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The Evil Within review round up

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The Evil Within has a lot of promise to live up to. Fans of Shinji Mikami’s previous work have high hopes that this new survival horror will rekindle the slower, more dread-filled days of the Resident Evil franchise. Does it succeed in delivering a heart attack inducing experience?

Well, critics seems a little divided.

Joystiq – 2.5/5

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Evil Within just plain doesn’t give you a fair chance to succeed. It doesn’t provide enough information for you to make good decisions and it handicaps your ability to fight well. It requires so much repetition that it can’t possibly maintain any sense of tension or unease, and its story is told so aimlessly that you’ll likely forget the plot between scenes. It manages a few moments of inspiration, but their scarcity makes them feel like fortunate accidents rather than deliberate elements of the overall design. It’s covered in blood, but the only thing truly horrifying about The Evil Within is how disappointing it is.

IGN – 8.7/10

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The Evil Within is a brutal, challenging, and remarkably fun game. Its eerie world and imaginative enemies are genuinely frightening, and the scares are heightened significantly by the scarcity of resources at your disposal. It keeps the odds stacked against you to the point that they often feel insurmountable, yet it’s finely tuned to ensure that they never really are, as long as you can keep a cool head and a steady aim in the face of building panic. While its story ends up buckling under its own ambition, there is little here that takes away from the joy of experiencing survival horror under the steady hand of a master of the craft.

Polygon – 6.5/10

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I’m still questioning whether I’ll make that second pass, though. The Evil Within has great moments where the excellent combat and creepy environmental design come together. But those moments are fleeting, inevitably sapped of their delightful terror by design choices that feel trapped in the glory days of a decade ago. There’s something to be said for respecting your past successes and building off of them, but The Evil Within is only ever completely successful at half of that equation.

GameInformer – 9/10

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Horror fans shouldn’t let the disappointing story deter them one bit, however. Few Paranormal Activity fans care how these malevolent demons come back again and again – what truly matters is that the audience’s nerves are frayed until they’re raw. The Evil Within excels at keeping your palms sweaty while delivering a harrowingly rewarding gameplay trial. Watching the credits roll with a sigh of relief doesn’t feel like winning; it feels like surviving.

The Escapist – 3/5

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The Evil Within is a noble attempt at bringing back classic survival horror, but it could have learned a thing or two from games that aren’t almost ten years old. It has its moments of brilliance, scattered through periods of antagonizing design.

It’s seems to me that everyone agrees on The Evil Within’s story being pretty terrible, although whether that makes a difference is the main divergence between scores. I’ll probably never work up the nerve to play, but I’d expect a semi-interesting tale waiting for me if I ever did. Still, if you’re coming for more horror than narrative, then it seems like The Evil Within delivers.

Last Updated: October 14, 2014

66 Comments

  1. Reviewers are all over the place.

    Reply

  2. Thami540

    October 14, 2014 at 11:03

    I’m with IGN on this one. There will be Evil Within me next week.

    Reply

    • Guest

      October 14, 2014 at 11:08

      ..

      Reply

  3. Admiral Chief 0

    October 14, 2014 at 11:05

    I’m guessing those who found it too difficult gave it crappy scores…

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      October 14, 2014 at 11:19

      Difficult as in basic puzzle solving is too much of a chore for them

      Reply

    • FiachSidhe

      October 15, 2014 at 03:56

      If that makes you feel better about liking it…

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief 0

        October 15, 2014 at 12:21

        I don’t like/dislike it. Merely stating that it seems like some of the reviewers gave it a kak score because of the difficulty or failing to relate to the game

        Reply

      • T Brez

        October 18, 2014 at 15:29

        I truly think people that use words like purposefully should be banned from making comments. Its funny I just finished the game and had no issues with the controls…maybe your console is defective :P! Ha! Noob

        Reply

    • Bryan Moberg

      October 15, 2014 at 04:45

      thats pretty much what i’ve been seeing, or just people that hate the genre, people that like survival horror seem to be quite happy with it.

      Reply

  4. Gavin Mannion

    October 14, 2014 at 11:08

    that’s quite the shotgun effect of review scores

    Reply

    • CAE9872

      October 14, 2014 at 11:09

      Ain’t that the truth! Is it me or has that been a trend lately? Seems like quite a few games with markedly differing scores…

      Reply

      • Sageville

        October 14, 2014 at 11:27

        I’m seeing more and more politics influencing scores.. Not a good sign.

