Amnesia: The Bunker

It's fun, crazy, addictive, scary, has easy mode option, the engine is incredible, I love tha A.I, has MANY choices. It's GREAT!!! And not too expensive :)

Amnesia: The Bunker is the latest entry in Frictional's horror series, and it's handled quite differently. In other titles (and most horror walking sims) you travel in a linear path, encountering horrors along the way. But here, the game is not linear. It all takes place inside the titular bunker, where you, a French WW1 soldier, woke up trapped alone with a monster. It has inaccessible areas at first, but as you progress, collecting necessary items and all that, the areas open and you can freely revisit them any time. You can only save at certain points, when there's a lantern and only manually. If you happen to die, you'd be back to your lantern-save. Very early Resident Evil-like. And about it being imsim-inspired, it's because you can do multiple solutions to progress. You can stack items to climb over an obstacle, or dragging an explosive barrel nearby and shooting it for example. Keep in mind though that loud noises like that will attract the monster, which as you expect, cannot be killed. You can attack it to make it run away though. Inventory management is also a thing here, try to keep bringing the important tools and not too many weapons. And lastly, there's no need to manage sanity. Stay in the dark as much as you want. Length-wise it's shorter than previous Amnesia titles (except maybe A Machine for Pigs) and can be finished in 3-5 hours. And while the level design and otherworldly aspect aren't as good or as deeply explored like in Rebirth, it's still a pretty fun game. Definitely worth a try if you're into the franchise or games of its kind.

Amnesia The Bunker is pure survival horror. All the inessentials have been stripped away, leaving the player, an open map, and a monster. Becaues Frictional are really nice people, they've put in some gentle play modes for those who just want the atmosphere (very easy, easy, normal), but honestly if that's what you need I'd look elsewhere. This game is at its best when the tension is high and you're crawling around in the dark with no clue what to do. For all new players, I actually recommend playing on Hard for your first playthrough. I found Normal to be a little too generous with fuel and goodies, making it pretty easy to have the generator on all the time and to get rid of the monster when needed. Hard has scarcer resources and a more aggressive monster, giving an excellent first experience. After you finish hard, you have the option to play Shell Shocked, which is nuts, or to make a custom difficulty map. For those like me for whom Shell Shocked is a bit excessive, I recommend setting the custom difficulty to Hard settings, but adding in the hardcore medical mode and the fusebox mode, along with randomized lockers. Those three settings + Hard make for a truly glorious, nuanced, and intense game. Explore everything. Learn from your mistakes. Try crazy shit. And be prepared to make multiple runs from each save before you learn/accomplish enough to save again. At the outset, there is a lot of "what the hell am I to do?" scrouging around, especially when all your routes are cut off by rats. But keep foraging, keep hiding, and eventually you find something that breaks open another part of the map. Good luck soldier.

Had to pee before starting a play session or I'd piss myself

If I have to rate Amnesia: The Bunker as part of the series, I'd say it's 4/5 because of the prioritizing of gameplay instead of plot; but I won't do it, since the devs properly inform us that this title is experimental and puts focus on other elements. So, these 5 stars are for the game standing on its own (with a caveat). - The atmosphere is top notch - we can feel the tension of being the last person alive left in this massive underground complex with an apex hunter that has killed dozens of our friends. The environmental storytelling, combined with the notes found throughout the location, makes this a rather personal experience. - The sound design is fantastic - from the ambience of different parts of the bunker to the explosions, dialogues, and the monster in its different states, each move or action is immersive due to the audio and physical effects. - Engaging, tense, dynamic game mechanics - I constantly had to scavenge for resources, even at the end of the game. Each trip for more resources introduces risks - from losing yourself in a maze of booby-trapped tunnels to alerting the monster that dinner is ready next to its hole, you're constantly on edge (bonus points for the ability to accidentally crash the serenity at some point by tripping on a chair or other piece of furniture). - Graphically supreme & technically secure - top-notch lighting system, mostly fluid animations, and minimal amount of bugs and glitches in my playthrough. I have only one serious problem with the game, and its the ending. The last 15 minutes of the game were, personally, very frustrating due to the trial & error nature of that section. That, combined with the abrupt ending without a strong, relevant closure to the story, leaves a sour taste for, arguably, the most important moment. Haven't noticed others sharing this problem + it may have been due to time or budget constraints, which is why I won't detract a star, but I find it worth mentioning. Successful experiment overall.