Penumbra Overture on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Penumbra: Overture is a first person survival horror game, emphasizing on survival and problem solving instead of mindless violence and gore.
Penumbra Overture is a horror, adventure and first-person game
developed and published by Frictional Games.
Released on March 06th 2009 is available in English on Windows, MacOS and Linux.
It has received 3,783 reviews of which 3,418 were positive and 365 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.7 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 9.75€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Penumbra Overture into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Penumbra Overture through various videos and screenshots.
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS: XP/Vista
- Processor: 1.0 Ghz
- Memory: 256MB(XP)
- Graphics: Radeon 8500 / Geforce 3(MX4 Not supported)
- Hard Drive: 800MB Free Space
- Sound: Soundblaster compatible
MacOS
- OS: OS X 10.7.5 - 10.15.0 This product is not compatiable with macOS 10.15 Catalina or later.
- Processor: 2.0Ghz
- Memory: 1024MB
- Graphics: Radeon 9600/GeForce 4 (GeForce4MX not supported, Integrated graphics might not work.)
- Hard Drive: 2.0GB
Linux
Minimum:
- OS: Linux Ubuntu 12.04 or newer, 32-bit libraries must be installed
- Processor: 2.0Ghz
- Memory: 1024MB
- Graphics: Radeon 9600/GeForce 4 (GeForce4MX not supported, Integrated graphics might not work.)
- Hard Drive: 2.0GB
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
There are things I need you of you. Things you may not understand, and may not wish to do, but please, do not make the same mistake I did. The Penumbra games were a series of games that I went and noticed on sale in a bundle, but I never went out of my way to go and play any of the games until I decided to go out of my way and try the series out for the first time. The first game in the series Penumbra: Overture , is a horror game that I did enjoy. If I had to compare this game to anything, it would be an early Amnesia game. Also, Frictional Games made the Penumbra series before the Amnesia series so seeing some of the original roots from TDD that came from here was nice. Pros and Cons Pros [*]Nice story, filled with lots of mystery and suspense [*]Fan and tense gameplay [*]Unique puzzles that require thinking [*]Unsettling graphics that make the areas creepy Cons [*]The story lacks depth sometimes, where you have very little reason to care for some of the characters [*]Combat is very clunky Story The story starts with Philip Buchanon who receives a letter from his father who was thought to be dead, he tells him that he must go to Greenland to an unknown mining vessel. Upon arriving at the mine, the entrance collapses and Philip is trapped. With no other options left, he decides to go deeper, along the way, he soon finds out that he is not alone. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3427001356 I will say that Penumbra: Overture’s story is really good. It starts extraordinarily strong and picks up in the later parts. The story is, in fact, full of mystery and suspense that will keep the player invested throughout. You will want to find out more about what is going on in this mine. The story keeps the player in the dark about everything, and even when something is explained, you are still asking yourself questions about it. You must start here if you want to understand the Penumbra series. The games are connected, so you must play this game to understand everything in the story. However, that leads to one of the more glaring issues with the game's story, it’s not perfect by any means. You see, there are a few characters in the game, but you have little reason to care about them at all, as you learn about most of them through notes that aren't always that interesting. The only character I could relate to is Tom Redwood and everything else just comes and goes. There are interesting bits to the story that I did like but everything else is just not interesting. This and another issue I will talk about later in the review were taken into consideration and improved on its sequel. Gameplay Penumbra: Overture is a survival horror game with a large focus on puzzle solving, you will be using the environment to solve some of them. This requires the player to think creatively about how to solve the puzzle in question, which makes it complex and difficult in some ways, which of course, makes it a puzzle. Although there are times when it can get confusing, you just must think at times and use the environment. The puzzles are well throughout, and I thoroughly enjoy doing them, even when I got confused, it just felt natural to me. The game specializes in this aspect the most, rather than just being a horror game. None of the puzzles shined to me but it was nice seeing how some of the mining equipment was used or some of its machinery. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3427001726 While exploring the mine, you will encounter enemies who will try to hinder your path. Since you don’t have any means of defending yourself, you must run and hide to try to avoid enemies. However, there are other methods for dealing with them, like giving beef jerky to a zombie dog or using light to scare away spiders. There are also ways to trap enemies and kill them that way, so there are ways to take care of enemies, you just must try and think. However, I should mention that there is a way to defend yourself if you need to, and while the game tells you that there is no combat. There is combat and it’s extremely clunky, this is some of the clunkiest combat I have seen in a horror game. To attack enemies, you must hold the right mouse button and swing with your mouse, the attack is dependent on where you move the mouse. The issue here is that your camera is locked in place, and you can’t move it around. The enemies will get the drop on you this way and you can die in three or four hits if not careful. You are just better off running from enemies or using some other means to defend yourself. Spiders are the worst as they are small and their hitboxes are small, so it’s best to just use light as they hate that. Which I never used because part of me was stubborn and thought I would be fine without it. Graphics and Performance The atmosphere for Penumbra: Overture is very creepy and unsettling. It makes you feel like you are alone, and no one is coming to help you. I tested the game on an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB, AMD Ryzen 5 1500X Quad-Core Processor 3.50, and 16 GB of RAM. I experienced no issues while playing, and the game should be able to run on low-end PCs. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3427001824 Final Verdict Overall, Penumbra: Overture is a fine horror game that I enjoyed very much. I recommend it for those who want to get into the series or for those who are looking for a decent horror game. The game has two glaring issues, but if you are like me and can pull through, then there is a game here for you. The game is in a bundle at 12.99 CDN and it comes with its sequel Black Plague , so the price is worth it for the two games alone. Looking for more reviews like this one? Then follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45514478-Skyknighter's-Sleepless-Nights/] Skyknighter's Sleepless Nights
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Banger of a horror puzzle game. The combat is awful but I'm glad to hear it's been removed from the sequel. Amazing atmosphere, sound, and writing. Still worth playing in or beyond 2024!
