Amnesia: The Bunker — 5 Best Tips for Beginners

Forget what you thought you knew about Brennenburg Castle — Amnesia: The Bunker is a different type of ball game, as it brings with it an all-new collection of thought-provoking puzzles and shadow-dwelling creatures to deal with. Needless to say that if you are wanting to get ahead of the newly implemented learning curve and come out swinging, then be sure to read on. Here are the five best tips for shoveling through Frictional Games’ latest survival horror episode.

5. Keys Are Yesterday’s News

As you’ll come to learn rather early on in the story, The Bunker is home to countless wooden doors and shoddy ventilation systems. What’s fortunate here is that, unlike a lot of puzzle games that require a passcode or a unique key, the vast majority of these rooms are unlockable through brute force alone. And while the game itself offers you a variation of routes to travel down, the fact of the matter is, most areas are easier to come by when met with a brick or concrete slab. In other words, when coming face to face with a sealed doorway, always check the area around you for an object to throw at it. Chances are, two well-placed hits will knock it from its hinges.

Steel doors and lockers are another story, as they often require codes to access. You can find these on the reverse side of deceased soldiers’ dog tags. When revealing these codes, always make sure to jot down the digits before moving on to your next objective, otherwise you’ll risk losing them if and when succumbing to your wounds. You can check the data you’ve collected by opening up your inventory and scrolling to the tab on the far right.

4. Know Your Surroundings

Traps are commonplace in Amnesia: The Bunker, more so as you navigate deeper and deeper into its secret wards. A common theme that the game tends to set is the one surrounding tripwires — many of which are attached to doors. You can tell which rooms are likely to explode by checking for the painted X marked on either side of the doorframe. If you stumble upon one of these, then either throw something at the door from a safe distance, or slightly nudge the door open and make an immediate U-turn to safety. Note that triggering an alarm or springing a trap will draw unwanted attention, so be sure to have a bullet loaded in the chamber for when the beast comes to investigate the disturbance. Alternatively, you can use a hunk of meat to sever the scent and lead it elsewhere.

Aside from the countless tripwires that are dotted throughout the bunker, there are also a selection of hidden rooms and pitch-black tunnels to sift through. Without fuel in the generator to keep these areas well lit, however, you’ll come to realize that, without a photographic memory to guide you, it’s practically impossible to dive deeper into the maze. Fortunately, each quarter not only has a save point, but a map to help fill in those blanked out areas. Before going any deeper into either the Soldier’s Quarters, Prison, or Arsenal, always be sure to familiarize yourself with the wings and rooms.

3. Stockpile Fuel Immediately

One of your primary objectives in The Bunker is topping up the generator with fuel whenever the power goes out. The only downside to this is that your inventory space isn’t all that roomy, which means you’ll have to decide whether or not to stockpile fuel canisters, bullets, or bandages. And, let’s not forget that you also need to save room for your tools, which you will need to be able to access certain areas of the bunker. The upside to this is that there are a number of additional bag upgrades to get your hands on — one in the prison cells, and another in the office block.

Anyway, what you’ll need to do as early on as possible is stockpile fuel and have it placed near the generator for when it’s running low on power. You can equip your canisters and place them near the generator, leaving you with plenty of additional slots for your bandages, bullets, and tools. If you can do this as early on as possible, it’ll be one less problem to worry about. Worth doing, if you’re planning on staying in the light for the long haul, of course.

2. Don’t Waste Your Ammo

As it turns out, you can’t actually kill the beast that roams the network, nor any of the rats that pop up between rooms, either. So, if you pictured yourself unloading an entire chamber of bullets on the villain and standing over its corpse, then you may want to reassess your situation. As it goes, the best you can do with the tools you’re given is temporarily disable the monster, which will give you just enough time to flee and find somewhere to hide. Luckily, a single bullet can put the beast out of commission, so try not to get overly trigger happy when coming face to face with it, basically.

Whatever the case, you’ll want to treat your revolver as a last resort, regardless of how desperate the situation is. If you can help it, avoid using your bullets, and instead look to other means of protection; meat for distracting enemies, or perhaps even a flare. If you absolutely have to, then always use your ammunition on the beast — and not on something as brittle as a wooden door. You’ll have twenty or so bullets to utilize down in the bunker if you’re lucky — so make every shot count.

1. Never Ignore Your Injuries

It doesn’t matter if you’ve received a minor graze or a bump to the forehead — if you’re seeing red, then there’s a serious chance you’re also bleeding out and leaving behind a trail of blood. This causes not only the beast to get a whiff of your whereabouts, but also the rats that bunch up by the truckload. To prevent this, you’ll want to bandage up any wounds the moment you get a breather from your active pursuers.

The Bunker, much like a lot of survival games, features a simple crafting system that lets you combine cloth to make a mock-up first aid kit. These can be found almost anywhere in the game, though we managed to have a little more luck around the Soldier’s Quarters and the Infirmary. Do yourself a favor and stock up on first aid supplies the moment you’ve obtained enough fuel canisters for the generator room. You’ll thank yourself for it later, trust us.

So, what’s your take? Do you have any useful tips for newcomers? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.