Along with the disappointing Penumbra: Requiem, I have recently been playing Mahjong Towers Eternity. I’m no Mahjong expert, but I enjoy a good game now and then. It is from Big Fish Games, one of the big companies devoted to casual games. I completed all of the built in levels as well as a couple of the fan made ones, about two dozen total. I now have the title of “Lightning Rat”; next up is “Bronze Ox.” There are twelve animal ranks. I don’t plan to play it anywhere near enough to achieve the top ratings. Compared to the frustration of Penumbra: Requiem, this was actually much more fun.

It was a disappointing ending. I am referring to Penumbra: Requiem, the final entry in the Penumbra series. The first two Penumbra offerings, Overture and Black Plague, were interesting survival horror games with puzzles and a physics-based game engine. In Requiem, the horror was pretty much gone. Although the environment could be deadly, there were no enemies at all. The puzzle elements remained but there was barely a story to be found. All in all, I found it to be very unsatisfying. There was plenty of box moving, switch pulling, jumping, and so forth. Having to do so stumbling around in the dark with a flashlight or glow stick wasn’t that enjoyable.

Last night, I finished Penumbra: Black Plague. It was similar to Penumbra: Overture, but with some notable differences. The awkward combat from Overture was removed. Black Plague had potentially deadly enemies. You had no weapons to defend yourself, however, so they were to be avoided. There were still puzzles to solve, even more of them in fact. Overall, the tone felt less scary than Overture. It was perhaps a bit more disturbing, though, thanks to Clarence, the voice in your head. Clarence serves as your unwelcome companion for a good portion of the game. He has a twisted sense of humor and enjoys taunting and tormenting you. I was glad when I finally rid myself of him.

Black Plague pretty much brought the Penumbra story to a conclusion. There is an expansion pack, Penumbra: Requiem, however. It is supposed to flesh out the story a bit. Requiem is next on my play list.