The Evil Within Review

Horror is one of the most complex, irreplaceable concepts I have ever come across, specifically for how the interpretations within the genre can never be defined by a single definitive answer. From Stephen King (The Shining) and Edgar Allan Poe (Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque) to John Carpenter (Halloween) and Clive Barker (Hellraiser), their approaches made towards the concept of horror have opened up philosophical debates as to what the deepest manifestations of our inner fears and demons actually look like. Furthermore, those individuals are some of the most distinguished names often associated with horror due to their influence made through novels and films, but one developer in gaming has been bestowed with the title of “the father of the survival horror” by countless people: Shinji Mikami.

Japanese developer Shinji Mikami certainly earned his reputation in the horror genre when he released his highly regarded 1996 survival horror title Resident Evil, and the father of the survival horror demonstrated the evolution he brought to his own series when he revisited and refined the franchise in the critically acclaimed Resident Evil 4 in 2005. During a recently released interview with Famitsu (translated by Kotaku), Hideo Kojima, creator and director of the prominent Metal Gear Solid franchise, said: “‘Survival horror’ is Mr. Mikami’s child, so I believe The Evil Within will be his showdown with the genre in terms of both content and sales.”

Shinji Mikami’s latest intellectual property, The Evil Within, caught the attention of horror enthusiasts as a title ready to breathe new life into the horror genre by the so-called father of survival horror. The Evil Within, also known as Psycho Break in Japan — which, I might add, is an abnormal name that instantly lures people’s attention for its unsettling aura, and it’s for this exact reason it should have been the name of the title in the Western market, too — demonstrates an ambitious idea falling short of high expectations, with the game’s redeeming aspects underwhelmed by various issues faced over the course of the narrative.

Gameplay is by far the best aspect that The Evil Within has to offer, with Shinji Mikami returning to an old-school approach to survival horror whilst combining it with features he had integrated and introduced in Resident Evil 4. The Evil Within, however, excels past Resident Evil 4 in one area: the title feels more like a survival horror experience. What I meant by that remark is that supplies and ammunition are scarce on the standard difficulties, requiring a more tactical, methodical approach towards enemies, whether it be using the environment or traps in the world against them, or simply using stealth and completely dodging any confrontations. On the other hand, a handful of scenarios limit the option to use stealth — mainly when a swarm of enemies are programmed to charge at you from any direction, with stealth not being available — which is disappointing considering such a versatile mechanic could have challenged players to complete the title by killing as few hostiles as possible.

Thankfully, Shinji Mikami moves away from Resident Evil 4’s tank controls (rooted to one spot in order to fire a weapon) in favour of a much smoother, refined mechanic that allows players to move whilst shooting. However, don’t think that it makes the title easier in any regard, as the improved AI will keep you on your toes every second. There were instances, for example, when one of the chainsaw-wielding maniacs confronted me in an enclosed area and didn’t let me stand still for a moment to shoot them. Instead, I had to use my best judgement of when to sprint out of his direction (with a stamina meter restricting the distance you can actually cover) when he attacked and, in the process, use his vulnerability to my advantage.

Equipped with an arsenal of weapons, whether it be the trusty revolver and shotgun to the crossbow or sniper rifle, the AI enemies didn’t feel like easy targets, especially when they would shift their head to the left (or right) and I’d miss a clear headshot, making me regret that I wasted a precious bullet on thin air — again, ammo is extremely limited. Of course, Shinji Mikami’s signature boss battles return and each of them offers a frustrating (mainly for the one-hit kill animations) but unique encounter, with the player needing to adapt to the situation at hand and quickly identifying the opponents’ weak spot.

There’s a lot of credit due to the way in which the title’s co-op mechanic invigorates gameplay over the course of the campaign, considering it can be easily weaved into a selected mission and then they can remove it in the following one. At the same time, however, it adds a major weakness to the concept of survival horror, which was due to the fact that I could fully restore my partner’s health by simply holding one button. This allowed me to sit back, save ammunition and let him kill countless enemies. It would have been far better if the player was punished for not watching their partner’s back, resulting in them using up more of their already scarce health supplies. The Evil Within’s AI is solid and reliable throughout the course of the story (one of the best I’ve seen in a survival horror title for a while), so there’s no reason as to why you can’t be punished for not supporting your partner.

You will learn within a matter of hours that fire is your greatest ally, and the matches you need in order to dispose of dead bodies are limited, of course. Defeating an enemy or seeing a dead body lying in the middle of your current route raises serious questions: can I sacrifice a match in order to eliminate this threat I just defeated? Would I be wasting a match on this person if he/she is actually dead? These are some of the constant scenarios I would keep playing in the back of my mind when I had killed or saw a dead figure lying on the floor ahead of me, and it made me more conservative with my supplies by trying to kill two or more target with a single match.

