Amnesia: The Dark Descent is one of the most beloved horror games on the PC, and its direct sequel was highly anticipated. Judging by the repeated shouts of my roommate, "Amnesia: Rebirth is a success. Navigating dark, narrow corridors with no way to directly fight the abominations that pursue you may not be as novel as it was a decade ago, but it's still as terrifying as ever. By comparison, "Dark Descent" looks quite lovely.

It is almost impossible to be specific about the plot, characters, and locations without spoiling the cleverly crafted story. Here are just the basic details: the tormented protagonist, Tashi Trianon, brought to life in a brilliant performance by Alix Wilton Regan, is marooned in the Algerian desert in 1937 and, of course, has amnesia. He wanders through a variety of dark and eerie places (most of which he cannot even hint at without a guilty conscience), piecing together his past by finding notes and photographs, and using stealth and speed to escape the nightmarish horror. But the stakes are much higher, the journey much stranger, and if The Dark Descent scratched the surface of the Amnesia myth and 2013's A Machine for Pigs gave us a glimpse beneath the skin, Rebirth takes us to its eldritch core.

However, in its attempt to go deep, it goes a little overboard. In the first two hours, we are exposed to so much lore and forced into so many out-of-the-ordinary situations that the sense of gradual descent into hell that worked so well in "Dark Descent" is lost. The film shows its hand too early on. I think it would have been a much more effective big reveal if they hadn't given such a clear warning early on. Removing or moving just one sequence early on would have improved the whole thing considerably.

The abrupt turn into cosmic horror makes sense if one views "Amnesia" as a trilogy, but not so much if one considers "Rebirth" as a stand-alone story. Still, the escalation in emotional intensity is definitely intact. Only instead of dipping our feet in the shallows before taking the plunge, we dive from the bottom of the ocean to the center of the earth.

More literally, we are plunged into a far stranger setting of ancient temples and ruined villages, made of elaborate, high-definition detail and moody lighting. At least as far as the interiors are concerned, Rebirth struggles with the concept of "outside," with the hills, dunes, and rock formations on the ground looking blocky, half-baked, and unnatural. They fall short of the fidelity and authenticity of everything else. Especially in some of the most nakedly horrifying late areas, I could only stare in gut-wrenching, grateful awe (again, it is absolutely criminal to spoil, even in vague terms).

In both story and game mechanics, this film is a direct follow-up to Dark Descent. Those who have unanswered questions about the previous film's protagonist Daniel, Alexander von Brennenburg, and the mysterious man Shadow may find the answers they seek if they explore diligently.

Rebirth also raises new questions in the process. This work is distinguished primarily by the extent to which it follows the themes of its predecessor. In a world where one can gain actual magical power by inflicting suffering on others, what are the implications of doing so on an unimaginable scale? The allusions to real 20th century history are a bit on the nose, but they are beautifully expressed and do not make one feel preachy or snarky.

Given how big and ambitious the story is, I was a little disappointed that the basic gameplay was so little changed from Dark Descent. The concept of "sanity" has been replaced by "fear," reflecting a more modern and thoughtful understanding of mental illness. But it is merely a re-labeling of the idea that hanging out in the dark or looking at disturbing sights and creatures for extended periods of time will eventually cause one to lose control of one's faculties. You will have to hunt around for matches to light torches and candles, and oil for portable lanterns. The very limited amount you can carry helps to heighten the tension, but both are abundant enough that if you are persistent in your search and stingy with your resources, you will rarely run out.

However, I absolutely hated this new way of handling giving in to these dark thoughts. When the fear was strong, I was regularly plagued by disturbing images of jump scares, accompanied by horrible screeching sound cues. It certainly inspired me to find the light immediately. But in a series known for getting inside your head and making you feel anxious, these devices feel cheap and manipulative. It's more stressful and frustrating than scary. I really wish there was a way to turn it off.

Fleshy, chittering monsters often lurk at the edges of your vision, providing a hair-raising visual terror through clever design, animation, and sound. But there are no new surprises in their behavior, and stealth feels as clumsy and random as in the previous "Amnesia" film. Tense tracking through cluttered caves and crumbling ruins feels like trial and error. On the one hand, not knowing exactly how a creature will move or how to avoid it is much scarier than a predictable creature. But on the other, you wouldn't think I'd come up with a clever solution to avoid the creature. My strategies were generally limited to run, hide, and pray. Compared to the brilliant AI work and nail-biting sneaking in games like "Alien: Isolation," these bad guys are completely toothless.

At the very least, getting caught is more than a minor inconvenience. Without spoiling anything, you still can't die permanently, but there is an ending that locks you in if you succumb to the monsters or your own fears too many times in a single playthrough. There were no consequences for failure in Dark Descent other than being unable to progress; one of the most terrifying moments in Rebirth was when I realized it wasn't there.

Friction has mastered the art of building tension through imagery, music, level design, and sound mixing. Part of this worldview story even spells out how it does this in a way that is both openly self-referential and self-congratulatory. The payoff for this breathtaking story is worth the ordeal. The game's ability to combine deeply personal and relatable horror with cosmic terror is nearly unmatched. Though mechanically rusty, "Amnesia: Rebirth," like its predecessor, deserves to go down as one of the most effective and haunting horror games ever made. See you in the afterlife.