        Reply

    • oVg

      October 14, 2014 at 13:59

      Not enough Mountain Dew to go around.

      Reply

  5. Alien Emperor Trevor

    October 14, 2014 at 11:09

    Speaking of horror, how about this…

    I suppose technically it could be true.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief 0

      October 14, 2014 at 11:13

      BWAHAAAAAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

      Reply

    • RinceThis

      October 14, 2014 at 11:27

      Sounds just like Graca.

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        October 14, 2014 at 11:32

        “You’ll have unlimited wine.”
        Damn, but I’m not drinking 🙁
        “It’s Graca.”
        Oh, that’s okay then.

        Reply

    • Weanerdog

      October 14, 2014 at 14:26

      If you tap it does it do 1 damage to all players and creatures.

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        October 14, 2014 at 14:32

        I don’t know what’s worse. Getting that comment, or understanding it right away. :/

        Reply

        • Weanerdog

          October 14, 2014 at 14:41

          I am sitting hear with a dumb grin on my face thinking about the look on some very old friends faces when I used to pull out that card.

          Reply

          • Stefano Biga

            October 16, 2014 at 23:56

            Oh shooot…… (dont want to spoil it) its that one mmo global bug that happend ages ago am i right?

  6. Jonah Cash

    October 14, 2014 at 11:14

    Hahahahaha!!! And the completely ridiculous review scores just keep on coming for the big releases of 2014!!! Once again all over the place!! So for everyone the game delivers scares but the one guy didn’t like to be the underdog in a game and the other one is negative because it feels like it is 10 years old and should be more action…. Idiots all of them!!

    Reply

  7. Hammersteyn

    October 14, 2014 at 11:16

    Polygon is as always full of shit, replace that with any Japanese review (i bet) and it should look a lot better.

    Reply

  8. Jac7

    October 14, 2014 at 11:16

    I find horror or survival games to be the most immersive. I started playing Alien: Isolation on Monday. I haven’t even come across the alien yet, but I’ve already soiled myself just by the sound design alone. This looks like Resident Evil 4.1 and that can’t be a bad thing. Will be getting this.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      October 14, 2014 at 11:17

      My preorder was delayed but the bad reviews won’t sway me in the least.

      Reply

      • FiachSidhe

        October 15, 2014 at 05:27

        So you haven’t even played it, and still insult reviewers? Talk about “full of shit”.

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          October 15, 2014 at 07:37

          No, just Polygon. They are renowned for their bizarre scores.

          Reply

          • FiachSidhe

            October 15, 2014 at 07:52

            I’ve played it, and I agree with them. It’s a mess of a game only made slightly difficult due to archaic mechanics and terrible camera.

          • Hammersteyn

            October 15, 2014 at 08:14

            Cool

    • Cadis Etrama Di Umar

      October 14, 2014 at 11:19

      Dat Working Joes are way too scary

      Reply

  9. Jonah Cash

    October 14, 2014 at 11:23

    I still think game developers should appoint a PR firm (Not the one that did the X1 launch) and have them write up a small paragraph of what the game is and send that along with the review game to the idiot who is going to review it!! Just to explain what the game is that they are reviewing!! This game for instance could have had this:
    The game you are about to play is a SURVIVAL HORROR game, you will not have a machine gun with unlimited ammo or a “God code” that you can enter to get such a weapon. The game is about being scared for 90% of the time and terrified 10% of the time. This is not a FPS game and won’t have a lot of action, the gameplay is slow and meticulous….. Now put it in your PS4/X1 and keep this little paragraph in your head while you play this…. Thank you
    Copy write Jonah Cash 2014

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      October 14, 2014 at 11:27

      “Evil Within just plain doesn’t give you a fair chance to succeed” Someone phone the whambulance on this guy. Here’s something that’s actually constructive from that comment section. http://fyre.it/gd0lzo.4

      Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      October 14, 2014 at 11:31

      tl;dr ;P

      It’s not like Dead Space 3.

