Clive Barker's Undying

Still as good as when it came out. Great levels, great characters, great story. I am still discovering new uses for some of the spells, each time I replay it. (For those who haven’t played it before: spells aren’t your only means of attack; there’s also firearms and mystical weapons.) I should mention, there are a handful of places where this game is genuinely scary, and I don’t mean jump scares. I remember reading that there was talk of a sequel, shortly after this came out, but the plans fell apart. Quite a shame, because this will leave you wanting more.

Clive Barker's Undying was a game both ahead of its time, and a product of its time. How is this juxtaposition possible? Well, listen, and find out. Undying is an atmospheric, story-line-driven FPS made with the Unreal Tournament engine, based in the 1920s in a fictional place, with mixed themes of both classic Gothic horror and a slight tinge of the cosmic horror brought about by HP Lovecraft. With all that said, you play as Patrick Galloway, a veteran of WWI and paranormal investigator, going back to his war-buddy's (Jeremiah Covenant's) estate to help with strange happenings... The gameplay is a product of its era: You kill monsters, fight bosses, and solve level-based puzzles in a way that is very akin to the classic "key-fetching" genre of FPS games, although this key-fetching in its highest form, with the puzzles fitting to the levels. What is different is the inclusion of upgradable spells, and ammo types for weapons. Furthermore, some design choices, like an in-game journal, and radial-dial menus for weapon and spell selection really add quality of life and mark the game as ahead of its time - these are game design aspects which wouldn't be fully capitalized on or popularized in gaming for another five years. That said, where the game really shines is the atmosphere - it feels that you are running around on a creepy estate where the fabric of reality is wearing thin and strange things are afoot. Major kudos to the sound designer! You can tell they put a lot of work in that area. If you are looking for an action-shooter with weird and interesting things, this is the game for you. There are a variety of enemies and ways to kill them that it'll warrant a couple playthroughs. If you're a casual gamer, you may become frustrated with juggling your inventory and switching between weapons/spells, especially in the heat of combat. If that sounds like something you might get angry with, I recommend playing the game on easy - but still give it a shot!

I really enjoyed this game, it is extremely underrated. I was only exposed to Clive Barker's work in film, but he has constructed great lore with an interesting setting here. The powers and abilities were so much fun to use. I highly recommend this overlooked masterpiece.

From the mind of horror master Clive Barker comes the game before the much ill fated "Jericho". It is an excellent horror FPS with a great story and some pretty solid voice acting. I personally enjoy this game and it is one of my favorites from the era. Sadly, we no longer get games of this ilk.

Starts off fun in the beginning as you explore the mansion, but really starts to fall off later as you progress, and drags on for longer than it should. Of course, it's an old game and it comes with some old-school charm and a fair amount of expected old-school clunk. Controls/keybinds are wonky, skill/weapon balance and optimisation are questionable at times. There is still fun to be had here, but if you start feeling like the game is starting to drag on, it probably won't get better. Some tips for those who wanna try it: - I didn't bother trying to get it to work in widescreen. I just played in 4:3 windowed mode, and it was fine. - Press ALT + Enter to switch to windowed mode. - If you wanna fiddle with slightly more in-depth settings, press TAB during gameplay, type "preferences" and hit Enter. - The game never mentions this for some reason, nor is it anywhere in the keybinds, but you open your journal with F3.