Amnesia: The Bunker is a little like Alien: Isolation in that, every so often, you just have to take a break. Well, I did. This claustrophobic, tricksy and often outright terrifying survival horror is the fourth in Frictional Games’ series, first released in 2023, and if you ask me is the best of the bunch.
You play a luckless French soldier, Henri Clement, who finds himself in a very unusual bunker on the Western Front during World War 1. The game is semi open world and has randomised elements but what it really gets right, and I will try to avoid spoilers, is the AI of the monster that will be chasing you down.
This game is scary in a way that very few horror games have ever managed, because it’s surprising and brilliant at catching you off-guard. The monster, called the Stalker, moves around the bunker via man-sized tunnels in the walls, which Clement can’t use, and the best-in-class audio makes the approaching scratches and yawps absolutely pant-wetting.
There will be times in this game where you die, indeed there will be many, and you just have to make a cup of tea before going again because fuck me.
PCG’s Ted Litchfield gave Amnesia: the Bunker a glowing and well-deserved 93% in his review, and said it felt “like a new beginning for this series, preserving a distinctive sense of powerlessness and foreboding while slotting that fragility into a full-on immersive sim. You don’t just run and hide in The Bunker: you plan expeditions out of your Resident Evil-style safe room, exploring a labyrinthine, nonlinear world that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the best horror games I’ve played.”
This is a very good game indeed, and now it’s one of the best freebies that the Epic Store has offered in a long time. You’ll need an Epic Store account, which I know some of you will regard as the real horror, but this is one you don’t want to miss. It’s a brilliant game and, even if you try it and immediately nope out, at least you won’t have paid for the privilege. Grab Amnesia: The Bunker for free here until 23rd October, 9AM PT / 12pm ET / 4PM GMT.