      Short & sweet 😉

      Reply

    • Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

      October 14, 2014 at 11:53

      Personally, I’d rather ignore whatever PR has to say, and just play the game. PR’s sole job is to get people to fork out money for games. If it’s good, awesome. If it’s not, well tough shit.

      Reply

      • Jonah Cash

        October 14, 2014 at 13:21

        I hear you, but I still feel that games are being reviewed and punished for not being like other games, or being too much like other games or not having enough elements of other genre’s in the game!! It is as if the reviewers are bitching about other games in their reviews, like every one has lost the plot completely!! You guys review the game you are playing and critiquing the game itself!! It almost looks like the big companies are getting people to review games of genre’s they don’t like!! Imagine you have to review Fifa 15, you would hate it and it would show up in your review…. The oke moaning that the game is too hard and he felt dread all the way through missed the fucking point because that is what the game is about isn’t it? Surviving horror, not shoot all the things with your unlimited ammo game….

        Reply

        • Stefano Biga

          October 16, 2014 at 23:59

          People dont know how to adapt to changes, basically that, or just fanboy upset they didn’t get they hoped for.

          Reply

      • Jonah Cash

        October 14, 2014 at 13:22

        Well the maybe the developer himself should just right a little note to explain what type of game it is that is about to be reviewed, no hype no adjectives just plain straight forward this is what we went for and it falls in this category!!

        Reply

  10. Sageville

    October 14, 2014 at 11:25

    Is disqus borked today? I see tons of my comments posted as Guest when I’m posting while being logged in.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      October 14, 2014 at 11:27

      same here

      Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      October 14, 2014 at 11:30

      I’m having trouble with it too. Having to run Chrome in incognito mode just to get it to load.

      Reply

      • Mossel

        October 14, 2014 at 12:00

        Sure…that’s the reason for incognito…

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief 0

          October 14, 2014 at 12:11

          XDXDXD

          Reply

    • FiachSidhe

      October 15, 2014 at 07:54

      Yeah it’s been like that for a long time. Disqus is just plain awful all around.

      Reply

  11. Nikola

    October 14, 2014 at 11:26

    This weekend getting this game can’t wait just have to finish Shadow of Mordor before the weekend first:)

    Reply

  12. RinceThis

    October 14, 2014 at 11:26

    Where is the LG review?!

    Reply

    • Nikola

      October 14, 2014 at 11:28

      Good point!!

      Reply

    • Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

      October 14, 2014 at 11:46

      We haven;t got a copy. We’ll probably have to buy it, tbh.

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief 0

        October 14, 2014 at 11:50

        Have Zoe do a Let’s Play video, or whomever is the biggest chicken

        Reply

      • RinceThis

        October 14, 2014 at 14:06

        That sucks man. Really. Was hoping to see Zoe play…

        Reply

  13. Nikola

    October 14, 2014 at 11:27

    Story might not be the best I played the game at Rage and liked it big time gameplay is just what I wanted very very simillar to RE4

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      October 14, 2014 at 11:28

      Some even compares it to TLOU which cant be bad.

      Reply

      • Nikola

        October 14, 2014 at 11:30

        man I honestly think the game will be good without a doubt if you are a fan of Resident Evil sillent hill game is perfect for you I am so confident will be good and I need a challenging game plus I can not remember last time a game gave me a good fright!!

        Reply

  14. Hammersteyn

    October 14, 2014 at 11:36

    Could it be that reviewers are ganging up against Japanese video game designers? I must be paranoid.

    Reply

  15. Mossel

    October 14, 2014 at 12:01

    • Admiral Chief 0

      October 14, 2014 at 12:11

      Good grief, SLENDER!

      Reply

      • FiachSidhe

        October 15, 2014 at 07:54

        That looks NOTHING like Slenderman!

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief 0

          October 15, 2014 at 12:20

          Was referring to his large hands

          Reply

  16. WitWolfy

    October 15, 2014 at 08:11

    Watched a dude play it last night on Twitch. Looked kinda last gen too me. Was expecting something slightly more graphically appealing IMO.

