Penumbra: Necrologue

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Penumbra: Necrologue
Developer(s) CounterCurrent Games
Engine HPL Engine 2
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS
Release31 October 2014
Genre(s) Survival Horror
Mode(s) Single-player

Penumbra: Necrologue is a third-party total conversion modification released for Amnesia: The Dark Descent in 2014 by CounterCurrent Games. It was in development for 2 years. It continues the storyline after the events of Penumbra: Requiem , and like its predecessors, heavily focuses on exploration and survival.

Contents

On 31 October 2015, the add-on Penumbra: Twilight of the Archaic was released, described by the makers as a prequel/spin-off to Necrologue. [1] [2]

Gameplay

The gameplay is identical to that of the Penumbra series. The game features puzzles and several monsters that cannot be defeated. Players must use their wits and hide or run away to survive. Almost every in-game object can be interacted with, such as doors, drawers, boxes, bricks, etc.

Synopsis

Join Philip in the last part of his journey as he tries to find the answers to everything he witnessed in the Archaic Shelter while trying to stay alive from the many horrors that await him deep below the ice. Will he finally be able to escape the nightmare, and see daylight again?

Setting

Necrologue takes place in 2001 right after the events of Penumbra: Requiem , in an underground facility called The Shelter. The Shelter is located in a remote location in Greenland.

Music

Penumbra: Necrologue Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
Released4 November 2014 (2014-11-04)
Recorded2013-2014
Genre Soundtrack
Length45:41
Label Open-source

The soundtrack of Penumbra: Necrologue was composed by Julien Hauspie, ScoreStorm, Drex Wiln, Tiero, and Valentin Parhomenko. The songs are inspired on the previous work of Frictional Games composer Mikko Tarmia as to keep the atmosphere as close to the original as possible.

The "Penumbra: Necrologue Original Soundtrack" was released as a free download on 4 November 2014 on the Mod DB page. It does not include all of the tracks of Necrologue, but 23 hand-picked remastered and remixed tracks.

1. Main Theme13. Hunter Danger
2. Go Ahead, Monkey14. Hunter Chase
3. Eclips15. End Of Jayla
4. Collector16. Hunter Danger (alt.)
5. Red Again17. Hunter Chase (alt.)
6. Cryochambers18. Complex
7. Laboratory19. If Fate Frowns...
8. Accommodations20. The Mines
9. Archives21. The Tuurngait Tomb
10. Lights On22. Tower Is Collapsing
11. At Heart23. Credits
12. Unfinished Complex

Reception

Penumbra: Necrologue was very well received, with mostly positive reviews. One of the main downsides were game-breaking bugs upon release.[ citation needed ] These bugs have been fixed however, in the latest 1.2 patch. [3]

Several gaming websites praised the game for its soundtrack and atmosphere, saying it fits right in with the official Penumbra trilogy. [4] [5]

The mod also won the Mod DB: Mod of The Year "Editors' Choice" 2014: "Best Singleplayer" award. [6] [7]

The Steam Greenlight campaign for Necrologue started on 8 January 2015 and was successfully greenlit on 23 January 2015. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

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References

  1. ModDB Entry
  2. article about Twilight of the Archaic on Rock, Paper, Shotgun (2015)
  3. Patch 1.2 on ModDb
  4. Technologytell article
  5. Dutch article about Penumbra: Necrologue (in Dutch)
  6. Mod DB Editors' Choice 2014 Awards
  7. penumbra-trilogy-lives-amnesia-mod bloody-disgusting article
  8. Penumbra: Necrologue Greenlight
  9. Gamestrust: Penumbra Necrologue starts Greenlight campaign (German)
  10. Penumbra Necrologue published on Steam Greenlight Eurogamer (Italian)
  11. PC Gamer: Amnesia mod Penumbra: Necrologue creeps onto Steam Greenlight
  12. article about Steam release on PCGamesN