The Bizarre and Maddening RE Clone | Martian Gothic: Unification

Martian Gothic: Unification is one of the more fascinating survival horror titles I've played. For all the wrong reasons.
A fever dream feels appropriate in describing my experience with Martian Gothic.
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Martian Gothic is one of the many Resident Evil clones that popped up in the late 90s to early 2000s. Resident Evil on a Mars base is its unique spin. Martian Gothic is intriguing, engaging, plenty atmospheric with interesting ideas.
Of course, interesting ideas depend on the execution. Well, the execution of Martian Gothic is interesting, to say the least. Most of it is not positive.
Yet I can't help but be fascinated by Martian Gothic. Not in the sense that "it's so bad it's good". More about a small team biting off more than they can chew. They tried to write cheques they couldn't cash. Both from a figurative and literal standpoint - Martian Gothic would be the final game by developer Creative Reality. They shut down after its release.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Prelude
02:56 - Game Intro & The Three Amigos
06:23 - The Combat of Martian Gothic
08:15 - Limited Inventory Madness
11:37 - The Puzzle Logic of Martian Gothic
15:08 - The Near Game-Ender
16:03 - In Praise of Martian Gothic
19:57 - In Conclusion
Additional Footage:
• Dead Space
• Fear Effect
• Resident Evil 1996
• Resident Evil REmake
• Resident Evil 0
• Signalis
• Silent Hill 4
• Sweet Home
#martiangothic #boulderpunch #survivalhorror

[@BoulderPunch]

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[@smileyjayofficial2888]

Dead Space must have drawn so much inspiration from this game, from the monolith to the personal mission of one character, and even one of the creature designs is extremely similar to the necromorphs

[@brokefangmagepunk3685]

I said the same thing when I requested this year's ago lol

[@garrettsmith4034]

I'm glad you brought that up. The first time I saw a review of this game, dead space and event horizon vibes were aplenty.

[@chaoshock]

Not to mention the literal marker at 0:50

[@Henskelion]

This game was one of the most frustrating Ross' Game Dungeon episodes to watch, since you could see little moments of brilliance in the atmosphere and creepy scifi setting peaking through all the disgustingly awful gameplay.

[@tedytarrify]

Yeah I saw the Ross Game Dungeon episode. I had trouble following his video which was likely a reflection of the game rather than the KZbinr.

[@KneeCapHill]

90s gaming in a nutshell

[@judyhopps9380]

Mikeneumonic and Supergreatfriend did great LPs of it. They both suffered

[@dollenrm]

@@judyhopps9380 supergreatfriend? Is that name as blatant rip off of super best friends (orig two best friends play) as it sounds? Lol

[@judyhopps9380]

@@dollenrm no he's a very dry and sarcastic LPer. Does a great 100% run of forbidden siren 1 and 2 as well

[@PunkRJH90]

I always remember seeing this game in bargain bins. The thing that stuck out to me was the cover art. It's just so odd.

[@BoulderPunch]

So memorable.

[@MegaRazor619]

Isnt it the three of them combining into the flesh beast?

[@lucascoval828]

@@MegaRazor619 Yes.

[@wavefile1674]

Yo me too. I also see this game on game magazines back in the day promoted as good "cheap" games. Never had the chance to play it though lol

[@bandicootbrawl9674]

​@@wavefile1674yeah these 2001-2003 PS1 games were something else Cheap, broken, uncanny and weird as hell

[@giftedfox4748]

You said Kenzo is pretty bad, but I love his lines and how they are delivered. Sure it is unnatural but I feel those lines deep into my soul.

[@d-d-i]

To me, Kenzo feels like someone who has limited emotional skills, as he's spent so much time with Infomesh systems. That's why his delivery is so emotionless. He could be even autistic person, which can make him likely very good with using such virtual reality spaces.

[@kaminekoch.7465]

Kenzo's voice actor was an amateur and the way he delivers his lines was actually voice director's decision. Unlike Karne, Kenzo stays consistent throughout the whole game, even though he probably has most of the lines, considering his interactions with M.O.O.D.

[@RyoCanCan]

Imho Martian gothic is one of those games that deserve a reimagining. The story is good, the environment is well done, it just falls flat on so many little things that bug people insanely hard.

