Taken for a Quickie | The Bunker

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Splendy Games and Wales Interactive recently revived the dormant full motion video (FMV) genre with their release of The Bunker, a post-nuclear suspense thriller. We’ve taken it for a spin to see whether they’ve struck gold, or should’ve let sleeping dogs lie.

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by Sam
​Sant

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@SlamShotSam

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Developer: Splendy
Games
Publisher: Wales
Interactive
Platforms: Xbox One,
​PS4, PC
Players: 1

How exactly does a fully live-action game play?

Very simply, and all but identically to those from back in the ‘90s. It’s a point-and-click game without the choice and consequence of most recent iterations, focusing instead on item finding and simple puzzle solving.

​Is that a good or a bad thing?

The latter in our books. Moment-to-moment gameplay is unengaging, you’ll simply power through it to see more of the story.

​Is it at least more immersive?

Yes and no. The Bunker was filmed inside a real nuclear bunker, so settings don’t get much more well-realised. On the other hand, seeing a real person awkwardly stand and await your commands can somewhat pull you out of the experience.

​​How's the story, then?

Following a nuclear attack that wipes out England, any survivors are confined to fallout shelters. 30 years into his stay, and into his life, protagonist John finds himself the last living resident of his. Continuing his daily routine for a time, on day 11,111 things ominously begin to go wrong.

You’ll guide the woefully unprepared man-child to the darkest depths of the bunker, where repressed memories resurface to tell a twisting tale that, unfortunately, is all too predictable. It won’t quite perch you on the edge of your seat, or instil you with terror, but you will want to see it through to the inconclusive end.

With all the time in the world on his hands, we wonder why John bothers being so disgustingly efficient...

Do the cast put in good performances?

Considering how difficult it probably is to adjust to this sort of a project, we’d say so. It’s wooden here and there, but Adam Brown (The Hobbit) portrays John’s childish ineptitude in a way that evokes empathy as well as frustration.

Supporting performances from Sarah Greene (Penny Dreadful) and Grahame Fox (Game of Thrones) further help a script from some of the minds behind SOMA, Broken Sword and The Witcher.

Do performances and narrative do enough to earn a recommendation, despite the unengaging gameplay?

Not a hearty one; it didn’t really click with us, which is unfortunate, considering we can only commend the brave choice of direction. If you’re big into thriller films, and don’t mind paying £15.99 for two hours of not-so-replayable entertainment, then by all means give it a try.