Amnesia: The Bunker [2023 -- Frictional Games]

[Doc_Brown]

Frictional specializes in what I call hide-and-seek horror games.  While SOMA is their best work in the genre so far narratively, Amnesia: The Bunker may be their best in terms of gameplay.  While it doesn't rival Alien: Isolation in scope, it feels very comparable to that game's Salvage Mode DLC (Lost Contact and Safe Haven).  Both are shorter in length scenarios based around venturing out from a safe room to complete objectives while being stalked by a persistent antagonist.

The Bunker differentiates itself by introducing a level of randomization to things.  No two playthroughs will be identical, and New Game Plus lets you tweak the parameters to your heart's desire.  Combined with its relatively short length--my first playthrough was four hours--this works in the game's favor of encouraging replays.  I generally don't like playing a game again immediately after finishing it, but I found myself diving right back into The Bunker repeatedly.

While I'm not sure I'd put the Beast on the same level as the Xenomorph (having a tail dragging behind your stalker works wonderfully when you're hiding from it), it's not without its charms.  For instance, it seems to have a bit of a temper, smashing wooden objects that get in its way when searching for you.  This can actually be turned to your advantage, as you can lure the Beast to a particular area with a loud noise and let it smash down a locked wooden door, say.

The setting also naturally lends itself to jump scares.  You're in an underground bunker in a WWI battlefield, so you'll hear random explosions overhead that can startle you without ever feeling cheap.  I also appreciate the detail that if you're holding your flashlight in one hand and gun in the other, your aim is a little wobbly.  If you put the flashlight away, though, you'll grip your gun in both hands and steady your aim.  Attention to detail like that tells you a lot about how much the developers cared.

One thing I don't like is how, much like with their other games, your vision gets blurry when you see a monster.  I get that it's supposed to be something incomprehensible, but everything blurs, not just the Beast, which makes it hard to run or fight.  It only ever made sense to me in SOMA where it was a physical effect, and as Yahtzee once said, "I don't like it when games tell me how I feel."  Thankfully there is an option to turn the blur off, though it's on by default.

In conclusion, Amnesia: The Bunker is a great bite-sized example of how to do a gameplay focused hide-and-seek horror game.  I know Frictional has said they plan to start alternating between games like this and more cerebral affairs (see the upcoming Ontos), so I'm very excited to see how they develop these ideas further.  Bouncing between bangers like SOMA and The Bunker sounds like a recipe for success, and I wish them a long and successful road ahead.