First film footage unearthed from The Bunker

Written by Jack Allin — April 9, 2016 at 13:01

Lots of adventure games have used full motion video over the years, sometimes even extensively. But exclusively? Not so much. But that's the principle behind a new psychological horror game in development called The Bunker, due for release later this year.

The Bunker stars a man named John, the "last survivor living in a government bunker after a nuclear attack wiped out England." It's been 30 years since the devastation, and since then John has had to watch everyone else he knew and loved die in the bunker as well. As if that weren't traumatic enough, it turns out the bunker conceals many secrets, and now John must "confront his suppressed memories to survive the horrors deep underground." Players can freely guide the protagonist through this subterranean environment in a non-linear fashion, "solving puzzles, uncovering secrets and triggering flashbacks to reveal the terrifying mysteries of the bunker" along the way. But you'll sometimes need to think and move fast, as wrong decisions could prove fatal.

Unlike most other games that have used FMV as a complementary element for cinematic purposes, The Bunker will be "a completely live action experience with zero computer generated effects", as teased in the first trailer released. Filmed on location in a real decommissioned British government bunker in Essex, the game promises  a "complex, twisting plot" by screenwriters whose notable credits include Broken Sword, The Witcher and SOMA. There's pedigree in front on the camera as well, as The Bunker's cast includes Adam Brown (looking quite a bit taller and less hairy than he did as Ori the dwarf in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit movies), Sarah Greene (Penny Dreadful), Grahame Fox (Game of Thrones) and Jerome St. John Blake (Star Wars).

Currently in production across multiple platforms, The Bunker is set to release sometime this summer for PC, followed by console and mobile versions by the end of the year. To learn more about the game in the meantime, be sure to visit the official website.