His awkward behavior and earnest attempts at improving his overtly logical attitude and lack of communication make him one of otome’s sweetest love interests but leaves Amnesia with two routes that don’t have quite the same mood as the other three. Instead of suspense, Kent’s route has math-frightening to be sure, but tonally quite different from the rest of the game. Ikki’s supernatural powers that indirectly resulted in the creation of said fan club also could have contributed to his route’s intrigue, yet, despite both the protagonist and Orion expressing clear disdain towards Ikki’s playboy behavior at the start of his storyline, the Doubt parameter is conspicuously absent. Ikki’s route has a smidge of mystery surrounding the love interest’s dedicated fan club, but because they’re also involved in Toma’s route-and are much more dangerous there-the stakes aren’t nearly as high and the mystery is far less engaging as a result. Yet the Doubt parameter feels like it could have been used more throughout the game, including the hidden route and even in Ikki’s. In Toma’s route, they are even joined by a “Doubt” stat, further pushing the sense of fear, suspense, and secrecy that Amnesia excels at.Įach love interest has their own vice, although some are notably worse than others. The game’s usual “Affection,” “Trust,” and “Suspicion” parameters-how much the protagonist likes the route’s love interest, how must she trusts him, and how much the love interest suspects the protagonist is behaving oddly, respectively-are already unique components that enforce Amnesia’s darker tone. The scene where the protagonist must hide her phone and turn it off without Toma noticing before he makes a call to locate it might as well have been plucked straight out of a horror game with how their tension leaves players shaking. Tiny behaviors on Toma’s part cleverly hint at his deviousness, such as taking the protagonist’s keys when leaving her alone in her own apartment, and they build up spectacularly. Toma’s route delivers one of the otome genre’s best antagonists. Shin’s focuses on uncovering the truth behind an attempt on the protagonist’s life at a mountain resort puzzle pieces like the characters’ relationships to each other weave together to keep players guessing about who was responsible, all while avoiding even more danger. Amnesia features intriguing mysteries and thriller elements in most of its routes. Right away, Orion warns the protagonist that if anyone notices that she lost her memories, people may try to take advantage of her-and the narrative doesn’t skimp on this idea. Together they seek to unlock the protagonist’s missing memories, but this is no lighthearted romp. The cause for her amnesia is Orion, a spirit who collided with her consciousness. Some slight hiccups in consistency and technical execution peek through but are easy to overlook when considering the game’s high points as well as its age.Īmnesia’s protagonist is a nameable college student who wakes up on August 1st without any memories. Nearly ten years later, Amnesia holds strong as one of the genre’s defining titles, with a distinct mystery and thriller approach to its storytelling and a slew of imperfect yet uniquely charming love interests.

It continues its long-standing relevancy thanks to a plethora of re-releases, now including an English-language foray onto the Nintendo Switch. Originally released in 2013 in Japan and 2015 internationally, Amnesia: Memories is undoubtedly an otome classic.

Amnesia memories ikki guide