Amnesia: The Bunker review: The inventive horror series breaks new ground

in his book vimy ridge, British journalist and military historian Alexander McKee explained how deafening sounds are recorded as contact. “I felt that if I lifted a finger, I should touch the solid ceiling of the sound,” he wrote of his artillery experience at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917. GuardianThe poet Wilfred Owen, author of “Dulce et Decorum Est”, recounts a similar experience after spending three weeks on the Somme in 1916: I’ve done worse. I perceived it in the damp air and felt it in the darkness. “

Amnesia: The Bunkeris Frictional Games’ latest first-person horror story that puts you in the muddy boots of a French soldier during World War I. Like previous games in the Amnesia series and his Frictional games, penumbra and Soma, you are forced to survive a cat-and-mouse chase in trapped space. However, this time the structure is not linear. Bunker is a labyrinthine nightmare that combines free-roaming his navigation with streamlined immersive sim elements. Importantly, as innovative as Aliens: Isolation, creatures will follow you on your journey. A miscalculation of time or a single wrong step can draw attention.

of The BunkerThe sound is both helpful and disastrous, alerting you to danger before you turn a corner. Grunts and rumblings can be heard above your head, inside walls, and in holes that only predators can use. Ambush is more effective. It took me hours before I actually saw the monster for the first time, and yet it was just a brief glimpse in the moment before it immediately killed me.

Systemically, The Bunker is built around a safe room and a generator, which act as a central hub and the starting point for roguelike-esque trips to the interior of the concrete complex. The generator powers most rooms (after manually switching it on) and tends to keep the characteristic monsters at bay. However, the fuel burns faster. As you frantically search for a can of fuel, a stopwatch tells you how long the lights will stay on, the ticking of the needles, and the anxiety that underlies your decision-making process.

Some sections of the bunker span large underground areas and are often plagued by rats and tripwires. Maps can only be referenced in designated safe rooms, so collect as much information as possible on each trip, remembering layouts, and, if you’re lucky, dog tags and soldiers suggesting your next destination. Finding notes is important. As time went on, I quickly learned that abandoning the expedition midway wasn’t always the best option, even if the alternative meant proceeding in complete darkness. There are a finite number of fuel cans you can find, and if you waste them visiting locations multiple times, you’ll have to travel farther to get more, and you’ll lose the light pretty early in the process. You may lose.

Your ultimate goal is to find the dynamite and secure the only escape route from the titular structure. However, the step-by-step exploration takes time and the manual work is minimal after the tutorial. Plus, with limited inventory space, you have to make tough decisions about what to keep and what to keep. You can stash essentials like a stopwatch in the vault (don’t worry if you don’t know) that’s right when the generator runs out of fuel) in exchange for valuable crafting materials and progression-related tools.

I have pocket bags to stock up on, but there just wasn’t enough to make me feel really safe to equip whatever was ahead of me. After being cornered by the creature a few times, you’ll need a wrench (which allows you to unscrew the vent cover to access a locked room) and a lighter (a quiet light source that can also light a fire and power a flashlight). ), think twice before hiding it. on future trips.survive in The Bunker It means constantly balancing the uses and drawbacks of any item.

Image: Friction Game

A mechanical flashlight is an infinite source of light and is theoretically one of the most useful items in the game. However, it needs to be rolled up loudly to ensure long-term illumination, and monsters are attracted to noise. Using a grenade or a pistol makes it even more tense because of the sound it makes. bangs. However, these risks are often necessary. Shooting a padlock or clearing a vermin-choked hallway can create important shortcuts for the inevitable backtracking. As a defensive measure, attacking monsters directly only borrows time. Damaging it will cause the creature to flee momentarily, so it’s enough to get away quickly. Once back, they act more aggressively and are more resilient to subsequent attacks. During the encounter, a single bullet was enough to scare me. The next moment the monster just survived being shot, and I ran out of ammunition needed to double up.

This moment rivals the best stealth games, where the slightest noise can reveal your position to a much more powerful foe. Frictional has made a name for itself by crafting these moments from an elegant yet terrifying system. The Bunker‘s outstanding achievement is creating a non-linear sandbox where you can constantly learn from your bad habits. I’ve never been so conscious of how much noise was being generated around me in digital space, kicking an empty wine bottle or flicking a flashlight when I knew a monster was nearby. I entered the room carefully so as not to accidentally turn on the lights. As Mackie explained, your mundane behavior combined with the raw, hostile environment creates a solid sonic ceiling. That sound ceiling only gets thicker the longer you live in the bunker.

Amnesia: The Bunker was released on Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on June 6th. This game was reviewed on Series X using a pre-release download code provided by Frictional Games. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not affect editorial content, but Vox Media may earn a commission on products purchased via affiliate links.discoverable Additional information on Polygon’s Ethics Policy can be found here.