Amnesia: The Bunker - first-person horror in desolate WW1 bunker

[hayst]

Tried a rerun of the demo, this time I was less careful, but I kinda had a hard time getting the monster to spawn even when making noise sometimes, sure you can hear it inside the walls but making it come out requires even more noise. Not sure if it's dependent on location (so it's not nearby at the moment). Hopefully there's difficulty settings to make it more aggressive, once you get the hang of it's behaviour it get's kinda too easy to avoid, and less scary.

I ended up throwing a grenade next to one of its hidey holes when the lights went off to piss it off as much as I could.

Spoiler

It plays an animation of you getting dragged on the ground, you don't get to see anymore of the monster

I agree the demo was far too easy in regards to the AI. Hoping for hard mode as well.

 

[garren]

Yeah I tried going all in in the demo and kept making noise in front of one the holes, it would not come out except just to grab you if you went near the hole. So I thought it was patrolling outside but it was actually just growling inside the hole. But I suppose that's a moot point as in the full game we already know it comes out.

 

[Child of Malkav]

Apparently the save files show the difficulty mode so there's probably a few more modes in the full game.

 

[Morgoth]

 

[Ivan]

I got burned badly by Amnesia Rebirth. That was before Gamepass and I purchased Day 1 since I loved Penumbra, Amnesia, and Soma.

Glad to see this entry place greater emphasis on the gameplay than the story. I'll be checking it out on GP.

 

[KIss My Ass]

These thumbnails give a perfect description of why horror games have turned into absolute fucking garbage. The only exception is Darkwood.

Tomented Souls is fucking excellent.

 

[garren]

Different difficulty modes confirmed, nice.

 

[Child of Malkav]

 

[Child of Malkav]

The full game apparently

 

[Morgoth]

A wee short, but sweet. Will likely get it at a deep discount, as the demo hasn't totally blown me away.

 

[Ivan]

Nice, it's the best reviewed Amnesia title since the original. Hopefully this bodes well for more gameplay first experiences.

 

[Infinitron]

https://af.gog.com/en/game/amnesia_the_bunker?as=1649904300

 

[Freedos]

Finished game, it took me nine hours. I chose hard difficult and I'm a slow player...but "2-3 hours game" my ass xD . That would be on easy mode or playing the second time.

So? I didn't hate Rebirth, but I saw some serious issues, and so dissapointing to see in a Frictional game. Bunker is MUCH better in general and yeah, it's more gameplay-focused than previous Amnesia games. It took elements from games like Alien Isolation, Puppet Combo games or Monstrum, but molded on Penumbra/Amnesia: TDD base (focused on interactivity, physics, lights and shadows, etc), being a fresh new entry.

It has notes and a story, but, after its linear and short prologue, it's more about "this is the final goal, the rest is on you".

It has SO MUCH potential for custom stories.

 

[Child of Malkav]

Yep, game is great.
Amazing that they made this after Rebirth. Didn't think they had it in them.

 

[Deadyawn]

I've also finished it. Atmosphere and sound design are 10/10. It's actually pretty fucking scary.

It's basically a much tighter Alien: Isolation with a more involved dark/light system thanks to the generator and chainsaw flashlight. It took me about 6-7 hours to beat on normal and that was me playing like an absolute pussy. Now that I know where the key items are I could probably beat it in under two hours if I wanted to ignore everything else and rush it. I think it has an ideal length for what it is since this entry has a lot more gameplay with the story being relegated purely to scattered notes, which is not a bad thing in my opinion.

The randomness factor is not enough to entice me to do a second playthrough just yet but I'll definitely check some custom stories if they get made.

 

[Child of Malkav]

It has the AI that Alien Isolation should have had. The beast doesn't seem to be cheating in this one.

 

[Silva]

So this is Alien Isolation on Lovecraft clothes? Sounds cool.

 

[KIss My Ass]

Sounds p cool. Does it all take place in a bunker or does it have some badass alien worlds like Rebirth? Those were the best parts of Rebirth.

