Join Anling and Cody in this fast paced, crafting, and survival focused zombie apocalypse tale Undying.
Undying is a tale that involves a mother and son trapped in a chaotic world ravaged by zombie hordes and uncertain humans. Anling and Cody must try and solve the mystery of the pandemic and where to evacuate to. Anlings husband (father to Cody) was taken away to work for the military as a doctor, which left Anling and Cody alone. They return to their house and must ensure that food, water, and general wellbeing is considered in their playthrough. Vanimals have brought this intriguing indie title to PC. Join us here at VIBE as we review this game that will bring any parental instincts to the forefront.
Mamma On A Mission
Anlings main focus in the game is to look after her son Cody. As if a zombie apocalypse wasn’t hard enough solo, Anling has the added stress of Cody who is roughly around 10 years old at a guess. Anling must provide for cody, teach him valuable skills such as fetching materials and cooking, and battle the onset of infection. Early into the game, Anling becomes infected and must medicate herself regularly in order not to turn. Anling understands her survival is dependent on Cody and often finds herself fatigued and unable to progress in the story. The player must return and sleep this off when this occurs. The story is emotionally driven and presents with a dark narrative. As a result of this, the player will be drawn into the characters and world of Undying.
Managing Symptoms
Anling has already been infected. As a result of this, Anling, if attacked again by the infected, will have a series of debuffs placed on her character. However, the interesting part of this is that the player gets to choose the debuff. Therefore, the player can choose a debuff that will suit them if one is accessible. For example, if in the next day (gametime) you aren’t going to explore the world around then it would make sense to take a damage debuff as you aren’t having to defend yourself against hordes.
SELF MEDICATING
The world focuses on crafting. As a result of this, workbenches become the players best friend. However, the player must ensure they have enough resources to craft the most essential items. Medication items such as bandages and first aid kits are great at helping the player. Therefore, the player must plan their trips into the world map with reason and acquire items to assist medically.
DANGER
The world map has several interesting locations for the player to explore. Despite, Anling facing some perturbing scenes she does not have an actively adverse reaction. On the other hand, Cody begins shutting down when facing some of the more horrific scenes. Anling must comfort Cody otherwise he can become stationery and unable to allow the player to progress. As a result of this, the player must take caution and be aware of Cody at all times. This will evoke parental feelings in almost every player!
While exploring the world, the player will begin to uncover tidbits of the story too. Not much is given away in the starting area of the game as all we know is that Anlings husband (a doctor) has been drafted in the middle of the night and separated from his family. Notes scattered around the world are great at expanding the lore and telling the tale of Undying. Additionally, the characters in undying are loveable and I found myself becoming attached rather easily to them. My main aim was to keep them surviving no matter what the cost.
Battling The Infected
Combat can be difficult to get used to at first especially with mouse controls. However, once the player gets into the swing of things, they will be mowing down zombies in no time! During combat the player must be actively considering Cody as he can go into a meltdown and be unable to move. Weapons in the game are quite diverse and range from guns to melee weapon such as bats. Cody can also be trained up to use a slingshot weapon to combat enemies alongside Anling. Workbenches are used to repair any broken weapons and are great for crafting additional aids to the weapons such as buffs. It’s great for the player to be weaponizing an already solid weapon and maximizing its potential.
Bon Appetit
Every time there is some sort of catastrophic event, the world can be sure that they are going to run low on resources. In Undying, lack of food and clean water will have the player actively scouting to restore their resources. Players can face a game over if Anling or Cody’s hydration and food energy meter run low. Players must utilize the food and water workbench. Anling can collect ingredients from scavenging, trading and by sheer luck. Players must then add ingredients together to formulate a meal. This can range from herbs to crackers. The better constructed the meal, the better buff for the player. Filtering is better this way. Collecting water can often lead to the game deeming it as unclean. Utilizing the workbench to filter it can cause less debuffs.
Culture
Anling is an American woman of Chinese descent and her culture is depicting well throughout the game. A saving spot in Anlings house is a Chinese style shrine that she comments her husband bought her to help her acclimate to life in America. Anling often uses some Chinese words such as “baeobi” which translates to “treasure” or “baby” in English. This is important as it gives a sneak peek into Anlings background and allows for a multicultural highlight on the crucible of cultures America has.
VIBES SCORE
8/10
THANK YOU
As always thanks for joining me, Lilacmage here at VIBE whilst I checked out an indie game for review. Undying is available now on STEAM: https://store.steampowered.com/app/638990/UNDYING/ and is 15% off until the 23rd of June. This emotional tale is definitely one to try but make sure you are armed with tissues! If you’re on the fence check out the trailer below.
25, Indie Game connoisseur. Also a hamster mum, fiancée & working in the addiction field. Gaming and writing are my escape and comfort for when the world gets too much!
