The Evil Within

The Evil Within is one of the best games that was released in 2014, which was a wholly weak year for games. Shinji Mikami of Resident Evil fame directed it. Games directed by him, such as Resident Evil 4 (2005), God Hand, and Vanquish, all have incredible combat systems. The Evil Within is no exception.

The entire game is a nearly constant stream of trap-filled obstacle courses. These traps can be used offensively against enemies to kill or stun them. Some traps can be dismantled for trap parts. These trap parts are used to craft bolts for your agony crossbow. The bolts are basically your own traps to use against enemies. You can also drop matches on stunned or downed enemies, which allows you to combo kill multiple enemies. Instead of unloading revolver shots into enemies, you are better off getting a lucky headshot crit or downing them and throwing a match on the body. The gameplay loop of going through each area while trying to manage your resources is extremely addictive.

The game also has a second hard mode called Akumu, where you die in one hit. This is one of my favorite parts of the entire game due to the added challenge. The stakes are really high, and you have to make proper use of your resources. Combat encounters become extremely tense battles where you are doing what you can to get by. Even when your resources are full, it can be challenging to deal with the fast bosses and gun-wielding foes.

The story is cool from a stylistic standpoint, but there isn't much meat to chew on. The world of The Evil Within takes place in the mind of the main antagonist, which means that everything operates on dream logic. Sometimes you jump out of a window only to get transported into a hospital. Other times you're in a floating city that is falling apart. Everything being based on the mind of a psychopath allows for the grotesque Silent Hill-esque monsters that you fight.

My major issues with this game are the scripted segments, which only get in the way of the engrossing combat system. Each chapter has segments where you are walking down empty hallways or where your movement speed is decreased to a walk. The final boss is also a letdown considering how fun many of the fights are throughout the game. Another weak point is the DLCs. Both of Kidman's DLCs make sense of the confusing story, which is really cool, but lack much of what I liked about the combat system in favor of more modern horror game tropes.

Putting my gripes aside, The Evil Within is a fantastic game in my mind. I feel that I'm in a minority of people who love this game so much. Sometime I'll have to check out the sequel.

I played this before I played a Resident Evil game. This is defiantly way more action based as in how RE4 and 5 are but that doesn't mean it's bad! I truly enjoyed my time with The Evil Within. Sure it's a little janky on the controls here and there but the story I found interesting. The atmosphere is pure grotesque horror almost as if the first few Silent Hills (haven't played these either just from trailers and such. If you like survival horror then I highly recommend this game because the DLC alone is well worth it. Well two of the DLC's, I'm sure you can figure out which two I'm referring to.

Just finished the sequel and can't believe I never reviewed this. It's a cracker. It's like Resident Evil if it wasn't so.... Resident Evil-y. Fun, atmospheric, definitely worth a play.

Game feels like the closest we'll ever get to Fromsoft's Bloodborne.

It's a really wonderful, slow and methodical survival horror game in the vein of Resident Evil games, namely 4 and I'd say 5 and it's obvious that these games are ported console games but that in essence doesn't take away from their value and gameplay because to me this is another wonderful gem really that I jokingly referred as Bloodborne or "Souls-Like'' which in essence if you played the first Dark Souls game you'll know exactly what I mean, the aesthetic is pretty much spot on but this game isn't necessarily a RPG nor is it a melee exclusive game, you don't have classes but you play as one guy who goes through this mysterious, dark and bloody world that is almost steeped in sort of an occultism we in PC gaming don't get to see all the time and but when we do it's really a sort of a treat because I myself love this game's aesthetic and atmosphere. It reminds me of various castles and villages of the Dark Souls games and I really love this setting, so much so that in the recent past I've been scouring for more of such games with such similar settings. Resident Evil: Vilage comes to mind.

It's a slow, methodical survival horror shooter and these games I think compared to the rest of the offering of general games are kind of a dime-a-dozen and I feel that I've really grown a fan over the years of the genre all, at least to me beginning with something like System Shock and other sort of RPG's that are similar to that. While this game again isn't necessarily a true RPG there are certainly upgrades present for your character, for the character's tools and weapons so in that way I really appreciate that we have something to work with that is RPG-like but not purely so.

The successor of this game had taken a different style at least in the approach of graphics so enjoy this game with its aesthetic from almost a bygone era because games like these are I think vastly becoming rarer and in that way of a thing being rare I think that this one is a real gem of a game that I enjoy playing, experiencing like seeing and hearing.

A very entertaining and underrated game, reminiscent of Resident Evil!

