Amnesia: The Bunker demo review

Source: Frictional Games Twitter

This is a quick review of Amnesia: The Bunker demo. I'll list some pros and cons and go over my overall thoughts of the demo.

Pros

• No more fear!

  • As I predicted in my past article on Amnesia The Bunker, the game finally ditches the fear mechanic. This give the game a more traditional horror experience, using the darkness as your friend whenever possible. This time around your flashlight is an unlimited light source. However, it's very noisy and will attract the attention of the monster that roams the tunnels and it will kill you if you are caught.

• Amazing level design

  • The tunnel system is an amazing experience to roam around in. The world actually feels lived in with notes, objects, and a few scripted sequences to enjoy. Every once and a while, the monster can be heard clattering overhead the ceiling and lights will start to flicker because of it.

• Silent protagonist

  • Finally, Frictional Games brings back the silent protagonist. In the last installment, the main character always spoke her mind at the most inappropriate moments. This time around, the main character doesn't speak at all except for the occasional grunt or pant. Any information we learned so far about him is delivered through notes you can choose to pick up when the character wakes up.

• Classic mechanics

  • The classic mechanics of the Amnesia games are back and they're better than ever. You still use your mouse to open doors, move objects, inspect objects, and occasionally throw them. It's always been a solid mechanic ever since the first game in the series. They did well this time around not overcomplicating it and delivering the classic Amnesia controls.

• Fluid objectives

  • This may seem niche but I enjoyed how seamless the objective transitions were. With no to guide you, it was fun to explore, find and object and know exactly where that object goes because of my previous exploration. There were little objective updates in you in-game journal but there was nothing that's going to distract the gameplay. For example, in the notes section of your journal, you can read through a note you picked up and go to where that note specifically mentions. Sure, you may have to travel back to the area where the map is, as a portable one is not provided, it just adds the the overall exploration.

Cons

• Easy to get lost

  • One of the biggest gripes I had was getting lost twice. With the lack of information on what you are suppose to do exactly, I got a little lost for my first few minutes playing. I can see this being a problem for more casual gamers, those who may be unfamiliar with Amnesia's mechanics.

• Simple plot (so far)

  • The main objective was to obviously leave the bunker. However, it all seemed a little straight forward. You can walk right up to the exit when you first step out to explore. Sure, you still need materials to escape, it all felt a little too straight forward. In a similar manner, there seemed to be some backtracking when it comes to progressing your objectives. To go and get the tools needed to blow up the caved in exit, you need to raise the lockdown on the facility, in order to do that you need to fetch a level, in order to do that you need to venture out and find a specific locker combination. I actually did things a little bit out of order and found the locker combination before even realizing I needed one.

• Anticlimactic ending

  • This also leads into the actual ending of the demo. I understand it's a demo and not the full experience but they could of at least lead us on to something. As I've mentioned previously, once I found the lever and lifted the lockdown, the demo just ended. Is the whole experience just trying to blow up the caved in exit? That's unlikely. However, the demo could have at least lead us onto something more interesting instead of just deciding to end once you complete a few tasks.

Overall it was a really fun demo and a step in the right direction for the series. I think classic Amnesia fans are going to love it as it's a return to formula. I also think horror fans in general are going to love it as it's an interesting world to sink your teeth into. Given the small grievances I had while playing the demo, I hope the full version offers a little bit more in terms of plot and structure. I have no doubt that it will since this was only a demo, not the full game.

I'm satisfied with the time I spent playing and can't wait for it's full release.