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A nice short horror game which I highly recommend for people getting into the single player horror genre. The game is not overwhelming (no jargon) and highly linear, while most of the challenge being solving the puzzles. There is slight combat, but not something to worry about (the next chapters outright removes combat) The puzzles are sweet, you get hints (documents or items) that show you the direction you need to go but not outright spell it out for you. Reading between the lines shows you the answer. The game respects your intelligence, and its physics engine further helps in this aspect. That said, I would suggest using a guide. Why? Even missing a single item can completely halt progression. The visible indicator for items is a glow, but while using the physics engine you can, by accident, hide stuff away or simply it might be well hidden. I only had a couple of times this happened to me, even not opening a drawer can stop you from progressing. Most items are relevant to the level (hint: some items you do use more than once) and often have concise areas where the important items are, so you wont find stuff randomly, they are pretty much always in a room or a confined space. It is very hard to softlock yourself (if at all). The plot is easy to follow and takes some light inspiration on Lovecraftian vibe. The horror boils down to being alone in the dark and somethings chasing you, with little to no jumpscares. For me, the highlight was the dialogue of a certain NPC you will hear yap. This description does not do it justice, so play it to enjoy it!
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A journey through sanity, despair and abysmal hand to hand combat.. Penumbra Overture is a great example of a clever adventure game that rewards its player for interacting with its internal mystery. On the tin this is a horror story about a lone individual trapped in a mine searching for clues about his heritage. If you have played any of the Frictional games before this one it should come as no surprise that Penumbra at its core is a vague prototype of the later Amnesia who in a way defined this fledgling genre. The same mechanics are here with searching for clues and items by scavenging the set pieces while harassed by monsters near and far. To address the elephant in the room.The combat in this game is bad, and yea it was quite frustrating at times trying to wack a particularly annoying creeper on the head. But then again it reminded me of that Silent Hill kind of combat that makes it clear that we are not meant to be fighters, and it kind of almost works.. I only wish the game had a way of more readily avoiding flailing around desperately trying to get past certain areas of the game.. The puzzles are great and even if the game is quite short it has a few really great examples of visual storytelling. Penumbra has flaws, and many of them are even more obvious in this day and age. However, there is a certain rough charm to it and I do enjoy the atmosphere, the storytelling and the rather cerebral puzzles it lays before you. I did read about players having trouble making it run smoothly on modern machines, but during my playthrough I encountered no glaring bugs. In the end this is a rather mixed but overall enjoyable experience that really works well as a couple of lonely nights entertainment when the autumn wind howls. I’d recommend it for its excellent atmosphere and story, but be aware that it might be hard getting it to work on newer machines. Few developers have put so much time refining the rummaging through drawers, and this is where it all started!
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((( 9.0/10 ))) Amazing horror game, with great puzzles and very good story. Super intriguing start to finish and would high recommend for any horror/ puzzle fan. To start off the combat is not bad, and anyone who says otherwise isn't playing the game properly. This game doesn't force you to fight anything, you have plenty of ways to get around various enemies by sneaking, blocking paths with objects, using bait, explosives, traps and the few amount of weapons provided to you, I understand this game requires you to use your brain and that is something that can be very and I mean extremely difficult for certain individuals to accomplish especially when a player is provided multiple ways to handle a situation and go in "head first" and wonder why they are struggling so terribly. this game is amazing especially for it being released in 2007 it still holds up pretty well visually and If you are also a fan Frictional Games then I also recommend it, the atmosphere is amazing and captures a perfect feel for an abandoned mine frozen beneath the harsh blizzard of Greenland, taking place in the early 2000s (2001 to be exact) The main character is interesting and keeps you wondering about how they are doing in this whole situation you are stuck in, the game play mechanics are great and super intuitive for it's time, it's definitely something you don't experience in any other game besides Frictional Games, the only place this game falls flat is it's length as it is a "part 1" to a trilogy so it isn't that long, about 4.5-5 hours to be exact depending how long the puzzles take you, buy the whole collection if you plan to play these games. I would 10/10 recommend this game to anyone looking for a good scare and puzzle game !
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Frequently Asked Questions
Penumbra Overture is currently priced at 9.75€ on Steam.
Penumbra Overture is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 9.75€ on Steam.
Penumbra Overture received 3,418 positive votes out of a total of 3,783 achieving a rating of 8.70.
😎
Penumbra Overture was developed and published by Frictional Games.
Penumbra Overture is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Penumbra Overture is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
Penumbra Overture is playable and fully supported on Linux.
Penumbra Overture is a single-player game.
Penumbra Overture does not currently offer any DLC.
Penumbra Overture does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Penumbra Overture does not support Steam Remote Play.
Penumbra Overture is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Penumbra Overture.
Data sources
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Last Updates| Steam data | 05 June 2025 06:16 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 11 June 2025 08:34 |
| Steam price | 14 June 2025 20:44 |
| Steam reviews | 13 June 2025 08:07 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Penumbra Overture, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Penumbra Overture
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Penumbra Overture concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Penumbra Overture compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
4
Developer
Frictional Games
Publisher
Frictional Games
Release
06 Mar 2009
Platforms