[@Canada407]

Mike Nnemonic is who introduced me to this over a decade before Ross did a video on it. Good guy to watch an LP on

[@Aria-Mirazaer]

Same! I rewatch it every now and then

[@JaneAudron]

Always found this game interesting and, in a way, would love to see a proper remake with lots of love. Also Kenzo is supposed to come off as detached due to being an infomesher. Forgot if an audiolog or one of the computers explains repeated info meshing can lead to one becoming detached from people and the world.

[@cigoLxeL]

Apparently the VO director intended for that, but I have a sneaking suspicion they just wrote the "infomesher" bit into the story because they didn't want to pay union scale for real actors.

[@Shenaldrac]

@@cigoLxeL yeah. It's like how in Deus Ex, the lead dev has said that JC was supposed to sound monotone because he's not supposed to be a character, he's supposed to be an avatar for the player or something like that. And as great a game as Deus Ex is, I can't help but feel like that's a load of crap, trying to make it sound like bad VA was something intentional. JC not reacting in any way to things that _should_ provoke some kind of emotional reaction certainly doesn't make me feel immersed and think about what the game is saying, it pulls me out and makes me feel like I've just hit a road bump.

[@cosmicparsec9463]

I met this "Resident Evil in space" in 2019 and the mechanics of switching characters in real time reminded me a little of GTA V haha

[@ClaymoreClay101]

I have to say, the cover art for this game is some of the coolest I've seen for a game.

[@ericrhodes5174]

They are all trapped in the same space suit, screaming to get out!

[@banks3388]

0:55 you can't tell me that Dead Space didn't steal this...

[@anthonykarnes6804]

It's the marker!

[@Jiren261]

I played this way back in the late 90s on the PS1, had absolutely no clue what to do.

[@PerceptionVsReality333]

I had it for PC.

[@docsaico]

YAY! I love this bonkers game, so glad you covered it!

[@paulcorvans5767]

There's one game I think you should take a look into, Koudelka. Also for PS1, it's a survival horror JRPG. I think you're gonna enjoy it, it's pretty good

[@Cybershroom]

Koudelka is great, best voice acting on psone hands down.

[@endymallorn]

You mean Shadow Hearts 0?

[@CrimsonCrux]

The sheer production values that went into that game alone were fascinating. Being Welsh, it was also intriguing reading about the production team coming to Wales to study the history, architecture, the people and how they moved and recording things like the footsteps on site at ancient churches and castles. I rarely see that level of passion in a game anymore, so I'm looking forward to the spiritual successor Penny Blood.

[@PerceptionVsReality333]

That's a good one & a forgotten gem. 💎

[@lordsofkobol7385]

Can't say I am surprised there's not much information on the game breaking bug occurring on PS1 as most players would never have got far enough in to find it. And that's NOT a balloon he's inflating, it's a space hopper, which is even more ridiculous. Look it up, it's something everyone would have recognised back then but are a thing of the past now.

[@xarityfan4370]

I LOVE this game. It's got its weird charm about it (but playing it is a pain though)

[@cpin6953]

Remember buying this on a recommendation from a game store worker a couple years back when I first started collecting. I played for the first hour and got frustrated and have not touched it since, honestly it is a good game if you’re itching for some lesser known survival horror from back in the day.

[@the_real_Kurt_Yarish]

This game was my brother and I's first exposure to Resident Evil-like survival-horror games. Interesting atmosphere and writing, but we never got further than maybe 20-25% of the way through the game. Too obtuse for young kids with no internet access.

[@RyanLeCocq]

I feel like MG:U is the final point on the road of “you love survival horror and can’t pass up one with a good premise, even if you’ve heard it sucks 100x over.” Like Rule of Rose or Koudelka will reward you with a mostly playable flawed game for your curiosity. Martian Gothic is like barely completable at all on PS1 and nearly impossible on PC. But it’s like that Ghosts of Mars SH you always wish for.

[@rylands4289]

Omg i just finished your vtmb vid essay! So excited

[@TheLegendaryTashy]

This game was insanity and the moment I had to use a toilet brush to scrub vents I fell in love

[@Mahrooby]

that was such an amazingly accidentally brilliant bullshit moment too, not only slapping a timer on you working out a janky puzzle, but also activating an entirely new set of enemies that even show up in previously safe areas, the game just cranking every screw it had down as hard as it could, just amazing.

[@goranisacson2502]

I own this game due to finding it cheap, but have never actually played it. This one sentence may have convinced me to prioritize it.

[@ubercomrade]

The big hook of this game was that it was only 10 bones when it was released.

