The Amnesia series has become a mainstay of the horror genre ever since Amnesia: The Dark Descent took the games industry by storm with its launch in 2010, and developer Frictional Games has honed its formula to a fine sheen with iterations like Amnesia: Rebirth in the years since then. With the series’ next instalment, however, it’s going to head into uncharted water.
Amnesia: The Bunker is due out in a month’s time, and from the inclusion of weapons to a new semi-open world structure, it’s changing up the established formula of its predecessors in a number of ways. Specifically where its map is concerned though, how exactly is the game going to be structured? We recently had the chance to interview Amnesia: The Bunker’s creative lead Fredrik Olsson, and that was among several things that he offered new insight into.
As per Olsson, the titular bunker that the game is set in will be a hub-based map, with said hub featuring as a safe environment where players will be able to save, plan their next moves, and most importantly, make sure that the generator powering lights throughout the bunker doesn’t run out of fuel- because the mysterious threat that is constantly hunting you likes to do so in the darkness, and darkness, like all Amnesia games, is your worst enemy.
“The game is a hub-based experience,” Olsson told GamingBolt. “In the center of the Bunker, you have your safe room – your home base if you wish. That’s where you can save your progress, plan your next move, store resources, and fuel the generator. The rest of the bunker is very much accessible from the outset, with the player having little limitations when it comes to where to go and what to do.”
And how exactly will the game approach exploration and progression? Olsson explains that while there will be some tasks along the critical path that players will have to complete, beyond that, the game will take a “highly player-driven” approach that will deviate from the linear structure of past Amnesia games quite a bit.
“While some tasks require completion to finish the game, it is up to the player to identify, prioritize and then judge how to best complete them,” he said. “This exploration must be balanced against the dynamic threat that haunts the player, capable of emerging at any moment based on their actions. As such, the gameplay is highly player-driven and significantly different from previous games that relied on a more linear path.”
Olsson also touched on the size and environmental variety of the Bunker, saying that while the map won’t be as large and varied as, say, the environments of Amnesia: Rebirth, it will still have various unique subsections, including some non-Bunker environments.
“While the environment may not be as large or diverse as Amnesia: Rebirth, the various sub-sections of the Bunker have their own unique characteristics and ambiance,” he said. “Additionally, there are also a few non-bunker environments for the player to experience.”
Amnesia: The Bunker is due out on May 16 for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Stay tuned for more from our interview with Olsson.
