On December 1, 2022, Frictional Games (Amnesia, SOMA) revealed their next game will be a new instalment in the Amnesia series, a first-person horror game titled Amnesia: The Bunker.
With the reveal we got our first proper look at the game via an Announcement trailer. You can watch that below:
Amnesia: The Bunker Announcement Trailer
Synopsis
Armed with a revolver gun and a noisy dynamo flashlight, players will walk the course of an ill-lighted WW1 bunker in the shoes of a French soldier troubled by his amnesia and hunted by an otherworldly creature. Face the oppressing terrors stalking the dark corridors. Search for and use the tools and weapons at your disposal, while keeping the lights on at all costs. Overcome fear, persevere, and make your way out alive.
About the game
Amnesia: The Bunker aims to deliver immersive horror survival by way of “emergent gameplay” – a first for the Amnesia series of games.
The story unfolds in an open-world sandbox that will feature very few scripted events, giving players greater freedom with how they choose to approach their situation. The goal is for every step to be tense and nerve-wracking – for Players’ cleverness, courage and ability to keep cool under pressure to be tested at every step.
Frictional Games aim to use a high amount of player control to boost the level of unscripted terror in the game. For this to work at its best, player agency is paramount, and so Amnesia: The Bunker will offer multiple ways to solve every task or puzzle.
For example, a recently released gameplay clip, though short, shows a player confronted with a padlocked door. In the real world, if you hadn’t yet found a key and you had a revolver, it’s pretty obvious what you would try to do.
Watch the clip below:
Amnesia: The Bunker – Gameplay clip
Though this is a very simple demonstration of player agency, the point Frictional Games are attempting to convey by releasing this clip is clear. Every obstacle will have more than one solution.
Shooting a lock to open a door is hardly innovative in a video game. Of course, using a revolver to create a loud noise in a tense game of survival may not be the best choice, especially when that may very well be your last bullet. Finding the key might be the superior choice, or perhaps finding another way around. These – and other choices – may also be possible options here. What, then, of even more complex interactions in other scenarios?
Frictional Games state they want players to feel a “stressful amount of power in their hands,” and that the variety of decision options available will lead to very different outcomes playthrough to playthrough. To see how far they can really take this approach, we’ll have to wait for future reveals.
Game Features:
- Player choice – emergent gameplay in a sandbox horror survival experience.
- Unscripted environment – objects, threats, and resources, change in every playthrough.
- Adaptive horrid threats – an ever-present gruesome creature that stalks the player.
- Tactile immersion – all-new levels of interaction with the world through puzzle-solving and tool handling.
- Absorbing yet terrifying tale – experience hell on earth in a fictional appalling story.
- Engrossing atmosphere and tension – enhanced lighting effects and carefully designed sound effects for a real horror experience.
Release Info
Amnesia: The Bunker will be released sometime in 2023 on PS4/5, Xbox One/Series X/S, & PC.