Stealth horror Psychological horror Horror puzzle Survival horror Body horror

Penumbra: Black Plague

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No weapons, an infected research base and a voice in your head.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
Stores: Steam, GOG
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (94% of 3,007 reviews); Metacritic 78
Length: about 8 hours for most players (GameFAQs); Requiem is extra
Players: 1
Made by: Frictional Games
Released: 2008

On GOG: one of the GOG horror games.

No. 9 of the snow horror games · No. 19 of the computer horror games · No. 26 of the flashlight horror games · No. 12 of the folklore horror games · No. 4 of the possession horror games · No. 6 of the parasite horror games · No. 8 of the laboratory horror games

Get it on Steam Steam (Gold Edition, with Requiem)GOG (The Penumbra Collection, with Overture and Requiem)Official site

What frightens Trapped in an abandoned research base under the Greenland ice, Philip has no weapons and is hunted by the Infected, staff turned zombie-like by a parasite. The same infection is in him: it twists what he sees and hears and puts a mocking voice in his head.
Content: gore, violence, strong language, some nudity, disturbing imagery, jumpscares.

Penumbra: Black Plague is the second episode of Frictional Games' Penumbra series. Philip, still searching for the truth about his father, wakes up locked in an underground research base in Greenland. Unarmed, he hides from the infected staff and solves physics puzzles while the infection in his own body works against him. The Gold Edition adds the puzzle expansion Requiem.

About Penumbra: Black Plague

Penumbra: Black Plague is the second episode of the Penumbra series by Frictional Games, the studio later behind Amnesia and SOMA, and picks up where Penumbra: Overture ends. It came out on Windows in February 2008 and on Mac and Linux that May. Today it is sold as the Gold Edition on Steam, with the puzzle expansion Requiem, and inside The Penumbra Collection on GOG.

Philip came to Greenland looking for the truth about his father's disappearance. He wakes in a locked room and finds himself in the ruined underground base of a secret organisation that came looking for something ancient under the ice. Its staff are dead or turned into the Infected, zombie-like creatures that attack when they notice him. Philip soon learns he is infected too, and instead of joining them he gets an unwanted companion: Clarence, a sarcastic voice in his head that taunts him the whole way.

Unlike Overture, there are no weapons and no traps to build. When the Infected come, you keep to the dark, sneak past or run. The rest is exploring and puzzles: the physics system lets you pick up, move and use almost anything not nailed down, so you stack boxes to get past a laser tripwire or lay boards across a pit, and you hunt for passwords, keycards and biometric data to get through the base's computers and security. Notes, emails, recordings and videos tell the story, and Philip's notebook keeps track of what to do next. The infection plays tricks too: your sight blurs, you hear and see things that are not there, and at times you lose some control of Philip's body.

Critics rated it well; IGN found it smoother than Overture without the awkward combat, and PC Gamer UK praised how physical the interface makes the world. The main complaints were its length and an abrupt ending. Steam players still rate it Very Positive. It suits players who finished Overture, or anyone who liked Amnesia and wants to see where Frictional's no-weapons horror took shape. On Mac, Steam notes it does not run on macOS 10.15 or later.

How to play Penumbra: Black Plague

Explore the base in first person, reading notes, emails and documents and watching recordings for clues and codes.
Grab and move objects with the mouse to open doors, work machines, stack boxes and solve puzzles.
Use the base's computers and security systems: find passwords, keycards and other access to get through.
When you meet the Infected, keep to the dark and out of their sight, or run; you cannot fight them.
Check Philip's notebook for your current objectives when you lose track.
Play Requiem afterwards for a puzzle-focused epilogue.

Screenshots

Penumbra: Black Plague screenshot: a flooded, arched brick tunnel lit green, a figure standing in the glowing doorway at the far end

Penumbra: Black Plague screenshot: x-rays on a lightbox above an examination table in a tiled room, with a line about strange shades on the spine

Penumbra: Black Plague screenshot: red laser beams cross a stained storeroom, with the thought that they will trigger the bombs

Penumbra: Black Plague screenshot: a flashlight lights rusty railings and cages in an industrial room, a body lying in a pool of blood by a pit

Penumbra: Black Plague screenshot: scaffolding and ladders rise through a dark rock cavern lit by work lights

Penumbra: Black Plague screenshot: a grimy room with a bare mattress, rusted radiators, lockers and fallen ceiling tiles

Penumbra: Black Plague screenshot: looking down into a tiled washroom with a sink, broken glass on the floor and blood on the wall

Tips

Stay out of the light when something is near.
Read every note and email; codes and puzzle answers are in them.
When a puzzle stalls you, try the physics: things can be stacked, carried and used to bridge gaps.
Play Overture first; Black Plague continues its story directly.

Questions

Do I need to play Penumbra: Overture first?

It is strongly recommended. Black Plague begins where Overture ends and continues Philip's search for his father.

Can you fight in Penumbra: Black Plague?

No. Unlike Overture, you cannot make weapons or traps; you hide from the Infected and run.

How long is Penumbra: Black Plague?

Most GameFAQs players report about eight hours. Critics at release found it on the short side. Requiem adds more on top.

What is the Gold Edition?

Black Plague together with Penumbra: Requiem, a puzzle-focused expansion. On GOG both come in The Penumbra Collection, together with Overture.

Does it run on a modern Mac?

No. Steam states the Mac version does not work on macOS 10.15 or later, and GOG notes it is 32-bit only. It runs on Windows and, through Steam, on Linux.