Faisal Ghaffar 
13 years ago, Amnesia: The Dark Descent was launched and it completely transformed the landscape of horror games. Then in 2020, Amnesia: Rebirth was rolled out and it was also a climactic and bone-chilling chapter. A more self-contained and smaller chapter, Amnesia: The Bunker had its work cut out for it to once more bring some excitement for fans of the franchise. The good news is that while it has retained a lot of the exploration and stealth elements, the thriller is proof that new tricks can make all the difference.
The plot
Amnesia: The Bunker is set in 1916 in a doomed, dim World War I bunker where you are a wounded French soldier and have woken up to find that all exits have been destroyed and almost all comrades have been killed by something in the dark. The entire bunker marks the biggest and the first change in the usual Amnesia routine, as it feels a lot bigger and you can begin exploring it from the get go.
Just like Resident Evil or Metroid, you have to find some tools for taking the story forward and accessing some areas, but you are not provided with much direction about where you should move next. It is helpful in building up the tension because you have limited resources that start draining out when you go on an expedition.
The enemy
Most of the enemies in the previous Amnesia games could be found moving in a specific way in a specific area, but The Bunker has shaken things up. There is actually an ever-present and one threat known as the Stalker, which resides behind the ceiling and the walls of the bunker. Noise will attract it, whether it is the sound of a weapon firing, using the flashlight, or even running.
The behavior of the Stalker is mostly unpredictable and this adds a lot more dread and dynamic. It starts growling and scraping when you catch its attention and the sound effect add to your paranoia.
The weapons
The fact that Amnesia had become well-known as a horror game that did not have any weapons also saw a change in this iteration. You are handed a pistol in The Bunker and even grenades at some points. But, you should bear in mind that these weapons only help you escape the Stalker for a few minutes at best. In fact, they add to the fear because you realize that the monster can take a bullet and still keep on coming back.
Nonetheless, the AI does disappoint because the Stalker is not that savvy. This is because you can easily hide from the Stalker and it will not be able to find you, even if you are breathing on its ankles, unless you make a noise. Towards the end, there is a very clever twist and you also get some peeks into the Amnesia universe.
The Verdict
Even though Amnesia: The Bunker is a smaller tale, it does come with a new bag of tricks that fans of the horror genre will enjoy.
