Reviews

• 

  Dohi64

  Feb 6, 2022

  [quote]For more puzzle game reviews, news and everything puzzle-related, follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/25928931-Puzzle-Lovers/]Puzzle Lovers[/url] and check out our [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/puzzlelovers]Steam group[/url].[/quote] [b]the bunker[/b] is an fmv-based point & click adventure. the protagonist is a bunker baby, born underground in the 80s when england got bombed for some reason. skip ahead 30 years, he's, well, 30 years old, so a bunker man. mom just died but gotta stick to the routine, so he keeps reading to her and checking if everything's shipshape. one day the system shows some problems, and while he's dealing with them, we get to see flashbacks to his childhood and learn how he became the only survivor. typical point & click gameplay, walk around, interact with stuff, no inventory. there are various 'collectibles', some provide more background info. [b]a hotspot indicator would've been nice[/b] but there aren't that many and they're relatively easy to find, though I inevitably missed a couple of documents. there are [b]some quick-time events that put you back a little if you fail them[/b]. [b]the game is linear with very few 'meaningful' choices[/b], one of them right at the end. [b]no manual saving or chapter selection[/b], the game only saves between chapters, so make sure to quit at the beginning of a new one to avoid losing progress. the last save is kept, so after the first playthrough you can see the other ending by replaying the final chapter. cutscenes are unskippable, which is not a problem during the initial playthrough, but with checkpoints already implemented, it [b]would've taken very little effort to provide chapter selection after the first playthrough[/b], and of course manual saving anytime. amateurs... settings are available while playing and include a single volume slider like in an actual movie, except even professional hollywood stuff doesn't always get mixed properly, let alone something low-budget like this. a separate music slider would've been nice, as loudness became an issue towards the end. resolution options, windowed mode, brightness slider (always appreciated), controller sensitivity, a few languages and optional subtitles with a bunch of missing punctuation (always annoying). [b]unskippable and really loud company logos on startup[/b] are an unwelcome bonus. [b]such lazy game design wouldn't get a pass from me normally[/b], but I have a soft spot for cheesy fmv and b-movies (or worse) in general and don't care about achievements or meaningless choices. I enjoyed the game for what it was, but [b]obviously only buy it on deep sale[/b].
• 

  Aaron_Is_Good

  Aug 8, 2022

  There is only one real character in the game, and the story is boring. The main character is useless and afraid of everything, which made me really unpleasant. At the end, there is no imagine space for our players. :( Not worth playing.
• 

  inner coyote screams

  Aug 27, 2022

  There are two points about this game you have to know: 1) It is not a game in common understanding of what the game is 2) It is not about nuclear war concequences at the first place. All the radiation stuff is just the background of the story To the point one - it is more like movie with elements of puzzle game, not even choices. Dont expect much influence on the story or much control. But reason, why I still would recommend it, is the story and actors acting. Adam Brown is hillarious. I think the next part of review might be under spoiler so

  The story is basically about overcaring mother and huge damage this overcare makes to the child even when child is adult. It basically shows up that child in that case cannot take care of itself, does not matter of age -30, 40, 50. And death of mother can literally crush his world. The nuclear background just strengthens the effect. And also I find it great, that game hughlighted this problem as meet babies in adults skin is pretty sad experience.

  So I would recommend to buy this item when it is on discount. Even tho there was not that much room to literally play, I enjoyed it as a movie

• 

  Scruffy Monk

  Nov 5, 2022

  I really loved the protagonist in this game. He is goofy, quirky and suffers from serious arrested development. Without any awareness of the world beyond the few rooms that he dwells alone, he follows a dogged routine day after day, until disaster strikes. Forcing him to go beyond the safety of his tiny universe.... agoraphobic, clueless and childlike, he bumble bravely into the greater world (beyond the locked door) to solve the life threatening problem. Endearing and cool.
• 

  polymanictaz

  Nov 5, 2022

  You take a story about constraint and limitations set it in a bunker give the main char 0 life skill and obsessive dependency on routine and his mother then add repetition and a bit of pointless timeout mouse spamming and bingo jingo you have gathered the confidence to blow your dam brains out on completing this and they get more people to watch with less witnesses. potential in this type of game is massive full motion point n click could work dammit if only we had interesting plot, went to sleep while playing, write harder and write smarter!!
• 

