Amnesia: The Bunker

Amnesia: Doors, And How To Open Them Amnesia: The Bunker is the sort of game where every sincere praise is followed by a deep mourning at what more it could have brought. Overall it was a delight to experience, a genuinely tense and engaging survival horror that undersells its potential in favour of overselling its experimental depth. Its premise is the driving force almost alone, omitting the familiar story structure of other Frictional titles to make way for a simpler, shorter, equally bleak landscape to be hunted through. The gameplay is the most fleshed out element and is clearly what The Bunker prides itself on most; the bold declarations encouraging experimentation, assuring that each bit of progress can be achieved in multiple ways. And this is true, to an extent. There will be times where your smarts are rewarded, like [spoiler] figuring out the cutters can break padlocks [/spoiler], but you will also face frustrations realising that the game has more unbendable rules and static orders than freedoms. The opening of the game in the Central Bunker leads masterfully to the simultaneous unlocking of the game's main areas, where on a first playthrough you will spend most of the time mentally mapping your progress with key items. However almost all of the decisions can be boiled down to 'how do I get through this door' - the 'puzzle', really, is the bunker itself, and the order in which to approach it. Level design is pretty consistently strong, while there isn't much visual distinction between the areas, they absolutely feel menacing, each presenting different challenges in navigation and planning. I spent my first playthrough crawling around in the pitch black, drawing simple maps and jotting notes to highlight resources that had to be left behind (which ended up saving my hide later on). Truly I wish that the Roman Tunnels section was longer or more significant, that part of the game was the highlight for me. There are really only 4 threats to contend with here: Rats, Traps, The Bunkler and finally the Bunker itself. I don't love nor hate the rats, I think they're a fairly inoffensive (if cheap-ish) way to introduce some pressure to the resource management and navigation of the game. They can be a real pain depending on their randomized spawns, but it encourages plan-b thinking and I see that as more of a strength. Traps are traps, they can help or harm, rewarding tactful play and punishing carelessness. The Beast, being a focal point of the game, takes massive amounts of the spotlight; it's creepy, sorrowful, deadly, and much, much more at home here than you are. The game goes to impressive lengths to obscure it even far into its runtime which is effective at keeping the tension high, although hearing it smashing around in fits of rage is infinitely more unnerving than coming face to face with it. The Bunker is the final enemy, being a deceptively easy labyrinth that, if plunged into darkness, serves to slow and deceive the player further, hiding enemies, resources and escape routes alike. The sound design of the Bunker is notably fantastic on the larger scale (big sounds like gunshots, artillery shells and explosions) although the smaller scale noises fall quite flat. I remember being really confused at the fact that gently dropping a piece of broken wood produced the same noise as throwing it against a stone wall, which was the same as throwing a whole chair across a room. A gently rolling bottle will rattle horrendously. The Beast often sounded so far away when it was close, and close when it wasn't even in an adjacent room. There are a few small segments where the sound effects cut out entirely, such as outside the pantry in SQ. Not a huge deal though. The few musical scores included are phenomenal as always. Now the story and ending, and oh boy. It is clear that The Bunker has largely foregone story in favour of gameplay, giving just enough to start and end the narrative with merely a few interesting tidbits between and while this isn't inherently negative, Frictional have previously succeeded in at least making engaging characters to shoulder the interest of the gameplay. The Bunker is weird here. I don't think Clement is a bad character but there isn't much to latch on to. I guess the poor sod is stuck down here and by obligation we should get him, therefore ourselves, out. It's mutual benefit, rather than exposure of events and motivations, but this is pretty in line with the expectations the game sets up. The finale isn't the most fun ever (Frictional have always struggled to end a game in my opinion (save for P:O and SOMA)), but it never builds itself up for any significant showdown. It's quiet, tense and personal, just like the game. It's nice to get some clarity about The Beast - even though it's rather cliché and barebones, it doesn't feel out of place. Shellshock difficulty is where the game shines the most, and it was a playthrough that I'll remember for a long while yet. A couple more runs through and I've 100% the game, which apart from a few bugged achievements was fairly fun and brought some new appreciation. Overall, The Bunker is a bold new set of teeth for Frictional. It has many unique elements and I would be happy to see them evolve in due course if they fit in with future titles. In equal measure, I hope there are lessons that they will take from the few trenches that the game falls into over its runtime.

Отличная игра, которая стоит того чтобы её пройти. Жаль только то что в неё не перекочевали фишки из прошлой части - по типу страха темноты которая влияет на геймплей с последствиями, как по мне эта фишка была куда уместнее чем в Rebirth. А так аспекты и философия игр Frictional Games на месте. Технически игру поправили и она стала куда более адекватнее. Ну и жаль что убрали также фишку с несколькими концовками, которая также как по мне была уместна.

Puta jogo de se cagar no escuro. A atmosfera e história são bem bacanas e o monstro é muito bem realizado. Ótima experiência

4/10

Acho que caguei nas calças.

i ♥♥♥♥ myself

По скольку я не ссыкло, сел играть ночью в темноте. 3 Часа дрочил в самом начале игры в основном разглядывая карту в центральном бункере, потому-что после каждого шороха, роняя кал бежал в сейф зону. (Играл на высокой сложности и первый раз проходил 14 часов на пиратке. Сразу после этого купил этот шедевр в поддержку многоуважаемых разработчиков из Швеции). 10 Ламберов из 10.

I. Don't. Do. Horror. However. My significant other does. And she loves this, it does however have finicky controls just so you are aware. Enjoy! (Though maybe wait for it to go on sale...)