The Evil Within: THIS Is Horror

Back in April last year, I reported on Resident Evil-creator Shinji Mikami’s latest project, then code named Project Zwei, from his Developer Tango Gameworks’ first title.

As many will now know, that project has sprung to fruition with its true game title, The Evil Within, which will be published by Bethesda and released next year. After a somewhat lackluster and pointless (in my opinion) live action trailer, I’ve waited patiently for what matters: gameplay footage. In late September, Bethesda released a 12-minute gameplay trailer.

You awake hanging upside down in a slaughterhouse, blood dripping down your arms, surrounded by hanging, rotting corpses, with a half-masked, half-mutilated butcher preparing you to be next for the chop. You have no weapons, only your wits and lateral thinking to escape.

What follows is a tantalising game of cat and mouse, with you firmly being the rodent. And my word what I saw was literally jaw dropping for the whole 12 minute video. Crouch walking to hide from view through windows, crawling through gaps in walls, all while the butcher character is giving chase, knives in hand. All the while, it appears a mysterious force is behind it all. And this was just the prologue… 

Clearly there is some way to go yet before the game’s release, but I don’t think I’ve ever had such 100% faith in an upcoming title. The Evil Within is also a game much needed at present; for all Dead Island’s commercial success, it was broken at best, and the Resident Evil series is going back to the drawing board due its lack of success and disappointing recent formula.

Mark my words: The Evil Within will easily be the best action survival horror game since Dead Space 2, one of my favourite games of this generation, and will take Shinji Mikami to even greater heights.

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