. It mainly distinguishes itself by how far it gets to run with its predecessor’s themes. Rebirth also creates new questions along the way. If you had unanswered questions about previous protagonist Daniel, or Alexander von Brennenburg, or the mysterious Shadow, chances are some diligent exploration will find you the answers you seek. This is very much a direct follow-up to The Dark Descent, both in terms of story and game mechanics. (Image credit: Frictional Games) Unforgettable