The Bunker is probably one of the most unique games I’ve seen in quite awhile. Whilst the whole narrative adventure genre is currently at the height of its popularity, none have attempted to do so in a live action format. In the same vein as Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties, The Bunker takes that same low-budget movie style of filmmaking and plasters simplistic point-and-click gameplay on top of it.
Set thirty years after the bombs hit, The Bunker follows John, a child born during the nuclear attacks. Much like the Fallout series, The Bunker is set in an alternate past where nuclear war actually took off. After the death of his mother, John’s job as the sole survivor inside the titular bunker is repeat the same daily procedures without fail to make sure that the nuclear bunker is actually protecting him from the outside radiation.
Obviously, one day, the procedures fail and John has to reset and replace certain parts of the bunker and eventually find out why John is the only survivor inside the bunker over the course of the game’s 90-minutes runtime. With the style and budget of a straight-to-YouTube movie, The Bunker’s sparse inclusions of interactivity do little to make the game’s filmed footage feel like it gains anything from being turned into a video game. It’s mostly a novelty.
With its simplistic gameplay being seemingly unneeded in The Bunker, the deciding factor of Wales Interactive’s project would be in the quality of its movie-length live-action sequences. Unfortunately, the live-action sequences in The Bunker are especially sub-par. They just don’t have the quality you would expect. While side characters in flashbacks have passable acting reminiscent of BBC or ITV-funded soap operas, the main character of John suffers from horrendous overacting. That’s a shame because everyone else is really good.
Looking like the lovechild of Matt Smith and Rodney from Only Fools and Horses, John’s actions are overly exaggerated and certain key parts of the story are extremely odd which, in turn, make you dislike John even more. His idiotic actions lead to some of the most infuriating emergencies in a story, especially since the game’s big emergency happens due to John falling off a four-foot step ladder. The narrative could’ve been tightened.
Moving throughout The Bunker does show some impressive set design and a very nice retro military aesthetic. Computers are nice and chunky and the plain design of the game’s locations help to cement the fact that The Bunker is a drab, unlikable place where John lives because he has to. Some events in The Bunker also lead to some of the most unsettling moments in a video game which actually made me feel nauseous. You’ll definitely be shocked.
The most interesting aspect of The Bunker comes from its backstory. The majority of gameplay comes from finding the various text and audio logs hidden around the game which reveals some interesting backstory about certain characters that you’d otherwise never hear of. The rest of the game, however, is simply just scene after scene with flashbacks inserted at regular intervals and a singular event that could be described as an actual puzzle.
Recently we reviewed a game called Virginia which told a story without dialogue. Its only drawback was that it didn’t feature much interactivity with the environment. The Bunker feels the same way and that’s its biggest downfall. From the trailers it seemed like there would be a branching storyline but that’s not the case. Maybe adopting a Telltale Games-like approach would’ve served the title well. Additionally, maybe adding more interactivity in the environment, like collectibles apart from the dolls or other surprises hidden around corners which give even more exposition about the nuclear fallout would’ve enchanced the experience. There are many changes the developers can implement to make it better. The foundations are solid but it desperately needs choices.
Summary
The Bunker is a narrative adventure with some of the most simplistic point-and-click gameplay you’ll ever see. Reminiscent of a YouTube movie in both budget and length, The Bunker has adequate acting from the majority of its side characters and stellar set design but, all-in-all, The Bunker is simply an overacted live-action flick with basic gameplay bolted on top. It desperately needs more interactivity and branching timelines to enhance replayability. From my playthrough it seems that the game only offers one yes or no choice at the end which isn’t enough. The developers formed a novel concept, but it needs to feel more like a game where you’re in control rather than a disconnected observer.
It’s also difficult to assign a score to The Bunker because I’m not sure if it can be classified as a game. It’s more like an interactive movie. If you score it like a film then you realize that suffers from severe overacting when it comes to the main character, however, if you treat it like a game it’s the most basic point-and-click adventure ever created. The concept is definitely novel which merges live-action parts with gameplay. The setting is also fantastic and the story is intriguing. That alone redeems much of the experience however it still needs a lot of work. The price is also a little too high.
Asher and Lewis is a shared byline ICXM used for 4 articles co-authored in 2016 covering game reviews, and Xbox news. See the individual contributor profiles for the writers behind these collaborations.