Although the horror style has a wealthy historical past of utilizing monsters as stand-ins for one thing really horrifying, scary video video games aren’t all the time so thematically formidable. There’s a slew of zombie video games, as an illustration, that commerce in sharp social commentary for senseless taking pictures. That pattern all the time leaves me on the lookout for extra cerebral horror video games, ones that scratch the identical itch as 2010’s psychologically unnerving Amnesia: The Darkish Descent.
So maybe I shouldn’t be shocked that the primary horror sport that will accomplish that for me in 2023 is, in actual fact, a brand new Amnesia sport. Amnesia: The Bunker, developer Frictional Video games’ most formidable horror title but, turns an deserted World Conflict I bunker right into a sprawling haunted home. Although I’m afraid of the unkillable monster that’s all the time stalking me from the shadows, the true horror comes from what Amnesia has to say about wartime PTSD — a significant topic that almost all correct warfare video games attempt to preserve locked at nighttime.
Hiding at nighttime
When Amnesia: The Bunker begins, I discover myself in a surprisingly cinematic state of affairs. I’m a soldier in World Conflict I working by way of the trenches, pistol in hand, as bombs and gunfire ring out overhead. It’s the sort of motion sequence that I count on from video games like Battlefield 1. Although it’s a far cry from something I’ve seen from Amnesia earlier than, the tense claustrophobia of all of it nonetheless matches with Frictional’s atmospheric model of horror.
That sequence acts as a darkish prelude that efficiently colours the extra conventional Amnesia gameplay that ensues. Shortly after, I get up in an eerily quiet French bunker. It’s a stark distinction to that chaotic intro, letting the violence I simply witnessed soak in. I stumble by way of the darkness till I discover one other residing soldier, however I don’t get an opportunity to ask him the place I’m earlier than a monster devours him. After witnessing that, my aim is straightforward: get the hell out of right here.
What instantly units The Bunker aside from earlier Amnesia video games is its extra open-ended construction. After discovering a method to launch the bunker’s emergency locks, I’m free to discover all of its distinct areas – from residing quarters to an armory — in any order I would like. Scattered notes give me leads as to what the final word aim of every space is, however I can sort out the Resident Evil-like puzzle field in any means. It’s a thoughtfully constructed area that turns exploration right into a sport of fixed spatial reasoning.
There are just a few main twists. The bunker’s lighting grid runs on a generator that I must preserve fueled always. When it runs out of fuel, the construction goes fully darkish. I do have a useful flashlight to assist in these moments, but it surely’s a loud vintage that must be revved up like a chainsaw. And sadly for me, any noise will appeal to the eye of that monster I noticed earlier, who persistently roams the halls. After an hour of taking part in, the loop absolutely clicks. I fill the generator up with gas, go on “runs” by way of the bunker to gather as many sources as I can earlier than the lights exit, and attempt to make as little sound as I can whereas doing so. It performs like a scary spin on SteamWorld Dig, and is nearly roguelite-esque in its nature.
That loop makes for a powerful — although at instances irritating — horror sport premise. The stakes are extremely excessive, as I can solely ever save by returning to a protected room on the heart of the bunker. The longer I spend exploring, the extra I stand to lose if the monster kills me. It makes the second when the generator runs out of gas really scary; my coronary heart pumps out of my chest anytime the lighting grid goes black. The flip aspect, although, is that it may be extremely troublesome to make significant progress. It doesn’t take a lot to stir the monster and it’s onerous to keep away from as soon as it’s on the hunt. After some time, I wasn’t a lot scared as I used to be aggravated by the concept of getting to repeat the identical route for the fourth time. That’s a killer for a horror sport, and it’s one thing that’s all the time respiratory down The Bunker’s neck.
Regardless of that inherent frustration, The Bunker nonetheless largely works as a bit of online game horror. That’s as a result of it isn’t simply delivering scares for the sake of scares. The extra I discover, I discover notes left behind by troopers within the bunker. Some give some clues as to the place the monster got here from, however others are merely from traumatized troopers working by way of all the pieces they’ve been by way of. The bunker isn’t only a intelligent online game location, however a psychological jail that visualizes the inescapable nature of PTSD. It stalks these troopers, as ever-present because the monster lurking within the shadows. Each time I hear a thump I don’t acknowledge, it triggers my anxiousness as I worry the monster approaches — like listening to a truck backfiring and instinctively ducking for canopy. That concept makes for one of the crucial harrowing psychological horror video games I’ve performed in years.
If in case you have the persistence to cope with its aggressive risk-reward system, Amnesia: The Bunker is the sort of expertise that’ll stick round behind your head. It’s a more practical warfare story than any Name of Obligation sport I’ve performed, focusing much less on the loud chaos of battle and extra on the unsettling quiet that comes after. It’s not the monster that scares me, however these silent moments between assaults the place I’m left questioning when it’ll occur once more.
Amnesia: The Bunker launches on June 6 for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Sequence X/S, and PC.
Editors’ Suggestions