Undying Review

thesixthaxis.com:

It feels like we are finally coming out of culture’s obsession with zombies. Sparked by the success of The Walking Dead, this craze has lasted for a surprising amount of time given how decayed and rotten many of the media representations are. It’s refreshing to see the subject given a new twist though, and Undying offers a more personal and emotional take on the usual undead apocalypse. Rather than a buff soldier or hardened survivor, you play as Anling, a mother trying to protect her son, Cody, during the initial outbreak of a zombie virus. Right as the game begins Anling is bitten and must try to balance the worsening symptoms of infection with her responsibility to look after and teach Cody. The result is a truly harrowing narrative that speaks to a more human perspective than is common in this genre.

Following a static screen opening cutscene you begin in Anling’s home, with a simple tutorial that teaches you the basics of scavenging and crafting. This sets you up for the main gameplay loop as you explore the various environments by day but must return home for Anling to rest at night. Failing to make it home in time leads to an instant game over as her infection takes over; obviously, this needs to be avoided. The game autosaves every day and you can also manually save, however, so it is more forgiving than some survival titles.

Graphically, Undying is pretty distinctive, with a deliberately drab colour palette only broken by the occasional burst of blue or green in more open spaces. This works perfectly to emphasise the decaying urban environments and the overall depressing atmosphere. This atmosphere is only broken by rare friendly NPCs and moments of interaction between Anling and Cody. As you explore you’ll find