A Love Letter to Unreal (1998): A Retrospective Analysis
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มิ.ย. 2024
- A Love Letter to Unreal (1998): A Retrospective Analysis
Unreal is often overshadowed by Half Life and other 90's era shooters, played down among some groups as insignificant, but this wasn't always the case. Unreal received critical praise on release for its bleeding-edge textures, lighting, environments, and AI.
For me, Unreal was an awakening to the boundless possibility of what future games could be. It still enraptures me now, as it did back then, and deserves to be remembered as a titan of the industry.
This is my love letter to Unreal. Part retrospective, part anaylsis, all nostalgia. Journey with me, see Unreal through my eyes.
#Unreal #UnrealGold #Unreal1 #gaming #review
0:00 - Intro
2:07 - Development
4:37 - The World
13:58 - Gameplay
18:25 - Combat
31:39 - Story
41:27 - Return to Na Pali
49:41 - Multiplayer
53:09 - Outro
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Images
Woman with teddy bears - by Hassan OUAJBIR: www.pexels.com/photo/woman-ca...
Woman holding sale card - by Karolina Grabowska: www.pexels.com/photo/person-h...
Man looking up - by Ketut Subiyanto: www.pexels.com/photo/excited-...
Early Unreal images from - sudonull.com/post/16947-What-...
Quake Fandom site - QuakeEd image
Group of friends by cottonbro: www.pexels.com/photo/friends-...
Old man by Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz : www.pexels.com/photo/elderly-...
Old woman playing games by Tima Miroshnichenko: www.pexels.com/photo/elderly-...
Women laughing by ELEVATE: www.pexels.com/photo/two-smil...
Chef by cottonbro: www.pexels.com/photo/person-h...
Gamers by Ron Lach from Pexels
Upset man by Nicola Barts : www.pexels.com/photo/upset-ma...
unreal.fandom.com
Man in pain by Genaro Servín: www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-m...
Hand out by lalesh aldarwish: www.pexels.com/photo/man-s-ha...
Stapler and paper by DS stories: www.pexels.com/photo/close-up...
Messy office by cottonbro: www.pexels.com/photo/grayscal...
Mischevous child by Efigie lima Marcos : www.pexels.com/photo/a-boy-in...
Videos
Explosion by Pixabay: www.pexels.com/video/fire-exp...
Music
The Unreal soundtrack
"Go Down" - Unreal Tournament
Sources
www.betaarchive.com/forum/vie...
www.unrealsp.org/forums/viewt...
web.archive.org/web/201808230...
web.archive.org/web/200010060...
retrocdn.net/images/1/14/Next...
web.archive.org/web/200206131...
unreal.fandom.com/
www.ign.com/articles/2010/02/...
sudonull.com/post/16947-What-...
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Aaah yes, that Nyleve Falls-moment when you step out of the space ship... I think everyone remembers that... was literally the moment when first person shotoers stepped from dungeon-esque level design of the past to the vast new unreal levels... I think they should remake that level as a tech demo for each new unreal engine.
I’ll play devil’s advocate and say that Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight (1997) was the first game (that I remember) which played to a sense of grand scale. Unreal was much prettier and interesting to look at though, and it was the watershed point in gaming.
@@HeyBlondieGamer The Valley of the Jedi and the Imperial palace come to mind.
Among many other levels in that game. Nar Shaddaa, the irrigation channels, Into the Dark Palace, Fuel Station. SW:JK had some huge levels.
It’s another personal darling of the era. I’ll cover it soon.
@@HeyBlondieGamer Oh for sure! I love it too. :)
What about Duke Nukem?
Being close to 40 this retrospective hits hard to me. I remember playing this on a 200mhz celeron CPU and a voodoo 2 graphics card. The water, was absolutely a standout. The fact it had fish swimming around blew my mind.
It was absolutely my preferred experience over HalfLife.
The added surprise of realizing that the fish would nibble you as well.
I wonder if we’ll ever get to experience a gaming moment like this again.
@Hey Blondie it didn't hit as hard but I found Horizon Zero (steam release) to have some absolute astonishing parts to it. The way the machines interact with the world, day night cycles, wildlife.
Monster Hunter World (again steam release) was also up there when simply exploring the maps.
But thinking back to it I remember seeing the glass and shatter physics in Shogo:MAD and thinking to my young 16 year old self that games could not possibly be better.
Again, thanks for the video. Glad your channel got recommended to me!
I played it on a PIII 450 and Voodoo 3 3000. I preferred Unreal to Half Life. I also preferred Half Life 2 to Half Life because it was less of a platform game.
mine aswell, was never a huge fan of half life not until half life 2 came along anyways
Unreal got there first which is why it made a bigger impression on me I suspect. That, and it was graphically head and shoulders above everything else on the market.
Hearing the music again after SO many years still brought me goosebumps.
Definitely. I took my time with the opening levels to soak it all in anew. The nostalgia hit hard.
@@HeyBlondieGamer I LOVE that you highlighted the composers. That explains a lot, too, as to why the Deus Ex soundtrack is soo good. Never realized they were the same guys, but it makes perfect sense now.
