Undying (2001 Video Game) User Reviews

So incredible!

[katran1 · 13 July 2003]

This is one of my all-time favorite games. The gorgeous graphics, frightening creatures, and incredible action make this game a must-have for any horror-game buffs. Clive Barker has brought a masterpiece to the gaming industry.

One of the best horror related computer games ever made!

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 11 September 2003]

"Undying" is an excellent first person perspective shooter with some adventure elements thrown in.The game is truly creepy with some of the scariest monsters/demons ever created.The atmosphere is so thick that you could cut it with a chainsaw.Really,the suspense never lets up.Highly recommended.10 out of 10!

Scary as he.. ck..

[dyrehage · 9/10 · 10 August 2002]

This is undeniably the scariest game I've ever played. It's not the average shoot-everything-that-moves kind of fps (which I usually don't care much for), but the acceptable gfx, interesting weapons and magic, great surround soundeffects ("Scryeeee, scryeeee..") and above all incredible atmosphere. I love the Scrye, which enables you, at certain places in the games, to see or hear events that happened there in the past. The only game I've had to take regular breaks after a few minutes of playing just because of the intensity of the atmosphere. I'm a great horror fan, escpecially of Clive Barker's stories and movies, and participating in a horror story like this makes me yearn for more games that emphasizes atmosphere and a more involving story. 9/10 (-1 because I'm no fps fan, and perhaps the game was a bit short?)

Excelent yet linear first person shooter

[marinos theodore · 8/10 · 1 May 2001]

Undying is a very good game which brings some new elements on the tired genre of first person shoot em ups. It tells the story of Patrick Galloway an expert of the occult and a formidable fighter who is summoned by a friend to his estate in Ireland to investigate some weird phainomena. The game is set in Ireland after World War one so don't expect to find weapons like chainguns or rocket launchers.All the weapons in the game can be considered antiques but the real fun in the game are its spells and the system they operate on.Our hero is ambidexterous so he can use both his hands at the same time: he casts spells with his right arm and uses his guns with the left.So you can shoot and cast spells at the same time which as you understand very fun and also unique to this game! The graphics are great and they can run very well on a medium power P.C..Level design is also cool and atmospheric. Mostly the game revolves around the Covenant estate and the mansion but there are many other locations waiting to be discovered as you progress. Thanks to the talent of Clyve Barker the game has an excelent storyline and plot (something very rare for a First person shooter) and i said before a great and very spooky atmosphere the voice acting is also good but not excellent. But the game has two main flaws. First of all it is quite linear so when your mission says for example go to that room all the doors in the house will be locked apart from those that lead to the room of your mission this may save time but it restricts your liberty of exploration.Secondly the fact all the weapons are antiques may not appeal to most fps players who are used to high tech weaponry. As far as difficulty is concerned the game is very well balanced. Most of it is of medium difficulty but sometimes it gets more difficult but not frustratingly difficult. Overall undying is a great game. Definitely one of the best fps out there.

The Ultimate Horror Movie Experience!

[Creature of the Night · 15 November 2001]

I've never really seen much of Clive Barkers work (except for Candyman[Seen] and Hellraiser[Heard of it and seen #4]), but after playing Undying.... WHOA!!! It's like a horror movie, only though you're right in the center of the action! The storyline is excellent (so far - I've only play small bit of the game). Undying is one of the most addictive games I've played, especially being an FPS. You can easily get a frequent adrenaline rush (the kind where you can easily jump out of your skin) with thrills and spills that this game throws at you. Clive Barker's Undying is one of the best games I've ever played and I'd recommend it for people enjoy Horror movies and FPS games, it is one hell of a Thrill-Ride!

Undying's storyline would make an excellent movie!

Unique Experience

[elfnik · 10/10 · 8 July 2011]

I am writing this review 10 years after i played the game. 10 years after such a strong experience, this games is jewel among horror games.

Truly I can say that this is one of the best Clive Barker horrors ever written / translated into a game.

