The game lies to us. It doesn't respect our intelligence nor allows experimentation.

[DaemonX_HUN]

Amnesia: The Bunker wants to present itself as a system-driven game that respects the players' intelligence, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills, similar to immersive sims like Deus Ex, Prey, System Shock, or Dishonored.

It even states on multiple occasions (via loading screens) that:

"You can overcome most obstacles in multiple ways. Use your wits and your brains. Experiment. If you think something might be possible to do, it probably is."

This is a big lie. In reality, it's not possible to do a lot of things that would make sense in a type of game like this. As a lover of immersive sims and similar games, I explain why using a few examples.

1. There are many traps scattered throughout the bunker. Most of them are floor traps, some are grenades tied to doors. Even if you are a mindful player and notice them, you don't have the choice/option to deactivate them. E.g.: you can't pick up a grenade that is connected to a door, so you can't go through that door without exploding it and alerting the monster (the door that leads to the fuel faucet with the empty bottles is a good example). You can even do this in a freaking mass-market FPS, like CoD: Warzone 2, but not in a game like this that promotes player freedom.
   
   
2. There are multiple places where you can see into another room through a hole in the wall and you can directly see either a light switch or the locking mechanism of a door. Because of this, it would make sense if you could throw empty bottles at them to activate them. This would be an interesting mechanic in itself because you would have to choose to keep bottles for Molotov cocktails (or to create distractions) or break them by throwing them at switches. In Prey (2017) you were also able to open doors etc. this way. But in this game, it's not possible based on my experience.
   
   
3. Doors can be destroyed in multiple ways. Either you can explode them using grenades, or by carrying an explosive barrel/fuel canister near them and shooting them. Based on the game's tutorial, you can also throw bricks at them until they break. The problem is, however, that there are barely any bricks in the game, and most of them are miles away from a door and you can't put them in the inventory either. The same goes for explodable barrels/canisters and grenades - they are rare. Thus, it makes sense that the player tries to seek other opportunities. I tried creating Molotov cocktails as destroyable doors are wooden, so it would make sense to be able to burn them. But it's not possible either. Wood doesn't burn in this game.

[Snow]

Another thing I'd like to point out - the game supposedly heavily relies on replayability (you get such note from the developers after the ending), but said replayability boils down to: This item was on the chair, now it's in the cupboard!

1. You can deactivate the traps, but only after you've gotten the bolt cutters. Which are presented relatively late given how many traps are there in the game from the start.

3. The shotgun is meant as a door breaching device in the game, there's even a hint photo that shows it as such. The problem is, you get the shotgun after 80 % of the game or even more and by that time, it's rendered useless as the majority of the doors to open are already opened by other means.

Overall, game has some pretty poor pacing as far as item distribution goes.

[DaemonX_HUN]

Originally posted by Snow:

1. You can deactivate the traps, but only after you've gotten the bolt cutters. Which are presented relatively late given how many traps are there in the game from the start.

3. The shotgun is meant as a door breaching device in the game, there's even a hint photo that shows it as such. The problem is, you get the shotgun after 80 % of the game or even more and by that time, it's rendered useless as the majority of the doors to open are already opened by other means.

Well, I have the full map and roughly 80% of the areas explored, yet I'm still missing most of the key items, namely the bolt cutter, the screwdriver, and the shotgun. So this would explain my problem. Still, it's completely illogical why for example the shotgun is only accessible once you are almost finished with the game and opened nearly everything like you said. So yeah, item distribution seems like a huge problem.

Also, I don't get why there's a limit to your item box if you can just throw all your stuff to the ground near it and they won't even disappear. It would have been way more convenient just to give us a box with unlimited storage.

[morko]

Originally posted by DaemonX_HUN:

Originally posted by Snow:

1. You can deactivate the traps, but only after you've gotten the bolt cutters. Which are presented relatively late given how many traps are there in the game from the start.

3. The shotgun is meant as a door breaching device in the game, there's even a hint photo that shows it as such. The problem is, you get the shotgun after 80 % of the game or even more and by that time, it's rendered useless as the majority of the doors to open are already opened by other means.

Well, I have the full map and roughly 80% of the areas explored, yet I'm still missing most of the key items, namely the bolt cutter, the screwdriver, and the shotgun. So this would explain my problem. Still, it's completely illogical why for example the shotgun is only accessible once you are almost finished with the game and opened nearly everything like you said. So yeah, item distribution seems like a huge problem.

Also, I don't get why there's a limit to your item box if you can just throw all your stuff to the ground near it and they won't even disappear. It would have been way more convenient just to give us a box with unlimited storage.