  FriskyCthulhu

  Sep 21, 2016

  The Bunker is proof that FMV has a place in contemporary gaming still. The immersion from live actors' emotions and movements is what drives this game. I was emotionally invested almost immediately. The point-and-click style of gameplay, along with the FMV tickled my nostalgia, while also providing a crisp, attractive, and engaging story. The cast provided excellent acting, and I particularly enjoyed the acting of the protagonist. There were definitely moments I shared his misery and pain. There are certainly some little bumps along the way. There are a few quick time events which are easy to miss, especially when playing with a controller unless you have your sensitivity maxed. And of course the game was short, about 2 hours from start to finish, but for $17 dollars I found it well worth it.
• 

  CjuGames

  Sep 21, 2016

  Does it revolutionize the horror genre? I don't think so. Is it worth playing? Absolutely. Very story-heavy with paper thin gameplay, but I would recommend this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KC6tOYR9po
• 

  Azralynn

  Sep 21, 2016

  [b][u]See written review below[/u][/b] or watch it here: https://youtu.be/Kmc4exPi7oE [h1]TL;DR: SKIP TO CONCLUSION![/h1] The Bunker is an atmospheric full motion video (FMV) adventure with an interesting story that plays like an interactive movie. You play as John, and you are the last man alive in the nuclear bunker. You adhere to the daily routine, until one day, things start to go wrong. The game is story rich, and as you move through areas of the bunker, you have flashbacks of your once repressed childhood memories. These memories fill in the backstory, and reveal the hidden truths that lie within the bunker. As far as the gameplay goes, your interaction is done using the mouse, kind of like a live action point and click adventure. You click to move and interact with objects. Expect a lot of cinematics, but as the story progresses, there are times where you can choose to react, and then other times where you must react and click things quickly. [h1]Pros:[/h1] [list][*]the linear story is very intriguing, and it’s definitely one of those games that you start playing, and will want to finish in the same sitting [*]very atmospheric - the game is actually filmed in an old nuclear bunker; between the location and all the outdated technology, the time period in the game feels authentic [*]the script is well written, the characters are all believable, and the acting is done well [*]the audio is great - the music, does an excellent job setting the mood throughout the game[/list] [h1]Cons:[/h1] [list][*]the game is short for the price (it took me a bit over 2 hours), and lacks replay value, unless you missed some achievements[/list] [h1]Conclusion:[/h1] It’s been about 15 years since I’ve played a FMV style game, and they did a really good job with The Bunker. It feels like an interactive movie, where you’re more heavily invested in the story and its characters because you are directly controlling it. This style of game isn’t for everyone, but those who enjoy interactive, story rich adventures will most likely enjoy this game as well. I’m pleased with the overall experience, and my only real complaint about it is that I wish it had been cheaper since it is a short game. If you like my reviews, please feel free to join my Steam group, and follow my curations [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/AzralynnReviews#curation]here.[/url] You can also view this review on my website [url=http://www.azralynn.com/the-bunker-quick-game-review/]here.[/url]
• 

  boberro

  Sep 22, 2016

  Let's make it clear: this is not an adventure game, it's an interactive movie. It's not Phantasmagoria 2, it's Urban Runner. Is 2 hours of gameplay enough? No. Is 2 hours of movie enough? Hell yos. Now back to the game - it's great. You're getting a horror story, that while not groundbreaking, is very solid material for genre (that's important) awards. Gameplay wise it's all straighforward, with some collectibles and documents being only challenge, but that's ok - it's "just" a movie.
• 

