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- Paradox Interactive
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- Paradox Interactive
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- Paradox Interactive
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- Paradox Interactive
Penumbra: Black Plague
Released On: Feb 12, 2008
78
8.6
Where to Buy
Where to Buy
All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 29 Critic Reviews
78
72% Positive
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
28% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 29 Critic Reviews
78
72% Positive
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
28% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
This is an incredible game. It's got fun, innovative gameplay, great writing, entertaining VO, a frightening atmosphere, and even manages to provoke deep thought. P:BP is a perfect example of exactly why I play videogames.
Black Plague actually made me scream aloud in fright at one point. Even horror movies don't have that effect on my anymore. [July 2008, p.68]
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 212 User Ratings
8.6
82% Positive
174 Ratings
174 Ratings
15% Mixed
32 Ratings
32 Ratings
3% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 212 User Ratings
8.6
82% Positive
174 Ratings
174 Ratings
15% Mixed
32 Ratings
32 Ratings
3% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
One of the only horror games that works completely for me. Great environmental story telling if you pay attention and legit creepy monsters and setting that make you uneasy without resulting to cheap jump scares.
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PC
Some of the most clever puzzle design in a horror game. The way it allows you to do logical problem solving as you would in real life is wonderful and is one of my favourite elements of the game. Every single time I play it I get giddy when I'm about to engage into trying to figure out a solution to a puzzle.
Continuing the story from Penumbra: Overture, it improves and polishes on some of its predecessor's shortcomings and brings the mystery to a satisfying conclusion. Again, amazing atmosphere, even better soundtrack and great level design.
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PC
Tying elements of survival/horror and adventure games to an enjoyable effect, Black Plague provides a surprisingly satisfying affair packed full of suspense for anybody willing to contemplate such a low profile release - although we wouldn't advise forking out 30 quid for it.
Short but entertaining, Penumbra: Black Plague is enjoyable, a bit challenging at times, but worth the journey.
As an indie release, it's exactly the kind of thing we like to see - something writing its own rules, and leaving us excited to see just where its ideas go next. [Mar 2008, p.84]
There are definitely some truly scary moments in Penumbra: Black Plague, and the story is good enough to make you want to find out how everything all turns out at the end. Don't clear your calendar to play it, but if your gaming slate is clear, and you're in the mood for a bit of horror, consider giving it a try.
The game carry's on from where you left off from the game before Overture. The game has a brilliant story, very very scary. There are new monsters and there not dogs there harder to get away. They look a bit like the Amnesia monster. When the game ends it makes you want to play the sequel right away to see what happens next.
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PC
This is definitely the best entry in the Penumbra series! The horror elements are better refined than the predecessor, and the monsters are more intelligent to force you to use your wits to survive! Artistically, the atmosphere, storytelling, music, and sound effects are phenomenal giving you little respite between horror and suspenseful events! The puzzles in this game are also some of the most intricate and well-planned out of any computer game I've ever played you'd better have a notebook handy when you play through this game or you'll be stuck for hours!
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PC
Overall a really good experience I'd play this over a bland, brown triple A FPS any day. The puzzles were clever and tricky, but not so illogical that I had to spend my whole time reading a walkthrough. There were also a lot of things fixed from the first game, but also a bunch of new issues. Not sure if it was my linux copy, or the game itself, but there were more than one graphical bug, such as missing textures etc.
But my major complaint is the voice of Clarence. In fact I'm surprised it's not mentioned more often. Typically voice acting is something I would leave as a "splitting hairs" complaint, but the voice of this very fundamental character is so utterly wrong it almost ruined the experience for me. He sounds more like a character from a Warner Brothers cartoon from the 1950s than what his character is really supposed to be. Any time I began to really feel immersed in the otherwise intoxicating atmosphere, his voice would chime in, sounding like an anthropomorphic dog with a cigar hanging out of his mouth, and the entire illusion would be ****.
Additionally I would like to add that that the AI could have been better. Now, I don't deliberately go into a horror game looking for all the strings and ruining the illusion, but when I'm supposed to be terrified of a monster that's supposedly looking for me but is instead stood stationary in a corner pointing it's flashlight at the wall, the fear very quickly subsides.
Even so, there were enough genuinely terrifying moments, and sumpteous creepy atmosphere to make up for this.
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PC
Penumbra: Black Plague is quite simply, a continuation of Penumbra: Overture. It might as well be considered one single game. The engine seems to be the same used in the first game, and most mechanics are identical. The atmosphere continues to be dark and creepy, with the addition of some new surprises that surface throughout. Everything is basically the same, with only the plot and storyline developing further. The one major improvement in comparison to Overture is the amount of thrills found in this iteration. There seems to be more action and more atmosphere overall, which makes the game more enjoyable, more creepy and a bit more scary. The story progression isn't as interesting or original as in the first game, but at least it has much more detail and much more depth. The voice acting also continues its high quality performances. Loading times are atrocious and much longer than in the first game, which tests patience. Some of the puzzles included in this game aren't as logical as in the first. The unintuitive puzzles are more complicated and mostly involve trial and error during a particular segment of the adventure. There are also more absurdly hidden items and mechanisms, which makes this game much more difficult in terms of its playability as an adventure game. There is also more interaction between the player and other characters in the story, which quickly dissolves the feeling of being a solitary person in a creepy and scary locale. The developers decided to get rid of the melee combat instances completely (found in the first game), which I agree is for the best and makes the game more tense and more fluid. There are way too many interruptions for plot development voice acting. Without ruining the experience with spoilers, I will say that these voice acting pauses occur almost at any given time, without a focus on storyline turning points. They can get a bit distracting at times. Not having the ability to engage your enemies in melee combat makes the game so much more tense and exciting. The ending is very good and adds to the story rather well. Penumbra: Black Plague is better than Penumbra: Overture in every way, as it corrected some of the developers' mistakes and made the gaming experience more enjoyable as a whole. This is clearly the best adventure game I have ever played; totally exceeding Penumbra: Overture. Once again, the game runs a little bit short, but I suppose it is of adequate length after all, since it is an adventure game with lots of theme and mood. I am now looking forward to the third part in the series. It took me about 8 hours to complete.
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PC
Summary Penumbra: Black Plague is a creepy and dark psychological horror experience featuring the adventures of Philip as he sets of in search of his dead father. Trapped in a shadowy, underground complex, intrepid explorer Philip is determined to discover the truth behind his father's disappearance. Surrounded by enemies and assaulted by terror...
Rated M
for Mature
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date: Feb 12, 2008
Developer:
- Frictional Games
Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Genres:
