The Evil Within sets the new current standard for the pure survival-horror genre .
I came into The Evil Within knowing almost nothing about it , other than "It's the new Shinji Mikami game " ! Which got me excited , especially for a long time survival-horror fan like myself . Tango Gameworks is Mikami's new dev team published by Bethesda . He is responsible for groundbreaking horror games like Resident Evil 1 , 2 , and 4 . He also helped make fun-ass games such as Devil May Cry , Viewtiful Joe , Vanquish , and Shadows of the Damned . The Evil Within never previewed well to the public eye coming from very skeptical critics . Most of which ended out handing positive reviews for the game , post-release . So with all that out of the way let's get to how I felt about it ...
I was blown away by the overall experience of The Evil Within in the end , more or less so . The main reason being how pure of a survival-horror game it is(at least from the start) .It has many little frustrating flaws which at the end doesn't hurt the game in a meaningful way . In my humble opinion , this IS what the genre should be . It's the new standard to modern day horror games . Sure , there's other games in the genre that scare in a different way but are terrifyingly excellent . Games like Amnesia and Outlast . The Evil Within is more action packed tense and doesn't rely on jump scares(which there are still in the game) .
You start off with your group in the game , Detective Kidman(which is voiced by the awesome Jennifer Carpenter !) and your buddy detective Joseph Oda . And you play as the somewhat boring, lifeless protagonist Sebastian Castellanos . You are on your way to investigate an innocent in a large mental hospital . And from the there shit gets nuts ! You eventually meet other characters/villains in the game . But I won't get too much into the story of the game . All you need to know is that it's an weird yet intriguing psychological horror thriller . The story at times doesn't make much sense , but that's the beauty of it . And in the end , wraps up pretty nicely with some obvious questions yet to be answered . Though it may stumble at times , so don't take it too seriously . I just hope to God that it sells well and we get a franchise out of it :D
The combat is a third-person Re4 style shooter . Every shoot counts in The Evil Within , so aim and think wisely . For there are scarce resources . The game play , while buggy and unpolished , is pretty satisfying . It starts off slow introducing you first to the stealth and melee combat system , which again isn't very fun or polished . But luckily you don't need to use them all too much . There are well designed traps for you and the enemies to use(such as spikes and flying arrows) , so be sure to use that as much as possible because again , ammo is pretty scarce . Oh there are green gels lying around the game that are used to upgrade ablities and weapens . So, scrounge around for those amongst other items like collectibles and other obvious items for your survival needs ! Okay the gun play ... It's a very little improved version of Resident Evil 4 . You have in the game a handgun, shotgun , sniper rifle ect... Also a very smart,stratigic crossbow full of many various ammo types such as fire , ice , flash , electric , and explosive mine bolts . You can pick up or make all these different kinds of bolts by disabling many types of traps in the game . O did I mention there are devious traps and explosives all over this game . Yeah , watch out and play smart it ain't a cakewalk .You will die a lot . I warned you !
The enemies and game play can seem a little unfair and off-putting at times , but trust me the stand-out level design and pacing of the game is top notch and does an incredible job of helping you forgive all these minor game play flaws . Seriously , that's the most damn impressive thing about this game is how the scenario and environments change and your constantly doing somewhat different things . Whether it's puzzles , chase scenes , solid boss fights , waves of crazy varied enemies , and my favorite ... Slow , creepy dark levels where your so tense you don't wanna keep going cause you never know what's going to happen . Because there's an insane person who wants you and everyone else dead and will throw anything your way to get the job done . It's amazingly well put together even if there are noticeable flaws in the execution of the the game play and seemingly unfair fights . Oh , the sound effects are worth mentioning . It's very well done and disturbing , and the graphics/art design are pretty solid and disgustingly bloody too ;D
I ended up finishing the game around the 16-hour mark , and I plan on playing more . There is definitely replay value , so don't worry about not getting your money's worth .I applaud the 'king of survival-horror' Shinji Mikami .He does a fine job of pulling the rug beneath you throughout the game , and the game lives up to his name. The Evil Within is a flawed horror game masterpiece . All my positive survival-horror needs way outweigh all the minor flaws of it . So , if you're a fan of the genre ... PLEASE play and support this title . We need more of this . Thank you for reading my quick opinion about The Evil Within and happy Shocktober ! 9/10
- a very amateur reviewer :0