The Bunker (PC) Review

'Bland' is the key word to describe The Bunker. 'Boring' might be another. 'Frustrating' also springs to mind towards the closing stages where there is a ridiculous amount of 'click the mouse button as fast as possible to progress' action. Other than that highly annoying element - fail and be prepared for no 'Skip' option in the latter parts, resulting in re-watching lengthy, tiresome clips - sitting down to watch a 45-minute TV episode would be more interesting than partaking in The Bunker. Although the story would need to be fleshed out more, since here the tale is rather flaky and underdeveloped.

It all revolves around a young boy - John - trapped inside an underground bunker that is supposedly leaking radiation, and then people start dying…except for him and his mother. Why could that be? Ooh, mysterious… These scenes are played out via flashbacks. The actual lead actor is the older version of John, and real-time events take place 20-30 years after the deaths occurred, with mummykins recently kicking the bucket, leaving him on his lonesome with his fears. Driving home the age of the character, along with how long it will take for the radiation outside to clear up, makes for a very transparent twist. On top of the obvious twist, along the way there are attempts to scare onlookers with glimpses of dead bodies, ghostly apparitions, and so on, yet the rather low level of acting on show proves to be the scariest element, not invoking much emotion at all.

Adam Brown, who plays the older version of John, gives off a ham-fisted 'early Harry Potter' vibe in some scenes, and it almost becomes a case of waiting for him to hold his head in pain when remembering something traumatic, akin to Harry holding his scar because of the link to Voldemort… Nothing is there to draw people in. Even trying to view this as a standalone TV show or short movie, forgetting the woeful attempts to make it a point-and-click adventure, it fails. Why? Well, it does not seem to know whether it wants to be a full-on suspenseful thriller, tense drama, or out-and-out horror spectacle, instead dancing around between styles, not fully committing to any, and, resultantly, leaving no connection between watcher and actors.

Does it want to be like a visual novel, with not much in the way of interaction then? Well, again, it is neither one thing nor the other. A lot of the time, there are video sequences that are drawn out and meant to grab the attention (but fail, as mentioned). Then there are collecting 'missions' throughout, moments where doors need to be opened by moving the cursor upwards, downwards, and so on, yet after these point-and-click parts, again they are followed by basic click-to-move-forward sections that feel like the developer saying "Are you still awake? Don't worry, it's nearly over!" Mercifully, it is over not long after it begins.

The average acting, a sheer lack of puzzles, frustrating interactivity elements, and a story that does not draw people in, all make for a very forgettable experience and goes a long way to showing why FMV titles were ditched in the first place. Only very special FMV games can survive, and this is in no way a Tex Murphy, not in the very slightest.