First time actually reviewing a game instead of just leaving a comment.
Amnesia: The Bunker is quite frankly a breath of fresh air to the horror genre. Not that the main gameplay elements haven't been done before, but that all of the set pieces and mechanics are implemented flawlessly in what seems to me like a perfectly compact and effective package.
What I was the most surprised about was the inclusion of immersive sim ingredients into the mix. I had a similar and very pleasant experience with
Alien: Isolation, and I only wish more horror game developers would implement this philosophy which emphasizes player choice and exploration into their games. At this point, I'm desensitized to horror media, but this game managed to deliver some truly nerve-racking moments, especially thanks to one of the core mechanics: the fuel system. Other games such as
Outlast have already implemented finite sources of light for which you need to scavenge the environment, but in
Amnesia: The Bunker you will need to backtrack to the hub, which also serves a safe-room, and refill the generator with the very few fuel canisters you will find throughout the map. The very limited time available to explore the area is essential to get useful items and solve a few puzzles: even though the player is provided with a dynamo flashlight as a last resource, it is too noisy to use, so the creature crawling amongst the walls of the bunker will hear you use it. There's a lot of trial and error, and it's fairly easy to get lost at first, since the map is only available to view in the safe-room, but it's really satisfying once you get familiar with the layout.
The sound design is top-notch, owing a lot to
Dead Space. In a very pavlovian way, hearing the howling of the monster will instantly trigger a conditioned reaction to run back to a safe area. Similarly, the art direction is absolutely filthy and claustrophobic, preserving a sense of exploration whilst encouraging players to think twice before entering a new area. Oh, and there's no autosave... so you better go back often to the main hub. Maybe they should include a hardcore mode that has limited save items which you can look for, like the ink ribbons in
Resident Evil. The writing is hit or miss: I wasn't sure how to feel about the
lovecraftian environments at the end, but it's not too important.
Overall, an incredibly well crafted experience. Looking for more imm-simmy horror games like this, especially as concise as this one.