2. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
ADD has actually been picking up a substantial amount of attention recently as the recent release of its sequel, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, quickly approaches. In case you couldn't tell by the names, the Amnesia series is a adventure/horror series that actually understands the basics of both styles. With roots in a varied group of games such as Call of Cthulu and (I would say) Grim Fandango, Dark Descent does an equally amazing job of challenging the player mentally with a slew of slightly difficult puzzles and a smattering of truly mind boggling ones. The pacing of those puzzles is one of the biggest selling points as well, as the game doesn't expect you to move from one hair pulling conundrum without a bit of simple reward in the middle. Oh, and did I mention that god-forsaken monsters wander the halls of the mansion you're in and that you don't have any real means of defending yourself other than hiding in a closet. You actually hide in closets. Like, a lot more than you should be willing to admit. As much as I enjoyed the puzzles, suspense is where this game truly shines. The developers live by the Maxim "heard not seen", which made the original Alien movie such a classic. The horrible creature stalking the halls of this manse are there. You know, because you can hear them following you, howling in the darkness. They are behind you and they are coming. But, you don't often see them, until it's too late, of course. Play the game. When you get to scene with the water, I strongly suggest your sit on a bedpan. Just saying.