Every game I cover gets a nod (or more) to the OST. It plays a pivotal role in the emotional aspect of an experience. In Unreal’s case, it elevates the experience well beyond what gameplay alone could achieve.
I wasn’t as in love with DX’s OST. I still like it, but there aren’t as many hits as the Unreal soundtrack. There aren’t many tracks in the Unreal OST that I’ll skip.
I'm playing Unreal now for the first time (January 2023). Playstation was my poison as a kid, just some PC games here and there. This game is a beautiful masterpiece, a cornerstone of a bygone era. The music, the level design, the art direction - all crafted to make a believable world. A magical atmosphere of discovery. The player is thrown into the world with no hand holding, left to explore, and to learn by trial and error. The music makes me so nostalgic. This is what videogames should be. Thank you for sharing your love for this piece of Art.
The music in this game is beyond sublime. All these years later and they still evoke the majestic awe inspiring locales and vistas from the game.
I don’t think a game soundtrack has ever captured a setting so well.
This Game is a unique Masterpiece in a class of its own, there will never be another one...
And I don’t know whether that should make me feel sad or happy. 🥲
I loved the mystery, horror, scifi and fantasy hybrid that unreal built ! It's unforgetable !
This is a great breakdown of what made the original so important. I love both, but regret how the arena spinoff Unreal Tournament overshadows the original, and its underrated sequel. Excellent work, and needed now more than ever now that Epic is trying to erase the series.
Cheers, Indigo!
It’s crazy how little the original Unreal is talked about. The narrative of a glorified tech demo persists which undersells the true impact of this title on the industry.
I don’t know what Epic are trying to achieve, but it makes me happy to see so much of the community coming out in support. Perhaps now, as it’s threatened to be removed from gaming history, Unreal will be rediscovered and appreciated.
Na Pali awaits our return.
One of my all-time favorite games ever, always thought it was interesting that this game had some horror elements thrown in at times, like the beginning of the game and the first encounter with a skaarj always creep me out as a kid, and the fantasy level design meets science fiction really is just amazing, love the video🤘🤘
They clearly had a lot of fun crafting situations to scare and test the player. You can see the passion put into the game, the creative flair in the locations, encounters, weapons, and geometry. You can tell they were having fun, and it's becoming increasingly rare to *feel* that in a video game now.
Thanks so much for the comment! 👍
My friends pranked me with that first encounter with the Skaarj, let's just say I will never forget it. I will also never forget the first time I saw the game, I was blown away!
My friend did the same, the cheeky taffer 😂
The pupae always creeped me out, I found levels like the spire really tough because of them.
Thanks for the comment 👍
Amazing video! Thank you for your great retrospective and mentioning Unreal Redux ♥️
Take care and keep up the great work!
Thank you!
I can’t wait to explore Na Pali again with Redux, it’s going to be incredible. Unreal, even ❤️
@@HeyBlondieGamer Too bad it's still not out. I can't wait.
I have no doubt that the wait will be worth it.
I'm curious about this Unreal Redux as well. I'll be keeping my eyes out for it. If it's out before the 25th anniversary I'm debating whether to play vanilla unreal or go straight to redux. :D
@@NeilForshaw hey 👋🏻
Sadly I can’t manage to finish the projects till the 25 anniversary ☹️ 16 more maps have to be reworked 😞
But I keep going so you guys can experience it one day! 😃
"That's where the best stories are told: in your head"
This is what makes video games the greatest form of art in my opinion. Art is all about transformative experiences. Experiences that essentially happen in your head. Film and literature provide you stories that are meant to immerse you in such experiences, but video games are immersive by their very nature - by making you the protagonist. Thus the experience you get from a game is a reflection of your inner world. This creates a greater potential for introspection and transformation.
Video games will always struggle to be accepted in this light when all the public see is Call of Duty and Fortnite.
I think there’s also a clear delineation between telling a story and crafting one. The closer a protagonist is to a blank slate (nameless, voiceless, absence of agency or opinion etc), the easier it is for players to imprint themselves into an experience. Doubly so with open worlds and sandbox gameplay.
We have barely scratched the surface of what games are capable of.
@@HeyBlondieGamer Indeed, video games have a nearly infinite untapped potential. It's a shame that most people treat them simply as entertainment.
@4:42 one of the most mind blowing gaming experience in my life. That feeling.
That and the skaarj jump scare.
There’s not a single person who witnessed that moment back in the day who wasn’t fundamentally changed by it. Everyone knew what it meant. There was no going back.
I thoroughly enjoyed this return to NaPali! Was just thinking about how much I missed this franchise, so I'm definitely going to have to check out this Redux project too
It’s a shame that the entire franchise has been dropped. I can appreciate how hard it would be to create the ‘wow’ factor now, but Unreal doesn’t deserve to fade into the sunset. Epic have made it harder now that most of the franchise has been delisted from online stores.