Did you open the storage lockers? Most of your tools will be found in there.

[DaemonX_HUN]

Originally posted by morko:

Originally posted by DaemonX_HUN:

Well, I have the full map and roughly 80% of the areas explored, yet I'm still missing most of the key items, namely the bolt cutter, the screwdriver, and the shotgun. So this would explain my problem. Still, it's completely illogical why for example the shotgun is only accessible once you are almost finished with the game and opened nearly everything like you said. So yeah, item distribution seems like a huge problem.

Also, I don't get why there's a limit to your item box if you can just throw all your stuff to the ground near it and they won't even disappear. It would have been way more convenient just to give us a box with unlimited storage.

Did you open the storage lockers? Most of your tools will be found in there.

I have 1/3 of them open so far.

[Scriptimus]

Originally posted by iamasentientfork:

"similar to immersive sims like Deus Ex, Prey, System Shock, or Dishonored."

Jesus christ, do they actually say this? Where? Talk about head up your own *ss. This is nowhere near any of those games by a longshot

They don't.

[morko]

Originally posted by iamasentientfork:

Originally posted by Snow:

Another thing I'd like to point out - the game supposedly heavily relies on replayability (you get such note from the developers after the ending), but said replayability boils down to: This item was on the chair, now it's in the cupboard!

1. You can deactivate the traps, but only after you've gotten the bolt cutters. Which are presented relatively late given how many traps are there in the game from the start.

3. The shotgun is meant as a door breaching device in the game, there's even a hint photo that shows it as such. The problem is, you get the shotgun after 80 % of the game or even more and by that time, it's rendered useless as the majority of the doors to open are already opened by other means.

Overall, game has some pretty poor pacing as far as item distribution goes.

It makes sense if this was originally only supposed to be the first half of the game...

*buys a game called Amnesia: The Bunker*
*is shocked to find out the entire game takes place in a bunker*

[morko]

Originally posted by Snow:

Originally posted by morko:

*buys a game called Amnesia: The Bunker*
*is shocked to find out the entire game takes place in a bunker*

No one said anything of the sort, what are you on about lol?

Then what was he expecting the second half to be? We all saw how big the map was in the demo. You explore the entire thing before you get out. Once you get out the game ends. What's the problem? People will pay 70 bucks for a 4 hour RE game, but will ♥♥♥♥ their pants when a 25 dollar indie game isn't 20 hours long. It's absurd.

[Snow]

Originally posted by morko:

Originally posted by Snow:

No one said anything of the sort, what are you on about lol?

Then what was he expecting the second half to be? We all saw how big the map was in the demo. You explore the entire thing before you get out. Once you get out the game ends. What's the problem? People will pay 70 bucks for a 4 hour RE game, but will ♥♥♥♥ their pants when a 25 dollar indie game isn't 20 hours long. It's absurd.

Yeah, now you're just making stuff up. The pacing and the abruptly ended story is what people take issue with. People like you who can't stomach criticism for indie games are absurd.

Didn't expect the game to be 20 hours lmao, but 6-8 would've been nice instead of the 2-4 you get out of even slow play.

[morko]

I don't need long ass cutscenes and scripted fluff in every game. Most 6-8 games have 4 hours of gameplay and 2-4 hours of story sh*t. I'll just take the 4 hours of pure gameplay, thanks.

[Snow]

Originally posted by morko:

I don't need long ass cutscenes and scripted fluff in every game. Most 6-8 games have 4 hours of gameplay and 2-4 hours of story sh*t. I'll just take the 4 hours of pure gameplay, thanks.

What kind of argument is this? You dismissed everything I've said and resorted to some random playtime numbers that are irrelevent.

The game would've been fine at 2-3 hours if the story felt complete. That's my issue. The story feels rushed and like it doesn't do what it wants. You get everything spelled out for you in the notes, but when you actually experience the Roman tunnels, there's basically nothing in it - floating rocks and a mad soldier, that segment is over in 5 minutes and leads to nowhere. Same with the finale, regardless of the 3 endings, it ends up exactly the same. And the way it is ended and paced, it feels like a half of what the story wanted to tell.

[morko]

Originally posted by Snow:

Originally posted by morko:

I don't need long ass cutscenes and scripted fluff in every game. Most 6-8 games have 4 hours of gameplay and 2-4 hours of story sh*t. I'll just take the 4 hours of pure gameplay, thanks.

What kind of argument is this? You dismissed everything I've said and resorted to some random playtime numbers that are irrelevent.

