Fans of the Amnesia franchise should prepare for another terrifying journey courtesy of Frictional games. Hot off the heels of Amnesia: Rebirth - the 2020 reintroduction to the seminal classic Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Amnesia: The Bunker is twisting the franchise again. Instead of exploring the dark depths of ancient alien tunnels in 1930s Algeria, The Bunker is taking players to a desolate World War 1 era bunker. While few details are known about the upcoming game, Amnesia: The Bunker must deliver on its promise of being a "truly intense horror experience" compared to its predecessor.
Amnesia: The Bunker has stiff competition from its predecessor, as Amnesia: The Dark Descent is one of the most horrifying video games of all time. The franchise pioneered the use of ominous atmosphere and sensory elements, with Dark Descent frequently twisting what the player sees and hears depending on the protagonist's level of fear. Despite the change in location and arguably more complex plot seen in Rebirth, the game relies on mechanics in previous games, making it less scary than avid Amnesia fans might have hoped. Hopefully, Amnesia: The Bunker's focus on new mechanics and enemies might be the much-needed shake-up the franchise needs.
Amnesia: Rebirth Struggled In The Shadow of Soma and More Innovative Horror Games
Despite Amnesia: The Dark Descent's impact on the horror genre, it's been almost two decades since its initial release. In the decade-long hiatus before Amnesia: Rebirth was released, horror games like Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Outlast innovated on the mechanics that made the Amnesia franchise so iconic. From upgraded environmental and atmospheric horror mechanics, hiding from enemies, to more sophisticated portrayals of fear and paranoia, modern horror games might be at the cutting edge of innovation for video games and have twisted classic horror tropes numerous times.
Unfortunately for Amnesia: Rebirth, it was released at the height of popularity for modern horror games, competing with ultra-popular titles like The Last of Us Part 2 and Visage, which pushed the genre forward dramatically. While Amnesia: Rebirth received critically favorable reviews for the environmental and sound design mechanics that define the franchise, its focus on puzzle solving, evading enemies, and cosmic horror was no longer as innovative as before. In fact, Rebirth had heavy competition from its Frictional Games' counterpart Soma, as the 2017 game has been included with Amnesia: The Dark Descent as a top-selling, influential horror game.
Amnesia: The Bunker Should Honor The Legacy of the Franchise While Experimenting With The Horror Genre
Fortunately, it seems as though Amnesia: The Bunker is taking notes from the success of Soma, adding in new gameplay mechanics not seen in previous installments of the franchise. For instance, not only is the Great War-era bunker a refreshing location for the Amnesia franchise, but players will be able to shoot enemies with a revolver. Adding crafting mechanics and randomized gameplay is also a pleasant surprise, giving new life - and varied playability - to a once-contained series of games. While it's still unclear what the narrative of Amnesia: The Bunker will involve - and what kinds of enemies are lurking - hopefully, the game will raise the bar for storytelling for the entire franchise.
Based on the descriptions of Amnesia: The Bunker provided by Frictional Games, it seems the upcoming game will emphasize player choice and consequences. Given that existing horror franchises like Until Dawn, The Quarry, and others already focus heavily on choice, it'll be interesting to see how The Bunker can innovate on existing mechanics. It would be great to see how using bullets, crafted items, stealth, accumulated fear, and more could change the outcome of not only Amnesia: The Bunker's ending but each turning point in the game. This could include friendly NPCs becoming monstrous enemies like in the Dead Space remake, or fear-states that change gameplay completely.
Amnesia: The Bunker launches March 2023 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.