The Evil Within Reviews
The Evil Within is almost pitiable in its need to recapture the fresh tension and anxiety of Mikami's best work.
There are some genuinely terrifying, nightmare-inducing moments in this game. Unfortunately they are few and far between, which is frustrating because the concept here is solid. A little restraint would go a long way here. Stop throwing hordes of enemies at me and just let the game be scary.
Even with these issues I still enjoyed the lengthy adventure Evil Within delivers. It has been a long time coming, but Mikami has definitely delivered classic survival horror. Fans of the genre should not miss this. While it is plagued with visual problems, the pacing is almost perfect, and the tension is unmatched. There is a lot to love with Mikami's latest title, and I cannot wait to see where he goes next.
It's not easy for a game with the name Shinji Mikami attached to it to live up to the hype, but The Evil Within does a nice job of staying true to its roots.
The Evil Within marks Shinji Mikami's triumphant return to horror, cementing his status as a mastermind of the genre. Smartly aiming for psychological horror over cheap jump scares, it gets under the skin and effects the psyche. Unfortunately, it falls into the modern trappings of boasting too much firepower at the cost of stealth and intelligence.
While The Evil Within doesn't quite reach the iconic Resident Evil 4's level of brilliance or scariness, this is a satisfyingly gruesome adventure. Playing on Survival difficulty or higher is a true challenge, and you need to make quick decisions about which enemies to take out first, when to run and hide, and which crossbow bolts to make in semi-real time. The story is pretty convoluted, and you don't really become attached to most characters, but ultimately this is a very well-done survival horror game with stealth elements mixed in for good measure. The Evil Within is a great game for the Halloween crowd, and has some added replayability in the form of a New Game+. This is an easy buy for all horror fans, and is a game that should not be missed by those who want a challenge.
At its controller clutching best, The Evil Within evokes memories of Silent Hill's high points – but it's the Resident Evil comparisons that are most consistent throughout. Unfair difficulty spikes swap out the title's pervading sense of fear for outright frustration at times, while technical issues undo the developer's outstanding art direction. Thankfully, legendary director Shinji Mikami doesn't disappoint in the gameplay department, forcing you to get creative with your plentiful combat options due to an unending absence of resources. It's here that developer Tango Gameworks finds the breathless brilliance within.
Started badly and with the spectre of failure that emerged after the first rehearsals, The Evil Within is a game that has been able to surprise us. The mixture of old and new works, and once again demonstrates Mikami's ability to create balanced products capable of entertaining without alienating too much classic gameplay.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Evil Within is the most impetuous realization of Mikami's creative vision. Finally autonomous, yet so careful to recover fragments from the game designer's other hallucinate visions, the title tells a story that mixes alienating moments and oppressive clashes, strange hermetic symbolism with brutal violent exaggerations.
Review in Italian | Read full review
An intelligent, authored, and consistently entertaining game which combines loving references to the horror genre with the distinctive personality of its director.
The Evil Within has its fair share of weaknesses (some are patchable), but on the whole, as is, it's a powerful survival horror experience that I won't soon forget.
If you like old-school third-person action games with horror elements, I'd recommend picking up The Evil Within on a console, possibly at a price cut. It will definitely scratch the itch of someone who has been pining for a return to the older days of gaming, but everyone else who has come to expect that certain layer of polish likely won't be amused.
I experienced many scares and might have even pooped my pants a bit. Yet in the end a lacklustre storyline, uninteresting characters, clunky combat and far too many frustrating sequences hold "The Evil Within" back from being considered one of the greats.
Overall, though, The Evil Within is a solid survival thriller game that will likely satisfy fans who lament the more action-oriented direction that titles such as Resident Evil or Dead Space ended up taking as of late. If the idea of of gameplay in the vein of Resident Evil meets Silent Hill is something you find appealing, then you'll want to give The Evil Within a shot.
A throwback to survival horror's heyday, The Evil Within's story is daft and convoluted, featuring a mad scientist who might as well be Krieger from Archer. Frustrating and entertaining in equal measure, The Evil Within falls short of offering any proper scares.
The Evil Within seems to be a title that tries for too much but falls flat in everything it attempts to do. Jump-scares are still fun in the title, but The Evil Within largely creates an uninteresting gameplay environment that is plagued with issues in it's storyline, mission structure, character development, and as such - fails to achieve itself as a title that lives up to Shinji Mikami's preceding reputation as the former director of Resident Evil 4.
While The Evil Within never quite terrifies, it has plenty of moments early on where it threatens to wrap you up in its gory world. However, it never really delivers a completely engaging experience and by the end goes totally off the rails.
Where BioShock Infinite aggressively tugged on heartstrings, The Evil Within tears them from your chest and crucifies you. It strangles you with your own tendrils and feeds you your own beating heart, mouth locked shut and tied with entrails, forcing you to chew and swallow. But when the last sliver slides down the back of your throat, you'll look up and smile a sadistic smile before asking "more, please".
Superb gameplay, a breakneck pace and terrifying enemies makes The Evil Within a wonderful survival horror experience.
Creepy, surreal, intense and occasionally very clever indeed, The Evil Within isn't undone by its ludicrous setting – it embraces it to wonderful effect, always ready to add another layer of bizarre hand-stitched horror. But the overall experience is frustrating, never managing to fully escape that narrow field of view, making me feel as boxed in as the game's posterboy.