Survive in Catacombs
Mod for Half-Life (1998) | Category: Total Conversion
Author: Roman Rynda Jr. | Curator: Modbadger
Mod for Half-Life (1998) | Category: Total Conversion
Author: Roman Rynda Jr. | Curator: Modbadger
Survive in Catacombs is a total conversion of Half-Life in the survival horror genre. The game's action unfolds in an alternative reality of World War I, where players encounter sinister catacombs filled with zombies and other supernatural creatures.
Localizations:
Localizations:
The mod is localized into 1 language
(You don’t need to download anything extra to play in these languages)
The plot of Survive in Catacombs tells about catacombs beneath a small monastery near Poltergeist Castle, also known as "Satan's Castle," where archaeologists discovered a book that was still considered cursed — the "Book of the Dead." One of them, having translated its texts, awakened a dark magical force that caused paranormal phenomena in this area. Everything around changed, and evil forces will not allow anyone to escape...
You are archaeologist Sylvester Landmann — you come to the crypt for your colleagues just when it's already too late. The invasion of the world of the dead has begun, and this place has changed beyond recognition, the retreat paths are blocked, and the only way to survive is to send the monsters back to their graves!
Survive in Catacombs is inspired by They Hunger, which manifests in the visual style and approach to creating enemies, but stands out due to unique weapon models, as well as diverse sound and visual effects.
The gameplay combines level exploration with intense combat: there are very many enemies, which makes encounters dynamic and challenging. Maps are distinguished by their length and variety, although sometimes you can notice repeating textures and simple architecture. The atmosphere is supported by thoughtful details, including lighting, environmental elements and story scenes, creating a sense of immersion in the modification's world.
Despite its strengths, the mod has technical problems: sometimes you can encounter bugs leading to crashes on certain levels, as well as the absence of English voice acting in the original version. Some aspects, such as weapon balance and controls, leave much to be desired, but these moments are compensated by the creative approach to design and atmosphere. However, much of this was fixed in the mod's remaster Survive in Catacombs: Relit.
Overall, Survive in Catacombs is quite an attractive project for Half-Life fans and survival horror enthusiasts, which offers an interesting adventure with great attention to detail.
How to install a mod Survive in Catacombs
Extract the Catacombs folder and place it into the root directory of the game.
Launch the game, go to the Change game menu, and select the mod.
Play!
To avoid entering the "Change game" menu every time you start the mod, you can:
Option 1: Launch via shortcut
Go to the properties of hl.exe and in the Target field (for example: "D:\Games\Half-Life\hl.exe") add a space and then write -game followed by the name of the mod folder in the game root directory. It should look like this: "D:\Games\Half-Life\hl.exe" -game mod_folder_name
Apply the changes.
Launch the mod using this shortcut.
Option 2: Launch via Steam
Open Steam, click on the "Games" menu > "Add a Non-Steam Game".
Browse to the game folder and select hl.exe.
A shortcut will appear in your library.
Right-click on it, select Properties, and in the "Launch Options" field write the full path to hl.exe (for example: "D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Half-Life\hl.exe") and add -game plus the mod folder name after a space. It should look like this: "D:\Games\Half-Life\hl.exe" -game mod_folder
