A real disappointment compared to anything Frictionnal Games has done so far. We've all wanted a sequel to The Dark Descent, which was an especially amazing game with a good amount of horror and story. Instead, we got what Rebirth is, and it's not very pretty. While I have completed the game almost a year ago (time sure flies), I still remember to this day everything that I liked, and disliked about this game.

First, I want to point out that this game is not about horror. It has nothing to do with the first game at all. The maps are more linear and also way less spooky. Only a few parts of the games were actually scary (The fort, especially, with a ghoul stalking you, reminded me a lot about what made the Dark Descent so awesome). That place was super scary because it was dark and there was weird noises everywhere. I was literally too scared to continue playing. But then I did. And boy, did I miss that place. The rest of the game was dragging itself with a nonsensical story and no more horror, or at least not too much. You get a few more or less scary place with some scripted chase with the ghoul and the shadow (The fleshy thing you encounter in The Dark Descent), and a few puzzles that require just a few neurons to complete. What a mess, where is my horror-focused game? Even SOMA (That I loved), that was even more of a walking simulator, did it's job much better than Rebirth did, because it was genuinely scary, and the story gave me a lot of thought.

Second, the story is average at best. The developers tried to make me care about some important characters but because they were not developed at all I just wouldn't give an f. Like the death of Tasi's husband, Salim. You discover soon enough that he is dead, and what? I did not even know the guy, why should I care? The character that I control is much more affected than I am. But let's talk about that. Tasi keeps whining about anything. She keeps talking and talking and talking. Like could you please shut it for a moment, I am trying to get immersed in a story, stop trying to force me to feel like the devs intended me to. Seriously, she just won't shut up for the whole game, and it only gets worse when she discovers that she is pregnant.... The game starts becoming a "touch your belly to restore your sanity" simulator because she keeps reminding you of the "little one", name you will hear maybe 20-30 times throughout your playthrough. Also, Tasi is dumb in general. Her decisions killed everyone, but I guess I'm not gonna spoil, if you still wanna see for yourself. The game also make use of flashbacks to tell you the story. Well, a sh$tload of flashbacks. You will get a ridiculous amount of them, to the point it breaks the pacing completely, while also trying to, once again, make you care about the characters. You will also sometimes be in the otherworld, The Dark Descent Alexandre's home, to accomplish a few puzzles. It is nice to be able to visit the place, but that was also terribly done. Overall, the story is a huge mess and tries to convey things to the player and utterly fails at it.

Finally, the gameplay elements. Do you remember about the tinderboxes and the lantern in The Dark Descent? Well scrap all of those things and give a nerfed to the ground lantern and matches that give very low light for no more than 8 seconds each. Yep, you heard right. Those matches will be your primary source of light because you can store up to 10 (ten!) of them in your inventory and they can help you light things up. I think it is ridiculous to limit the amount of matches you can own because they are already pretty bad by themselves, so 10 matches don't help you for very long. luckily you should find enough to be able to survive, but still, it's not like they take a lot of space. Also forget about the lantern. This thing eats oil like there is no tomorrow. A full lantern doesn't last more than a minute or 2. I am not even joking. You can keep 3 of each oil bottle with you (small, medium and large), and these are not common and most of the time, hidden in the levels. Since you can't use the lantern much you will end up using the matches more often, and not be able to see anything 10cm ahead of you, until you run out of them because yeah, they get consumed faster if you move... And the sanity system will jumpscare you to tell you it's getting low, because doing it like The Dark Descent wasn't spooky enough. Not to mention that, if you ever "die" or lose your sanity fully, you will just get teleported further in the level for the most part, probably to make the game more "accessible" and more casual. Yeah, no, thank you.

So yeah overall, I do not recommend this game, especially if you wanted a sequel to the excellent The Dark Descent. This game is a pure disaster on many levels and doesn't deserve any of your attention. The story contradicts the lore from The Dark Descent and a Machine for a Pig, while also trying to make you feel things for characters you have never known anything about, and the gameplay is a exactly what you should not do. You could say this is a salty review, and it is, because I am severely disappointed by the overall experience.

Frictionnal Games themselves responded to the mixed response on their game that you can read here : https://frictionalgames.com/2021-03-amnesia-rebirth-five-months-later-and-soma-sells-1m-copies/

"We’re seeing a lot of mixed reactions when it comes to these types of consequences. For some people the mechanics we opted for worked out great. They felt a true sense of something big being at stake. For others, however, the whole narrative implication seems to have slipped past them completely."

According to them, it is basically my fault for not understanding the game. I will definitely remember that.