Last Updated on January 26, 2024

Kind of hard to believe, but this iconic horror game is now approaching 10 years of age. It was originally released back in 2010 and quietly reinvented the horror genre, by offering an immersive first-person experience that made the player feel as helpless as possible. Not able to defend yourself against the Lovecraftian monsters chasing you forced you to simply run and hide whenever they were on your tail.

This bold approach to horror, making the player almost totally powerless, went on to impact plenty of future titles, with games like Alien Isolation, Outlast, Layers of Fear, PT and of course the countless Slenderman games being able to be traced back to the concept Frictional Games came up with for Amnesia.

This game is available for free for a limited time, grab it between now and May 7 to get for completely free, and it's yours to keep so long as you add it to your Epic Game Store account in time.

This is a great time to check out Amnesia: The Dark Descent because there is a long-awaited new entry in the series due out later this year. Developer Frictional Games announced that Amnesia: Rebirth is due out in Autumn this year. You've still got plenty of time to check out the original before the new game releases.

Amnesia: Rebirth isn't a direct sequel to The Dark Descent, but will be an evolution of the ideas present in the original game. The developer says this about it:

“Set in the desolate landscape of the Algerian desert, the game will focus on new character Tasi Trianon as she sets out on a harrowing journey through devastation and despair, personal terror and pain, while exploring the limits of human resilience.”

Head to the game's web site to find out more. While you're over on the Epic Game Store, you may also want to grab Action RPG Crashlands, which is also available for free until May 7.