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Review:
Penumbra Collection
Does anyone have a spare
pair of underpants for Lewis Denby...?
The Penumbra series of episodic horror titles
won't win any awards for originality of storytelling and
delivery, nor is it likely to instil astonishment into the
hearts of next-generation graphics whores. Its
reinventions - namely, the ways in which the player
interacts with items in the world - aren't even its core
appeal. Pinning down what is proves rather
difficult, but whatever the reason, there are far worse ways
to spend £15 on your next fright fix.
For your money, you get to take home both of the main Penumbra
titles - Overture and Black Plague - as well
as expansion Requiem. They'll each cost you at
least a tenner to buy individually, so if you missed out on
these creepy puzzlers the first time around, there's no
better way to experience them now. It means the
somewhat lacklustre quality of Requiem doesn't really
affect the package as a whole, except for seeming a little
out of place in its complete deviation away from what made
the two main episodes so appealing.
Namely: atmosphere. It's a bit
of a cop-out phrase, used to describe an engaging game
without fully identifying what makes it all tick. But
there's really no better way of summarising Penumbra's
quality. The relentlessly dark corridors and
delectably creepy storyline make for some real, edge-of-seat
gameplay, compounded by some fantastic level design and
character dialogue, that blur the lines of reality and toy
with your psyche respectively.
While Overture is probably the most overtly scary
title of the trio, with its high levels of sheer confusion
and sections of blind panic, Black Plague is
undoubtedly the strongest offering here. Picking up
directly from the abrupt ending of its predecessor, it helps
piece together the intriguing, if slightly hackneyed,
storyline, providing a few genuinely unexpected twists along
the way.
"...sheer
confusion and blind panic..." The
series' weakness is its combat, which suffers from the
'real-world movement' system Penumbra pioneers.
Interacting with any object - including potential weaponry -
involves clicking with the mouse then pushing, pulling,
swinging or turning in the appropriate direction. Black
Plague strikes a happy balance, but Requiem does
away with enemy encounters entirely, removing the sense of
vulnerability and ripping apart the previously masterful
atmosphere in the process. Instead, it focuses on
environmental puzzles - admittedly prevalent in the previous
games, but omnipresent here. There's a vague sense of
satisfaction on completing each stage, but you're unlikely
to be captivated enough to see it through to the end.
Still, even though each title is over in just a few hours,
fifteen pounds is well worth it for the first two episodes
alone. Both are deliciously spooky and well worth an
investment. Just don't expect any high-budget polish.
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