The Bunker

Release Date: September 20, 2016

Adventure, point-and-click, post-apocalypse, indie games, full motion video, action adventure, singleplayer

6.5

OpenCritic

69%

Steam

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An full-motion video adventure game created as a result of cooperation between Splendy Interactive and Wales Interactive. The action begins 30 years after a huge nuclear explosion destroyed Great Britain. The player takes on the role of the last survivor of a fallout shelter. In order to save his life, he decides to reach the surface.

Plot
Mechanics
Technical aspects

The Bunker for PC, SWITCH and etc. is an adventure game created entirely on the basis of the Full Motion Video technology that was popular back in the late 90s. The game was developed as an effect of the cooperation between Splendy Interactive (not a particularly popular developer) and Wales Interactive – a team popular mainly for such games as Soul Axiom, Infinity Runner, Gravity Badgers or Master Reboot. The Bunker was released by Green Man Gaming Publishing - a British company owning a popular, digital distribution platform.

Plot

The plot for The Bunker was created by acclaimed gamemakers, who formerly worked on such titles as SOMA or such franchises as Broken Sword or The Witcher. The game is set 30 years after a huge nuclear explosion practically destroyed Great Britain. The player assumes the role of the last survivor inside a fallout shelter. Over the years, the protagonist witnesses his relatives dying. In order to save his life, he decides to reach the surface. To do so however, he first needs to find answers for many questions bothering him, but he also has to discover dark secrets hiding in almost every corner of the titular bunker.

Mechanics

In terms of the mechanics, The Bunker for PC, SWITCH and etc. does not bring any significant novelties to the exploration-adventure genre of today. The player explores subsequent chambers of the bunker, which is filled with many pieces of old hardware, such as the already forgotten Commodore computers. Also, the player searches for clues that could allow the protagonist to escape this unusual scenery. During the adventure, the player encounters numerous reminescences of the bunker's former inhabitants, as well as arcade sequences requiring them to make quick decisions in order to avoid different threats and stay alive.

Technical aspects

The Bunker for PC, SWITCH and etc. stands out with its visuals definitely, for the game does not feature any computer-generated elements. The gameplay here is based entirely on movie sequences featuring real actors, and only interface-related elements were affixed to them. Obviously, this affects the in-game movement system significantly, but the creators followed the pattern established by the majority of similar games in this respect. Interestingly, the previously mentioned movie sequences were shot inside a real-existing, government shelter located in Britain.

As befits an FMV game, the cast comprises real actors, among whom are people such as Adam Brown (Hobbit), Sarah Greene (the Penny Dreadful series), Grahame Fox (the Game of Thrones series) and Jerome St. John Blake (Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace). All of this is complemented by an old-school soundtrack composed by Dom Shovelton.

Last updated on August 16, 2016

Videos and Screens

[0:41] The Bunker launch trailer

[1:12] The Bunker trailer #2

6.5

OpenCritic Rating

Game is Recomended by 28% of Critics. There are 41 Critic Reviews.

OpenCritic

Eurogamer: by Christian Donlan

Live action games rise again, just about, in this clumsy but earnest adventure.

Full Review

Xbox Achievements: 40 / 100 by Richard Walker

On paper, The Bunker sounds like a fantastic premise for a taut psychological horror that's both claustrophobic and frightening. As it stands, however, the game doesn't hang together as well as it should, most moments of drama provoking laughter when you should be on the edge of your seat. One instance made me grit my teeth and squirm, but the rest of the game is ineffective in generating any real atmosphere. I really wanted to love The Bunker, but it just doesn't work.

Full Review

Destructoid: 7 / 10 by Stephen Turner

As a game, it might bring all this goodwill down a peg, but it never once feels like you’ve wasted your time. At worst, it's like you’ve watched a great horror/thriller with a faulty remote by your side. And if you get over that, you’ll enjoy The Bunker. Well, as enjoyable as a post-nuclear holocaust story allows, anyway.

Full Review

69%