The Evil Within - PlayStation 4

I love oldschool horror games. Shinji Makami, the director behind Resident Evil, made this with his new (now closed studio thanks to Microsoft). Evil Within is a very good modern horror game. Plays like Resident Evil 4 but with its own flair. Its challenging, twisted and bloody. It doesnt get enough credit or recognition, even after the studios closing and the popularity came swooping in.

The Evil Within was one game that I've been anticipating for a long time ever since it was announced last year. The Evil Within is a Survival Horror game directed and created by the godfather of the Survival Horror genre Shinji Mikami, who was the creator of Resident Evil. Shinki Mikami is back to direct a game that delivers pure Survival Horror in the hopes of reviving the genre. Let's first talk about what the game is about, the story goes something like this: Detective Sebastian Castellanos witnesses the slaughter of a few fellow officers and gets ambushed and knocked unconscious. After he awakens, he finds himself in a deranged world where hideous creatures wander among the dead. Facing unimaginable terror, and fighting for survival, Sebastian embarks on a horrifying journey to unravel what's behind this evil force. The story is interesting but it does suffer from a few questionable scenes that makes it a little confusing but nevertheless it's still fascinating. On to visuals, the graphics are gorgeous but there will be a couple instances of texture pop-in but it doesn't show up particularly often. On to game play, you play as Sebastian where you will be using a variety of weapons to defend yourself from enemies as well as perform certain tasks like sneak kills and running from enemies when protection is not available. When it comes to weapons, you start off with a revolver but you get more weapons like a shotgun, sniper rifle, and a couple others but your most versatile weapon is the Agony Crossbow, a crossbow that can be used to shoot a variety of different arrows that can be crafted from mechanical parts collected from disassembling traps and killing enemies, this weapon is very helpful when you have little to no ammunition for your other guns. You can also upgrade your skills like longer running and increasing maximum health, weapons and ammo capacities with green gel, which can be collected from killing enemies, boss battles and looking around for resources. The Evil Within was a fantastic and satisfying horror game that kept me on the edge of my seat when playing and got me freaking out when deadly enemies are coming after me. If you like horror games, The Evil Within is simply not to be missed, it's available on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. There is still a chance to get a copy with the Fighting Chance Pack which consists of a Medical Kit, Double Barrel Shotgun, Incendiary Agony Bolt, Poison Agony Bolt, and some Green Gel to start upgrading.

As other reviewers have said, The Evil Within is a difficult game to review. In some ways, reading the reviews is arguably more interesting than playing the game. That said, if one can deal with an often punishing gameplay experience and push through the first couple chapters, there is a lot to recommend the game to horror fans.TEW is notorious for its difficulty; this is, in part, a misleading description. Most players may have difficulty with the first couple chapters. But if one pushes their way through--most critically to accumulate more helpful weaponry--the game opens up, and play become more rewarding and strategic.Do not misunderstand me: even in later chapters, the average player is going to die... often quite a lot. But deaths are generally clustered around specific encounters, usually--though not always--boss fights. If you do not like dying in a game and are not comfortable with controls that feel like throwbacks to older horror games, this is not the game for you. If you have fond memories of trying to control tank-like, sometimes unresponsive or poor-aiming characters, you should probably buy two copies of this game, since it recalls the older generation of horror titles better than anything since the PS2.This game will not win any awards for graphical beauty, but it's a usually competent, often workmanlike title, visually speaking. Animations can be inconsistent but not terrible.On the positive side, enemy design and presentation is a high point. This has some of the greatest enemy variations of any adventure game in recent memory. You'll come across radically different enemies that occasionally populate only a handful of environments. It's an audacious choice that justifiably expresses confidence in character design. Sound design is sometimes overlooked, but it often shines, particularly in set pieces that build tension.This game is not terribly scary, unless you consider violence and gore frightening. But without debating what "scary" means, this is a game that, in terms of scares, is more Resident Evil--obviously, from the directorial side--and less Silent Hill or Fatal Frame. That isn't really a criticism, only a comment. The sometimes high difficulty, however, means many situations are fraught with tension, since enemy detection will often mean player death follows in short order. The environmental traps (reminiscent of the Saw games) reward careful exploration, rather than spastic rushing around; this is often more difficult than it sounds, as many enemies have a one-hit kill attack.I had a difficult time assigning stars for this game, because honesty compels me to say it's probably a three-star game when judged solely by its merits. Added to its other issues, the wooden voice acting and inconsistent tone of later chapters, paired with oft dodgy controls, wouldn't normally allow me to give a more than three stars; but my subjective response is completely at odds with my objective assessment. So I've split the difference, rounding up to four stars, but hopefully enumerating the issues a prospective consumer should be aware of. Your ability to tolerate the game's flaws and questionable decisions, to see past them to the fun and interesting game within (as it were), will go a long way toward predicting your enjoyment of The Evil Within.

I am a huge fan of the horror genre. This is a great game