One of the most iconic horror franchises of the past 10 years is back with a true sequel. Frictional Games announced Friday morning that it's bringing back the Amnesia franchise for a new game. Amnesia: Rebirth is that game's name and no, it isn't a separate story like Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs is. It's a true sequel set in the world of the original Amnesia horror game, Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Frictional confirms that Amnesia: Rebirth is planned to launch in fall 2020 on both PC and the PlayStation 4.
Alongside an announcement trailer for Amnesia: Rebirth, Frictional also provided early details about the game in a blog post on its official website. Amnesia: Rebirth's protagonist will be Tasi Trianon, as introduced in Frictional's earlier teaser trailer. Tasi is journeying through the Algerian desert, "pulling together the fragments of a shattered past." All Frictional will say regarding the conflict at the heart of Tasi's journey is that if she fails, she will lose everything.
Frictional does expound further on the themes of Amnesia: Rebirth. Like Frictional's previous horror games, Amnesia: Rebirth will explore deeper ideas about humanity and identity. The studio describes Tasi's journey as one through "devastation and despair, personal terror and pain, while exploring the limits of human resilience."
The creepy trailer shows some of how Frictional plans to bring these ideas into Amnesia: Rebirth. Tasi appears to have been in an airplane crash. From there, she enters a nightmare world. It looks like she enters a strange temple or ruin and the farther she goes inside of it the more insane the experience becomes. One other thing seems clear: Tasi doesn't appear to be alone.
Frictional even goes so far as saying that Amnesia: Rebirth represents "another evolutionary leap" for the studio. It's not exactly clear what Frictional means by this, whether it refers to visuals, gameplay, storytelling, or sheer horror, but Frictional certainly is looking forward to showing fans.
Exactly how Amnesia: Rebirth ties into the "world" of Amnesia: The Dark Descent isn't clear. Frictional even says it's a "new protagonist, new setting, new story," but says it's "built" on what the studio learned from the first game. Given that this is the first game Frictional's put out in five years and only the second in ten, fans are certain to have high expectations. Knowing Frictional, the studio probably wouldn't have it any other way.
Amnesia: Rebirth releases fall 2020 on PC and PS4.
