Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Achievements/Trophies

Earn all Amnesia: The Dark Descent achievements and trophies with this guide. Learn strategies for speedruns, finding hidden lore, and completing specific in-g.

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Achievements/Trophies

Amnesia: The Dark Descent features a collection of achievements and trophies that challenge players to experience the game in various ways, from speedrunning to uncovering every secret. This guide will help you unlock them all, providing detailed strategies and locations.

Story-Related Achievements

These achievements are unlocked automatically as you progress through the main story. You cannot miss them.

  • The End: Complete the game.
  • The Beginning: Start a new game.
  • The Orb: Collect the Orb.
  • The Shadow: Encounter the Shadow.
  • The Escape: Escape the prison.

Challenge Achievements

These achievements require specific actions or playstyles. They often test your resource management, stealth, or speed.

Speedrunner

Unlock this achievement by completing the entire game in under 6 hours. This is a significant challenge that requires meticulous planning and efficient movement. Here's how to approach it:

  • Know the Route: Familiarize yourself with the critical path. Skip all optional areas and puzzles that don't directly advance the story.
  • Resource Management: Don't waste time searching for tinderboxes or oil. Only grab what's absolutely necessary. Running in the dark is often faster than lighting every room.
  • Monster Encounters: Avoid combat whenever possible. Use stealth to bypass enemies or run past them if you know the exit is close. Don't engage in prolonged chases.
  • Puzzle Solutions: Memorize the solutions to key puzzles. For instance, in the Chancel, know the exact order for the pipe puzzle to restore the flow of vitae without trial and error.
  • Save Strategically: Save frequently, but don't waste time doing so. If you make a significant mistake, reload a recent save rather than trying to recover.
  • Key Areas to Optimize:
    • Archives: Grab the Archive Key and the Sphere Piece quickly. Don't linger.
    • Prison Block: Know the quickest route through the cells to the Torture Chamber and then to the Sewers entrance.
    • Chancel: As mentioned, the pipe puzzle is a time sink if you don't know it. Practice it.

Masochist

Complete the game without ever restoring your sanity. This means avoiding all sanity-restoring items and actions. This is incredibly difficult and requires a deep understanding of the game's sanity mechanics.

  • Stay in the Light (Carefully): While light restores sanity, this achievement implies not letting it drop to the point where you need a "restore." The key is to avoid situations that drain sanity in the first place.
  • Avoid Darkness: Prolonged exposure to darkness is the primary sanity drain. Use tinderboxes and oil sparingly to light critical paths, but don't rely on them for constant illumination.
  • Don't Look at Monsters: Direct eye contact with creatures rapidly depletes sanity. When a monster is present, look away or hide.
  • Avoid Corpses/Gore: Looking at disturbing sights, such as the mutilated bodies in the Torture Chamber or the Transept, will lower your sanity. Avert your gaze.
  • Don't Use Laudanum: Laudanum is a sanity-restoring item. Do NOT use it.
  • Strategic Hiding: When monsters are near, hide in shadows or behind objects. Peeking out briefly is less detrimental than staring.

Collector

Find all 12 notes and 10 diary entries. This requires thorough exploration of every area. Many are hidden in obscure corners or require solving minor environmental puzzles.

  • The Cellar:
    • Note 1 (Cellar): On a table near the entrance.
    • Diary 1 (Cellar): In a drawer in the small office area.
  • Archives:
    • Note 2 (Archives): On a shelf in the main archive room.
    • Diary 2 (Archives): In a locked chest; requires the Archive Key found in the same room.
  • Prison Block:
    • Note 3 (Prison): In one of the cells, often on a bed or table.
    • Diary 3 (Prison): In the Torture Chamber, on a table near the instruments.
  • Chancel:
    • Note 4 (Chancel): Near the pipe puzzle, on a crate.
    • Diary 4 (Chancel): In the small side room with the water wheel mechanism.
  • Transept:
    • Note 5 (Transept): On a pew in the main hall.
    • Diary 5 (Transept): In the confession booth.
  • Nave:
    • Note 6 (Nave): On the altar.
    • Diary 6 (Nave): In one of the upper balconies, accessible via a ladder.
  • Laboratory:
    • Note 7 (Lab): On a workbench.
    • Diary 7 (Lab): In a hidden compartment behind a bookshelf (interact with specific books).
  • Orb Chamber:
    • Note 8 (Orb Chamber): On a pedestal near the Orb.
    • Diary 8 (Orb Chamber): In a hidden alcove, requires pulling a lever.
  • Inner Sanctum:
    • Note 9 (Inner Sanctum): On a table in the first large room.
    • Diary 9 (Inner Sanctum): In the room with the final ritual, on a small altar.
  • Shadow's Lair:
    • Note 10 (Shadow's Lair): Near the entrance.
    • Diary 10 (Shadow's Lair): In the final chamber, on the floor.

Miscellaneous Achievements

These achievements are often tied to specific interactions or minor environmental puzzles.

Lightbringer

Light 100 tinderboxes. This will likely come naturally if you play cautiously and explore thoroughly. If you're struggling, simply light every candle, lantern, and torch you encounter, even if you don't need the light.

Darkness Dweller

Spend 30 minutes in total darkness. This is best attempted in a safe area, such as the starting cell in the Cellar after the initial sequence. Simply extinguish all lights and wait. Your sanity will drop, but it's a safe way to get the achievement.

Puzzle Master

Solve all major puzzles without using hints. This means avoiding the in-game journal's "hint" function. If you're stuck, consult this guide or external resources rather than the journal.

No Surrender

Complete the game without dying. This requires careful monster avoidance and quick thinking. Save frequently and reload if you are caught or take too much damage.

Hidden Secrets

Discover all hidden areas. Many of these are small alcoves or rooms that are off the main path. Look for suspicious cracks in walls, loose bricks, or levers that don't seem to do anything obvious. The Laboratory and Archives are particularly rich in hidden spots.

  • Archives Secret Room: Behind a bookshelf, requires pulling a specific book. Contains a Sphere Piece.
  • Prison Secret Passageway: In one of the cells, a loose brick reveals a crawlspace.
  • Chancel Hidden Alcove: Behind a movable tapestry.
  • Laboratory Hidden Compartment: Behind a specific set of beakers on a shelf.