Hands On with The Evil Within | An Unimpressive Experience - The Game Fanatics

Matthew writes: The Evil Within is a game that I was very excited to get a chance to play. I think the horror genre is great and really does not get enough love in video games today. I must admit though, I walked away thoroughly unimpressed.

[Grindlefly]

So basically the guy thinks its shit because he cant kill enemies easily? Complains that the character has trouble shooting when actually thats more realistic, he isnt some navy seal super hero. Its supposed to be survival horror and the hint here is the word survival, its not supposed to be easy

[Pozzle]

He says the character can't kills enemies easily because the controls are clunky and awkward. Not because it's an intentional design choice. And if that's true, then it's really disappointing because so many horror games have come out in the past generation that don't need to rely on tank controls to make a situation scary.

I'm still excited for The Evil Within (hell, I enjoyed Deadly Premonition and that game has ATROCIOUS controls) but clunky controls in horror games really shouldn't be a problem in the PS4/Xbone era. The PT demo showed us that an effective horror can be made without the player having to fight against the control system.

[vishmarx]

well re6 had excellent controls and look how that turned out.
the guy is just looking for another action game if he calls a survival horror game bad based on tank controls

[Pozzle]

Personally I don't think "tank controls" should exist in the era of PS4 and Xbox One, and I'm surprised so many horror fans still defend them. There are so many ways a horror game can create a tense and creepy atmosphere without having to cripple the controls to make a character difficult to control.

This isn't the first preview to mention that The Evil Within's controls are crappy and I'm just worried that clunky gameplay could potentially ruin an otherwise great game. RE4 had good controls but it wouldn't have been half as good a game if Leon controlled like a one-tonne truck missing its front wheel.

[Systemshock2]

You can go ahead and enjoy Destiny while this game will be enjoyed by those for whom the game is made.

[BX81]

@pozzle
Killzone 2's controls were really clunky and that was a good game.

[DigitalAnalog]

@Pozzle. Impressions from NeoGAF says otherwise. Game does an excellent job in a control scheme as long as you understand the fundamental mechanics. This is NOT a game you can go Dead Space or Biohazard 4 on the enemies. Levels are laid out so you can strategize whether to fight OR run - you know, what "survival" is all about.

The author here admits he hasn't played the original series and used a offhand remark dismissing the franchise relying on "tank" controls as the defining survival gimmick. If that was the case than Alone in the Dark would've been the more popular franchise.

Added to that he describes the playthrough as the everyday man and yet he attempts to play the game through direct action, contradicting his premise; no doubt fostered by the so-called survival TPS games this generation. Clearly someone who overlooks mechanics for immediate self-gratification.

[AgentSmithPS4]

Isn't the 'hero' a cop and aren't they trained to shoot? If so that's not realistic and they should've thought of more logical ways to make it scary instead of cheap 'tricks'. He gets slower because his leg is injured so if they're going to gimp your aiming at least give a good reason for it or just add more enemies so the fear of running out of bullets makes you run away etc.

I want the game to be great but they'll have to prove it's worthy before I buy it.

[Systemshock2]

P.T is just walking simulator with zero game design or mechanics. You only move and press R3 lol.

Casuals failing at Mikami game is not new, it will be Vanquish and godhand all over again , and game demo previews from expert gamers loved it.

The aiming and running needs to be UPGRADED , there is whole
system based in that.

[fanboysmackdown]

Game looks like ass......I'll pass.

[gamer4lifeyo]

You could be a rapper with those rhyming skills

[Akuma2K]

Wow.....judging a game demo, the controls and graphics and all of a sudden the game overall is a disaster and not worth purchasing ??

This is exactly why i care less about other people's opinions when it comes to hands on playing times from game demos, people trying to pass of their experience from a game demo knowing dam well the demo will be nothing like the final version....get real.

[DeadlyOreo]

I don't know why your getting disagrees. It's embarrassing nowadays, nothing is ever good enough for anyone. People always feel like developers owe them something and it's sad. Any given game will not be perfect, it never has been that way and it never will.

[Akuma2K]

I don't care about the disagrees, the fact still remains that you still can't judge the final version of a game from playing a demo.

[Monstar]

Shinji Mikami's brand of survival horror doesn't age very well... Robotic/emotionless protagonist stiff animations, clunky movement, boring combat, questionable AI.

But that isn't it, for the 3rd time they have added another chainsaw wielding maniac (how original) on top of that, one of the bosses it seems carries a safe box over his head wrapped in barbed wire (you serious?) are they trying that hard to make another pyramid head? the a.i/enemies almost exactly react to that of Resident evil 4...ala the villages.

No aggressive/fast A.I but more brain dead enemies..that just adds NO tension or difficulty when wielding upgradeable powerful weaponry. and thats another thing...upgrades. you sit in a f'en chair and put this device on your head. You can now upgrade your sprint time (lol) and melee attack as well as your health (you stab yourself with syringes throughout the game, lol) why do we need this in a survival horror games with such poor and weak A.I? (or at all)

As for the scare factor..the game seems to only rely heavily on blood/gore...as well as hallucinations (taking u from one spot and randomly to another which is plain annoying). This game has NO sense of realism, tension or scare from what's been shown so far..the main character shows little emotion to anything but instead sounds like another tough guy doing his job.

IMO this game has trouble in not knowing what type of horror it wants to be, but instead borrows a lot of elements into one..silent hill, resident evil, Saw, texas chainsaw massacre, etc. The Last of US has this game beat in every aspect (besides being less of a horror game) the gameplay can even be compared as evil within is still an action game and similar in some areas (shooting and stealth).

[DigitalAnalog]

Sounds like off hand impressions without concrete information. Can you elaborately describe in detail with the experience you've had in the game?

[DoctorJones]

Oh get off your high horse, he's allowed to have an opinion on a what he's seen. He doesn't have to have played the game to get a sense of how the game is shaping up from seeing previews and videos of others playing the game.

His opinion may differ from yours but it doesn't mean it's wrong.

[DigitalAnalog]

So any sort of opinion is now considered valid? You can stop with white knighting and actually access the information at hand. All I'm asking is for a little clarification and if that constitutes as blocking an opinion then you must have a different type view on how "criticisms" work. There's a difference between censoring an opinion and calling one out.

[DafunkyRebel]

There are fast running aggressive AIs, like the teleporting spider woman that you can't kill or the ghost dude Rovik that stalks you like the monster in Amnesia.

[Clown_Syndr0me]

Still looking forward to it, first game I've played like this in a while. Even if its mediocre I'll enjoy it.

[jay2]

im playing this tomorrow at a game lock in and at egx on 26th so ill)re0ort back

[DafunkyRebel]

Go watch the PewDeePie demo play through of the game, its will show you the true horror elements and got some stuff that makes it look really fun. Turn off the volume if you don't care for the annoying voice.