    Reply

  17. T Brez

    October 18, 2014 at 13:03

    I just cleared chapter 11 at 18 hours and IMO reviewers dont know wtf they are talking about. First, name me one horror movie with a riveting storyline and tight acting. If you go in expecting that cliche horror stories changed you’ll be disappointed. If you don’t like challenging games then stay away. People have been waiting for RE horror genre to come back and now complain when it does since its not next gen. I think what happened here is gamers set the bar too high. If you don’t get that Mikami wasn’t aiming for next gen and just accept that he just added richness, depth and detail to an already winning layout (RE4) this is not the game for you. Mikami did a phenomenal job at what he does best. No matter how little ammo and how hard the bossfight I kept finding myself drawn back into this world. Story actually makes perfect sense.. you just need to pay attention although I admit its a little scatterbrained in the first chapters. Now that Tango has dipped back in and Mikami still has his touch I’m looking forward to the next collaboration as well as the last 5 chapters of Evil Within.

    Reply

    • FiachSidhe

      October 18, 2014 at 20:48

      The first Nightmare on Elm St., Hellraiser 1 and 2, just about any Alfred Hitchcock film (Psycho, or The Birds come to mind). Your excuse is terrible. As if horror stories are impervious from a good script or acting quality because you’ve never seen one on film.

      Second, do you honestly think it’s the same people complaining? This is literally Resident Evil 4 again only with a lot of cheap difficulty late in the game, and unbelievably bad stealth for the first three chapters that all but vanishes mid game.

      No, we don’t have to accept that Mikami did the only thing he knows how to do, which is force bad controls and poor fov (I mean really? Putting blinders on the top and bottom of the screen, pulling the camera in so close a fourth of the view is covered by the protagonist, and having grass block your view even if it wouldn’t block the character’s. and pulling the camera to the right giving you yet another blind spot?). The game is only difficult due to cheap tactics like instant kills, and limited ranges of sight.

      We can criticize him all we want. YOU have to accept that people won’t like the things you do. We aren’t criticizing you for liking the game. We’re criticizing a product, sold for money.

      Personally I liked the story (the ending sucked though), and thought some of the idea were really cool, the final boos was insane, and the game a lot better with the hacks to remove the stupid black bars and widen the FoV. But you rationlizing every flaw, and telling others they are wrong for disliking them is asinine.

      Reply

      • T Brez

        October 18, 2014 at 23:48

        Yeah OK we got it you’re cool. How long did it take you to come up with that 5 paragraph rant? Wait…we need to factor googling the intricate words but I’m actually proud and honored you were compelled to review my review on reviewers. IMO = in my opinion BTW. Oh, that’s by the way BTW.

        Reply

        • FiachSidhe

          October 19, 2014 at 00:00

          We? How many people are you right now?
          It took me a few minutes. How long did it take you to write your giant two paragraph rant?
          Didn’t need to google any words. Just because you don’t have a wide vocabulary doesn’t mean everyone else doesn’t. Buy the way, which words did you find “intricate”. How are words even intricate? Do you know what intricate means? Which words did I use were hard to analyze? Maybe you should spend more time looking up words.

          Why are you proud and honored to have someone read what you wrote in the comment section of this site? I read the others too. Is this your first attempt at sarcasm?

          I have no problem understanding what your opinion is. Do you think opinions are immune to scrutiny? I’m sorry that’s too big for you. Do you think that just because you said an opinion, no gets to respond or have an opinion on what you say? or are you the only one who gets to say whatever you want?

          By the way this took me about a minute and a half.

          Reply

          • T Brez

            October 19, 2014 at 00:16

            Wow someone gets a wittle defensive when sarcasm drops. I’m sure other readers will get a good laugh at your expense. Knowing your type you’ll want to have the last word so its all yours I’ll even leave a spot below but its kind of like restaurant or hotel comment cards for the maids nobody cares. It’ll just make other readers laugh more at your pathetic existence if I’m right.

            Your comments here:

            Thanks,

            Troll bait

          • FiachSidhe

            October 19, 2014 at 01:04

            You weren’t trolling. You are a kid who posted a bunch of hypocritial garbage to defend a game you like and became overly defensive when someone called you on it.

  18. Sonic

    October 22, 2014 at 18:23

    I didn’t enjoy the story at all. The gameplay was alright. I enjoy the open world more than being restricted to one path. The shooting mechanics was the only great thing. Wasn’t a scary game but thrilling in a few scenes. Overall I wouldn’t play it again. Also, it isn’t a rewarding game. Some people like and some don’t 😉

    Reply

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