Developed by Shinji Mikami -- creator of the seminal Resident Evil series -- and the talented team at Tango Gameworks, The Evil Within embodies the meaning of pure survival horror. Highly-crafted environments, horrifying anxiety, and an intricate story are combined to create an immersive world that will bring you to the height of tension. With limited resources at your disposal, you’ll fight for survival and experience profound fear in this perfect blend of horror and action.

Story

You play as Sebastian Castellanos, a Crimson City Police Detective, who, together with his partners, investigates a mass murder at Beacon Mental Hospital. There they are drawn into an unreal, nightmarish world, created by a man called Ruvik. He powers this world with a machine called STEM, which is like a twisted version of the Matrix. The story is interesting but can be a bit confusing at first. The voice acting is okay, nothing special.

Gameplay & Puzzles

The Evil Within is a third-person survival-horror, action game. It is made by the creator of the Resident Evil franchise, which is clearly noticeable in the gameplay. It reminds me a lot of Resident Evil, but also a bit of The Last of Us.

In the game there is something called Green Gel. Enemies can drop Green Gel when they die, but you can also find vials of Green Gel in the world. You use this to upgrade your weapons, health, stamina and more, which means you are always eager to explore and kill more enemies so you can keep upgrading yourself and your weapons.

Something I like about this game is that in many situations you can choose whether to sneak up and stealth kill the enemies, or go in guns blazing. Many areas are also filled with traps that you can disarm for parts that you can use to craft different bolts for your crossbow. Or use these traps at your disposal and lure the enemies into them.

The different weapons are fun and feel good to use, and it's very satisfying when you shoot a headshot and get a critical hit so that the head explodes.

There are some puzzles in the game, but they are very easy to figure out. I'm not sure I would even call some of them puzzles.

Enemies & Bosses

The enemies and bosses are of a good enough variety for a game like this, and the AI ​​is good. The Amalgam boss is the only boss that was a bit annoying due to a one shot mechanic that can't be avoided if you let the boss get too close.

Environment & Scares

The environment is varied enough, at least as much as it can be within a destroyed city. Sometimes you're indoors, sometimes outdoors. Mental hospital, apartments, underground, etc. The level design and enemy placements are really good. The atmosphere is good and creepy for the most part. The game doesn't have many jump scares, but focuses more on psychological horror and panic-inducing battles. The battles against Laura are always stressful and fun.

Visual Design & Sound Design

Visually the game looks good for its time with some great cinematic shots. The visuals can also be very grotesque at times. The sound design is good but nothing special. The sound design for Laura was really good though.

Constructive Criticism

I don't have much to complain about when it comes to The Evil Within. It's an 11 year old game after all, so you have to take it for what it is. The Evil Within was one of the first games I played on Xbox One when it came out, and I've played through it several times both on Xbox and on Steam. The only complaint I have is that this time I had to play it in windowed mode on PC after getting a new monitor. I now have two monitors. When I started the game it flickered both my monitors and didn't let me out until I opened the task manager and closed it. It worked in fullscreen on my old monitor, but not on my new one. I googled for a while but couldn't find a solution to this. This is very annoying. They really should fix this, as it can otherwise lead to many people not even playing this fantastic game.

The Verdict

Overall, The Evil Within is an entertaining and underrated survival-horror, action game, with a great mysterious story and moments that give you the chills. If you are a fan of the Resident Evil franchise then I strongly recommend you try this one out.

Rating: 7.5/10

The Evil Within is a masterclass in survival horror, blending psychological tension with grotesque, cinematic visuals. Directed by Shinji Mikami, the game captures the essence of fear through its oppressive atmosphere, unpredictable enemies, and tight resource management. Its twisted world design and haunting soundscape constantly keep players on edge, delivering a nerve-wracking yet rewarding experience.

On Akumu difficulty, however, the game transforms into a punishing gauntlet. One-hit deaths and smarter, faster enemies make every encounter a brutal trial of precision and nerves. It's not just harder—it’s unforgiving. This mode strips away all room for error, demanding mastery of mechanics and level knowledge. Only the most resilient players will endure Akumu’s merciless brutality, but the satisfaction of surviving it is unmatched.

Can’t even play this game on pc, FIX YOUR DAM GAME FOR THE PC ON STEAM PLEASE!!!! It’s also not even possible to close the dam game and have to restart my pc. And even when I try to force change it to 1090x1080p it fucks up evrthing😡

This is largely a matter of personal taste, but I feel this game doesn't really know what horror is. Nothing is truly original, everything takes inspiration frm other sources, but I've never played a game that soo nakedly apes from so many other titles. It seems to think horror is a matter of grinding flesh and throwing buckets of blood at the screen. You could call that a horror experience, i suppose, but I've felt such offerings were shallow at best.

