Life in Bunker Review - Steam Gameplay (Cross Promo w/ The Hidden Levels)
9(I covered this game for The Hidden Levels, who kindly provided the key for me Please check them out at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1KvPINt9B38WnjYx812IRA)
Life in Bunker is quite an interesting blend of concepts/ideas. Think, Dungeon Keeper with a mix of Fallout Shelter and a dash of Prison Architect. The Sims goes Nuclear (and Underground)? In Life in Bunker, your job is to serve as Warden of the new Bunker, designed to...well, keep you alive for the next 50 turns. You will design the entire bunker yourself, you'll assign Professions to the people of your bunker, you will manage your resources and you will make babies (in Incubators!)The various Professions all perform tasks essential to the survival of their fellow bunkmates, such as being Janitors, Workers, Farmers, Cooks, Scientists, etc. You will be responsible for creating the living quarters, work areas, rest areas, kitchens, restroom facilities and even maintain enough Power and Water supply to keep your bunker functioning properly. Also, Beware of the Molemen......
Positives:
+ Great Concept and Idea
+ Easy to Learn
+ The Developer Appears to be Incredibly Active
Negatives:
- Too pricey for the lack of depth. It seems rather shallow as of right now.
- Small buggy stuff, like a power/water supply bug that appears to resolve itself if you exit/restart the game.
- No "interaction" between objects. Put whatever, wherever, with some rare exceptions as to floor tile it must be on. Otherwise, feel free to construct that KitcheBathroom you've always dreamed of. IOW, there is no planning needed. Plop toilets next to beds, showers in the kitchen. Rooms are mere concepts, man. I reject them entirely.
All in all, I admit to being disappointed. I was really looking forward to this title, as I have long been a fan of city-building games, resource management games, etc. This game was too shallow to really feel enjoyable. I quite literally tried 6 different times to get into it, and just felt like I was going through the motions moreso than actually enjoying the gameplay. The most fun I had is when I tried to see how I could kill off the bunker using the game mechanics (removing toilets, allowing the Molemen to run free when all that was left were children, etc.). I feel like I could give it a solid recommendation IF it were an Early Access game and this was just the beginning of a much deeper experience. I do like the fact that the Dev has been incredibly receptive to feedback and genuinely wants to make a great game the clicks with his audience. Unfortunately, I think the expectation was that it would be a deeper, longer game that what we've gotten so far.
Verdict:
I cannot go higher than a 3/10 and would strongly suggest that you wait for a good sale that slashes the price down to about $5. Fans of similar types of games might be able to squeeze a good $5 of fun out of it.
Happy Gaming!
(Thanks again to the awesome Manic Ado and The Hidden Levels Team!)
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