lowyhong: You're right, it wasn't really obscure, but most people didn't care much for it. The reviews and press it got worked against it. TBH I still don't know where most of the criticisms for Overture and BP come from, because even taking away the pom-poms and rose-tinted glasses, I still felt like I was playing a completely different game than what some reviews described. Am I glad I didn't actually buy into the reviews, and eventually bought the Penumbra Collection.
I also think Frictional's early tech demo worked against them. The tech demo was impressive, technically, but it wasn't really scary. The Penumbra games are very different from what was showcased in that tech demo, and some people might have actually taken the tech demo as Frictional's standard.
When I finally got around to playing Penumbra years after I heard about it for the first time, I was expecting it to be lackluster... just something that had looked cool to my younger, more naive self. I was ASTOUNDED at how good the game actually was.
Are you talking about the free version of Penumbra? Because I actually thought it was pretty scary :P. Not anywhere near as frightening as the commercial game, though.
Valyou: I should REALLY try to play The Dark Descent sometime, since I've never played it, and as you see here, it's already got a sequel on the way.
Likely won't unnerve me much at all, since I'm not all that scared (but then I'm not easily bursting into tears because something like LITTLE FOOT'S MOTHER DYING, and that's just sad) easily, but I'll never know until I try. Never.
Honestly, I always feel sorry for the people who are all "no videogame has ever scared me!" There are so many great experiences you miss out on.