Penumbra: Requiem
Encyclopedia
Penumbra: Requiem is an expansion pack to the game Penumbra: Black Plague
by Frictional Games
.
however, the focus is almost exclusively on puzzle
solving. No enemies are encountered meaning the player can only be injured by environmental hazards.
As time goes on various strange happenings occur, such as the Computer referring to both Philip and the Player directly by name as well as more bizarre environments and puzzles. The game, and the entire series, has two possible endings. One concludes with Philip joining Red in the incinerator from Overture, deeming regular life not worth living. As the rest of Requiem seems to have been a figment of Philips mind, this leaves him dead in the room where the game originally began and where Black Plague ended. Philip can also choose to leave Red to die on his own, and return to the fishing boat which was originally used to take him to the mine in the first place, or send home safe and sound. This seems to be a fulfilling of Red's statement that it is "better to have a story and end it than never to realize it has begun".
, the series (originally intended to be a trilogy) was reduced to two episodes due to unidentified problems with the previous publisher, Lexicon Entertainment. After the release of Black Plague there continued to be no indication that the developers intended to expand the series other than an April Fools' Day
posting about "Penumbra 3 : Back With a Vengeance", a game which would have featured over the top violence and "an action-filled blood soaked ending!"
The developers did however eventually decide that they would release a third installment in the form of an expansion pack in order to tie up loose ends and more fully utilize some of the series characters, as well as to create a more puzzle focused title in order to fully show off the HPL Engine
's advanced physics effects. Penumbra: Requiem was officially announced on April 16, 2008. During the expansion's development work also began on what would become Amnesia: The Dark Descent
.
, receiving a rank of only 62 from MobyGames
, and a total score of 62.77% from GameRankings. It did however manage to gain the same four star rating as the previous games received from The Linux Game Tome
.
Penumbra: Black Plague
Penumbra: Black Plague is the second installment of the Penumbra series of episodic computer games developed by Swedish developer Frictional Games. The story continues from the previous episode, Penumbra: Overture, showing the protagonist Philip moving away from the abandoned mine setting of the...
by Frictional Games
Frictional Games
Frictional Games is an independent video game company located in Helsingborg, Sweden. The developer comprises a small core team and is led by Thomas Grip and Jens Nilsson. Certain key roles such as Music and Narrative Design are performed by external staff like Mikko Tarmia and Tom Jubert,...
.
Gameplay
Like the previous games, Requiem is an exploration-based adventure game that takes place from a first-person perspective and final installment of the main series. Unlike Black Plague and Penumbra: OverturePenumbra: Overture
Penumbra: Overture is the first in a series of episodic first-person adventure games developed by Swedish developer Frictional Games. It was originally intended as the first episode of a trilogy. With the announcement of the second episode, Penumbra: Black Plague, it was stated that the second game...
however, the focus is almost exclusively on puzzle
Puzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
solving. No enemies are encountered meaning the player can only be injured by environmental hazards.
Story
The game starts as the last one ends, with Philip sending the 'kill them all' message. As soon as he finishes, one of the Infected barges in and hits Phillip on the head with something unseen. The player then controls a character in some kind of tomb. Items need to be collected in each chamber in order to move on to the next. In the journey, the player starts to see familiar places from other parts of the facility and begins to receive communications from persons who Philip had encountered previously, such as Dr. Richard Emminis who Philip encountered in the Computer Room of Black Plague, a member of the Archaic Elevated Caste called Ellof Carpenter, as well as person who later identifies himself as Philip's former adviser, Red, from the first Penumbra game.As time goes on various strange happenings occur, such as the Computer referring to both Philip and the Player directly by name as well as more bizarre environments and puzzles. The game, and the entire series, has two possible endings. One concludes with Philip joining Red in the incinerator from Overture, deeming regular life not worth living. As the rest of Requiem seems to have been a figment of Philips mind, this leaves him dead in the room where the game originally began and where Black Plague ended. Philip can also choose to leave Red to die on his own, and return to the fishing boat which was originally used to take him to the mine in the first place, or send home safe and sound. This seems to be a fulfilling of Red's statement that it is "better to have a story and end it than never to realize it has begun".
Development
With the announcement of Penumbra: Black PlaguePenumbra: Black Plague
Penumbra: Black Plague is the second installment of the Penumbra series of episodic computer games developed by Swedish developer Frictional Games. The story continues from the previous episode, Penumbra: Overture, showing the protagonist Philip moving away from the abandoned mine setting of the...
, the series (originally intended to be a trilogy) was reduced to two episodes due to unidentified problems with the previous publisher, Lexicon Entertainment. After the release of Black Plague there continued to be no indication that the developers intended to expand the series other than an April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness...
posting about "Penumbra 3 : Back With a Vengeance", a game which would have featured over the top violence and "an action-filled blood soaked ending!"
The developers did however eventually decide that they would release a third installment in the form of an expansion pack in order to tie up loose ends and more fully utilize some of the series characters, as well as to create a more puzzle focused title in order to fully show off the HPL Engine
HPL Engine
The HPL Engine is a 3D game engine created by Frictional Games. The engine, named after the initials of horror author H. P. Lovecraft, was started in 2004, as a thesis job for a 2D platform game "Energetic", released in 2005. The functionality for 3D games was added later, which culminated in...
's advanced physics effects. Penumbra: Requiem was officially announced on April 16, 2008. During the expansion's development work also began on what would become Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a survival horror video game by Frictional Games, who previously developed the Penumbra series. Released for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux platforms, the game features an unarmed protagonist exploring a dark and foreboding castle, while avoiding monsters and other...
.
Reception
Penumbra: Requiem was less popular than the previous games in the series, only earning a ranking of 67 from MetaCriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, receiving a rank of only 62 from MobyGames
MobyGames
-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
, and a total score of 62.77% from GameRankings. It did however manage to gain the same four star rating as the previous games received from The Linux Game Tome
The Linux Game Tome
The Linux Game Tome is a website which provides a comprehensive list of games for Linux.- History :The site was started by Tessa Lau in 1995...
.
External links
- Official Penumbra: Requiem web-site
- Penumbra: Requiem on MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...