Just finished playing through Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs. TL;dr it was fairly disappointing.
Aside from the fact that I beat it in 4.5 hours, and that was taking my time to explore the environments. What bothered me was being put on a rail, whereas Amnesia: The Dark Decent sometimes gave you a few options, MfP is always just a straight line through to the next corridor. Secondly there is no resource for your lantern, so there is no worry about having to conserve for it and you can just brandish it willy nilly the entire game, but you really don't need to since most of the areas are brightly lit.
Something else bothersome was that the enemies just weren't scary, just meaty pig men who lose interest in chasing you if you step further then 15 yards away, or happen to just duck behind a corner. There was only a single moment in the game where I felt legitimately threatened, and that was all the was at the end of the game. And to boot, there are so few direct encounters, and like a third of them are just unavoidable chase scenes. No insanity when you look at them, nothing, you can literally just hop around a pig man in wide circles and be just fine.
One thing it did do absolutely brilliantly is in the sound department. The ambient sounds act as an auditory guiding light, hisses grunts and crunching machinery letting you know when you are doing the right thing which is refreshing change from so many modern titles that treat the player as if they expect them to be a chimp who doesn't even know what a video game is. I cannot talk up the sound direction in MfP enough, it really is that well done.
Another thing they got spot on is the world feel. There are a lot of unique areas with art assets you see no where else in the game that obviously took a lot of time and planning to build. Unfortunately, you cruise so quickly through each area there is just no time to enjoy it. This is one case where I could make an argument for backtracking, which I generally don't like to advocate but there are many little details in each area that are easily missed.
Ultimately, MfP didn't live up to it's legacy, and honestly only felt like half a game. It feels like a real missed opportunity, and the game could have been much more fulfilling if it were drawn out a bit more. Help explain some of the paper-thin plot, and allow the players to explore some of the more sinister corners of the factory which I was so looking forward to. I am a sad widdle piggy.