  Thomas Baxter

  Sep 25, 2016

  Proof that FMV works if you have the atmosphere, the setting, and actual actors who don't make you cringe. I'm glad to see FMV making a comeback (mainly from the Brits strangely enough) and this grips you from start to finish. It's not very long but the price is fairly warranted when you consider just how much they probably had to pay for. Using a real cold war bunker for the setting is incredible and the static photos of the long-derelict building adds an incredible atmosphere. I love exploring in these kinds of games and reading every document, computer memo etc to piece together what went wrong. In Fallout 4 it's one of the best parts. People are dead, and all we know is what they've written down. The only problem with The Bunker is the twist is pretty much given away as soon as it starts. If they make more of these kinds of games (and I hope they do), I'd recommend having less FMV scenes and more exploring to find out what happened. The flashback FMV scenes work great and if you got one every time you found a document that links something, I think the impact would be greater. Still impressed with this, especially as its gone to consoles too. More of this please :)
• 

  -freehugs-

  Sep 27, 2016

  Short game but perfect to finish in one sitting. Good acting and nice story. location and costumes reminded me of my visit to the war rooms in London. Some people might argue that it could be cheaper since is short but i think its fair for the quality of production and cast. Could use some more material to read/audios to play to make the game more dense. Not and adventure game if you are wondering. more like an interactive movie. Hope the devs will come back to the style and maybe elaboreate a bit more. 7/10
• 

  kwdblade

  Oct 22, 2016

  An interesting take on the point and click adventure game, this live action experience feels more like a movie that happens to have prompts for the audience to interact with, giving you some sense of choice. However, there is little that you can do to change the "story" from playing out the way it was meant to, other than the ending, and perhaps the "choice" to find all the collectibles (toys, computers, tapes, notes, and puzzle piece). A few QTE's interrupt the narrative as well, prompting you to click in a certain amount of time, and depending on the situation, it can be fatal. While it was annoying to have to watch the same action play out the exact same way (I "died" twice), the "checkpoints" were well placed and I did not have to repeat too much of my previous actions. Fair warning, this game is short. I finished it in about 2 hours. I may go back in, if only to find the rest of the collectibles and choose the other ending, but if I do, that will take probably even less time. So you are looking at around 2-4 hours, with little to no replayability. Is that worth 20 dollars? For me it was. It may be different for you. I would say that I probably would of enjoyed this more as a straight film, but I appreciate the effort. I wish there was more to the game though, and I hope the developers have more in mind.
• 

  Ariamen

  Jun 25, 2017

  A FMV point and click with some impressive production values. The game feels tense and atmospheric. Expect a jump scare or two. The twists were fairly satisfying, and you’ll not have it all figured out in 5 minutes of starting the game, which was refreshing. You could argue that it's short, about 2 hours to complete. However, it tells a compelling story in that time. I look forward to more from this company.
• 

