Undying Review (PC)
Not so Undying
Summary: With the lack of originality or innovation both in gameplay and storytelling, in a year packed with great indies such as Dredge and Cocoon, I’m afraid Undying leaves the table empty-handed.
2.2
Nothing to see here!
Undying is a top-down survival game that follows a mother and son trying to endure the horrors of a zombie apocalypse. As a mother, Anling tries to find resources needed for the survival of her son Cody while teaching him the skills needed. Anling is bitten by a zombie early on and she knows that her days are numbered. That’s why she has to prepare her son as best as she can and bring her to safety -the evacuation point- before she dies. Trying to survive the long journey and getting to extraction is the main goal in Undying.
For those who played Telltale’s The Walking Dead, the story and setting of Undying have nothing new to offer and it is arguably even less emotionally engaging since dialogues and most cutscenes are text-based and the artistic choice for character design does not provide much room for emotional expression due to lack of facial details in characters
When it comes to the survival aspect of the game, Undying does not shine too bright either. Anling’s house acts as the central hub of the game and the place where every day begins and ends. There are facilities like crafting benches that are used for storage, creation, and use of items and equipment. When it comes to crafting, Undying lacks innovation the most. Players can create weapons such as crowbars, medicine, or cook foods by standing next to the respective workbench and taking the items with them for their journey. While items have durability and need repair after a while, managing Anling’s limited inventory space during scavenging runs is much more difficult than finding basic resources needed for repairs.
The game’s combat is also outdated and devoid of excitement. Anling can use melee weapons and firearms to fend off the zombies. There is not much action here since attacking enemies is only done by pressing the attack button in real time. Anling can ask Cody to help her in combat by hitting enemies with his slingshot but due to the game’s horrible combat design, it is not worth the effort. In order to direct Cody’s attack, players should use a button to lock on enemies and another button to order the attack while they control Anling’s movement and combat as well. This complicated ranged attack mechanism is despite the fact that the mouse pointer is constantly visible during gameplay in this top-down title. While mouse pointer can be used to interact with objects, it can’t be used for aiming or directing Cody’s attacks.
The stealth aspects of the game if they can be called one are terrible as well. Anling and Cody can hold hands and crouch to avoid zombies but the funny thing is they can’t pick up items or interact with anything in that state. That means players can get past zombies stealthily to reach the supplies and stand up to gather them and be detected! What is the point of such a stealth scenario is a question I can’t answer.
Undying is the definition of a wasted potential. While surviving the apocalypse with a loved one has enough narrative potential to create popular works such as The Last of Us and The Walking Dead, Undying fails to capitalize on this well-established trope. With the lack of originality or innovation both in gameplay and storytelling, in a year packed with great indies such as Dredge and Cocoon, I’m afraid Undying leaves the table empty-handed.
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