I'm 33 so I was about 8 when this game came out. I didn't really know the technical side of things, but I knew I was looking and playing something that was paving the way for the future.
My neighborhood friend had it too and we used to do co-op all the time playing this game. Such a great adventure with so much awesome action and wonder.
Then unreal tournament came out. I was totally blown away by the fast paced arena twitch shooter. The music and sound effects were so iconic. So many Endless Facing Worlds CTF matches played and Deck 16 TDM matches.
I've played ever Unreal game because I just loved the series so much. Unreal and the expansion, Unreal Tournament, UT 2003 & 04', Unreal Championship 1 & 2 the third person one, Unreal Awakening, UT 3.
Tbh, I think Unreal Tournament 2004 was my favorite in the series. I absolutely loved that game so much. The music, the characters, the banter, the sound affects, the graphics, weapons, the maps and gameplay.
I wish Epic didn't abandon this franchise for Fortnite. Breaks my heart.
I just imagine what this series could be with todays technology and if they gave players a forge mode like Halo Infinite with custom games. It would be the King of shooters again and I probably wouldnt play anything else.
A man can dream.
Thanks for the nostalgia trip!
In terms of gameplay, UT2004 was my favorite too, I burned a lot of hours in that game.
I think that it’s safe to say that Epic has abandoned the Unreal franchise. There are some great mods being worked on which will revitalize it, but they are some way off. Fingers crossed that they’re finished one day.
Might be an excuse, but the lack of processing power to add more 'props' in scenes actually worked out for me back in the day... The whole game feels like a liminal space. That was very effective at drawing me in to the world that was UNREAL.
I agree for the most part. It made it much easier to draw attention to things and get players curious about the world.
I stayed with my Amiga for a very long time, Unreal wasn't the first game that made my jaw drop (Tomb Raider 1 and Carmageddon were) but I remember playing this with my shiny new 3DFx card and was blown away. Really great game.. Played it many times single and coop. Can't believe Epic removed the game from all digital storefronts, as in trying to erase the thing that made them what they are today. It's a piece of video game history, a legend that should be hold in great honor, not brushed under the carpet in favor of Fortnite and the epic store.
Couldn’t have said it better 👏
The fans will keep it alive, as they do for all games which publishers have left to the dusts of time.
I'll never forget the first time I saw that intro scene. Those reflections on the bridge in that fly-by made my jaw drop. (yeah, I'm old)
Great video!
It was incredible. And working your way through the game for the first time was an ongoing chorus of “wooow”s. Each level there was something new and impressive to see. And the colour palette…👌💯
Glad you enjoyed it!
This is really well articulated. You are a talented orator!
Thank you 🙏
An understated aspect of this game's significance - the sense of journey. Half-Life gets praised a lot for its "realistic", continuous approach to level design, where one level seamlessly leads into the next... but Unreal did this too. Even when it uses teleportation, it does so in a way that makes it clear exactly where you came from, and exactly where you went.
And there was nothing quite as epic as reaching the top of the Sun Spire, boarding that floating lift, reaching the floating town above the clouds, and realising how far you'd actually travelled continuously on foot.
A great observation! It did feel like this dangerous epic journey through hostile territory, something which could be tangibly measured in the environment itself. It was always exciting to see something in the far distance and know that you’d reach it soon.
The appreciation for this game is unfathomable, I love it as much too. Great vid.
Cheers!
I really enjoyed this video. This was the best advertisement and “love letter” for Unreal and all its glory, and your vocabulary is as poetic as the game’s own stunning visuals and immersion. Bravo! This game actually released the year before I was born and I got hooked on it thanks to my dad. I still play to this day on a Windows 11 gaming laptop, believe it or not (although some chicanery was required to retrofit these old Unreal series games to a modern machine and it’s not 100% without the occasional hiccup, but it works pretty well 98% of the time). I’m actually somewhat of a collector now and have every title from Unreal Gold to UT3 in the “big box” edition (Thanks, eBay!). This is a nostalgia and greatness which I will preserve forever. And thanks to the community’s endless creation of custom add-on campaigns, the journey never ends as I can always explore new adventures in a familiar world!
Thank you so much! 🙏
I wasn’t expecting so many people to find this video, but it’s heartening to know that you’re all out there and that you love Unreal as much as I did. Also, hats off to you for you seeking out and preserving the original copies, that’s something I should have done a while ago.
Wow, this is a game I grew up with. Now a greying, middle aged guy with all that nostalgia buried deep down somewhere, you helped me rediscover this game once again. Thank you, this review was beautifully written and narrated and you deserve more views on this one.
Thank you 🙏
There were so many watershed moments in this era of gaming as it rapidly evolved. I have nothing but fond memories of this time. I’m glad they resonated with you. It’s funny how the childlike sense of wonder for these experiences never dulls with time.
What an incredible video! Your analysis is spot on and highlights everything that made Unreal so memorable and amazing. It is such an underrated gem and it will probably be my most favourite game of all time. It reminds me of a simpler time, when games were far more exciting, imaginative and adventurous in their design. This was the Golden era, when games still had a soul. I was very fortunate to have grown up during the 90s and 00s. You got my sub, keep up the great work!
