Originally released independently via online distribution, the game has since been published in retail by 1C Company in Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as THQ in North America.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a first-person adventure game with survival horror elements. The player takes control of Daniel, who must navigate Castle Brennenburg while avoiding various dangers and solving puzzles.

On 19 August 1839, a young man awakens in the dark and empty halls of Brennenburg Castle in Prussia with no memory about himself or his past. All he can remember is that his name is Daniel, that he lives in Mayfair, and that something or someone is hunting him

The player takes control of an unnamed woman, who awakens with amnesia in a dungeon cell. A phonograph in the cell contains a recording by a woman named Justine, who tells the unnamed woman that she is the subject of a psychological test.