The Evil Within

Release Date: October 14th 2014
System: Xbox One, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PlayStation 4, PC
Publisher: Bethesda

Imagine a combination of Resident Evil and Inception and you have a pretty good idea of what the Evil Within is all about. The story is left a tad mysterious, probably because it will be filled in with Downloadable Content but it essentially follows Detective Castellanos (Anson Mount) as he traverses a series of nightmarish dream worlds. This scenario is made possible by a device called STEM created by Ruvik (Jackie Earle Haley), an aristocrat turned demented scientist. The whys and hows of this game really aren’t very important. What is important is that the game returns survival horror to its roots. Ammo is scarce, enemies don’t stay dead and you are constantly thrown into new and varied levels. Just when you think you know how a particular stage or enemy functions you are violently tossed into a totally different area. This is even true of the area in the game that Castellanos goes to upgrade and save. It’s an equally off kilter self-asylum wherein the game takes a few surprising twists. The bosses and enemies are all totally disturbing and instantly iconic in a way that is similar to Silent Hill’s early enemies. Director Shinji Mikami also does an amazing job paying homage to his own past with nods to the Spencer Mansion, the first zombie cut scene and the rocket launcher ending from the Resident Evil franchise that he helped create. In many ways the Evil Within is the Resident Evil 5 fans wanted. There are honestly no complaints to be had with this game as the game-play balances fun and challenging marvelously. I believe it even managed to hit every category I defined in my Survival Horror Necessities article for 30PlusGamer.com a while back. If you’re still not sold on this game be sure to check out the super spooky last minute of the video below…but be warned it may freak you out.