AMEN 11 11 goes beyond a simple hidden object game through its use of skin-crawling drawings, haunting melodies, and unspoken story. Highly recommended to fans of the genre who can stomach its art.

Introduction

Do you like finding 100 cats and 100 dogs and 100 whatever fuzzy critters in the vast array of hidden object games? I do! It’s an enjoyable way to wind down and feel good about the cute animals you’ve discovered. Now, how would you like finding a bunch of moths in some of the creepiest art pieces you can imagine? I for one think that’d be great! Your sense of accomplishment will be-hey wait, where’s everyone going?

Well, for the hidden object game fanatics that have stuck around, they’ll find AMEN 11 11 to be an entirely different experience from the majority of this genre. The gameplay is essentially the same, but the art and music gives an ominous atmosphere that few of its brethren have. For those compelled by the macabre, I suggest reading on. It’s likely this game will be up your alley.

Story

I went into AMEN 11 11 without realizing it’s a sequel, or at least it is loosely. The first game was called Alice Mesmerizing Episodes of Neurosis (AMEN). Without that context, I’d have had no idea what AMEN stood for. Based on the title, my initial thought was it’d be a religion-based story of some sort. After finishing the game, I can say that there are religious elements, but that the story is more focused on psychological horror. At least, what exists of the story focuses on it.

The story focuses on a girl in a room. I assume this to be Alice, though her name is never outright said. In fact, nothing is outright said. This game has no dialogue. Even the instructions on how to play are shown with drawings instead of being written out. I like it when games can pull this off. There’s no language barrier, and it leaves a lot of interpretation to its story and characters up to its audience.

The abstract nature of AMEN 11 11 benefits from this, because frankly, we aren’t given a lot to work on. Some sort of apocalyptic warfare is going on outside Alice’s room. She is in a state of mental distress. The player has to work through her state of psychosis by going through seven different levels. Once those are done, you see the ending, which… doesn’t really explain anything in obvious terms, but it certainly gives you something to think about.

Basically, if you’re here for a traditional narrative, you aren’t getting one. What you will get is a lot of blurry pieces that form a picture based on your understanding of the seven levels. They tell small stories in their own ways, and no two interpretations are going to be exactly the same. It’s a neat and unorthodox way to showcase a tale in a game like this.

Graphics

If I was only allowed to try selling this game on one merit, I would pick its art. Good gosh do I love how AMEN 11 11’s levels look. Most of them have drawings of Alice and monstrous beings. Some are based on Alice in Wonderland while others lean more heavily into religious themes. Most of the ones I identified were from Christianity, but I admit that I am not very knowledgeable about specific religions, so I could easily be missing other elements. There’s also the computer level, which has a pixelated video game look to it and doesn’t seem to fit with the others as smoothly. I still think it works since it has its own eerie vibes. Let’s just say the Cheshire Cat is having a time.

I really can’t do the art justice by simply trying to describe it. The grotesque beings that surround Alice, the childish scribbles juxtaposing them, and the black-and-white designs with splashes of color for emphasis… Those images are worth the experience all on their own. I’ve chosen several screenshots to showcase some examples for the website version of this review. If those are of interest to you, I’m sure you’ll love getting to see the rest in-game.

Something that I pondered while playing was that with how (intentionally) appalling some of the designs are, the game forces a discomfort on you. You have to stare at these pictures for a long time to find all of the moths. Those warty faces, slithering monstrosities, and tortured Alices are going to burn into your mind. Perhaps this was intentional for the state of mind Alice is in. By having to confront what’s in her head in such a way, you can understand her at least a bit better. If that’s the intention behind it, then I think that’s a pretty neat idea.

Sound

This is the other big selling point for AMEN 11 11. I absolutely love the soundtrack for this game. There is a different piece for each level, and all of them work very well. For instance, the computer level has a chiptune track to go with its video game theme. The final level has a more solemn and calm track to accompany it. However, since most of the levels are chock full of bizarre and unsettling pictures, the majority of the music has an eerie quality to it.

My personal favorite track, Red Queen, was the one used in the first level. The main melody is kept in time with a ticking in the background, and the vocalizations add to the creepiness beautifully. It makes sense given that the first level is one of the Alice in Wonderland-themed stages. The sign of Jonah (no I have no idea why ‘sign’ isn’t capitalized) is pretty close behind with its slower pace and chilling background accompaniment. If you’re interested in hearing this atmospheric music for yourself, you can find it on Bandcamp; search for “cyd” to give it a listen. I wound up buying the OST before writing this review so I could play it in the background!

Gameplay

Here’s the most mundane part of the experience. AMEN 11 11 is a hidden object game without many elements to deviate it from others of its kind. As previously mentioned, there are seven levels. What I didn’t clarify was that you have to go in a specific order. Alice sitting in her room makes for a hub area of sorts. Each level is entered via an object in the room. Whichever levels are accessible have a green outline upon moving your mouse over their objects. The clock is the first one, the computer the second, and so on and so forth.

Your goal is to find moths in each level, usually ranging from 40-80. The patterns on the moths can vary a bit, but ultimately there isn’t much difference in their appearances. That being said, the little buggers have some good hiding spots. I liked it when they were melded into the designs of the creatures and characters. Trying to find them when they blended in with the background colors was a bit more annoying. I found it most difficult to spot the moths that were in the dark red areas. This was due to their black outlines being hard to see against that particular shade. Aside from that, the computer level had brighter colors than the other levels, making some of the moths there an eyestrain to pick out.

There is a stand-out element. Hovering your mouse pointer over certain areas will change the art. It’s almost like using a flashlight to show something behind the drawings. For example, the first level has some characters that you can look into the eyeballs of, such as the White Rabbit. If you do so, the White Rabbit has clocks in his eyes instead of pupils. Oftentimes moths will be hidden in such areas, so moving your mouse over noteworthy areas is worth doing. Even if a moth isn’t there, you’ll at least get a creepy surprise.

My main grievance with AMEN 11 11 was that the hitbox for the clicking was finicky. Most of the time, I had to zoom in to get the moths to cooperate. This was especially bad in the first level. I was stuck trying to click on two moths for at least a few minutes before the game finally registered my attempts. Thankfully the issue didn’t come up as much after that. If you encounter similar issues, try zooming in/out with either the mouse wheel or Q/E keys. I appreciate that the game had both options since my mouse wheel is in bad shape, so I’d have been in a rough spot without the keyboard controls. It’s also worth saying that you can use WASD to move around each level, or if you prefer, you can click and drag yourself around.

As a final note, achievement hunters rejoice, for this game has 85 achievements that are all easy to get. I spent about an hour and a half completing AMEN 11 11 without using the hint button at all, so that was, like, one whole achievement per minute! Whoa! I was super excited to see “Night Moth. It flew away.” pop up seventy times in my playthrough! …Ahem. Sarcasm aside, I know some players really enjoy getting a lot of achievements in hidden object games, so if you’re one of them, this should satisfy you.

Conclusion

AMEN 11 11 has quickly become one of my favorite hidden object games. Its stunning visuals, chilling music, and wordless tale are certain to stick with me. If this sort of art is to your taste, it’s well worth the $2.99 USD pricetag. I’ll be on the lookout for other games in this series, and I certainly plan to check out the first AMEN game when I have a chance!

Otome Lovers wishes to thank Sons of Welder and FM Simple Games Studio for providing a free review copy of this game.

Abridged review posted on Steam ➞

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