This game has very strong storyline. From the start to the end it is full of surprises and horror moments. The only horror game (even among all movies) that have made me to look behind me while I was playing.

Many mysterious places and dimensions, many different enemies...exactly as in a Clive Barker's world, but much more stronger than a movie just because YOU are the main actor and believe me, there isn't horror movie that could come near that feeling that this game could.

Sadly after 10 years, there isn't some sequel or remake to this game. Maybe a movie adaptation (as it was the game exactly..)..but then i wander, would it be worth to make a movie and will it be better than the original game....?

(Almost) Flawless

[gelziabar · 10/10 · 14 November 2006]

When you actually find a video game to be scary or disturbing, you know that the developers have done some very serious and hard work to make the whole thing work. Undying used the Unreal engine but had very little resemblance to that game when it came to actual gameplay. Speaking of gameplay, the pace is slowed down and the sheer difficulty in progressing through the very hard to kill enemies makes for a very unqiue gameplay experience. The production values are so high that you may even forget that it is a video game. The game itself is also packed with loads of secrets that you have to uncover using special vision. The level design in fantastic and the weapons as well as the enemies will really shock you.

Amongst the top 5 ever!

[Harrowed1 · 30 September 2002]

When a friend of mine told me of this game I was curious, but when I started playing it, I was blown away!

Having played FPS's since Wolfenstein 3d, I'm rather picky with what I install anymore. The Doom series was very good (looking forward to Doom 3), Quake 1 kicked some major A** and I love Blood and Blood2: the Chosen.

Undying though is something new. More than just a FPS or a horror/adv. game (a la alone in the dark) it mixes both superbly. If you like any of the above mentioned games, then this is a must!

Hint: play with a horror-sensitive person sitting next to you. I was creeped out by the magnificent ambience and settings already, but with my wife screaming and grabbing my mouse-arm, it became an experience to remember!

A flawed but true cinematic experience

[chrichtonsworld · 8/10 · 23 December 2007]

Not being a fan of first person shooters I was very hesitant to play this game. After having played the demo however I was sold. "Undying" really manages to pull you in the game and be part of the universe that your character is in. You have this green amulet,called the "Gel'ziabar Stone" that has special powers and warns you of particular events or things to look at. With a special spell "the scrye" you can see certain things that otherwise would be invisible to you. Walking in a hallway you suddenly hear the magical stone whisper:" Look",with the stone glowing at for example a painting. And then using the scrye spell you can see some weird and creepy stuff on the painting. Let me tell you to witness something like that is scary as hell. People who expect to finish this game in a few hours can forget about that even with the use of cheats. This game relies on the character using wits and walking carefully around. Because like in any horror movie your surroundings are usually pretty dark. And ghosts and monster appear at random when you don't expect them and can kill you very quickly. There is this one scene where you want to enter a room where you are pushed back with such great force that it takes moments for you to realize what happened. This was a scene that could have come straight out of the horror classic "Evil Dead"! To experience something like this is a real accomplishment. There are a lot of elements that take "Undying" to the level of the best classic horror movies ever produced. But sadly I have to report that there are some flaws. For one thing the universe you are playing in is huge. You start out in a big mansion with all sorts of hidden,secret rooms and even a hidden hell dimension called "Oneiros". That is all fine in the beginning. But with all the loading times and some difficult enemies in between that can become frustrating. And there is no map. The game demands you memorize your surroundings. So patience is required. Also there are some jumping puzzles that you have to do otherwise you can't progress. I don't mind jumping on platforms in third person adventures. But in first person mode that can be an annoying task. Luckily you can save at anytime and anyplace. And trust me you will need it. Overall "Undying" is an extraordinary first person shooter that deserves to be played by any horror or game fan.

clive barker covers all his bases with terror

[burroughs138 · 5 February 2003]