There was still a great deal of ‘theatre of the mind’ going on back then, usually due to hardware limitations, which has rarely been captured since.
They truly were simpler, amazing times, where every technical advancement wowed players, and large open spaces were jaw-dropping.
For the slew of new titles which hit the market, it’s always the old school originals that I return to.
I love this game and I love that it is still relevant today, thank you for keeping this master piece alive for other generations to enjoy
You’re welcome ☺️
Epic has shut down all of the Unreal games and removed them from all stores. They just did this recently.
Yes, and we still have no explanation as to why. I’m sure that the fandom will do what it needs to to ensure that players will always be able to find and play Unreal. 🏴☠️
I've never found any other game that feels the same way Unreal does. The atmosphere, the feeling of going on an adventure, and even though it's an FPS it lets you breathe and explore and take in the environments instead of being constant uninterrupted action.
I've seen games that have some of those qualities, but none other that embody them all together to the same extent as Unreal.
Unreal has always felt like one of a kind, a perfectly timed blend of technology and creative vision.
Imagine what could be done if the original Unreal was re-imagined with UE5 technology. That would be an amazing game. I was deeply in love with Unreal - that first time stepping out of the Vortex Rikers and staring in awe at the sky is a moment I'll never forget. Such an incredible game.
There’s the Unreal Redux project which is going to great lengths to modernize the visuals, add more clutter etc.
For a remake in the latest UE…that’s a dream worth dreamin’.
@@HeyBlondieGamer The fear I'd have is that by adding more prefabricated clutter, or updating the engine entirely, the beauty of the original level design would be lost. If you haven't seen the video about use of negative space in level design (one of the GDC talks, by one of the Epic level designers, discussing the success of CTF-Face)... he points out exactly why later titles (and indeed, later iterations of the same map) somehow didn't work so well, when visual detail increased; it's all about signal to noise, about contrast.
So I'd say the optimal path would be modernisation of the old engine, with some optional visual enhancements (like the optional addition of detailed real-time shadows in the Shadow Man remaster), but with a very careful and selective deployment of any additional visual clutter.
I agree with you to a large degree on this. I haven’t seen that GDC talk (I must watch more of those) but it’s absolutely true. Think about modern games and how they must highlight stuff now to catch the player’s eye thanks to all the clutter.
I’ve seen Krullor’s work and I think he’ll do a great job. Even if I agree with you about increased clutter 😉
@@HeyBlondieGamer Here's the talk in question - it's a really interesting one, given that it's a person at Epic basically admitting they got the design of a level wrong even when they were basically rebuilding the original:
th-cam.com/video/GZ99gAb4T0o/w-d-xo.html
Thank you, my friend, that’s greatly appreciated! The stuff I wish I had found before making this video… 😅
I remember looking at that waterfall and thinking how amazing it looked on my new PC back in 1998.
insanely underrated. keep up the good work mate!
Cheers, much appreciated!
Just started watching so I don’t know if you’ll bring it up, but unreal had an amazing software rasterizer that used dithering to achieve amazing visuals.
I know Quake and John Carmack always come up because he pioneered 3D rendering that laid down the foundation for 3D graphics cards, but unreal took it to the next level. Unfortunately, GPUs were popping up more and more that this went unnoticed.
I remember back in high school when I play Unreal for the first time, minimizing in and out of the game would sometimes cause the renderer to switch and the only way I could tell the difference was the graininess.
The music, graphics, environment… Unreal was a mood.
Man, I remember that effect, that aesthetic was a huge part of the visual charm. The difference between a software and hardware render was staggering at the time.
I don’t think Tim Sweeney gets nearly enough credit for pushing game development to the next level.
Creative Art direction, atmosphere, music, lighting...Unreal did it better than anything out there at the time! It was just a technical marvel unlike anything else! The Castle flyby is hands-down the most impressive thing I ever saw when it comes to gaming...it was just jaw-dropping to see it back in Summer of 1998!
These days I always have Unreal (amongst other classics from the time) installed on my PC...
That castle flyby. We must have stared at it for ages the first time we saw it.
Well-written and thoroughly enjoyable to watch, thanks. One of the greatest memories I have of PC gaming. :)
Thank you 🙏
The same for most here I imagine, an unforgettable experience.
I remember exiting vortex rykers ship and seeing the waterfall, thinking that "this is so real", in 90's that was the pinnacle of realism and I was like "graphics can't get better than this"...
I reckon everyone felt that way 😆
Spoken with a lot of passion and skill. Great job. I’ve never played Unreal but now I want to after watching your video.
Thank you, my friend. That means a lot ❤️
Man I come back here from time to time you do great justice to this master piece !
Thank you 🙏
saw your anomaly play through, and you do a review of unreal, one of the games from my childhood, you're either psychic or something else, also i'm a beta tester for GAMMA for anomaly, you should give it a try
Unreal is special to a lot of people, hopefully for at least some of the reasons in the video.