Mechanically, it's no better. I enjoyed myself when I was carefully scraping over the first few chapters. But once the first combat arena in chapter 5 occurs, the entire experience changed to gnawing, grinding, repeating attempts at incredibly fatal and stressful combat. There were small pockets when the combat would take a seat, and it would allow the environment to breathe. Those were quite nice, but few and far between, and not enough to make the slog worth it.

This is much like RE4, but with its one redeeming factor removed: the evil within takes itself completely seriously, so there's no relieving camp or comedy to balance out the grind. It's neither scary, nor fun. It fails at being action or horror.

This game really should have just been another grindhouse film.

Also the noir detective in post 2000s? bruh. XD

Gotta be honest. I'm not a big horror fan but I loved this game.

PS. OMW to watch some youtube videos to try and understand wtf just happened

was chased by a chainsaw weilding murderer
10/10 game would play again

Recommend new game only run to whom who seek challenge and replaybility + nightmare difficulty is perfect combination (since akumu difficulty is basically 1 hit death so nightmare is best middle ground)

A solid 7 on all aspects. Only play it if it's on sale and if you're a big survival horror games enthusiast like the nerd who made me play this.

stupid broken game.... full off bugs and glitches , whit graphics from 1990 y. !

Decent horror survival game with unrealized potential. The game drags it's self after chapter 10. While presenting a good and interesting story, the game play and ending is very mediocre at best.
Overall Rating: 7.3/10
Graphics: 7/10
Game play: 7/10
Lore: 8/10
Level Designing: 7.5/10
Sound Track: 7/10

TOTAL DEATHS- 27 Times (Survival Mode)

It’s an OK game. It feels like a mix of both Resident Evil and Silent Hill, but not as good as either. The story doesn’t reach highs that SH does, and doesn’t have as good gameplay as RE. It has a few bugs and quite poor mouse and keyboard support in my opinion. The story is still probably the best part of the game. I would recommend getting it on a big sale if you enjoy survival horror games.

Let me say first that the game play is really fun and that The Evil Within does a great job at creating an unnerving horror environment. However, I struggle to give it a positive review overall. The setup for the game from it's intro makes you really want to know what is happening in the story. Then you get half way through the game, and the story hasn't gotten there yet. Then, you get to the end and realize that the story never came. It was such a letdown. I am still giving it a thumbs up, but just barely. The second game is MUCH better, but this first title in the series is still pretty fun.

This game seems fun and from what I've played of it, it's exactly that. However it is so insanely bugged for me that I have to give up on it. The game crashes constantly and sometimes crashes my whole computer. I'm running a 4090 and every other game I own has no problems. I assume it's some sort of issue with Windows 11. I guess I'll watch a playthrough and hope the second one isn't problematic to run.

There's not many graphics options, so I couldn't reduce or turn off the flickering light, gave me a migraine :(

one of the best horror games i have ever played i strongly recommend

Solid but nothing spectacular, Evil Within is an action-horror game that is perfectly good for a replay or two but uneven in quality across the game length. Buy on discount and play on Casual if you want a nice, worry-free experience.

This game has a new updated version on Gamepass and Epic, which added new features and performance fixes, while Steam still have a janky inferior version.

I will change the review to positive when they finally update the Steam version, why do we pay the same price and have to stay with an inferior version of the game? (and I mean "positive" with reserves, more like a neutral).

PS: Bear in mind that to make this version playable you will have to download some .dll files and install a 3rd party app called "Borderless Gaming", it won't remove 100% of the jank, though.

PS2: The more I play this game, the more I notice how it has aged so badly. It is totally overhyped and overrated - don't get fooled by the recent positive reviews. Maybe it was good in 2014 at release, I can see that, but for today it isn't really a good game. There isn't much story/lore and what's there is very weak/meh and doesn't make sense, same thing with the levels, they have nothing to do with each other - it's a convoluted interwoven mess.

I am at the point of forcing myself to play it because I bought it, and the worst is that I bought the DLCs too.

PS3: I have permanently removed this game from my account, the game got progressively worst and worst I Could not even bring myself to finish it. I Tried the DLCs, both are horrible as well. I started playing The Evil Within 2, so far feels like a way way better game so I recommend you play that instead.