I am a horror movie freak. i love them all and I have sorta become numb to being scared when watching them(except arachnophobia, that scared the bejezus out of me because i really am terrified of spiders. I'm 23 and act like a 12 year old girl when i see one). anyways although I am not big on video games, i do love the movies of Clive Barker(he gives a great hybrid of fantasy and horror). So when I heard Barker did a video game i made an exception and bought it for my PC. The storyline is spectacularly in depth and detailed as well as the game being just frightening in general. Let me tell you; the fact that it is interactive terror really put the spook on me. The first time I played it; my heart was racing, i was getting jittery, and just getting creeped out in general. It was refreshing and fun to finally find something that could have that effect on me again. I give it two thumbs and a severed leg up. I hope that Barker will decide to make another game soon. If more games like this one exist, I might just consider buying a playstation 2 or and Xbox or one of those other game systems.

This game is awesome

[stanksgrrl · 9/10 · 13 May 2006]

I love the way that this game can make you literally jump out of your seat while you are playing it. The way that the screen jumps and flashes when you get hit, its very realistic while at the same time you have to remember that its just a game and your not really there. The sound effects and audio are amazing. There are a lot of weapons and different spells to cast and you can even choose which spells to make stronger or not. You get this stone that can knock back enemies while you recover mana to blast your foes with even more magic. The best part is that the whole time you are playing it you are really jumpy and afraid of what might lurk around the next corner or what might jump out behind you. If you want to get the full experience, try playing it with head phones on.

Best game ever..

[kastriot-hoxha · 10/10 · 4 October 2010]

I played this game when it came out in 2001 and i played games since 1981 starting from Spectrum Sinclair ZX48, Commodore C64, Sinclair QL, Amiga 500, A1200 and all PC generations from PC-XT to today PC so i am very experienced gamer especially at FPS genre, for that time undying had excellent graphics and sound effects and i liked voice acting of Clive Barker too, game was not easy and required to have good memory for different locations so i presume it was frustrating for some people, but nothing can replace joy i had with this game from beginning to the end and i must tell you i played this game 4-5 times because of immersing atmosphere and to tell the truth i think i was addicted to it, last time i played it 1 year ago and i enjoyed same like 1st time, i do not understand why this game was so underrated it's complete mystery to me but i will tell you one thing.. if you didn't like this game then you probably don't like horror genre for sure.

An Amazing game

[ScoBro13 · 10/10 · 24 October 2001]

This game was really great and quite a challenge. It has a great, spooky story line and the graphics are also very good. I would recommend this game to all Horror fans and is very gripping from start to finish. The only problem with this game is that i would have liked more weapons but thats just me.

A truly great game for RPG and Shoot'em'up fans.

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When the walking living undead won't die

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 6/10 · 21 January 2017]

1922. Returning to Ireland, though it may be a bad idea. Awful accents. You're there to repay a life debt. You fought with him in World War I. You wouldn't be here if not for him. Four cruel siblings who won't leave alone their one brother. Only problem? They've already passed on. And yet they won't. You're the only hope. Expert on the occult. Clive Barker's works makes sense for two mediums more than the rest: books and video-games(this has been said to read like one, whilst being a novel). The detail, background, world-building, length, how gruesome it gets, the beings, the events, etc. Having not played Jericho, not taken in a word written by him short of Arabat(the initial of that series, both of them titled that), and only watched Hellraisers 1, 2, 5 and 6(yes, I'm one of the lucky ones to have steered clear of most of the sequels), Candyman 1-3 as well as Dread, I base what I say about him, not to mention Lovecraft, on cultural osmosis.

This has a *lot* of notes. And they are heavy, they aren't in the style that people actually talk, and they play a lot of stuff close to the chest. Much less so than the Penumbras. Of course, that does bring up that this isn't a pure action-adventure like those are. It would have worked as one. Some would have preferred it like that. And where those are all exploration and investigation, this is fast-paced, and this element bogs you down. Mostly, they're spaced out. It's the worst, with explaining what you've got on you, in the opening... where you move for 5 seconds before one cutscene gives way to the next. At least it's a third-person one, with cuts and angles, not you merely looking at a gardener, maid or groundskeeper, who is likely to be murdered soon, expositing, and maybe granting you passage. Of course, it's still a lot of talking. Lot of words in this one. And still no subtitles, and yet so few of them spoken. Too much is told, not shown, and we don't see firsthand what happened before... with one exception.