Protagonist Sebastian Castellanos’ ability to enter ‘safe havens’ in the title is an example of Shinji Mikami at his best. These sanctuaries allow Sebastian to leave the nightmarish world he is currently in for a place which is a little less hellish. The horror aspect remains amplified with the eerie mood when you visit a safe haven, with a single nurse on duty who constantly makes you feel uneasy. Additionally, in this area players have the chance to upgrade their abilities, ranging from an increase in health or stamina to carrying addition supplies or modifying the power behind certain weapons. Upgrading, however, comes at a cost, as players must scavenge for vials of brain fluid in the real world before they can improve their abilities or equipment in one of the safe havens. The entire upgrading system is a simple yet significant part of the gameplay, specifically for how players can tune certain upgrades to suit their playstyle.

Aesthetically, The Evil Within boasts some impressive artwork for its characters, buildings and environments. Although the original concept of a noir-like detective look for Sebastian Castellanos had been greatly refined in the finished product, his rugged, gritty appearance, attire and the attention to detail on his face demonstrates the significant leap current-generation software has made in the title. Additionally, there are moments where you come across a certain landmark in the title and all you want to do is sit back and admire the sheer detail in the art.

As great as The Evil Within might be for its artwork, the visuals have been undermined due to the title’s aspect ratio. I can understand where Mikami is coming from by stripping the top and lower part of the screen (by making it look more like a film and closer to his earlier works), but at the same time, it deters from the experience of survival horror. It’s hard to fully appreciate the textures in the title when it’s compressed into a smaller ratio, and it fathoms me even more that there isn’t an option to make The Evil Within full screen.

For any survival horror title, the formula for a compelling narrative is a must-have feature. Unfortunately for The Evil Within, it falls even further away from achieving this simple expectation. Assuming the role of Detective Sebastian Castellanos, I literally spent more time trying to figure out a word to describe how uninteresting he is than care for his actual story. The best word to describe him at the beginning of the title is insipid; the word to describe him in the middle of the title is insipid; and the word to describe him at the end of the title is — yup, you guessed correctly — insipid. Additionally, it doesn’t help that his fellow officers, Julie Kidman and Joseph Oda, have very little character development or emotions, which makes it hard for me to have any empathy towards their current predicament.

Cliché after cliché, Shinji Mikami strings together the weakest, lacklustre story imaginable in a survival horror title, which is reinforced by an insipid protagonist and supporting cast. Furthermore, by the time I reached the end of the story I felt like I had a more compelling narrative coming from the collectibles than the actual cutscenes in the title. Not that I’m advocating the ability to read every story from the minors facts, but The Evil Within’s story is one that any person can make an accurate assumption as to what the twists are — that’s how predictable it was!

Unlike the long-winded campaign that The Creative Assembly’s survival horror title Alien: Isolation had to offer, The Evil Within’s 15-chapter story is perfect for its length and pacing. That being said, though, the story’s structure is a clear-cut example of a narrative that wasn’t organised to the best of its potential, with the first two chapters failing to create a framework which the rest of the story could be built upon. By the time I reached “Inner Recesses” (Chapter 5), the title became a little bit enticing in terms of it story but then it continued to decline at a steady pace across each chapter.

At the beginning of the title, The Evil Within raised an interesting question for me: is Shinji Mikami trying to pay homage to Resident Evil 4 with the opening scene featuring cops, or is this the Resident Evil 4 of another universe? By the end of the title I found that Mikami did exactly what Ridley Scott did with Prometheus: he didn’t know what it was. Rather than creating a story that’s a direct prequel to Alien or, better yet, making an entirely independent film from the universe, Scott left most people perplexed as to where Prometheus actually lied within the Alien universe — which is what Mikami’s The Evil Within feels like. I enjoyed to a certain extent the influence Resident Evil 4 had on The Evil Within but there were too many parallels that made Mikami’s IP not feel like it’s a new IP.

Music, in my opinion, is an essential component that can’t be overlooked when examining the overall quality of a title. Survival horror thrives on its use to a certain degree, and Shinji Mikami hasn’t lost his touch in finding the right balance for a horror title. From the moments of utter silence to the slow, eerie music playing in the background, The Evil Within sets the atmosphere that you should always be paranoid when walking down a dark, dingy blood-splattered corridor. Additionally, I love the contrapuntal music playing from the gramophones near a safe haven, as it adds to the idea that there’s a little bit of hope just around the corner.

Taking Hideo Kojima’s comment from the introduction into context, I think The Evil Within is far from a successful triumph that the father of survival horror has delivered. With a reputation that Shinji Mikami has for making unique survival horror titles, The Evil Within demonstrates that the director still has a lot to offer to the survival horror genre, but the execution of the game’s story is its biggest downfall. There are redeeming aspects to take away from it (especially in certain gameplay mechanics and music), but an underwhelming narrative in a story-driven survival horror title will dishearten any horror enthusiast.