The Evil Within Series Review (Xbox, PlayStation & PC)

The Evil Within ties the knot with Resident Evil in a bid to push the boundaries of unconventional thrillers to vast new depths and illuminate the possibilities of a world where classic shoulder-hugging survival and psychological horror can thrive beyond mere fantasy. Silent Hill, or perhaps even Siren Blood Curse, also hold a stake on this spectrum—as additional proof that the greatest traumas are often those that share a similar mindset. It just so happens that Resident Evil is as close to The Evil Within as Little Nightmares is to Reanimal. The question is, which of the two is the better choice?

It doesn’t take much to spot the similarities between The Evil Within and Resident Evil. In fact, if you were to swap out the protagonists and pull an UNO reverse card on the zombie outbreak, then you would, in all likelihood, wind up with a series that looks almost identical. Case in point, if you pool the creative monstrosities and the “safe” rooms, the camera-cradling combat and the dark and grainy visuals, then you have something of a love letter to Capcom. But then, where Resident Evil often feels like a textbook zombie flick, The Evil Within comes across as more of a fever dream—a psychological nightmare with REM beyond comprehension. It doesn’t always make sense, but then, that’s sort of what makes it so intriguing.

As a series, The Evil Within has always been a fitting representative for tradition, in that it has never shied from the signature trappings of a good old-fashioned horror story. From the chainsaw-wielding masked villains to the arachnid entities, the seemingly endless puzzles to the claustrophobic settings, the saga has, whilst still learning to establish its own identity and emerge as its own staple franchise, become an ode to a beloved formula—a powerhouse that knows how to extract all of the best ingredients and techniques to create a well-orchestrated timepiece with the vigor of an instant classic.

Thanks to its infusions of bleak detail, hallucinatory storytelling and disturbing imagery, The Evil Within hasn’t just traced along the same lines as its kin; it has built on the schematic to incubate a self-contained tale that bears the brunt of all of the right elements to deliver a unique experience that has the power to keep you engulfed in the darkness long after the final chapter casts its shadow. With a curious plot, a band of characters who serve only to plunge you deeper into a perpetual state of confusion, and a world that elopes you with a sense that you need to defy the odds in order to stay afloat, The Evil Within evolved into something much greater than your average horror.

With more than enough thought-provoking twists and otherworldly transitions to keep you second guessing your predicament and a sizable campaign to pique your curiosity, at no point has The Evil Within ever settled for a safe and somewhat predictable narrative. And that’s something that we should appreciate here: the fact that The Evil Within doesn’t just exist as a silhouette beneath the outline of a radiant adversary, but as a full-fledged force that has the capacity to enshroud the world with its own hand. Granted, it’s still a rather pulpy voyage, and it doesn’t turn a blind eye to the iconic tropes that make the likes of Resident Evil and other prolific franchises the masterpieces that they are. That said, The Evil Within plays into the mantra that, if it isn’t broke, then it doesn’t need to be fixed.

While you could argue that The Evil Within has never been a perfect series, and that it has often fell flat with its dated mechanics and rather wooden gunplay, the general consensus is that, where the first chapter failed to deliver a seamless experience, the sequel was able to propel its weaknesses to a higher standard. In the wake of The Evil Within 2’s inception, audiovisual components were polished, and the general gameplay mechanics improved significantly with the incubation of an alternate perspective and a larger world to play around with. But, even the launch of the sequel came with a downside: it lacked the classic appeal—the grittiness of the original design, as well as the grainy details and signature tropes that made the original incarnation the powerhouse that it was.

Frankly, you have two very different games here. On the one hand, you have a full-fledged horror with linear gameplay and a harsher focus on storytelling and combat, whereas in the second game, you have an open-world experience with more emphasis on exploration and side quests, puzzles and nonlinear gameplay. As for which of the two is scarier, eh, I feel that the original takes the crown here, mainly due to the fact that it features creepier enemies, tighter spaces, and a much, much gloomier atmosphere. That said, The Evil Within 2 adopts a wider variety of styles with greater complexity than its predecessor, and not to mention more secrets and beaten paths to traipse through. Nevertheless, the series as a whole has kept a firm hold on one of the most important facets of all: its ability to weave intense tales into genuinely bold and frightening experiences.

Verdict

The Evil Within will forever remain one of the best, albeit one of the most slept-on survival horror series of all time. Even with the odds against it as a lesser known IP, Bethesda has been more than capable of producing an excellent saga with its natural ability to weave unfathomable nightmares into immensely complex psychological affairs with deeply disturbing atmospheric facets and gripping gameplay elements. Although a small cog on a much, much larger wheel, it proudly serves its purpose as a genuine reminder that not everything needs to undergo dramatic changes in order to instill fear. It might not have the social stature or the grand scale of Resident Evil, but that doesn’t mean that it’s any less of an ideal advocate for the world of psychological horror.