[@lztrfilms8250]

I've tried finishing this game countless times and it's one of those games where I'm wondering if it's possible to beat it without a walkthrough. This game is INSANELY difficult and it's one of those games where you can't just play, do other things and come back to it in a few days because you WILL get lost and you WILL forget what you are supposed to do which will screw up your playthrough. It has some good ideas tho.

[@silassnell1815]

I still remember laughing my ass off at the Game Informer Super Replay of this game.

[@Modenut]

+2 internets for the Offspring reference

[@TheSchnisshaller]

Nice. Love your game choices...👍👍. Almost forgot about this one...

[@kappinr-m80s23]

Thanks for this review! I've been having a strange fascination with this game as of late. There's a horror aspect in this game that I especially love. It's when you have a radar or something of the like and you identify a simple graphic representing something in another room or out of line of sight. You don't know what it is or what it looks like. All you know is that it's there and it's heading toward you. That gives me chills.

[@steelcurtain187]

This is an interesting one. Thanks for covering!

[@rileytimes]

Absolutely loving your videos

[@Poet482]

It's an interesting game. Just found my copy while I was unpacking boxes yesterday, actually. Sounds like one of those games that I'm glad exists, but I dunno if I'll ever feel much desire to actually pop it in and try it out.

[@btccoins5514]

this game was so confusing that I had to print out "text" walkthrough of this game. Walkthrough pages were like +50 pages

[@CommanderHerps]

Been binging your videos man all great stuff 🙏

[@markobrbor3503]

Man you really got a raw deal playing the ps1 version. The pc version looks, sounds and plays a lot smoother and better.

[@batzgameguru]

this game has a spot in my heart, I remember I got this game just before I left Canada to go to Vietnam for vacation

[@R-SXX]

How was Vietnam?

[@joaoalbuquerque3171]

Great video!

[@modman287]

Is it bad that I think the trimorph is a cooler concept for a monster than the two headed brute from Callisto Protocol?

[@jjdelany8130]

Fear effect is a game of love to see modernized, it was such a unique plot

[@ethribin4188]

Honestly... Having to actually do the horror trope of splitting up, because if you get to close, you'll both turn into a morph, is actually a great story reason to split up. Instead of people giving stupid reasons like "we'll cover more ground"

[@RPC87]

When my local rental store went out of business this game was $4. I was a kid and internet was not available to me. I never made it past the first 30 min. Thanks for putting yourself through this so I didn't have to

[@figuringitout7366]

Man, surprised Avalanche didn't cover this in his RE-likes marathon.

[@johnnybensonitis7853]

I actually just finally discovered Ross pretty recently, even though I watched his Games As A Service = Fraud vid a few years back. Turned out I had been missing the best gameplay-type vids on KZbin! I love it when a creator I enjoy reveals liking another creator who I also enjoy. I'm not entirely sure what connections my ape brain makes for this effect but no point in questioning the magic of science!

[@wurm4676]

Ahhhhhhh, I member those Martian Mayhem 2 audio clips. I laaaaaaaughed. Even tried holding all the keys it prompts to see if it did anything - it does not. This one and Nocturne are the 2 non-Res games of that era I really enjoyed despite the incredible JANK.

[@robsmall6466]

Looks good. Miss games such as this being released on a regular basis

[@flutebasket4294]

Great hidden (flawed) gem here

[@Helicopters_in_Caves]

I‘ve searched for this game maybe 15 years. A classmate showed it to me but I only remembered that it played on another planet and the item swap system 😅 thank you, for the releave! 🥰

[@flyingninja1234]

This happens to be one of my favorite survival horror games.

[@Sammo212]

I never played this but I remember advertisements for this game being everywhere. That cover is one of the most recognizable to me and that's still weird.

[@Kindlesmith70]

0:53 Hey! You've just named many of the Resident Evil issues!

[@VincentMaslowski]

Don't forget the 'PHANTASM' theme knockoff playing at the main menu

[@cheezburgrproduction]

Thanks for recommending Ross game dungeon never heard of him but that was a good hour spent

[@GloriousGrunt]

As a kid I could never get past the hotel corridor area, the bed zombie freaked me out too much

[@nupraptorthementalist3306]

Couldn't play it through, but great atmosphere. Especially nostalgic.

[@tarnetskygge]

The fact they called these Martian monsters "Tri"morphs feels like a little nod to War of the Worlds.

