Welcome to the first of our series of ‘Freaky Friday’ reviews, where we post write-ups, reviews, or other forms of written commentary on anything: game, movie, book or whatever otherwise considered ‘freaky’. Tonight we’ll be reviewing the indie hit Penumbra: Black Plague.
The first time I played the Penumbra games, I was truly blown away; it was early 2009 and I’d just picked up the Penumbra collection on Steam. I’d never heard of the Penumbra games, so after noticing the ads I asked some of my online friends if they had ever played the games, or knew whether they were worth the buy. One player remarked that I should ‘buy it if you like [sic] shit-your-pants horror’.
On that anecdote, I can safely say that Penumbra definitely makes good on that claim. From the haunting, melancholy melodies of the title screen, to the grimy, gritty, dimly lit hallways, and downright horrifying discoveries made by the player-character Phillip, the whole experience just echoes with feelings of isolation, vulnerability and claustrophobia.
A particularly effective mechanism in the Penumbra games is the powerful use of off-screen space; you might be creeping through a dank, rusted hallway, and whilst you know the world extends far beyond what you’re seeing, you have no idea what lurks ahead or behind you; pathways previously presumed safe could prove deadly on a subsequent visit. The elements in the off-screen space can have a very real and direct impact on the player.
In fact, the off-screen elements are one of the primary sources of Penumbra: Black Plague’s fear factor. You instinctively know, as you navigate the decaying labyrinthine installation, through both primary and secondary sources of information that whatever they were doing here has created some god-awful abominations that want to see you and everyone else dead. They’re referred to as the Infected, and sometimes ‘zombies’, though that hardly applies as the monsters roaming the decrepit facility are certainly more than reanimated, shambling corpses. They have a higher level of consciousness, and even utter phrases and re-direct their attention towards Phillip’s location should the player walk loudly or bump movable objects.
As previously mentioned, the enemies in the game are predominantly the Infected; former humans whose consciousness has been surpassed by the Tuurngait virus. Other hazards include laser-triggered explosive charges, and poisonous gases, which Phillip must find some way to circumvent. The most glaring element of enemy encounters in Penumbra: Black Plague, is that you don’t have any effective way to fight back. If an Infected gets a lock onto you, you’ve either got to run away and find somewhere dark to hide, escape to another room or area of the facility, or die. However I’ve experienced some weird AI glitches; one encounter had me pinned into a dark corner with an Infected tearing into me, when he suddenly stopped, uttered something about ‘target lost’ then wandered out of the room even though I hadn’t really done anything, but somehow my presence in a dark area of the map had affected the monster’s perception of a target’s visibility. It didn’t make any logical sense, and even though I was alive I was left more confused than anything else. There also have been times that the AI’s detection abilities seemed inconsistent, where the Infected could essentially hear a pin drop, yet moments later the same Infected couldn’t hear Phillip in full sprint. Apart from a few AI glitches, the monsters are otherwise a strong threat, which leave Phillip in an otherwise fragile state.
Visually, Penumbra: Black Plague is a mixed bag. While the atmosphere is appropriately foreboding, with cracked computer monitors and glass panes, rusted metal walls and tables, and grimy floors, on a technological level the game is unimpressive; for a 2008 game, the textures are low-resolution and muddy, the Infected models, and world assets look low in polygonal count too. That’s not to say the game looks terrible- it’s effective at delivering a compelling and foreboding environment, with a gritty colour palette revolving around earthy, rusty browns, mottled greens and dirty greys. It’s effective, but from a technological standpoint, it looks much more dated than a 2008 game.
Sound is where Penumbra: Black Plague really shines; the music is eerie and unsettling at the best of times, and at the worst, paralyzing with sharp fear of the unknown that lurks in the shadows; perhaps most intriguing is the unconventional nature of the soundtrack- composer Mikko Tarmia took great liberties with constructing a compelling and distinctive soundscape with which to paint the haunting and foreboding world of Penumbra: Black Plague. In addition to the more conventional orchestral scoring, there is also a distinctive set of unique electronic sampling noises worked into the pieces, as well as custom percussion and threatening, sharp tones striking in the presence of impending danger.
Another effective function of the game’s dynamic soundscape is that the music is often responsive to events occurring in the game; completing objectives such as finding an important item, unlocking a locked door or restoring power are often accompanied by a short little uplifting piece in the music, while hearing an Infected growl around a corner will likely be met by a sharp, piercing tone. The Infected also sound appropriately threatening and dehumanized; they’re not mindless shambling corpses. They’re still highly conscious, even though they’re not controlled by an independent, human consciousness and should Phillip make too much noise, his presence is met by a gravelly, discordant “Is someone there?”
 |
| Penumbra: Black Plague effectively delivers a foreboding, menacing environment, even if its visuals don't stack up to modern standards. |
As direct confrontation is discouraged, the primary means for advancement through the game is through puzzle-solving. While the thought of this immediately sounds like a chore, the puzzles are in fact cleverly worked into the world Phillip traverses, so that the experience remains an organic and natural one, without the feeling of challenges needlessly tacked on for the sake of artificially extending the length of the game. An effective feature of the game is the way Phillip collects and archives textual documents he encounters through the game; these not only provide a fantastic backdrop of the rich plot behind his experiences, but they also serve as clues on his objectives without directly addressing him or what he needs to do; the fact that the player is left to fill in the blanks and attempt to work out what the document might be trying to communicate creates a real sense of accomplishment in the player upon successful completion.
Penumbra: Black Plague, in its rich, plot-driven world, paralyzing fear and reliance of aversion of combat, as opposed to big guns and machismo sees the game retaining a level of grace seldom seen in first-person videogames today. Like a good book, it’s impossible to put down despite looking a little dated.
However, on successful completion, there is little reason to play the game again; there is no option for a save-file carryover of data or stats from previous games, nor are there any gameplay-affecting unlockables that can be attained which may otherwise warrant a replay.
Although Penumbra: Black Plague comes across as a little dated, offers little in the way of replay value and suffers some odd AI glitches here and there, the storyline unfolds like a well written novel, and will provide players with a haunting and unforgettable experience.
Tim. S
All images are the property of their respective owners.
No comments:
Post a Comment