I have played GAMMA and love it! I’ll probably do a playthrough for season 3 on Blondefire.
Cheers for your support 🤘
I got this video recomended randomly, and what a wonderful thing I found. Your voice, the way you structure things and explain things, it's really soothing and informative, and your video was really complete. I'm glad I found you
Thank you, and thanks for taking a chance on my video! 🙏
I really like that someone gives the magnificent skybox of Unreal some credit.
One of the top things which spring to mind when I think of Unreal.
Unreal released at a time where imagination still played a key role in the gaming experience
Yes! This sentence is golden my dude, good job!
Thank you! 🙏
Prisoner 487 reminds me of Doomguy, both were designed to only be a vessel for the player, you are the protagonist, not the character in the game you control. Wish more games would do this, but in general, everyone got obsessed with pre-planned stories and hand holding these days. I do like the barren look of Unreal 1 more than the unrealistically over the top cluttered worlds we have today, Unreal 1 had way less visual noise to deal with.
The lack of clutter made everything else stand out more. Unreal’s vibrant palette and lighting did a lot of the heavy lifting.
I just watched Diablo 1 video, and to my surprise, you're author of this banger Unreal video too. Man, you just can't catch a brake.
I finished Unreal just now, and yes, it's magical at times, and very immersive. Glad I've experinced it.
I'll keep 'em comin' as long as people are watchin' 😄
Glad to hear that you enjoyed Unreal. It's harder to appreciate in modern day, I get that, but it was a huge leap for its time.
I played Unreal when it was given for free a while back, and I wondered why I'd never heard of it. It gave me the sense of wonder that Halo gave me, before Halo even came out.
I'm almost certain that Halo got its inspiration from the Unreal series. I truly hate to say that I hate what Epic games is doing to this franchise.
I’m glad it’s not just me that feels this way 😅
I wouldn’t surprise me if Bungie were taking notes. Mind you, they were already pioneering space with the Marathon trilogy and so were well acquainted by then. Check out my Marathon video for more on that story😁
brilliant video. a real "loveletter".
I am feeling the same towards Unreal.
This video is for the fans. I’m glad it spoke to you 😁
When I was younger I had a headcanon that the Stinger was an ore grinder with part of the grinding component removed, causing it to spray large jagged chunks instead of dusty gravel.
The barrel definitely has that ‘toothed’ look of crushing gears. I see it, that’s pretty cool head-canon.
I forgot about this game for the past 26 years, and wasn't reminded about it until 2024. Even after NEVER playing it or even seeing gameplay, something about Unreal has intrigued me to play it, despite how old of a game it is. Even with the Quake 1 and 2 remasters, I still find myself playing Unreal Gold over those, just because it was just that much more impressive, interesting, and I dare say, better of an experience to play in comparison.
It’s a curious timepiece that is unique, I’ve never seen a game replicate the original Unreal. I’d like to believe that this is why new players who never grew up with Unreal still decide to play it.
My favorite game. Level design with music has best atmosphere i have ever experienced.
It really is Unreal !
These were all my thoughts too. Beautiful, fascinating landscapes, and weapons that were all unique and memorable.
It’s almost an unspoken understanding among fans. Everyone who loved Unreal knew why, and knew how pivotal the game would be.
Your retrospectives are so enthralling, keep it up
Cheers, that’s much appreciated!
Thank you so much for reliving my teenage memories. And congratulations for the epic work in bringing this video friend.
Thank you! It lives among the cherished memories of many which is great to see.
Thank you for this in-depth look at Unreal. Learning how Tim Sweeney made his tech top notch while believing he's just imitating someone else is hilarious and fascinating.
Not what I expected to find when I began research for the video. Unreal innovated in many ways we didn’t see.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the video!
Outstanding video! Couldn't have asked for a more deeply detailed analysis of the game, and thoroughly entertaining to boot! And I especially loved the reenactments of true historical events. Really added a bit of authenticity to it ;) . Keep up the excellent work!
Thank you, my friend, much appreciated! This one was a true pleasure and a work of passion. Unreal deserves that at a bare minimum.
@@HeyBlondieGamer Especially considering how much it paved the way for arena shooters and even game development. A sleeper to be sure, but still a very important title.
First time coming across your channel and I really enjoyed this retrospective! You put it all into words really well and super coherently, loved having the music play throughout in the background too, instant subscribe as soon as I heard the "dramatic re-enactment 😂
Thank you, I’m glad it resonated with you 😁
Recently discovered this channel, was going to sleep but you had to upload a new video just before. Not that I'm mad cuz I'll still watch it fully.
Loved your older videos too btw
You get something nice to doze off to 😋
Thanks so much for the support!
Glad there are still new vidéos talking about Unreal 👍
I played with my pentium 166 MMX overclocked, 24mb ram and my 3DFX Voodoo. Love the music and ambiance. My favorite game with Quake 2 and Half Life in the end of 90's.
Finally somebody voiced my memories of this game, even if it was glitchy at the start, it was the best thing made me forget about quakes and half-lives
And still not replicated to this day which is criminal.
