(Editor’s note: Gurjevan Bansal is Editor-in-Chief of The Saber. Any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of The Saber staff.)
Imagine you’re a photographer, breaking into the Great Pyramids to explore and capture a picture of Pharaoh Rudamon’s remains. You don’t remember where you started or where you’re going, but you know that a safe retreat home is no longer an option. Your mind races with stories of time warps, curses, and aliens surrounding the Great Pyramid you just happen to be exploring. You keep trudging forward. After all, the sounds of the pyramid don’t invite guests to stay long.
This setting creates the world of the horror game, Amenti, which you can get off of Steam. Taking ancient Egyptian mythology and twisting it to fit a horror game is a fascinating concept.
Rating: ⅘ stars
Story: The storyline is a little stereotypical – following a person interested in finding out who truly built the pyramids. The question in mind is alien versus human. This question is very played into when looking at anything Egyptian and horror-related. The player follows the letters of Henry Caldwell, a previous tomb explorer interested in the same question of who built the pyramids.
Jumpscares/Horror antics: For a horror game the jump scares were decent. Not too frightening to the point where you have to pause the game and take a breather, but not poorly done either. I think what makes the jump scares really good is the timing of them. The first jump scare comes so early in the game that it catches the player off guard. However, right after that comes some cheap lights-turning-on-and-off trick, which isn’t really that scary. I’m not a little kid, lights going on and off aren’t scaring anyone.
One element that I think is actually kind of funny is when the objects will move when the player isn’t looking. I think one of the first examples of this was with the God Anubis, which appears to be a dog guarding a doorway. When the player passes into the doorway, the two Anubis statues are facing the front. However, when the player goes to leave the room, through that same doorway they came in from, the statues are looking back at the player. I know this is supposed to be creepy, but when I saw it I just chuckled. When the player would take a photo, some of the statues would photo-bomb it in an attempt to scare the player, but to me, it was just kind of funny.
Graphics: Very well done. The game features graphics of pyramids, tombs, statues and many other ancient Egyptian-related objects. The game has quality graphics that truly allow the player to feel as if they are actually within the pyramids. The texture of the limestone blocks – with all the scriptures, pictures of gods, and the wear and tear showing the age of the pyramids- is done so well that it looks real.
Sound: There is no music in this game. The only sounds the player can hear are their own footsteps and statues screaming at the player. It makes the game very quiet, which adds to the eerie feeling. When a noise does happen, it startles the player, keeping them on their toes. However, the first screaming instance – which sounded like a woman screaming through the phone – made me laugh. It was very meme-like screaming.
Character Design: The horror creatures in this game are designed well. Their character designs show how much thought the creators put into them. It leaned less into stereotypical Egyptian character design and more into what is depicted in tombs and such. With that being said, the exaggerated screaming-mouth gaps and the shining eyes remind the player that this is more than just a walk-through game, but an actual horror game.
Overall: I think this a really good video game to help take your mind off of reality. It’s a really easy way to wind down. I would recommend this game to all people of all ages.
