Clive Barker's Undying is a fun game that aged surprisingly well. It's one of the best blends of guns and magic I've ever seen. There's no doubt that it's an experience worth your time. For $1.50, this game is a steal! The gunplay is fairly unique, with the closest comparison being Bioshock 2. You have a weapon in one hand and magic in the other. There's 8 weapons and 8 spells alongside some extra throwable items. It's all fast-paced classical FPS action with a bit more depth than most other games of the era. The biggest problem with the game is its strange difficulty curve. Early on, you're very vulnerable and poorly equipped. All you have is a revolver, limited health kits and some weak spells. Suddenly, halfway through the game, you become a demigod. The shield spell lets you become nearly invincible and lasts for a long time. Stack this on top of all the other upgrades you can acquire by that point, and the only thing that can kill you is environmental hazards (and the final boss glitching out). By the end of the game, I had hundreds of health kits and could easily wipe out any encounter without expending a single bullet (on the hardest difficulty, mind you!). In addition, I went into this game expecting more of an action-horror game with some metroidvania elements. In reality, this game is pure action with little genuine horror to speak of. I expected that I would be able to uncover secrets in the mansion as I gained more powers, but this never really happened. The mansion was very linear and there were few to no secrets anywhere. Ultimately, it's best to think of this game as Irish Doomguy blasting his way through a haunted house attraction. In short, Undying is a very unique game that stands out for numerous reasons. I enjoyed the first half even though it could be unfair at times, and I enjoyed the latter half even though it was rather easy. This game is a bargain these days, so it's worth a shot if you're interested.
