Clive Barker's Undying

These past couple of days I've been going through the motions and written about two popular franchises. One of which was evolving and flourishing, the other was stagnating, under the influence of other media and lazy campaigns. Today though I'd like to try something a little different and write about a great game, which never took off, and yet for me it was a staple of action horror, one which footsteps were not followed, in my opinion, to the detriment of the genre. I am going to give you my take on Clive Barker's Undying.

The game was developed by Dreamworks Interactive, and shipped by Electronic Arts in 2001. It retains it's name because it is influenced heavily by famous horror author Clive Barker, who was a consultant on the game's protagonist and story. The game was rated highly by critics and didn't have major technical flaws, but maybe because of bad marketing it didn't sell very well. So much so that the planned multiplayer was never implemented and all ideas for a sequel were scrapped. And it would seem that Undying perished the year it was out with scarcely a whimper.

This is the SPOILER warning for all those people who believe me and want to play the game yourselves. I know it's dated but you won't be disappointed. If you've played it, or you're not convinced, please continue reading.

Patrick, holding the Gel'ziabar stone in
the first few seconds of the game

The atmosphere is the first and main thing that impresses and implies horror in the game. But since atmosphere is scarcely much without a plot and is intrinsically bound to it, we have to look at that first. The protagonist of the game, by the name of Patrick Galloway is an irish ex-soldier, who devoted himself to the occult after a mystical experience with his friend Jeremiah Covenant on the front lines. In the war they were charged in a special unit which investigated local superstition, so it can be silenced before it spread fear amongst the ranks, when one day they fell prey to an ambush. In the middle of the battle a shaman used a magic stone to try to kill Patrick and in the last minute he was saved by his friend. Both believing in the supernatural and indebted to Jeremiah, Patrick retired from the army, only to return to Covenant manor in answer of an urgent summons. The game itself starts in front of the manor's gates.

"For Oneiros is simply that, the dream city of
forgotten souls. Governed by none but
watched by many" – Keisinger

The game has a remarkable pacing, taking it's time for every piece of gothic-themed horror ti sink in, while still being action-oriented. Just by opening the menu you see the ghastly images of the forlorn haunted edifices you'll explore, accompanied by a dramatic choir singing "As I breathe, I live; As I breathe, I know" in latin. You move your cursor to discover it's a candle's flame and it actually burns the menu tabs, which look like scraps of paper. The air of mystery and subtle building of pressure makes this menu the best introduction to the atmosphere I've ever seen, whilst we can complement most games by saying that the menu is just intuitive, here it serves a function.

"The reflections of the waters that
separate us ripple across my bedroom
walls filling my room with waves of
moonlight. If it is quiet enough I can
hear them chanting." – Lizbeth

The gameplay seamlessly follows theme after theme of gothic and victorian horror literature. First it projects the subtler atmosphere of the haunted manor and bestial howls, all the while a curse upon the family in question being just the beginning of a large sequence of set pieces.

"Some things never change.
One by one my kin are dying.
This pathetic excuse of a world is
coming to an end" – Ambrose

Soon Patrick would explore hallow ground, mysteriously marred by undead irish monks, just to perform an arcane spell and go back in time to take an artifact and witness / cause the fall of the self-same monastery, so he can kill with a scythe a bestial seductress and her singing long dead mother.

"I am not usually a man given to hatred
but I could gut Otto Keisinger and feel no remorse"
 - Patrick

Before he's through Patrick discovers the hidden truth behind the haunted paintings, and the grisly fate of their creator. Follows a pirate warleader to his coven to slay him, fights a warlock to avenge the death of his wife on a ziggurath in a broken world spiraling towards the abyss and kills a witch in her primeval world called Eternal Autumn. All along getting scraps and warnings about the "Undying king".

"I have seen the crown and
it burdens my brow. Behind the
canvas is another image" – Aaron

All those themes and more are present as pillars to the story, or just some homage to gothic atmosphere and people who haven't played the game would think that it's packed too densely, that in fact it became a collection of stories and not a single adventure. They couldn't be further from the truth however, because all the ghosts, monsters and settings are perfectly in tone with the general feel, all the different bosses have their own backstory and collectible journal entries, all the spells and major turns of events are chronicled in the menu by Patrick himself. Odds are that every single level would be as memorable, stand apart on it's own merits and be just relevant as the previous.

" I greet you, Patrick, my brother's
crusading hero. I have brought you
to my realm of Eternal Autumn,
where I rule with unquestioned
authority" - Bethany

Speaking about magic, our irish protagonist has an impressive array of spells by the end of the game, which is sure to be fun especially with the people who want to go about the game running and gunning. The game doesn't let you feel omnipotent ofcourse, the easiest difficulty setting let's you use most your spells however you like, though the higher ones would require some tactic. It's good to know that although it's just an action-horror, combat is not ignored and in addition to the magnificent story-telling mechanism scry and the level-progression enabling spell haste, there are four more offensive spells, some of which combine with weapons or have different effect regarding the opponent, whilst the rifle and revolver can use special ammunition and two other weapons require no ammo. Undying is the only game I've seen in which the player can cast spells, use a weapon and throw a stick of dynamite from his inventory simultaneously.

Each tab is different creepy image.
Each location in the load menu has a
unique concept art as well.

 It is difficult given the age and nature of this game to properly advertise it without giving too much away, or properly analyze it, without detailing the gameplay level per-level. The game has some flaws, as do they all. The bosses are not spread out evenly, so there's a mixed feeling bordering on anticlimax towards the end of the game. Some weapons like the Tibetan War Cannon are arguably out of place, and too cartoony. Also sometimes I feel like I'd prefer the enemies not having special kill animations, to a couple of extra minutes in the Eternal Autumn level, because it had a great potential for beauty, stifled I think, by technological restrictions and is decidedly more lackluster than the others.

To me this game is an example to how action horror games should be made.( And by action horror I mean people, who are somehow trained , fighting against some inhuman evil so as to vanquish it. As opposed to survival horror where ordinary people endeavor to survive the horror, and their struggle is frequently one of growth and realization. e.g. Silent Hill, Amnesia) It takes traditional cues from literature and cultural periods, and blends them in a cohesive narrative, whilst maintaining a challenging action oriented gameplay. This game does not rely on jump scares, does not stop to frighten you, so you can just maul the enemies with your weapons after the scripted sequence, and above all tries to keep you entertained with a dozen or so stuff happening in the story, not just a long haired girl, crawling in your mind like in so much popular culture to date. Show me any bland militaristic action-horror game (Clive Barker's Jericho included) and I'll recommend Undying . Sadly the sequal plans were scrapped long ago and this is the first and last time we'd see of the irish soldier. Nonetheless nothing is ever in vain and as long as this game is played, it's legacy will not be lost. Or will it? You can leave your opinions and comments below.