Other than what is here Kill Bill Vol. 1's respect for what you'll acquire to use in the fight, this, by and large, avoids the standard FPS clichés and traits. It does go back and forth between that genre, and, well, diving into the lore. You'll wanna approach this like one of those. One of the early ones, at that. Strafe, keep your distance, never stop moving, let the projectiles fill the air. Enemies can stagger you, especially if they're using melee. When they surround you, that gets ridiculous. Unless you follow that advice. And consider using the easiest of the three difficulty settings. Trust me, you will still be challenged. This doesn't have modern weapons. The ones it does have, are awesome and, like almost everything in this, varied whilst aiding and fitting the thick atmosphere.

Let's get the obvious out of the way. Revolver and shotgun. Oh, and they have alternate ammo of silver and phosphorous. You can use both barrels at the same time. Molotovs. Those, by the way, you light with your fingers, using pyrokinesis. Same for torches and candles. Admit it: if you could, you would, too. For everything. A speargun with zoom, which can be charged with your lightning. A Phoenix that you can guide. It's straight-up the Redeemer from Unreal Tournament '99. When you get it, you're in a level that has a lot of open areas where it's useful. The Tibetan War Cannon: Cold: freeze small patches of water, slow and harm enemies. It's really effective against a number of them. You can charge it up, by holding it down. It takes maybe a second between pressing the trigger and it firing. Arcs in flight, so it can't go more than maybe 20 meters ahead of you and/or up. It may seem too powerful, even for the delay. It'll one-hit-kill a bunch. And you cannot run out of munitions for it. Don't hit too close to yourself, it'll hurt you, too. It does splash damage. It's alive on my hand, like Half-Life! Only way creepier. And that says a lot. It's an actual dragon's head. And the Scythe of the Celt, which can separate a soul from a mortal shell. You do have to scroll through them. Well, that, or use the menu/ring. It doesn't pause for it. You have to keep it pressed, then point, then let go.

You dual-wield one of these, in your left hand, with one of the spells in your right. Like was later done in BioShock 2. Not 1, for some reason. And this, like System Shock 2, has you using the two options in tandem. Some are boosts, others are attacks, others defense. They use Mana, which regenerates over time. Haste: speeds you up, necessary for some of the occasional, and relatively seldom overly obnoxious, jumping puzzles. Those are also sometimes done with the, sparsely allowed, wisely leaving us wanting more, Flight. I've seen a lot of different takes on that. This one is one of my favorites, as well as a different take on it. You hop, keeping that active, and for 2 seconds in the air to another 2 to ready it for another bout, meaning you can fall and "catch yourself" if it's far enough down, you... swim. In the air. So if you want, you can remain in place. You can go backwards. And while you can go forwards, you're not being propelled. And this is probably what it would be, if you or I woke up tomorrow with wings. Think of birds just learning how to use theirs. And you'll find it tremendously effective. You work for it, and it pays off.

I recommend this to any fan of the author, of survival horror, of having the crap scared out of you. Just beware the problems. 6/10

#1

[Bored_Dragon · 10/10 · 3 October 2017]

Without competition the best horror I ever experienced. Barker is one of my favorite writers, and movies does not fall far behind, but this game exceeds all of his books and movies combined. The only horror that ever really frightened me in my adulthood. There's no horrors with such all-embracing creepiness like this masterpiece, and nothing ever left me so deeply frightened. Even after 15 years this is still my favorite game and it still creeps me out every time I play it, no matter that I know every second of it by heart. Something that every real horror fan must experience. Ultimate horror adventure.

10/10