  Psyringe

  Jul 2, 2017

  [h1]Decent story marred by ultra-linear gameplay and lack of basic features[/h1] "The Bunker" is a fairly decent post-apocalyptic thriller movie - turned into a deplorably poor game that repeats all the mistakes of the "interactive movies" of the 90s, a time when these products were expected to sell on the basis of their full-motion video alone, and gameplay was an afterthought. The premise is fairly interesting. After a nuclear strike hit Great Britain, people try to survive in bunkers, and you are the youngest resident in one of these, having been born just when the attack happened. The game starts with all other residents already dead and you being the last survivor, clinging to your daily routine because you don't know anything else. When a system failure requires you to break out of that routine and enter long abandoned parts of the facility, disturbing memories of your past resurface. This story is competently filmed with good actors, great cinematography and direction, and a well-chosen location. It's not perfect - the music can be obtrusive at times, and there are completely unnecessary scenes that are only included to show a bit of gore, when the protagonist, who is otherwise too anxious to even go down a staircase, implausibly keeps fiddling with a shaky stepladder so that he can fall and break his arm. But all in all, this could really have been an enjoyable independent movie. Unfortunately someone tried to turn it into a game, and this is where the trouble starts: - The game is ultra-linear. You do not get a single choice to make until the very last scene, seconds before the game ends. Apart from that, all the game's interaction consists of a) optional hotspots that you can click for additional information (or achievements), and b) quick-time events that you need to pass so that the movie can progress. - If you fail a quick-time event, you're thrown back several scenes and have to replay these. - You then have to watch all scenes again, completely, because there's no way to skip anything. - If you replay the game (e.g. to hunt for achievements), you'll also have to watch everything again, completely. There isn't even a chapter selection available, you have to start from scratch. There is also only one save slot, so your progress from the previous playthrough will be erased completely. - Sometimes a choice leads you to a scene from where you can't turn back, and you have no chance of seeing that in advance. This way you can miss hotspots that are important for achievements, just because you happened to click the wrong one first. The only positive aspect that I could find in the integration of movie and gameplay in The Bunker, is that the video and sound loops (when the game is waiting for your input) are technically very well done, it is almost impossible to spot where the loop ends. But that's really it. In short, the game diligently adheres to almost every single failure that made a lot of 90s FMV games terrible. This is all the more frustrating since recent games like Tesla Effect, Cloud Chamber, or Press X To Not Die have shown that FMV [i]can[/i] nowadays be a part of [i]good[/i] games with meaningful interaction. Even in Her Story, controversial as it might be for some, the player's input matters much more than in The Bunker, which - to be honest - looks like a relic of the past when compared to other FMV games, just with movie material that's actually decent. "The Bunker" is still enjoyable as a 2-hour movie experience which occasionally requires your input to progress, but I can't recommend a game when its gameplay is so obviously terrible, and the only good parts are in its non-game aspects. Don't pay more for it than you would for watching its content as a movie.
• 

  shattered fractal

  Jul 9, 2017

  [u]TLDR[/u] This is an introspective story on a well-explored topic: the Lone Survivor in a dystopic world. It's done pretty well too, and has a good soundtrack for the presentation, but it's [i]not[/i] a game as the gamer community would define. The Bunker is an interactive story, where choices matter and actions have consequences. [b][u]DEETS[/u][/b] First, a few notes about the interactive aspects. 1.) Most of the choices you make will be in regards to finding cookies, as opposed to survival. It's easy to miss the few minor collectables in the game if you're not looking for them, and it's not always intuitive to look where they may appear. Darkened corners, minor minutia of background details, and simple but unannounced puzzles are all a factor in various scenes. 2.) You generally cannot fail to advance the storyline in a permanent way. If you don't do the right things, you'll stay where you are, or have to go back to an area (small map, there aren't many) in order to have the correct storyline interaction. 3.) There are four places (that I found) where you have a chance to do something (minor) that will have a small storyline impact, and all four of these are timed - only a couple of seconds to click or not click. I succeeded twice and wasn't paying attention twice, and there seemed to be no effect on my game, and I still got 100% achis in a single playthrough (read note below about 100% achis). That said, the story was good, and told in a manner similar to flashback-flashforward. This is because the protagonist, John (who is alone after chapter 1 - no spoiler, you'll learn this right away), is essentially a blank slate with almost no interactions with people for most of his life, but memories enough to haunt him in the cavernous halls of where he's lived by-the-book. And I mean literally an 'eat, press all the buttons, toilet, take meds, wait for next day' kind of by-the-book. He's alone in an underground bunker after the bomb, and was born there, stayed all his life, and outlived everyone else there. Music/ambiance is acceptable to the setting, genre, and events in the storyline, but there is no music volume control, only a game volume setting - and I think that lacking audio would take away some of the game. As a rule, during interactive parts there is ample opportunity to roll mouse over the screen in order to locate interactable items/areas, so it's not hard to find everything. Despite my 5 hours in the game, about 2.5 of that was spent idle for cards, and I'd estimate that the presentation can be completed in about 90 minutes, but that those interested in achis or completionism will probably go about 2.5 hours. Regarding the 100% achis, there are two endings, both of which can be gained from a single playthrough - but it will require you to reload via the CONTINUE button at game menu after choosing one ending; then you just go back and choose the other from save. This will cost you about 7 minutes or so because you essentially have to repeat the last chapter, up to the choice at the end. I think this was worth the sale price, and I don't want either my money or my time back, but there's no way I'd ever recommend spending $20 here. For $5, go for it and settle in for an evening entertainment, in a "game" where you can eat popcorn and lounge with your pet while you're still paying attention enough to get the needed interactions. For it's genre (interactive story) I think this is a good effort: 7.5/10. Good job, Green Man, Splendy, and Wales!
• 