[@Rick_Dixon]

7:06 looked like the zombie just wanted to give you a great big hug

[@LilyoftheLake14]

18:50 "IT'S AS$ LICKIN' TIME!!!" I thought I was just hearing "lickin'," either cause I wanted to hear it, or because the guy who said the line said "lickin'" as a joke and no one caught it or something like that lol. Then, I replayed the part of this video with the line & looked closer. I finally noticed there are small subtitles that I completely missed the 1st time; and the line IS ACTUALLY "It's as$ lickin' time"! LmAo! 😆

[@Lava91point0]

I remember years ago, I had a new Playstation magazine, it was a special bumper edition. Men in Black hadn't long been out, and Resident Evil 2 had just been released, with a massive guide inside including maps and secrets etc, and there was a section that was looking at another new game on its way, donned the "Resident Evil in Space" now I don't know if it was the initial planned version of this game, but it had soldiers and there were zombies. This is the closest thing to that game I've ever found, I cannot find anything else on it. The title was something like "Spice force 5, or space force or something". But this could be that game

[@medicman4444]

heck i have this somewhere just never played it when i was a kid

[@daultoncutlip706]

OH MY GOD, THIS IS THE GAME. when i was 7 i saw my brother play this game, if i remember correctly or not, a skeleton came to life (aka the first enemy or something like that) i screamed and ran out into the other room and my heart kept pounding for 7 minutes whilst i was hugging "daddy" to calm myself down

[@qew_Nemo]

These people have no taste, Martian Mayhem II is clearly an underrated cult classic!

[@ashleydolin4292]

I bought them game when it came out and never played more than an hour of it. The story seemed like it was gonna go somewhere but I wasn't about to see through it.

[@howes1960]

That was a great game. One of the first I played.

[@steelcurtain187]

You gotta keep em separated 🎶

[@Zillion3170]

Holy crap, I totally forgot about this. I still have a copy for the ps1!

[@fmsyntheses]

Very charming survival horror jank.

[@Bgdk]

I remember playing sooooo long ago and getting pissed off because I didn’t know what to do

[@joaogrrr]

They didn't bite more than they could chew, they dislocated their jaw and kept munching until they broke their maxilar.

[@diamondhamster4320]

Rosses summary of this game flaws is perfectly highlited in the first few minutes of this video.

[@damonblade3195]

Basically this game was 90's point and click Deadspace before Deadspace was cool.

[@diablorojo3887]

Played last year, is the case of "great consent with not enough budget/time" that curse 2 generation of consoles

[@Picaresca]

Some things of that game remind me to Resident Evil 0.

[@anthonykarnes6804]

Great game!

[@WhatHoSnorkers]

I read the walkthrough in the PlayStation magazine so bought it. And got stuck at the Trimorph in the doors, at which point I gave up. Interesting world building though.

[@lordsofkobol7385]

Is that the first corridor? Coz if so, I did the same.

[@WhatHoSnorkers]

@@lordsofkobol7385 Yeah. I managed to kill one with the weed killer, but the first time you meet an awake one? Couldn't get away from it, couldn't get past it. Shame. Nice ideas...

[@Darc-uhTealGEEMUrr0vDamezsz026]

Stay Alone , Stay Safe””] reminds mi ov Splinter’s speech 2 Raphael about anger

[@jonbourgoin182]

I was heavily into this genre back then so I'm a bit surprised I've never heard of this one. You should check out and review Galerians for the PS1 sometime. It's another Resident Evil clone but with psychic powers instead of guns.

[@craigrivers82]

"I get knocked down but, I get up again. You're never going to keep me down" - Chumbawamba

[@AvalancheReviews]

I'm sorry you had to do this to yourself....

[@BoulderPunch]

Overall, I'm glad to have checked it out, issues aside.

[@lorenzorobles5626]

6:33 you ain't ever gonna keep me down

[@billtrent6520]

2:06 I thought saw Ross play this before its a intresting game I'll say that much.

[@Cold_Zero_The_Wise]

I'd really like to see you do a video on Vigil: The Longest Night it certainly underrated and underloved

[@selfshocker6468]

Despite all the drawbacks we should do credit to the developers for the plot, the base design, the number and difficulty of puzzles, a few unique features never met in other games of the kind (ex. vacuum tube). I first played this game on PS1 in distant 2003, now I have a world record speedrun and I should mention the fact that the more you play - the more you like the game, the more you undestand that all the corridors, zombie and vac-tube locations, items and puzzles are just thoroughly thought out. The only thing that a sober person may not do in this game is the puzzle with two switches in the Kremlin - it just contradicts the game main directive "stay alone - stay alive" and physics)) Nevertheless, one of my favourite survival-horror game ever!

