Clive Barker's Undying

This game might have been somewhat acceptable back in 2001 (if we even ignore the fact that it was released the same year as actual Serious Sam: First Encounter, Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Halo: Combat Evolved) but it simply does not hold at all against its contemporaries and much less as a classic. Archaic: The shooting mechanics are weak, weapons lack the impact or power that these should convey neither their effect is such against the enemies you encounter. Cheapness has been conflated for challenge with enemies such as the "Howlers" that have the annoying tendency to respawn continuously in certain areas and have the tendency to appear and attack from behind after the player has already traverse an area that was clear of enemies. The skeletons are also an enemy that despite their undead nature move and have a laser sight accuracy to hit the player even if dodging maneuvers are executed and the large amount of damage both these enemies cause is compounded by the fact that getting hit causes the screen to stagger leaving the player looking to the floor or ceiling allowing the enemy to get another free hit before the player can recover to retaliate. Uninspired: Using the "Clive Barker" name as a marketing ploy to confer some sort of validity to the horror aspect of the game, I cannot over emphasize how disappointed I am at the "horror" the game has to offer: absolutely campy, comic book level attempts at being scary that end up failing at conferring any sense of tension or uneasiness, if anything it only succeeds at causing annoyance, boredom and even unintentional humor. (Am I supposed to be scared of a Edgar Alan Poe redhead looking ghost that flies through the air with his legs in a scooter riding squat pose?) Ugly: Boring and bland level designs, everything feels barren, flat and lifeless, there is no sense of flow or direction. Character models with terrible animations and voice acting compound just how inadequate and outdated is this title.

GOG delists all Unreal Tournament series related games but leaves this one available. GOG also never had the Jericho game available yet they have this one even though the Cline Barker licensing has expired. This game is fun but why the double standards GOG?

I found the game pretentious and trying too hard to be a horror game by startling the player. The plot, playacting and voiceacting is really low quality and childish. I finished the game and it unfortunately does not get better as the story progresses. The layout of the levels with the arbitrarily closed doors is also quite annoying. I gave the game two stars because it runs without any technical issues and the dual weapon-spell based gameplay can be fun at times.

This game could have been absolutely great, but even for its time, it's instead just frustrating and confusing. If you want to wander around similar looking environments for hours wondering what obscure thing the game wants you to do next, this is your game. I mean this is YOUR GAME. On the contrary If you want a game that's fun and progresse in a natural, logical, entertaining way, look elsewhere.

I remember playing it obsessively as a child and being really terrified by it. Its FPS elements were a lot of fun and it has a good horror atmosphere. Alas, my opinion may be a little skewed. I will buy it and re-play it.