As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of gaming under my belt, I’ve seen my fair share of horror games that leave me both terrified and awestruck. Unholy is one such game that, despite its flaws, has managed to captivate me.
The horror experience in Unholy had tremendous potential that was hindered by subpar enemy AI and clumsy controls, making it disappointingly difficult to enjoy. Despite its stunningly realistic graphics, the game offers an unsettling narrative where a woman, having escaped a cult, witnesses her son being taken into a haunting realm called The Eternal City – far from a pleasant excursion. Though it has its shortcomings, such as irritating voice acting and uneven transitions between cutscenes and gameplay, I found myself largely drawn to it overall.
In your role as Dorothea, it becomes crucial for you to locate your missing son, Gabriel. During a sinister ceremony, you observe that he is being prepared for sacrifice by a corrupt prophet. Tragically, a church catches fire and Gabriel disappears, leaving you with a burning desire to find him. After hearing of a ritual to guide you to his whereabouts, Dorothea embarks on a journey to The Eternal City – a twisted reflection of reality.
In this game, I find myself wandering through a haunting landscape that’s eerily reminiscent of Silent Hill and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. Yet, it carves its own chilling identity as a world shrouded in darkness, waiting for me to explore its depths. The heart of the gameplay centers around a mystical slingshot that serves multiple purposes – opening doors, offering protection, causing harm to adversaries, and more. Frankly, I’m not sure why a slingshot was the weapon of choice, but somehow it fits the narrative, even if my character doesn’t exactly exude an intimidating presence. The protagonist here isn’t a warrior; she’s merely a mother, driven by her unyielding desire to find and rescue her lost son.
In this game, the ammunition for your slingshot represents various feelings such as sorrow, apprehension, rage, and longing. Once unveiled, you can swap among them to perform a variety of tasks. Though it’s not overly complex to figure out when to use which one, this feature proves quite helpful. Additionally, on top of your slingshot, you’ll discover various masks that, once unlocked, grant you unique abilities. For instance, some masks allow you to perceive parts of the environment that can be interacted with to assist in opening a path or unlocking a door.
Navigating Rome’s Eternal City requires sneaking around, and although these tools can assist, you’ll often need to evade the cult’s guards and seek refuge in nearby storage closets. The AI of the enemies isn’t sophisticated, as they won’t react if they catch you hiding inside one, and once they spot you, they tend to linger in the area for some time before moving on. However, it falls short compared to games like Alien: Isolation, which are known for their advanced AI systems.
AI makes the experience less stressful but sometimes transforms it into annoying phases that disrupt the flow. The struggle is intense due to its own lofty goals, marred by technical glitches such as texture pop-in just a few meters from Dorothea. Scenes switch abruptly, with characters vanishing and choppy transitions between these sections.
Despite the meticulously crafted settings, some character movements seem stiff, resembling marionettes during dialogue scenes. The acting feels wooden too, failing to convey the terror that the narrative intended. It’s disappointing because I can overlook technical flaws, but when they detract from the experience, it significantly diminishes my enjoyment of Unholy. With weak artificial intelligence in enemy characters, even the stunning Eternal City loses its charm. Stealth sequences are challenging, and with poor AI, these instances become frustrating rather than suspenseful.
If the wrinkles were smoothed out in advance, Unholy could have been even more exceptional. It debuted on PC last year, so one might assume that some of the problems would have been addressed or at least fine-tuned somewhat. However, I must say that the narrative was engaging, and the visuals of the environments are breathtaking. The gameplay aspires to be unique, but the constant switching between ammo types and masks for specific situations isn’t entirely seamless, and there’s room for improvement in this area.
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2024-09-12 11:16