Here are some gameplay details:

• Mikami is aiming for "the perfect balance between horror and action"
• Aims to have an "air of mystery" instead of thematic twists
• Main character is called 'Sebastian', he is a detective
• His partner is called Joseph, and the two are joined by a female detective referred to as 'Kid'
• Viewpoint is from over Sebastian's shoulder
• The development team is "paying a lot of attention to the theatrical and cinematic aspects" of the game
• In terms of controls, they want the game to feel scary and cinematic, but the controls shouldn't impact flow or be cumbersome
• The Evil Within is developed using a heavily modified version of id Tech 5 which the game's art director calls "Tango-stylized"
• Player movement plays an important part in survival. Sneaking and crouching may be necessary when monsters are nearby.
• The variety of motions and animations change depending on whether enemies are nearby nor not
• The Evil Within's producer thinks it's much harder to scare people these days, so Sebastian has been created as an everyman. Players are meant to identify with him, which makes it more immersive.
• A "Butcher" brandishing a chainsaw chases Sebastian. He can uses things in the environment, such as glass bottles, to distract enemies.
• The first part of the demo takes place in an asylum, followed by a brief section in a hospital.
• The second part skips to an outside area, as Sebastian moves towards an abandoned cottage.
• The Evil Within has a minimalist HUD. Items that can be interacted with a denoted with on-screen prompts. On the screen is a small health bar and, when a weapon is drawn, an icon indicating ammo,
• Players will have "appropriate types of weapons with a limited amount of ammunition to get them through"
• The standard enemies in The Evil Within are zombie-like, shambling types.
• Progression through the cottage is linear, but it is promised the game will open up. The Evil Within is a mixture of "narrow, confined spaces and larger, wide open spaces"
• The areas are designed to make players feel claustrophobic, then provide relief through open areas. The cycle is repeated over the course of the game, with enemies appearing in unexpected ways and places.
• In the demo, an enemy wave that moves very much like Resident Evil 4's Ganados are defeated with a mine trap. Sebastian lays the mine by a door, the rest are dispatched with a handguns. The enemies attempt to break in through the window.
• At one point the environment shifts, changing its layout. Before Sebastian can get his bearings, a wave of blood crashes down the corridor, similar to the elevator scene in The Shining.
• Sebastian wakes up at the asylum. The inspiration for the shifting environments was cited as The Winchester House
• Another enemy shown in the demo is described as "a giant, multi-legged, multi-armed wraith". It emerges from a fountain of blood and moves quickly towards Sebastian.
• Mikami ends the demo by saying "If players say 'I haven't played a game this scary in a while,' that would make me the happiest.

So what do you think?

It certainly sounds intriguing. I'm a bit disappointed that it went more Resident Evil than Amnesia. Of course, there was never really any indication of it going any other way with Shinji Mikami at the helm, it's just that I don't find games that are combat-heavy very scary. It's way too easy for my game-saviness to kick in and start viewing enemies as targets rather than things to be scared of. That said, the stealth aspects are promising in that they should help counteract that tendency if used correctly. As is the environment shift: that's an excellent way of keeping players off their feet.

But I really want to see it in motion before I'm convinced. RE's main flaw has always been the controls for me - I've heard good things about that aspect for EW, but I'd like to see it firsthand..

In any case I'm very interested in seeing what next-gen platforms could do for the genre.

so RE4?

While I can tell they're trying to let down the pure horror crowd down a little gently, pointing out that yes there'll no doubt be a good source of action, but I'm not wavered in my excitement. If they keep to their word that ammunition is scarce enough so you can't wilfully just go around popping heads ala RE4/RE5, then this'll be a fine survival-horror experiment. I've long said that the controls needn't hinder the player too much so as to create the oppressive atmosphere required, and the possibility of forcing player to go all stealth-like against certain monsters sounds perfect for creating a lot of tension. It certainly sounds like this game'll have its very own Nemesis/Pyramid Head to haunt Sebastian through the game.

I'm also really happy to see that it'll be playing around with some psychological horror sort of motifs, too. I always love it when games mess with your head like that and alter the environment and so forth.

I am down for this.

Sounds good, although I hope to god that it actually controls well.

I am going to absolutely love this. I'm tired of all those indie horror games that spew out every week. Sure, some of them are hidden gems... but its just been to long since we've seen an actual development team work in the horror genre. Dead Space 3 and RE6 do not count.

Sounds like I've played it before.

I love that he just named it as a synonym for Resident Evil.

@brodehouse: Hah, good point! Didn't even think of that. Although the Japanese title is" Psychobreak", so it's more Bethesda's doing than Mikami's.

I am actually looking forward to see the video of the demo that Mikami is talking about.