After successfully pioneering a brand new kind of horror expertise in 2010’s Amnesia: The Darkish Descent, developer Frictional Video games hasn’t proven a lot willingness to create one thing wholly genuine over again. Two sequels adopted the revolutionary authentic — with a couple of years of manufacturing put aside for SOMA — however with little in the best way of gameplay alterations to separate them, this new third follow-up needed to make considerably of a change. Amnesia: The Bunker is undoubtedly a greater sport than its predecessor Amnesia: Rebirth, and whereas it by no means absolutely shrugs off that sense of “been there, completed that”, it appears like a greater path for the sequence.
Identical to the earlier three entries, although, Amnesia: The Bunker remains to be extra about hiding within the shadows and creating distractions slightly than partaking with the enemy. A clunky management scheme permits you to choose up and work together with nearly something within the setting, opening and shutting doorways (of which there are lots) remains to be a chore, and one flawed transfer will in all probability spell your demise. Which will sound acquainted to sequence veterans, however there’s simply sufficient right here to set it aside. One instance could be the implausible setting: the bunker itself.
The sport takes place in an underground bunker throughout World Conflict 1. Having awoken to seek out your self deserted and trapped inside, you could discover a means out whereas avoiding a monster that is on the prowl. Tight, barely lit corridors join every part of the bunker, highlighting the unsanitary circumstances troopers needed to dwell in through the 1910s. Taking pictures off these passages reside quarters, kitchens, and equipment designed purely to assist the conflict efforts as human life is left to waste. It is an completely dreadful place, and Frictional Video games has captured that brilliantly.
Even with out a monster on the free, the bunker is simply as scary a spot as it’s darkish, damp, and decrepit. It is a haunting, uncomfortable setting that has you on edge always — even within the seemingly secure haven of the administration workplace. Heightened by creepy audio and a chilling environment, simply strolling the primary corridors is a job you will need to psych your self up for.
What makes issues all of the extra daunting is you are by no means fairly assured to be finishing goals within the gentle. Major character Henri Clément is provided with a wind-up torch, however powering it creates noise which attracts the monster stalking the hallways. Individually, the bunker has its personal lighting, however whether or not they’re powered or not is solely right down to you. Subsequent to the primary save room is a generator demanding gasoline to energy the overhead rigging. It’s essential to enterprise out into the bunker to seek out that fuel and convey it again to maintain an affordable degree of visibility. With extraordinarily restricted stock house, although, you will rapidly begin to query whether or not it’s best to even interact with the mechanic and as an alternative attempt to thrive in the dead of night.
All-round, it is a sensible backdrop that actually drives residence the appalling circumstances of a World Conflict 1 bunker, from its dingy, filthy rooms to the efforts wanted to maintain the lights on for a couple of minutes. It is horrible, and Amnesia: The Bunker revels in that. What lets it down is gameplay that hasn’t advanced sufficient in some locations.
It is inconceivable to get away from how dated the sport can really feel at instances, from its clunky controls to the fundamental loop of hiding away from the creature when it is on patrol. Significantly on a PS5 pad, the inputs really feel far too weighty; once more, particularly when doorways are concerned. It is very easy to neglect what button does what as there are all method of features mapped to the controller, and so they by no means really feel very satisfying within the first place. PS5 gamers will even wish to word there’s solely a PS4 model out there, so options like adaptive triggers and haptic suggestions will not be lively.
What saves the bundle from being a retread of previous Amnesia experiences is a extra open-ended method to finishing goals. Whilst you’ll be handed duties to maneuver the story ahead, your essential project is all the time to flee the bunker. The sport permits you to deal with this responsibility in any means you want — to a level. There are often a number of strategies of getting your arms on an merchandise or other ways to manoeuvre your self right into a room. The revolver can play a big position on this, if you need it to. Regardless of the actual fact you are in a World Conflict 1 bunker, ammo is extraordinarily restricted — having any greater than two bullets is a luxurious. As such, you need to use them properly. They are often shot on the monster when it will get too shut, or the firearm can create sufficient of a blast to blow a padlock off a door.
It is these dynamic selections and numerous technique of entry that elevate Amnesia: The Bunker above its predecessors, however it’s not fairly sufficient to see the entry attain for the celebrities. The sport remains to be slowed down by the gameplay design of previous, with these cumbersome controls and dated gameplay loops of hiding away from the monster policing the bunker. For nearly as good as the sport is, it might want to interrupt off fully from what got here earlier than it to actually begin making waves once more.
Graphically, the title does little to impress past precisely capturing the terrible dwelling areas of World Conflict 1. We solely have a PS4 model right here (performed on PS5 through backwards compatibility) so there have been by no means any expectations of graphical grandeur, however the monster particularly seems to be fairly unhealthy if you come nose to nose with it. As well as, one or two glitches popped up all through our playthrough, such because the map disappearing fully when making an attempt to view it within the administration workplace.
Conclusion
Amnesia: The Bunker sticks somewhat too near what Frictional Video games has been doing for over a decade now, however with a extra free-form method to gameplay, the crew is again heading in the right direction once more. Coupled with a superb setting, Amnesia: The Bunker represents an unlimited enchancment over its predecessor. You may nonetheless encounter the identical obstacles of previous, however this horror expertise comes really useful.
