So, in Amnesia you play Daniel, who finds himself piecing together his own memory having forced himself to forget it all in the first place.
I won't exaggerate the levels of horror on show - you won't 'soil yourself', and it won't 'leave you a shivering, naked wreck' - but Amnesia really did make me fling my mouse across my desk out of shock, as I recoiled and drew my hands to my face like a big girl's blouse. Enemies are scarce, weapons are pretty much non-existent, and the castle you're exploring is filled with threatening, scratching, groaning noises. Other games have bigger one-off frights, sure, but this game's overbearing sense of psychological dread genuinely leaves you feeling exhausted. Mileage will of course vary depending on how your brain is wired, but Amnesia, for me, is the scariest game I've ever played. You're made to hide in the darkness, when darkness itself will chip away at your sanity, and through enacting these fearful actions. But this sanity mechanic forces you to take the actions of a terrified man.
Practically speaking, observing 'weird things' in Amnesia will drain you of your sanity, and once you start to lose it, the screen will warp, your movements will slow and you'll hallucinate all sort of imagined horrors.
