AMNESIA: THE BUNKER Review - Scary RNG Brings Fear In Variation

PC Review Code Provided by Frictional Games

Creating a horror game that has a strong foundation on randomization is an interesting concept that you don’t see often in the horror genre. However, it seems that Frictional Games was able to pull off quite an intriguing version of the random number generation (RNG) horror experience in their latest series continuation title Amnesia: The Bunker. The concept alone adds a lot to the game, but including the classic style of the Amnesia series and we have some unique to experience.

Story

In the midst of world war I, you find yourself running through the trenches as gunfire is exchanged all around you. Through this intense beginning of the game, you find yourself running into enemies, meeting friendlies, and learning the basics of your controls. However, your luck will only get you so far and you eventually find yourself knocked out.

Once you awake on a medic bed, the reality of your situation sets in. You are underground, alone, and confused. Luckily, you’ll run into a higher-ranking officer that is aware of his impending final moment. He tells you to escape and that the exit was caved in so you’ll need to find an explosive to force your way out. He also warns you that something else is down here with them.

Gameplay

In the early game, you will find yourself with a wind-up flashlight (which is super loud and draws attention to you while it is active) and a gun with limited ammo. Using the knowledge of the controls you gained from the beginning of the game, which would include movement, jumping, crawling, interacting with objects, and opening doors, you can begin finding your way through the bunker.

Along the way, you’ll be solving puzzles and trying to figure out what to do next. The thing is, you can pick your own path and go wherever you want. Just try not to be wrong, because if you pick the wrong direction and wind up wasting time, you are likely to get caught by the creature that is within the bunker.

A big part of the game is finding the answers to questions you don’t even know you have. However, after the first time you figure this out, you will know to keep hold of certain items. For instance, on the back of dog tags, you’ll find a four-digit number. These are used in the locker room to open different lockers, which will give you different items to help you progress forward.

If you find yourself facing the creature, your best hope is to shoot at it and/or run for your life. It is possible to get away, but I’ll let you figure out how to do so because that is part of the fun of this game. Just keep in mind your ammo is limited and your inventory is small, so try to keep yourself managed in accordance to some sort of escape plan and try not to backtrack as much as possible.

Audio and Visuals

This game is not one to shy away from leaving you in silence. There are plenty of times when there are almost no sounds going on, leaving you alone in emptiness and only the faint crackling and other environmental sounds that interrupt the silence. Thanks to this, they pull off a very unnerving atmosphere. Of course, when there are sound effects and voice work in the game, it is all done very well and fitting to the moment, helping bring out the experience of each moment.

Aesthetically speaking, this game presents a semi-realistic style that is pulled back slightly by the artistic style. Everything looks distinct, the creature is pretty intimidated (especially on the first appearance), and the lack of lighting really pulls the whole environment together. They simply did a great job with the visuals in this game.

Replayability

The bunker itself can have different layouts, where the monster is randomized, the location of certain items can be changed, and likely even more things I didn’t notice are run on RNG. Thanks to a randomization style, this game is full of replayability, even if the monster seems a little less intimidating on your tenth playthrough.

What It Could Have Done Better

Some of the controls just felt wonky. I wish they had a cleaner style for certain aspects, like opening doors. While this isn’t uncommon for the Amnesia series, it is still frustrating regardless. There are plenty of moments in the game that can just be plain annoying thanks to the controls. The initial tutorial doesn’t even properly show some things, such as messing with the gun - which I figured out by messing with the controls a bit and not because the game was direct with it.

Verdict

Amnesia: The Bunker is a fun way to experience fear in variation! There are a lot of aspects of the game controlled by RNG and it has a handful of puzzles that are just fun to solve. While it does pull away from the usually expected horror style from the Amnesia series, this title stands on its own as an entertaining way to survive a randomized situation. To that, I have to say that I definitely recommend this title for horror fans to check out.

Amnesia: The Bunker is available now for PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.