Trial and Error Amidst Terror in Amnesia: The Bunker

World War I  and World War II are  pieces of  history used in myriad ways across  media, movies, tv shows, books and videogames. Some of these focus on the guts and glory of the fight, while others  focus on the damage and repercussions the conflicts  had on our earth and the people who fought it . Yet, despite the endless creativity when it comes to making stories and games about the wars, there was no real horror videogame using the setting of World War 2 as its base, until June 6th, 2023 when Amnesia: The Bunker released.

Developed by Frictional games, Amnesia: The Bunker is a return to form for the franchise, the first Amnesia game, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, blew up in popularity because it did something different than all the other popular horror games at the time. Unlike games like Five Nights at Freddy’s or Slenderman that used jumpscares as their primary form of horror, Amnesia: The Dark Descend, relied on its atmosphere and psychological horror to slowly condition the player as they traversed the game, eventually boiling into horrific encounters with beings that cannot be described.

This loop remained consistent for the sequels until Amnesia: Memories and Amnesia: Rebirth, These games are by no means bad;however most players came from the previous games, and were saddened by the new direction. Both games focused more on telling a story than inducing horror and being genuinely fun. Listening to player feedback, Frictional Games decided for their next entry, to go back to their original Amnesia formula for their most recent game, Amnesia: The Bunker, promising a refreshing new take on the gameplay loop players loved so much.

Amnesia: The Bunker takes place during World War I. You play as Henri, a French soldier suffering  from amnesia who awakens injured in a bunker after being caught in the blast of a mortar shell. The bunker acts as the main setting of the game and where the majority of the game takes place. Throughout the corridors, you will find  remnants of your fellow comrades, whether it be supplies or  notes that give the player insight into what happened during Henri’s coma.

As you explore further you will realize, you’re not alone, a creature only known as “The Beast” lurks in the bunker alongside the player, this creature is extremely powerful – able to break doors, stalk Henri, and  most crucially, remain unkillable. No matter what you do, and no matter how many times you shoot at it, burn it or blast it, the Beast will always come back to hunt you.  The most you can do is hide or stun it temporarily in  a constant game of cat and  mouse.  Fortunately, the bunker has enough materials and tools to use to proceed through the bunker and also fight back against the Beast.

In the bunker there’s only one safe haven, the office located in the center of the bunker. No matter what, the Beast cannot enter, it’s the perfect place to assess your situation, save the game and use the item box.

Unlike a game like Resident Evil, the item box has a limit, you can’t store all the items you find, l but  you can find the most interesting and crucial aspect of the bunker in the bottom of the save room, the generator. The generator powers the entirety of the bunker, powering doors, turning the lights and most importantly, forces the beast into hiding, allowing for safer movement around the bunker. The beast will still look for you if you make sound however, despite this safe haven the lights make, the generator is not permanent, it requires fuel and gas canisters, which are rare and also don’t entirely fill the generator, forcing the player into a decision, “Do I want to go outside in the dark where the beast is searching for me, or do I want to use up the time the generator has to safely move around the bunker?” When you explore the bunker you’ll realize there’s a lot of items, but some don’t do anything.

The game utilizes strategy and forces the player to experiment. Most items also have multiple uses, rags for example, can be used to heal Henri, but they can also be used to craft torches to scare the rats that block certain parts of the bunker. When starting the game, Henri will only have two items, a revolver and a flashlight. The revolver is one of the few sources of consistent damage towards the beast, it can also be used to break locks if you don’t see any other path of entry, however, bullets are rare and Henri is also a slow reloader, meaning he will reload the Revolver, one bullet at a time. So if your revolver isn’t reloaded when encountering the beast, perhaps running is a safer option.

The Torch is the most consistent source of light in the game; unfortunately it has one major disadvantage; it’sits beyond-loud. During World War I, soldiers were given a very primitive version of our modern-day flashlight, known as a torch. It was circular in design and has a lamp where the light shines. It also had a cord where soldiers would wrap it around their neck. The device used a fly wheel and dynamo to produce the necessary energy to function; by pulling the cord at the bottom, you’d spin the wheel to create energy for the torch, meaning it had to constantly be pulled to charge. In Amnesia, this mechanic forces the player to either make sound for the beast to find you, or to travel in the dark if the generator isn’t turned on.

If you haven’t realized by now, Amnesia: The Bunker is all about trivial and error, to experiment with what you are given. There’s no linear way to progress through the game, a locked door could have a myriad of solutions and that’s the beauty of this game, no one will have a similar experience, because every player attempts things differently. Some will try to fight off the beast, others will do everything in their power to never see it, some will blow up every single door they can, others will blow up every single door they can,and others will look thick and thin to find keys to unlock the doors and conserve ammo or explosives for the beast.

The atmosphere of Amnesia is also well made, the bunker feels lived in, with bunk beds holding the  belongings of your comrades:letters they were going to send to their loved ones, food, drinks, and their dogtags. At different intervals you’ll feel the earth rock from the bombardment outside, reminding the player that, even if they escape the hell, there’s another layer awaiting them above. Amnesia The Bunker is available on Playstation 4/5, Xbox, and PC, try this game for yourself for the spooky month!