Penumbra Overture can be summed up with a few words, “scary as hell.”  One thing that surprised me is how the mechanics of the game change if Philip gets scared. In one instance I was walking through a hallway when I heard a wolf approaching. I hid behind a stack of boxes and waited for the wolf to pass by, thereby allowing me to do a Jackie Chan over the boxes and sprint on to freedom.

I was instructed to not make eye contact and concentrate on my feet. As anyone would expect, I didn’t listen to a word of that wonderful advice. When the wolf started to pass by me, I stared with excitement and my character instantly began panting wildly and my vision went to fight-or-flight and I stood up which blew my cover. Instead of attacking me, the wolf ran off and howled for help which brought more wolves to assist in the melee. I sprinted in to a room and blocked the door with some crates. As I hid myself behind some mining tools I heard the pack bust through the door and begin searching for me. I remained undetected until the smoke cleared and the pack left. This experience is one of the most nerve racking of my gaming career. The fear and tension this game creates was awesome.

So many great experiences are put throughout this game. The appearance and physics are more along the line of a FPS rather than an Adventure game. Although the graphics might be something that we’d expect a few years ago, that is just a footnote compared to the experience this game offers. Even though you’ll find a few aspects about the game to be a bit frustrating, the game itself is solid and runs smoothly even on lower end systems. The game is available either through traditional means (local game store) or as a download online. With the ease of getting the game, and the very affordable $19.99 price tag, along with the immense amount of fun to be had, there’s little reason why any respectable Adventure fan would not want to play Penumbra Overture.