Clive Barker's Undying

I bought this game years ago as part of an EA games pack, because I really had to have American McGee's Alice. That one was good, but once I finished it, I decided to install another game that came with it: Clive Barker's Undying. Holy crap! To this day, it is still hands-down one of the best I have ever played. Still creepy even after all these years. [SPOILER ALERT] The part that lives most vividly in my memory is the segment in the catacombs beneath the monastery, when you walk into the labyrinth of corridors, crunching the bones, and the wind blows out the candles that you have to relight. All the while, the skeletons rise up from the bones, come cackling at you, and if they hit you, you don't just take damage--you get spun around and lost. I was playing this part of the game, in the dark with headphones on, when my mother came into the room and put her hand on my shoulder to get my attention. So keyed up I was that I flew out of my chair and almost had a heart attack. Good times. I'd love to see this game's graphics upgraded. In the right hands **coughcoughCliveBarkercomebackanddothiscoughcough** it could even be expanded to include more of the story of the other siblings, since Lizbeth's segment seems so much deeper and more drawn out, and the others fairly compressed. And what about the implied sequel? We'd love to know what happened to Patrick.

I remember having this game and getting really far in, but not having beaten it for whatever reason. It's still holds up and looks gorgeous (including Lizbeth Covenant, my longest running game waifu.) The only thing that doesn't hold up is the original Unreal engine movement. This is a game that relys on reverse jumps and circle strafing, but the player is way over prone to getting caught in corners, furniture, rocks and other parts of the environment. I've had more than a few reloads due to getting trapped between a corner and a monster.

I suppose the day will come when I feel a sense of fond nostalgia for this game, but for now I just feel a bit frustrated. If nothing else, Undying is certainly a unique game -- well told story, effective graphics, atmospheric soundtrack, and well done voice work make this game artistically impressive. Unfortunately, the combat system is one of the most cumbersome arrangements I've come across in quite some time -- no hotkeys to speak of, instead a slow cycling through weapons, spells, and inventory (which, granted, works most of the time once you know what's coming). Hit and miss combat spells (some practically useless, weaponry which looks promising but proves largely ineffective, and gimmicky boss battles requiring either hours of trial-and-error (I would imagine) or a peek at a walkthrough for the 'solution'. (On the plus side, medkits are abundant in this game, so possibly the fiddly battle system is by design.) Undying would have made a wonderful adventure/puzzle game -- yes it's fairly linear, but every level grants enough latitude to find the odd goody here and there. I'm told the game is legitimately scary, (games don't scare me half as much as bad controls), and given the excellent production values, immersion would be complete were it not for the frequent reloads owing to another fiddly battle sequence. I finished the game out of sheer stubbornness, but lacking rose-tinted glasses it's hard to recommend this to any but the curious.

I really liked the premise and would have been able to stomach the game if it wasn't just plain unfun. Again I really enjoyed the setup, the setting, and the atmosphere but at every turn the gameplay itself was battling these really cool story features and it just became too much a bore. 1st - Enemy melee attacks cause you to turn in a random direction, losing camera control. What the hell? When surrounding the player character from jump scare enemies and constantly resurrecting skeletons why make it even MORE a chore to slog through the combat? 2nd - Unlimited enemy spawns....sometimes. But you never know when! Bug or Feature? Either way it seems these moments are part of the game. These are not true "events" either but can happen when exploring at any given moment it seems. 3rd - Horrible, horrible, terrible menu system. Seriously. Plenty of worthless items, bad spells, and throwaway weapons. 4th - Clunky shooter mechanics. This would have been better as a point and click adventure. Why even bother doing combat if it will so damn poor? The stellar ratings are due to rose colored goggles the GOG community are liable to wear. This game sold incredibly poorly for an obvious reason and should be left to rot in some foreboding Irish Moore.

Never heard of the game itself, but when i saw it on gog discount i thought '' let's give it a try'', and i wasn't disappointed. Really entertaining horror fps with story written by no others that Clive Barker, it mixes horror clichè with some nice surprises and a strangely addictive gameplay, with both a wide variety of guns and magic However, you character is far from invincible, with a shaking camera every time you get hit and some immortal eneis, the game keeps the player on its toes. So, to summarize, enganing horror/ mystery story( almost tipical movie/book plot written in the 90'), with some good gameplay and a feel of tension while walking through the mansion and other places you ll visit throughout the game. So yes, totally worth it ( even if you are not a fan of horror games).