25 years ago, i played unreal,It was so great! The Sound, 3D, the Grafic. Very, very good! Luke from switzerland
Those were good times.
Thanks for the comment, Luke!🤘
Fantastic video dude, videos like this one where so much passion and hard work is put into it is the main reason why I bother to open youtube.
I can only pray they keep coming.
Thanks for the feedback! Comments like this go a long way to ensure they keep coming 👍
Unreal spawned Unreal Tournament.
Half life spawned Counter Strike.
Among us UT players it was understood that we could play UT on the main screen while playing CS competitivley with our feet navigating by sound only, because there wasn't much to look at in the fist place :D
Oh how i miss the constant teasing on lan parties. It was fun.
Lol, that’s fantastic. I wish we had thought of that for our lan parties 😂
Unreal for me was the first proper computer game I played back in the late 90s on my friends' computer. I still consider it as one of the best games I have ever played. I LOVE the music and the atmosphere of the game. Playing other games, I couldn't understand why they had a draw distance limit or "fog" when it was seemingly easy for Unreal to do it.
That accomplishment alone seems massively understated.
What a gorgeous, in-depth video about one of my favorite games. Thanks so much for this, was great to watch!
Thank you! I’m glad it spoke to you. I’ve haven’t stopped thinking about this game ever since I was introduced to it. The OST is part of my regular ‘concentration music’ rotation.
@@HeyBlondieGamer I find myself getting back to the OST every now and then as well, it's just too good! Hard to pick a favorite! My grandparents live on a beautiful island and when I was riding a bike there along the coast i was always listening to "Journey" / The Nagomi Passage (Day). Made such a cool atmosphere! Definitely going to remix that and some other songs in the future :) What are your favorites?
Wow, it’s tough to pick a favorite with so many great tracks. The one that hit me most, then and now, is the track titled ‘Hub 5’ (I think??) which plays in Harobed Village. I also love the Sunspire track. Both evoke that whimsical and mysterious feel that defines the Unreal experience, and I’m still hit with wonder over 20 years later when they play.
@@HeyBlondieGamer Oh yeah, gorgeous tracks! I especially enjoy Sunspire. Sometimes I wonder what the "identity" of Unreal's / Deus Ex' music is, they are truly special and I wish they'd make more music like that nowadays!
I wonder if it’s a property unique to the engine and the simulated instruments. It’s a shame that there aren’t more tracks composed this way.
A Brilliant work of scholarship blondie and a truly formative gaming experience! Wonderful memories.
Thank you, my friend! 👍
When Unreal came out I bought it and wasn't satisfied with the way it looked using my old graphics card, so I went out and bought a Diamond Monster 3D for that sweet 3D rendering. The same afternoon I went back and bought another, hooked them up as an SLI pair and was in heaven. Most expensive impulse purchases I've ever made, but I just had to see how good Unreal could look.
Totally worth it.
Wow, that’s dedication. You’re right though, totally worth it.
great video, nice job!
looking forward to your next video
Thank ya kindly 👍
I worked for Electronics Boutique when this was released. I remember getting a special shipment in on launch day and getting a lot of calls from customers looking for it. I picked up my copy at the end of my shift and went straight home to play. I think I spent the entire evening playing it and just being amazed at the graphics & environments.
And a strange and sudden illness overcame you which prevented returning to work for, ohhh, roughly a week? 😉
I love the buzz around game launches in brick-and-mortar stores. I was up early to pick up the CE of Doom Eternal and the area was packed with Doom and Animal Crossing fans alike. Despite the games being polar opposites there was a mutual respect and kinship in the air. The gaming community can be fantastic when it wants to be.
Yip. Unreal wowed me more than HL2. Played it again a few years ago and yes, the outside areas can look a bit spartan and blocky at times but the art of the game is timeless. Those skyboxes, flames ect... Also fighting the Skaarj still feels like playing a more modern game.
Oh and the music is God tier.... if there's a tier above that then... XD
Going to have to play through it again for the 25th anniversary in May. Can't wait. :)
Well put.
The music is one of the best examples of a game OST ever produced. Funny how most of my memories of Unreal are colour ed by the soundtrack.
You're not wrong about the algorithm with that joke; wish I'd seen this sooner! As a big fan of Unreal and the series in general, this video was incredible! I grew up with Unreal, UT99, UT2k3/4 on a hand-me-down PC, and even UC on the XBox!
bla bla bla. Stop watching videos about gaming and get out your favorite game patch it and start playing!
@@Puxi I have been playing a bit of 2k4 lately actually, and do intend to play through Unreal again :D
@@phoebedaemon Get all the achievements. I made some for you they are in the game. Check you steam.
The algorithm works in strange ways. It’s been promoting this video like crazy over the last couple of weeks which has been great for the channel.
2k4 was my go-to for blowing off steam. Good times.
I can't believe I just discovered this beautiful video now! The greatest game ever made, 'nuff said.
