Undying is probably one of EA's lesser-known first-person shooters, but players probably know the name on the marquee: Hellraiser creator was committed to putting his stamp on horror games, and 2001's Undying was definitely his best collaboration. It has a lot of great gameplay elements and features, and with the state of modern game design, now may be an ideal time to bring it back - or finish the sequel that never was.
The original Undying is set on the Irish coast in 1923 and begins with World War I veteran Patrick Galloway visiting a friend, Jeremiah Covenant. Covenant's four siblings have died - but they're most certainly not gone. Galloway sets about trying to stop the cursed siblings and an entity known as the Undying King, using a dual-wielded mix of magic and conventional weapons. The game is heavy on atmosphere, and manages to elicit some real scares despite running on the original Unreal engine. Much of that can be traced to excellent setpieces, character concepts, and sound design, at least partly influenced by Barker.
The game never really got its due, however. While it was nominated for several awards, PC sales were so poor that EA canceled not just the sequel, but also console ports and even a previously-announced multiplayer add-on. The catastrophe can probably be blamed on a lack of marketing and some extremely tough competition - games like Halo, Serious Sam, and Return to Castle Wolfenstein were among the many first-person shooters out the same year. Rebooting Undying in the modern era would, in a sense, undo a historic wrong.
How Could Undying Be Brought Up to 2021 Standards?
Above all, the graphics possible on the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and current PCs would do the game's presentation better justice. Although EA produced fantastic art and level design, the hardware limitations of 2001 inevitably hampered some of the immersion, and by extension the horror. Fully detailed models with sharp textures and ray-traced lighting would transform the experience, particularly if they were paired with updated cinematics and writing.
The case for a reboot or sequel instead of a remaster stems in part from gameplay. While dual-wielding magic and guns was novel at the time, the game otherwise plays like many old-school first-person shooters, which would attract some people but seem a little archaic to people used to titles like Far Cry and Call of Duty, which have much more refined control schemes. It would also be exciting to see how EA might evolve Undying's gameplay, hopefully using it as an opportunity to experiment with the future of horror.