[@Sentientmad9m]

I’m wondering if the trimorph in the vent issue has to do with processor speed on emulation. Doubt you’d wanna go back through and test but limiting the clock speed might solve the issue.

[@SlamHannigan]

Just came here to say this. It handily explains why the issue is present on PC and emulated PS1, but presumably not on the original PS1 version. The PC version of Assassin's Creed Brotherhood has similar issues, where timed or "be faster than the AI" segments are rendered impossible because the timer is tied to clock speed. The only solution was to change the game's CPU affinity to only utilize one processor core as opposed to all sixteen.

[@tarnetskygge]

I thought this too, either the processor speed or unlocked framerate are probably to blame

[@aserosiris]

I remember buying this for like 5 bucks on my way back from Jr high and I loved and hated it lol.

[@robeyhairston3298]

Sounds like that bad in game video game was a parody of resident evil

[@minichou]

the cover kinda reminds me of i have no mouth and i must scream vibes

[@1219stiles]

My step dad got an illegal copy when he came back from traveling, knowing I love horror games. But all I got was hours of frustration as a kid

[@samz8691]

I only played a little bit of this but would like to actually finish it sometime.

[@gregorymifsud5389]

lmao ... i like the way you screamed ... groovy. Gotta admit this dialogue trumps re1 albeit it feels intentionally sarcastic.

[@Hugo_Tate]

i mean, the bathroom looked really cool...

[@caseygoddard]

Good analysis. I'm especially glad you highlighted some of the goofier aspects of the storytelling. Overall, it's a terrible game, but there are a few gems tucked in with all the garbage. For example: "I'll not survive to hear midnight's chimes. The bad dream has come true." Keep in mind when the player hears this audio log they're down in the Necropolis, vast and cyclopean, with what sounds like synthesized pipe organ music playing in the background. It's such a great bit of audio design. Also, Martian Gothic really earns its title when you meet that ghost of a man buried out on the surface and he says: Soft and slow, we are flowing back like sand, like time, back to the beginning I am the first, reborn of the red soil Come with us, down into the dust and rise again, transformed.

[@olegd3860]

never managed to finish it when I was a kid, too scary(

[@Calculon1712]

Creative Reality also developed the game Dreamweb, which came out in 1994 on the Amiga and PC.

[@sgt_lensky]

Omg I remember playing this game as I was like 6-7 years old and it scared the shit out of me during the first cut-scene. I was playing Spyro and Crash Bandicoot ever since.

[@sgt_lensky]

And while I wouldn`t play it again today, I would definitely play a modern remake of it.

[@kosmosyche]

I gotta say, I played it around the time it came out (circa 2000) on PC and back then I thought that despite it's many flows it was a good game overall. Not a classic, not a masterpiece. Just a good game in a niche genre. I wonder, what I would think now? lol Some games look and feel good there in then - in a historical context, but won't stand the test of times. This is one of those games, probably.

[@59thsurvivorofvhs]

"GHOST OF MARS!" 2001 John Carpenter ripping off little known video games lol This game out before it 2000. That movie was going to named "Escape from Mars" in honor of Snake Plisken, Escape from NY and LA. ICE CUBE and Natasha Hensdridge (Species)

[@cigoLxeL]

And _Ghosts of Mars_ totally fucking sucks, just like this game.

[@flying1dead155]

Call me a "techno zinn hippie " but I remember this game bieng the most infuriating and difficult thing to play .

[@jashloseher578]

I never played this game, growing up, but damn, if that cover art didn't stick with me from the very first time I saw it on shelves.

[@senditall152]

ohh I bought this game back in the game. (Sadly did not finish it)

[@MrDrCthulhu]

I don't know if this game "deserves" a remake, but I'd definitely love to see one. Interesting, but flawed, I could see it turning out really well if it were adapted into something new.

[@michaelstark8720]

I personally love backtracking in games. RE1, RE2 and RE3 Nemesis did that excellent. Conquer the place you're in, not the enemies only. I hate when games just go forward like RE4. Entire RE4 story with discount Palpatine(Sadler) and some plagas parasytes is joke. Better that RE4 was about hunting down Umbrella Higher Ups that we never got. And no RE4 don't deserve any awards like being first with dumb camera work etc... If first most revolutianary things get credits, then every first game in some genre would be considered the best

[@deeayenn]

Mad as a box of frogs...