Too bad you're a month too late to get a legal copy of it ;(
Really great review you captured everything perfectly. One thing i think which would help is if you turned up the brightness in game just a tiny bit.
Cheers!
Yes, that was noted by many. I’ve taken it onboard as an improvement for future videos. Thanks for the feedback 👍
THE game of my childhood...I didnt know what my hardware back in the day was...But it ran the game and that mattered...It was awesome, also Online was fun. There was that server with realistic weapons...felt like Counterstrike before Counterstrike. 😅
I remember watching it run gorgeously on my friend’s kitted out gaming rig. Then I watched it run in low res software rendering on my potato 😂
Still an amazing looking game.
The voice logs not playing between levels in RTNP is indeed a glitch. Every level has a voice log at its end. If they aren’t triggering, you can try exiting the level a different way, such as lunging into it quickly, walking into it slowly, or even using ghost mode to approach the level end from behind. This is probably a result of the audio logs sometimes being triggered by a hitbox too small to always touch.
Good to have that confirmed, cheers 🍻
Well I’ll chime in with the nostalgia. Played this in my early teens and was blown away by the graphics and world. The scene at the beginning when the lights go out scared the crap out of me. Your first steps out of the ship, amazing.
I remember talking to my uncle (who was into gaming and who I got all those games from) and praising the atmosphere of Unreal. Then he told me that he’s got an even better game for me, which I refused to believe. That game was Half-Life and it blew my mind. Both such amazing titles.
There’s no reason for the 2 to fight. They both accomplished something different and groundbreaking in their own right.
amazing vidoe sir, is kinda rare to find unreal videos on yt
Cheers!
If ever there were a game which deserves more attention than it currently gets, it’s Unreal.
Unreal was the last game I ran on my 1996 Compaq. I got it in 1999 and it ran okay on my PC, as long as I put it in, like, 320x240 or so. It was very playable and I went very far into it before giving up because the game was too dark and I couldn't play at night back then. I also tried to play UT99 but it didn't perform as well as Unreal. Eventually I got a new PC and restarted playing Unreal for the first time, now on 1024x760, and damn, it looked amazing.
That leap in fidelity came to define Unreal. It was worth the effort to get it running well.
This was the first game I loaded up where It felt like I couldn't see the individual pixels on the screen. Of course that was because I had a voodoo 2 graphics card, but seeing that intro cinematic and it not looking like DOOM was mind blowing. Also that first scripted scene with the lights switching off, I had never seen anything that dynamic before. The Unreal Editor, it was so easy to use that an amateur with no mapping experience could create a rough map in the first night. Compare that to half-life, where it felt like you had to have a PhD to make a damn map in that thing.
The 3d accelerated graphics were something else. I wish I had got into UnrealEd, but my potato couldn’t handle it at the time.
A Marathon II reference? Nice! Unreal and Marathon are both favorites of mine for their rich atmospheres, different but similarly cosmic in scope.
It makes me happy when people get the references, well spotted 😄
Marathon is covered on the channel too. I’ll get to Durandal and Infinity sometime soon.
Great work. Subed :)
Thank you, that’s greatly appreciated 🙏❤️
well first video i see and i'm subscribing dude
Thank you! 🙏
Thanks for this video, it is really great. 👍 It is so long time, but Unreal is still my most favourite FPS game ever, it has an unbeatable atmosphere.
Glad you enjoyed it. I’m glad that it’s brought so many fans out in support, especially in light of Epic’s decision to delist the franchise from digital stores.
Don't worry, I understand your 'write the theme tune, sing the theme tune' reference 😂
Good documentary, sub'd
I knew someone would get it eventually 😝
Cheers, thanks for the support!
Thanks for the video! I admit I never really got much into Unreal, but I did buy my first gfx card for it (one of the early 3dfx ones, I think? It's been a bit) - and I remember how blown away I was by the gfx at the time, and especially the lighting effects. The exploration was fun (the mystery and lack of exposition would later draw me to the Soulsborne series, naturally ...), but I'm never been great with shooters, so I needed cheats to make it through the game. :D
That tracker OST though 😍😍
This is the game that sparked my passion in gaming and technology. No joke.
Sonic 2 was my very first game and I had played a ton of games that I absolutely loved but when I played Unreal it was on a level that practically stunned child me. Walking outside the ship for the first time had me in awe. I use to just look around, letting my imagination fly, and in the level skytown I use to just look over the endless edge at the other floating islands in the distance and come up with storys on what was going on in other places I wasnt in.
The expantion really did disappoint me though and the same people would make Unreal 2 so...ya.
I love the main game to its very core and its problems cant even dent my enjoyment of it. Its as perfect of a game as perfect can get for me.
There are many who feel the same way. The joke I put in the video about the kids fighting over the best video game was an abridged look at the way we used to jab each other about our preferred games back then. When Unreal dropped, everyone was in awe and there was no doubt that PC gaming had evolved. Unreal was and will always be a monumental game.
I played it when it came out so long ago (still do sometimes) and it's still one my all-time favorites.
It’s one of those games I can’t resist returning. No matter how old it gets, the magic is still fresh each time.