  kris.aalst

  Aug 16, 2017

  [i]The Bunker[/i] is a visual novel in Full Motion Video (FMV). I label [i]The Bunker[/i] a visual novel to make it clear it's [b]not[/b] a point & click adventure game, because that's the game genre that has used FMV the most and because [i]The Bunker[/i] may [b]look[/b] like a point & click adventure game at first sight. I recommend [i]The Bunker[/i] but only to people who need an FMV fix or people who like visual novels and would like to try an [b]FMV[/b] visual novel for a change, or people who are interested in [i]The Bunker[/i] for artistic reasons. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] [i]The Bunker[/i] tells a completely linear story and it contains no puzzles at all. The player just continues the story by interacting with a white orb that appears on screen. This interaction happens in one of the following ways: [list] [*] the player moves the mouse pointer to an object and clicks on the orb that appears near it to continue the story [*] the player clicks and drags the mouse pointer to the orb to continue the story [*] the player moves the mouse pointer to the orb and rapidly clicks the mouse button a few dozen times to continue the story [*] the player moves the mouse pointer to the orb and clicks the mouse button before a timer expires (so more or less QTE) [/list] [h1]Story[/h1] The story is about a man named John who's born in a nuclear bunker and who's a bit… er, 'special'. I think 'autistic' is both the correct term and the politically correct term but I'm not sure. Anyway, at the start of the game, there are only two survivors left in the bunker: John and his mother. But John's mother is sick and she dies after telling him to keep performing the daily routine to assure his continued safety in the bunker. Soon after, an alarm goes off and John needs to break his routine to venture into parts of the bunker he'd rather leave alone, because the past haunts those areas… [h1]Graphics and sound[/h1] Graphically, [i]The Bunker[/i]'s FMV is of the highest quality. Actual high-budget movie quality. The acting is also impressive for an FMV game. I didn't recognize any of the actors but I quote from the product description: "An incredible cast, including Adam Brown (The Hobbit), Sarah Greene (Penny Dreadful), Grahame Fox (Game Of Thrones) and Jerome St. John Blake (Star Wars)". That's an impressive gathering of resumes, although a quick Google search of those names seems to indicate these were all small supporting roles. Overall, the music is fine but I would have liked to see an option to reduce the music volume as it sometimes drowns out the voices of the people talking. At one time, the music was a resounding, reverberating noise that caused me to reduce the volume of my speakers until that part of the story was over. [h1]On Steam's extra features[/h1] [i]The Bunker[/i] has 6 Steam Trading Cards. You'll get 3 while running the game. About half of the 28 Steam Achievements are story-related and unmissable. The other half are awarded for clicking on all sorts of missable objects, so achievement hunters will want to keep a guide handy. You can't skip any scene of [i]The Bunker[/i] so if you need to play through it again just for one or two achievements you happened to miss, you're going to groan for sure.
• 

