Unholy Review

Don't allow her to interrupt this cursed checklist as we embark on the enthralling horror adventure that is Unholy. This game immerses you in the role of a desperate and vengeful main character, pitting you against a malevolent religious cult that demands infiltration and overcoming. Armed with a set of emotion-fueled special powers, you must confront and defeat every Garden ghoul that stands in your path. However, Unholy's execution falls short, reminiscent of crucifying someone on a cardboard cross. Unresponsive controls, erratic AI, and frustrating instant deaths turn this seven-hour journey into an experience as enjoyable as self-flagellation.

The story revolves around young mother Dorothea, aiming to escape the clutches of the religious cult known as Spring of Eternity. But her son, Gabriel, has been ensnared by the church's high priest and taken to the dark cathedral of the supernatural underworld, Eternal City. Assisted by an old Crone from her father's apartment building, Dorothea uses an arcane ritual to venture into this gloomy Netherworld. Her mission is to rescue her son by overcoming grumpy armored guards and twitchy zombie-like beings.

Eternal City's landscape is eerily similar to the real world, albeit darker and frequently engulfed in flames. Despite the game's attention to crafting this apocalyptic environment, the experience feels wasted due to its various shortcomings. Unholy's emotional plot unfolds in the realm of Eternal City, where human feelings can be harvested as colored orbs from corpses. Dorothea's supernatural slingshot can use these orbs to unleash different abilities like anger, shock, and desire.

However, the frustration of dealing with enemies overshadows the potential advantages of these powers. Enemies can only be momentarily stunned, and the most effective way to dispatch them is to maneuver them towards explosive barrels or traps. Unfortunately, enemy encounters often end in one or two hit kill counter-attacks, leading to frustrating checkpoints further back than desired. Unholy's lack of a melee attack leaves players struggling to fend off foes in tight situations, and Dorothea's sluggish movement exacerbates this issue. Moreover, environmental interactions can be glitchy, hindering progress.

To navigate Eternal City safely, Dorothea must wear a mystical mask that protects her from its deadly effects. The mask provides various vision modes that can reveal interactive elements and even late-game invisible demons. Yet, the inability to toggle these modes while using the slingshot hampers strategic gameplay.

The upgrade system, involving finding mementos from Dorothea's past, offers skill buffs. However, most of these upgrades have minimal impact on the overall gameplay. Puzzles in Unholy are also disappointingly limited, often relying on solving combination locks or simple dials on trunks.

Despite rich environmental detail in the sinister underworld, Unholy lacks true horror elements. Its controls are clumsy, making stealth encounters unsatisfying. Additionally, enemy variety is lacking, and the puzzles fail to engage players fully. The plot's payoff at the heart of Eternal City leaves much to be desired, especially given the unlikable nature of the protagonist, Dorothea.

In conclusion, Unholy's captivating premise eventually devolves into a repetitive and uninspiring experience. While not entirely unplayable, it struggles to hold players' interest until the end. With its numerous flaws and limited gameplay variety, Unholy falls short of becoming a truly remarkable horror adventure."