Slow-paced and frustrating.
If you like the horror and anxiety of getting 99% of the way through a scenario, only to die because of a surprise bear trap or some other spiteful developer trick, then be forced to start over... and over... and over... then your psychologist will love you when you return to treat your OCD over... and over... $$$.
Yeah yeah, I'm sure it'll get "easier" as I improve my stats and get better weapons...
Not gonna slug it out for weeks to get there.

This game was "highly-crafted" by zombies, for zombies.

it have some problem when you play it for the first time and also i wasnt able to play on full screen but story was really nice i enjoyed it

owned the game for years and I love horror movies and games and went to finally try this out and found it to be complete waste of my time and my money.

so far 90 mins into the game feels like they just stuck a bunch of random levels together and went here play this, The story is non-gripping so far and the characters look and feel like something from a Japanese anime stereotype crime show (no personality).

game-play is pure 110% arse and feels like one of those cheaper budget games from the early 2000's like fort zombie or some other budget title from the era, last but not least the letter boxing on screen 24/7 becomes frustrating really quickly as it blocks a good 30% of the screen making it much harder to see monsters while hidden.

The only things I've been doing for an hour and a half is crouch walking or walking slow all the bloody time, walking so slow it's like the main protagonist has filled his underpants to the brim in faeces and avoiding non killable monsters who are like walking tanks while the main protagonist is weaker than a new born baby.

do I wish others to try this game out? No!, no I do not, play something better that's horror themed, this is total bollocks.

0 out of 10 would have more fun scrubbing dog shit out of a carpet, I do own the second game and will avoid it like someone carrying the black death.

Good mix of RE4 gameplay and Silent Hill atmosphere, puts you in challenging situations, very fun!

Well written psychological story with added horror element gives us a great experience, the graphics feels like playing a old game other than that its a great game

Pretty good so far I've really enjoyed the executions and in general the executioner dlc I've swept the first, second and basement floor and I the infinite fights are pretty fun though I wish they would last longer. I enjoy the main story but I got stuck at a mansion where the main boss is chasing me and I just can't seem to find the solution? I think I should give it more time to figure out what to do in there but aside from that this game is pretty great. It's also discounted here and there so that's a + oh and the dlc is fun! 8.5/10 the load screen is kinda loud and hurts my ears

Honestly one of the best horror games, being similar to silent hill in a psychological way, but closer to resident evil in the gameplay, also the graphics are top notch for it's time, would recommend it..even over it's sequel!

bought the game and tried playing it.
1.on first launch it flickered both my monitors and didnt let me out. had to press alt f4 multiple times no luck. ctrl+alt+delete open task manager worked.
2. switched to windowed mode. the Audio didnt work at all through my headset. when i pressed play the audio starting playing from my phone, which is a first thats ever happened.
3. Its the evil within the game thats spooky causing my phone to play audio for my pc (this game specifically), flickering on launch (fullscreen). and cannot go above 1080p (windowed)

Yet another game that requires third party tools and config edits to work properly. A broken fps cap/vsync, broken lighting, and broken textures. As always, Bethesda has been collecting revenue off of broken games.

One of the best survival horror games, if not the best one I've ever played (aside from optimization issues), I'm eternally grateful to my friend for showing it to me.

Great ideas, atmosphere, and fun gameplay, IN THE beginning. I wanted to just have a game of setting traps and outwitting enemies.
However, as the game progresses, it is plagued by terrible pacing, confusing warps (cool the first time but then it got more annoying), boring puzzles, Devs placing traps and being trolls. By then, I was experiencing story fatigue and just wanted it to end so badly.
So I don't recommend this game. Just watch it on YT explaining the story. It will save you 13 hours of a boring experience.

The Evil Within is a great game with a beautifully conveyed horror atmosphere. The enemies are a separate masterpiece, especially Laura: her sounds and appearance can bring real horror. Overall, I liked the game 10 out of 10.

невозможно играть в это дерьмо, картинка куда то уходит вправо за поля и это никак не пофиксить, только если сделать самое ужасное разрешение, просто потраченное время жалко.

tavsiye ederim ama sadece zoru sevenlere. normalde oynasanız bile tek hamlede öldüren boss çok fazla. tasarım silent hill ve resident evil karışımı. shinji mikami imzalı benim için 7lik bir oyun

10/10
The characters' premise fits my needs of perspective.
This might not mean anything, and I apologize if this isn't misleading.
I don't leave bad reviews, all efforts are a perfect score.