  mithrandir138

  Sep 24, 2017

  Was this entertaining? Yes. Was this a game? Barely. Is the story predictable? A little, towards the end. This is more of an interactive short film. There are some failure conditions, but the only punishment is going through the failed action again. I don't think there are any "choices matter" elements, either. It's a novel idea, the production value seems good for what it is. I recommend getting it at a deep discount, and "playing" it when you are in the mood for a storytelling experience. I like that things like this exist, and I would like to see more of them, just with some more "game" and a "branching" story, where my choices actually impact what's going on. (If this element existed at all in the game, I completely missed it, and I don't think I would replay it to find out for sure.)
• 

  the Traveler-flying w/o laptop

  Oct 23, 2018

  The Bunker is really more of an interactive movie than a game and while I found this story and setting more enjoyable than the Late Shift's, I think a specific part of The Bunker is somewhat annoying and wished they'd used different mechanics for it. Set in a genuine Cold War era nuclear bunker, the FMV is fantastically atmospheric with perfect use of lighting and first/third person views, flashbacks and security cam feeds. At every moment, there is a continuous underlying feeling of dread which turns out to make the game far more scary than what it really is. If claustrophobia is terrifying to you, then this is right up your spooky alley. There's some blood and gore, violence and murder, I think maybe one mild jumpscare in there somewhere, but none of that really trumps the aura of waiting malice that permeates the game from beginning to end (which is enhanced by the main character being pretty inept at everything.) There is a plot twist in it that will make you consider morality in the situation. I just cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed the setting and story itself. This is a linear game, so although you guide the main character through the chain of events you wind up in the same place regardless. Expect this to be a one-off rainy night playthrough. Now the main issue I have with the game is that there are several points in which you must rapidly click, fighting against time and a meter. And when I mean rapidly, I mean your hand will hurt and you'll wonder why hell people ever buy clicker games because it sucks. If you fail, you get the opportunity to try again until you succeed. This is completely unnecessary and a distraction from an otherwise pretty good story, in my very humble opinion. Clicking caveat aside, no regrets buying and playing it. I look forward to their upcoming FMV release, The Shapeshifting Detective, later on.
• 

  戴帽子先生

  Apr 29, 2019

  Nice acting & story-telling, but it is literally a movie that contains a little bit of game elements in it rather than a FMV game. Except some easy QTEs and hidden-but-so-obvious-to-find items, you rarely make any changes to where the game will go to (I think choosing to [spoiler]either stay in the bunker or leave[/spoiler] is the only decision that you have to make?) I knew what the story would be like after watching the conversation of [spoiler]how much food supply remains, it is so obvious that the mother had to kill all the others to keep her child and her away from starving to dead[/spoiler] The playthrough only took me 2 hours, and there is no further need for replay, as all the achievements could be done within the first playthrough - if you are a cautious and careful person. But the good points are that you can actually feel/imagine the anxiety, pain and fear that John has. I particularly like the first few routine days, it really made me get the feeling of being the only human alive in a bunker, with a routine daily life. Dull, but reassuring. All in all, it provides me a brand new FMV game experience. But I don't suggest you to buy the game until there is a big sale (50% off at least), or you just can't wait. It just not worth that much money.
• 

  AwkwardLiSFan

  Jul 13, 2019

  A fun game! To be honest, this was my first FMV experience, which is why I might have liked this a bit more than seasoned FMV players. Based on the poster, I went in expecting a full-blown horror (interactive) film - if you're afraid of the same, rest easy; there are only a few sequences where you might feel scared or tense. The main focus is on what happened in the bunker - it's obvious nobody else is present. How did the remaining survivors perish? If little to no control over the events that occur on-screen bothers you, then you might end up disliking the game. There are almost no tense, major choices in the game barring the one at the end; you are limited to exploring documents and tapes around you, which provide a small insight into the world around you. More of those would have been fun, in my opinion, but we only have a handful to glean information from. The rest of the game consists of following a linear storyline with flashbacks in the mix. If you love the idea of "playing" an episode such as one from a gripping TV series - don't miss The Bunker! Overall, definitely worth a play; get it during a sale!