The story begins with a case of mutilated cows and disgraced journalist Gerry Fenn (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) who goes to investigate. To be fair, there are some interesting elements to "The Unholy," mostly in the form of miracles. "The Unholy" is written and directed by Evan Spillotopoulos, who wrote the live action "Beauty and the Beast" screenplay, along with "The Huntsman: Winter's War," "Hercules," and "Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure." With so many kinds of stories under his belt, it's no surprise he jumped on the horror bandwagon, but it's too bad he didn't offer anything new or remotely scary. The latest addition to the religious horror genre utilizes some very tired tropes that were retired in the late '00s, but now, whelp, they're back. How many times can a creepy, hooded, demonic figure lunge at the camera in a horror movie? "The Unholy" wants to answer that question for you. What are we supposed to save them from (the antagonist and it's reasons WHY it acts the way it does) - And for the love of god, please give OPTIONS how to deal with the looming threat (not just "It must be destroyed!").'The Unholy' (Source:Sony Pictures Digital) Let us see what exactly we're supposed to save (the setting, the world/universe and the people/creatures in it). A reason to get us invested in the game's world and likeable characters/settings. TL DR: Devs, please stop using "Save the World" as the game's sole focal point from the get-go and expect it to carry the game for you. Somehow I find it way more interesting & involving when my choices make a difference in selected few locations in the game's universe rather than the whole universe. You don't Save the World per say, but you play a big part in shaping the game universe's future: None of the outcomes are 100% sunshine and happiness and it's up to the player to decide which one of the morally grey outcomes they deem the best. I absolutely loved how Fallout New Vegas and Wasteland 3 made the PCs a mere pawn(s) in a power struggle between few big factions. I'm sorry, but being a prophesied Chosen One #5223 doesn't really hook me to the game, especially if I don't know a damn thing about the Generic World #65552 I'm supposed to save from Ancient Evil #100042. My main gripe with "Save the World" trope is how often it winds up being a crutch storyline for weak and thin writing. I also liked Persona 4 (and I believe other Persona/SMT games do this too, haven't played them), which does a similar "Saving mankind from itself" trope. not well received), likewise Skyrim's total conversion mod Enderal deserves to be mentioned here. Game's like Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 1-3, and LoTR movies, are prime examples of these plot points done reasonably well (even though ME3's conclusion was. Granted, some of my favorite games are guilty of this trope, but the important distinction is that "the world is coming to an end, and you're the only one who can stop it" is an overarching plot in the background, while there's lots of sub-plots brewing underneath that needs to be dealt with immediately (typically a civil war looming in a horizon or rallying distrusting groups to deal with a bigger threat). I've seen it done well in several occasions, but far more often it winds up being a tired & worn-off "oh **** no this cliche AGAIN!" kind of trope. I get it, writers want to make high-stakes to get the players invested to the game's world and storyline.
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