The story of follows Philip Buchanan , a thirty-year-old physicist whose life is upended by a letter from his long-lost father, Howard. Although Howard had been legally declared dead for 30 years, the letter leads Philip to a safety deposit box containing cryptic documents and instructions to burn them. Driven by curiosity, Philip instead deciphers the notes, which point to a remote, uninhabited location in northern Greenland .
: Philip is contacted via radio by a man named Tom "Red" Redwood , who has been trapped in the mine for thirty years. Red is clearly unstable, having survived by eating spiders, but he serves as a cryptic guide through the darkness.
The journey concludes when Philip finally reaches Red's location, only to find the man has succumbed to his madness and requests that Philip end his life. After doing so, Philip gains access to a deeper part of the facility, where he is suddenly struck unconscious by an unseen figure, setting the stage for the sequel, Penumbra: Black Plague . Penumbra: Overture - Teen Ink Penumbra: Overture
: To advance, Philip must use his surroundings, fixing old machinery and finding creative ways to bypass obstacles.
Upon arriving in the frozen wastes in the year 2001, Philip is forced by a violent storm to take shelter in an abandoned mine. As he enters, the entrance collapses, trapping him and forcing him deeper into the dark, subterranean tunnels. The story of follows Philip Buchanan , a
Inside the mine, Philip discovers that he is not entirely alone. He begins to uncover the following:
: Philip eventually learns that the mine is just the outer layer of a larger, more mysterious facility known as "The Shelter". : Philip is contacted via radio by a
: The mines are infested with mutated, oversized dogs and spiders that have been affected by a psychoactive toxin. He must also evade massive annelids, or rock worms , that tunnel through the earth.