 

[Child of Malkav]

Sounds p cool. Does it all take place in a bunker or does it have some badass alien worlds like Rebirth? Those were the best parts of Rebirth.

No, all in the bunker. There are some environmental assets that remind you of the alien world in Rebirth (plus lore connecting this game to Rebirth and together they explain how the beast comes about). The bunker is divided in sections, one of them not appearing on the map though apparently you can find that piece of the map in a locked room somewhere.

 

[blessed king of longing]

it was aight. a step back in terms of story, atmosphere and voice acting from TDD, but still interesting enough to finish. slow as fuck until you get the tools though

also the story behind the monster sucks ass, wtf

fart

le crazy mutated nigga from drinking the vitamin water of the gods

 

[Ivan]

Started my playthrough. Audio is chef's kiss. Love the animations for the flash light and the revolver. I'm already outta gas for the generator. Wish me luck.

 

[Steve]

It was pretty good, short and concise. Played on normal and thinking of a replay on hard in maybe near future. I liked the gas hoarding mechanic, good way of keeping the player stressed for resources and inventory space. Maybe some actual combat encounter's would've been nice. The weapons just feel like monster repellent very much like the flamethrower in Alien Isolation. There were barely if any puzzles in the game, it's mostly about resource management and what items to haul back to your storage.

I like the simplicity of the story and the premise, somewhat reminiscent of old horror movies.

 

[Starwars]

I finished it on normal, took me a bit above 5 hours of what I felt was pretty slow playing. Really enjoyed it overall. I was never the hugest fan of Amnesia. Even though I found Dark Descent to be almost unbearably scary when it first came out, it still suffered from feeling a bit dumbed down after Penumbra. Still a good game though, and obviously iconic. As for Rebirth, I liked the game though I do agree with most of the complaints about it. It just didn't bring my enjoyment of it down all that much, compared to a lot of other players.

I love that the Bunker is a lot more gameplay-focused and also constrained in terms of the setting.
It's not a sandbox, but the way some of the gameplay elements interact with each other makes it feel very interactive, which has also always been a strength of the engine. Also, while this game is quite story-light, it really succeeds on delivering cinematic moments at times. Like when the generator runs out of fuel at exactly the wrong time. Had my fair share of good "oh shit" moments.
The gameplay and the feel of it is what makes the game for me. It's both satisfying and scary to play.

There are some annoyances. It's obviously inspired by Alien: Isolation, which is fine (and I *greatly* prefer the Bunker to that game) and works well. But the whole monster AI thing still feels a bit "game-y" at times, namely in terms of how it navigates through the holes and you can hear it when it pops out, just as you heard the Alien pop out of vents. Or go back in. It makes it feel a bit too similar at times. Luckily the game is short, or else it would've quickly become annoying as in Isolation.
Some other aspects also feel sort of forced in a way, like the way the rats work, but it's a small complaint.

Great little game, really liked that they tried something new with it. Also liked that they kept it a short and focused experience, without excessive cutscenes or story-moments.

 

[Morgoth]

It's a shame. Story and suspense is Frictional's forte. This looks like a fast-buck side project. I guess I'll play it eventually after a steep discount, but the demo basically gave away the whole schtick already.

 

[Ivan]

Not at all. A lot of care and detail went to animations and new tools at your disposal. I was surprised that you could use the boltcutters OUTSIDE of its intended use. Little did I know they have multiple uses. I haven't experimented with all of the toys as there's always enough tension with the ever-present monster.

I love how the save system encourages careful excursions from the safe room. I also loved slowly expanding my inventory spaces, returning to the supply room as I acquired more and more dogtags.

This is easily the best Amnesia entry since the original and it bodes well for a more gameplay-first oriented experience for future entries. I think Rebirth was a big flop for them commercially and critically. That was personally one of the most disappointing sequels Ive had the misfortune of paying for.

TLDR An excellent entry that gives the player more verbs with which to explore and manipulate obstacles in the playspace. Greater emphasis on inventory management and animations.