Amnesia: The Bunker Doesn’t Have a Sanity Mechanic, but Maintains “the Interplay Between Darkness and Light”

Amnesia games have always placed quite a bit of emphasis on sanity mechanics, while their unique implementation of darkness and light as gameplay mechanics have also formed a core part of the series’ identity. With the upcoming Amnesia: The Bunker, the series is making a number of significant changes – like its semi-open world structure – and even on a core level, it’ll deviate from the formula quite a bit.

Creative lead Fredrik Olsson recently spoke to GamingBolt about the same, confirming that unlike past Amnesia games, The Bunker won’t feature a sanity mechanic. That said, the “interplay between darkness and light” that has become such an integral part of the series’ formula will still very much part of the core gameplay, with the developers wanting to ensure that in spite of all of the changes it’s making, the game stays true to the series’ core tenets.

“It’s true that this new focus requires quite a significant departure from the Amnesia formula, but at the same time, I feel there is still a lot of Amnesia left in this game,” Olsson said. “Just because you have access to weapons does not mean you can simply go in guns blazing. Players will still feel the need to hide or run from their pursuer. It’s all in the balance, and you shouldn’t expect this to be a first-person shooter by any means.

“We have also maintained one of the most defining elements of the Amnesia series – the interplay between darkness and light. It’s a bit different this time around, though, since there’s no sanity mechanic in this game. Instead, the gameplay centers around the Bunker’s main generator. The creature that hunts the player prefers to do so in the cover of darkness, meaning that if you fail to keep the generator running, you’re soon going to find yourself in deep shit. This type of mechanic is basically a new and more tangible take on an old formula.

“Moreover, we have ensured that the atmosphere in the Bunker remains very similar to what players have grown accustomed to in previous Amnesia games. In summary, while we have introduced new elements, we have worked hard to maintain the core Amnesia experience that our players love.”

Amnesia: The Bunker launches on May 16 for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Our full interview with Olsson will be live soon, so stay tuned for that.