Funny fact - it runs perfectly well on today hardware (amd 7950x + nvidia 4090) on regular windows 11 install 🤷♂
You should do a video about DESCENT. There was a time in the mid 90's around 1995 when people thought it could be the future of gaming. It was an exciting time and a lot of fun. But then suddenly everyone rejected DESCENT because they couldn't handle six degrees of freedom, and there was basically never another game like it again. It really needs somebody to tell that story which has never been told.
Descent would be a fun and interesting study. Definitely worth considering that for future.
The ISV Kran trench, and the Sun Spire had me wanting to be a game developer for a long long while
They were amazing levels.
What a high quality documentary. Amazing!
Thank you, that’s very kind 🙏
All that nuance and polish given to the weapons continued in Unreal 2004. There's never been a FPS that has such perfect balance between different vehicles, and vehicle vs foot combat.
My group always gravitated to on-foot combat so I don’t remember much about the vehicles. The weapons did feel well balanced though.
Thank you for this video, I read the description and I'll watch it: I absolutely agree with what your wrote. Unreal was really put in a shadow because of the way Half Life revolutionised the way to think about FPS, integrating them with exploration, storytelling and puzzles; Half Life did so managing to keep a good balance between what the focus of the game was (shooting stuff) and the other aspects.
Unreal, however, was a beast of an FPS: perhaps it didn't have many puzzles or good storytelling, but graphic, the AI, the environments... Otherwordly for 1998!
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In broad strokes I reckon that Half Life did more to engage the player moment to moment, whereas Unreal allowed moments to linger and wasn’t afraid to leave the player alone with their thoughts. The massive environments went a long way to enhancing this effect.
Great video, incredible game.
Thank you!
So THIS is the "first game I never hear anyone talk about." I've only ever had vague ideas that Unreal was a story-driven (or at least story-containing) game that quickly ditched its single-player to become the leader of competitive multiplayer for a long time, so it was cool to see such an in-depth look at the entry nobody ever talks about. Also classic-Blondie to find plot in even 90's shooters, which is always the highlight of your videos for me.
Sorry if you covered this in the video or if it's an obvious question, but is the way Unreal was released what served as the basis for the first Unreal Engine? I imagine it would have to be, but I also anticipate that the first Unreal Engine sold to people was at least modified from how this game was released.
Games tell a story, even if unintentional, I find that this is just as interesting (and often amusing) as any delivered plot. 😁
The Unreal engine predated the final version of the game and grew out of Tim’s desire to provide an easier set of tools for James Schmaltz to use. Some companies liked how the engine was shaping up and they licensed it for their own games before Unreal was completed. Unreal was the first game built in UnrealEd, but the engine was constantly undergoing improvements. I think hardware acceleration would have been the biggest leap.
I always saved up the flak cannon for the tough enemies, and it always did the job.
Yeah, I think that’s what it’s for - the scrappy indoor fights against waves of enemies. That’s where it shines, when every piece of white-hot metal has a chance to shred flesh.
@@HeyBlondieGamer - It was also my default. If I suddenly got ambushed, I could always get out of it with an alternate fire to the chest.
Not to mention that it was damn fun to use.
This game was my Half-Life. I spent so many years with UnrealED that now, as a nearly 40 year old man, I kind of want to pick it back up. Seeing Nyleve Falls again takes me way the fuck back.
They were the best of times. The nostalgia will never fade.
@@HeyBlondieGamer This video was crazy detailed and I enjoyed the whole thing. I actually had no idea about the eightball having a focused-fire mode and it was *UNREAL* to learn a new thing about a game I thought I so extensively knew. I spent more time in UnrealED than I did in the actual game past a certain point. My grades at the time reflected this.
Unreal was full of secrets. Someone else posted a comment about shooting a Nali on a distant cross and getting a health boost from it. Crazy stuff.
A proper epic mega game 👍 when you first meet the Skaarj, with the lights going off one by one...
the only unreal is the quality of your video. You hit the nail why i love the aesthetics and atmosphere of these old games
Thank you, that’s very kind 🙏
Isn’t it funny that we’ve come full circle and the 90’s inspired aesthetic and design is in vogue again. Some memories never fade.
Wow, I'm impressed by the quality of this video, glad I found your channel! AH, I just realize it's longform content too! Great!
Edit: The humor is great too. Hopefully the algorithm joke ages poorly!
Hey, I’m glad to have you here, and thank you! I would love for the algorithm joke to age poorly. Let’s see if TH-cam is kind.
thing about unreal is that it was just that, unreal. that's how it felt and that is to this day the most unique experience.
The catchphrase said it all. They knew what they were doing.
@@HeyBlondieGamer I actually completed the SP campaign when I was about 20, although I first played the game at 12 and it still felt the same way as the first time I played it. might replay with redux.
Excellent video
Cheers!
26:44 no way , i missed that gosh, it would be so so useful decades ago
My friend clued me into this back in the day. I didn't believe him at first 😆
I still have it and I play it every now and then.