Penumbra: Black Plague

Developer: Frictional Games | Publisher: Frictional Games | Release Date: 2009 | Genre: Action / Adventure / Indie | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

Penumbra: Black Plague opens with our protagonist, Philip, waking up in a dark room with some decidedly unfriendly footsteps approaching. Players of the original title, Penumbra: Overture, will recall that Philip ends up in this predicament after trekking to Greenland to investigate a mysterious letter sent by his father. Newcomers need not worry, as the events of the first game are revealed while playing.

Black Plague continues where the previous game left off and leaves behind the confines of the secret mining base for a nice, cozy, secret underground research facility. That is if you can look past the darkness, flickering lights, blood stains everywhere, and monsters prowling in the shadows. Oh, and the rather nasty infection that is causing poor Philip to see hallucinations and hear voices in his head.

If you spent your time in the original game killing every monster in sight instead of fleeing, you are in for a shock this time, as Philip can no longer fight back. We don’t know if it was the bump on the head or the monsters wising up and hiding every single gun or axe in the facility, but your only defense is now darkness. The fact that you cannot look at any enemies while hiding in the shadows, or Philip might panic and draw their attention, adds another layer of tension to an already atmospheric game. Where previously you could simply whip out a gun or axe and kill your assailant, this time, you had better run and hide when spotted. Since combat was easily the worst part of the original game, we had no issue with Frictional Games axing it for this installment.

The bulk of the game consists of creeping around the dark environments and solving puzzles to progress. Most of the puzzles are physics-based, such as getting around or over obstacles by making use of the environment. Puzzles are realistic and logical for the most part, although there are a few “dream” sequences where things become a bit more obtuse. Scattered throughout the facility are files that chronicle the events that took place and the mishaps that befell the staff. You are also spurred on by a survivor who claims to be able to help you with your “condition.”

Black Plague is a title best played late at night with a good set of headphones for the best experience. The enemies and environments are creepy, but the suspense and atmosphere are obviously lost when playing during daylight hours. Since this is an indie title, the visuals are obviously not up to the standards of AAA titles, but there is a definite improvement over the original game. The voice acting is very good, and plenty of atmospheric sound effects keep you on your toes.

The controls are good and use the same visceral interaction with the game world that the original was known for. Grasping and pulling open drawers or doors with the mouse is much more immersive than simply clicking a button to perform the action. Operating some of the items at times can be a bit fiddly due to the physics, but overall, we had a good experience. What we liked less was the checkpoint-based save system. You can manually save your game at certain spots, but saves are triggered automatically for the rest. This is to prevent players from simply auto-saving their way through the tricky bits, but we like the ability to save a game when we are ready to quit instead of having to backtrack or forge ahead to the next save spot.

The story is very engaging but feels short, and the ending is abrupt, considering that this was supposed to be the last title in the series. Actual survival horror games are a rarity these games as established franchises such as Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Dead Space opt for more action-packed gameplay. As such, we can heartily recommend Penumbra: Black Plague to players who want to experience what it feels like to be completely vulnerable and in danger when facing foes in a game.

*Review originally published 2008.