I don't like the story or the way it's paced/constructed at all. Usually, that would be a significant aspect of how much I enjoy a story-driven game as a whole. Yet, I found myself enjoying the gameplay and combat so much, that this has been one of my greatest experiences with a survival horror game. Every repeat playthrough was still as fun as the last. Sure, not every part of the game is a banger, but there are some bosses here and some level designs that I greatly enjoyed. Unfortunately, the greatest let-down in this regard is the final boss who is just a sequence of scripted events.

There are many ways in which you can die, including some pretty silly traps. I can see that this would be frustrating for many people who'd call it cheap. However, I respect the game for throwing those things against you very early on. I'm currently in the middle of playing the highest difficulty in which you instantly die in one hit. I've already died a lot, and while it's been frustrating here and then, trying to figure out how to come out of various scenarios unscathed has been fun in its own way.

The game runs at 20 fps when using full screen

I tried this game once and it got on my nerves so much in the first few minutes that I give up on it. Now, after a couple of years later I decided to give it a try again, mostly just to check it off my backlog list. So, I persisted.

This game has such a severe identity crisis. It’s like it wanted to be Resident Evil so much, but than be some kind of weird child of Silent Hill as well. The main story was so boring I didn’t bother much with audio-logs or documents (I generally don’t care much about them in games).
I had fun shooting zombies and fighting bosses but there was nothing significant about them for me to remember any of them. It’s was like being chased around by pale shadows of already established horror monsters in media (the guy with a safe instead of a head or the spider lady with long hair). The jump-scares were plentiful and started grating on me after a while. Some deaths were pretty unfair too.

The DLCs though, were so interesting. The sneaking, the torch mechanic, the puzzles. I had so much more fun. Even the character of Juli Kidman was more intriguing then the brooding, hardened detective with his missing wife and dead kid. I actually wanted to find all of her document and solve all the puzzles. Even her last boss fight was better then Sebastian’s.

But, oh well. I had fun, not gonna lie. I mean, shooting zombies should always be fun. :)

I really enjoyed the DLCs. Even though I think the later ones don't fully execute on the promise of their concepts. They easy and breezy and put you in new circumstances. Highly recommend just playing those. But the main game after a really strong opening feels very at odds with its self. It's not fun because of its controls and alot of the restrictions it puts on you. On modern systems the QTEs don't work unless you lock the frame rate to 30 fps. It did have moments of brilliance but I felt very frustrated with it.

Anti-aliasing does not work. The game flickers on opening it.

Playing this game and beliving you are just a health inspector makes it ten times scarier.
That hospital really violated half the health code

one of the best survival horror games of all time. If you like Silent Hill you will love this

meh, its one of the most mid games in its genre to be honest, like its not terrible by any means, hell it has its moments and looks good, but ultimately i just found it boring towards the end and way less interesting than any of its piers ie resident evil or dead space, the story telling is poorly explained and it just feels kind of uninspired and brings nothing new, i guess the simplest way i could sum up my review is with the question; why would i pick this game over *insert other psychological third person survival horror here* because to me there really isn't any reasons apart from being that bored and desperate for a rezzy clone or something.

Best survival horror ever I had to shut down my computer cuz when I boot up the game the screen would go black and it would start flashing honestly I wish I could get a refund and I have video proof of this game not working

Psycho Break

This is Shinji Mikami's game, and it has a lot of pseudo-innovative and even questionable material, but it also has a lot from Silent Hill and Resident Evil.
True survival-horror;
Old action RE;
Interesting mechanics;
Beautiful locations and framing;
Memorable design & style;
Pleasant sound effects and soundtrack;
Lots of references;
A fascinating setting;
A pleasant combat system;
Detailed bosses;
The Keeper/Safehead/Boxhead.

This project certainly contains a lot of problems, there is a high threshold of entry, poor optimization, bugs and crashes, black bars/filter and I have not even touched on the story itself, the characters. But now, having listed here above briefly what I find positive - game deserves attention and time.

Q: Did any other forms of horror media (films, books, games etc.) inspire the game’s art design?

Shinji Mikami wrote:

The game has been inspired from various media. If I had to mention some, they would be films like "Shutter Island" and "Inception". In terms of books, it would be Yotsuya Kaidan, stories from Japanese folklore. The team’s various inspirations also contribute to the final art design as well.

If you looking to enjoy a game don't buy this. not only do you have to figure out your problem you have to bust your ass just fixing for it only not to work

Criminally underrated game! One of my all-time-favorites.

Also; Ruben, my love. ^_^ <3

Absolute brain-less game.
Even at the very end, when you discover THE brain, the game makes you stomp on it to win!

0/🧠 not enough brains.

Glorious game. They should have fixed the video issue by now but still enjoyable.