When comparing Amnesia: The Dark Descent vs Half-Life 2 (and episodes), the Slant community recommends Half-Life 2 (and episodes) for most people. In the question“What are the best games on Linux?” Half-Life 2 (and episodes) is ranked 2nd while Amnesia: The Dark Descent is ranked 22nd. The most important reason people chose Half-Life 2 (and episodes) is:
When Half Life 2 came out it set the bar super high for character animation that still rivals some games today.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Immersive puzzle solving
Amnesia offers immersive puzzles to the player by creating interaction that comes natural to the player. When a door needs opened, the player must pull their mouse towards them to actually open the door, same goes for drawers as well. It is through these interactions that the player can feel as if they are actually manipulating these objects instead of just pointing and clicking like so many other puzzle games.
Pro Excellent, unnerving atmosphere
Much of the game is inspired by Lovecraftian horror wherein the player is constantly assaulted with their sanity being eroded as they try to regain their memories. Monster lurk within the game that are quite frightening and the whole game is sparsely lit with constant sounds surrounding them that could be eluding to their next encounter.
Pro Incredible use of sound effects
As has been mentioned, the atmosphere is incredible, and I was scared out of my mind the whole time. There's mostly silence. A floorboard creaks, a chain rattles, the shuffling of your feet on the floor, it all serves to take your experience to new, terrifying heights.
Pro Epitome of horror, but that's not all
The game manages to keep you tense at all times, but there's more. Even if the monster wasn't there, this would be a great game to walk around, solve puzzles, and read the letters. The atmosphere is just very well crafted.
Pro Tons of extra stories
Users can download and install mods/stories created by other users, which can extend the gameplay of the game by quite a lot. Being that these are custom stories, being able to find one that appeals to the player should be pretty simple enough. A good comparison of the top available stories can be found here.
Pro Amazing character animation
When Half Life 2 came out it set the bar super high for character animation that still rivals some games today.
Pro Guns are varied and interesting
Almost every gun is fun to shoot and is distinct. The crossbow is super awesome for it’s power and the gravity gun offers variety in puzzles and what you can shoot with. Want to hit someone with an explosive barrel? Pick it up and throw it with the gravity gun!
Pro Great Sci-Fi story
Aliens, portals to other dimensions, oppressive regimes, oh my! This game brings a great flavor of dystopian sci-fi as you fight part of the rebel cause to deliver justice with your Gravity Gun to the many species afflicted by the evil Combine. Also Half Life ties in somehow with the Portal series which makes it even more awesome.
Pro Commentaries
Hear from the creators about the making of Half Life 2 Ep1 and 2. Everything from level design to technical details are discussed. More developers need to use this.
Pro Very moddable
Entire games have been made from Half Life (such as Counter Strike) and the tradition continues with it’s sequel! In fact there’s a game essentially about making your own things made from a modded Half Life 2 and that game is called Garry’s Mod.
Cons
Con Puzzles tend to be easily solved
Sadly the core of the game is the puzzle aspect but they tend to be easily enough solved, which makes for a bit of a let down for players who are used to or looking for difficult gameplay.