The game would've been fine at 2-3 hours if the story felt complete. That's my issue. The story feels rushed and like it doesn't do what it wants. You get everything spelled out for you in the notes, but when you actually experience the Roman tunnels, there's basically nothing in it - floating rocks and a mad soldier, that segment is over in 5 minutes and leads to nowhere. Same with the finale, regardless of the 3 endings, it ends up exactly the same. And the way it is ended and paced, it feels like a half of what the story wanted to tell.

I'm trying to tell you that it's not a story game. It never was meant to be one. It's basically a video game escape room with a WW1 theme. Get it now?

[Snow]

Originally posted by morko:

Originally posted by Snow:

What kind of argument is this? You dismissed everything I've said and resorted to some random playtime numbers that are irrelevent.

The game would've been fine at 2-3 hours if the story felt complete. That's my issue. The story feels rushed and like it doesn't do what it wants. You get everything spelled out for you in the notes, but when you actually experience the Roman tunnels, there's basically nothing in it - floating rocks and a mad soldier, that segment is over in 5 minutes and leads to nowhere. Same with the finale, regardless of the 3 endings, it ends up exactly the same. And the way it is ended and paced, it feels like a half of what the story wanted to tell.

I'm trying to tell you that it's not a story game. It never was meant to be one. It's basically a video game escape room with a WW1 theme. Get it now?

Do you get that that's just your personal interpretation and not what it actually is? Unless you're a developer of the game with inner knowledge or if you happen to have some source where the developers are saying "this is just an escape game, story not important". Because judging by previous Frictional work (literally all of their games), story is a huge part of the theme. And given the amount of backstory, lore, notes, etc. in this one, it's no different here. It just falls flat, that's all.

[morko]

Originally posted by iamasentientfork:

Originally posted by morko:

I'm trying to tell you that it's not a story game. It never was meant to be one. It's basically a video game escape room with a WW1 theme. Get it now?

Again, you are just stating what it is as it is. That is nothing more than an observation repeating what anyone can see or experience for themselves by playing it or even watching a video of a playthrough. We all see what the game is as it is. That's not the problem. I don't really know what else I can say to clarify.

https://youtu.be/uOhvfP5aEXU

[Eve]

As nitpicky as this might come off I think these are some valid criticisms of the game, though I disagree with the last point I think the lack of bricks in the game is definitely intentional and for balance. I also sort of disagree that empty bottles should be able to throws switches as they simply arent heavy enough, however I dont think its a stretch to be able to throw other more heavy things at switches to be able to activate them.

I don't think this particularly ruins the game but it definitely does detract from the concept of being able to approach things in multiple ways.

[nicks husband coach]

Originally posted by DaemonX_HUN:

Amnesia: The Bunker wants to present itself as a system-driven game that respects the players' intelligence, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills, similar to immersive sims like Deus Ex, Prey, System Shock, or Dishonored.

It even states on multiple occasions (via loading screens) that:

"You can overcome most obstacles in multiple ways. Use your wits and your brains. Experiment. If you think something might be possible to do, it probably is."

This is a big lie. In reality, it's not possible to do a lot of things that would make sense in a type of game like this. As a lover of immersive sims and similar games, I explain why using a few examples.

1. There are many traps scattered throughout the bunker. Most of them are floor traps, some are grenades tied to doors. Even if you are a mindful player and notice them, you don't have the choice/option to deactivate them. E.g.: you can't pick up a grenade that is connected to a door, so you can't go through that door without exploding it and alerting the monster (the door that leads to the fuel faucet with the empty bottles is a good example). You can even do this in a freaking mass-market FPS, like CoD: Warzone 2, but not in a game like this that promotes player freedom.
   
   
2. There are multiple places where you can see into another room through a hole in the wall and you can directly see either a light switch or the locking mechanism of a door. Because of this, it would make sense if you could throw empty bottles at them to activate them. This would be an interesting mechanic in itself because you would have to choose to keep bottles for Molotov cocktails (or to create distractions) or break them by throwing them at switches. In Prey (2017) you were also able to open doors etc. this way. But in this game, it's not possible based on my experience.
   
   
3. Doors can be destroyed in multiple ways. Either you can explode them using grenades, or by carrying an explosive barrel/fuel canister near them and shooting them. Based on the game's tutorial, you can also throw bricks at them until they break. The problem is, however, that there are barely any bricks in the game, and most of them are miles away from a door and you can't put them in the inventory either. The same goes for explodable barrels/canisters and grenades - they are rare. Thus, it makes sense that the player tries to seek other opportunities. I tried creating Molotov cocktails as destroyable doors are wooden, so it would make sense to be able to burn them. But it's not possible either. Wood doesn't burn in this game.

you can break the boards to get in a room btw