Horror Purists Unhappy With The Evil Within Reviews

The hotly anticipated horror game from Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami hasn’t exactly scored off the charts, and some purists seem irritated.

[Blastoise]

Boohoo, it got good scores anyway get over it

[Automatic79]

I always say play games not reviews. Bought the game can't wait to get in it. If I can only put down shadow of Mordor.

[Yukicore]

I passed shadow of mordor in like just 24Hours. There are still things to do to get 100%, I'm like 75% or so, but the game got easy too fast.

It got super easy once you unlock most of the powers. The game looks gorgeous, but it's too easy and story was short and not what I hoped for.

I hope the sequel will be with deeper and richer story

[Clown_Syndr0me]

I really like Horror - or atleast I think I do.
But I'm on chap 5 of Evil Within, nothings been scary yet (tense yes scary no) and its just not what I hoped it would be..
But like I said Im only on Chapter 5 so hopefully it gets better. It is pretty challenging though which is a good thing in my eyes.

[Blastoise]

To be fair Resident Evil 4 was never scary except for maybe the regenerators. This is obviously a continuation of the more atmospheric/action that Resi 4 brought as oppose to the old school survival horror of Resi 1, 2 & 3.

[Clown_Syndr0me]

Im not sure. Resident Evil 4 wasnt scary - you're right. But it was alot more action oriented than TEW. Its like this is somewhere in the middle, but not enough of either.

[dansdooz]

Im on chapter 5, i find the game to be very tense, i had to turn it off last nite it was too much.
After a long day at work it was ragging on my nerves too much. Love it tho.

[The_Devil_Hunter]

I found fighting Laura and Keeper really tense! I love it so much, but one thing I must say is that it seems as if the only way to do HORROR in games is to play them in First Person. There is something about playing third person that doesnt scare people anymore as it once did.

The Evil Within is an amazing game, and I dont understand how not many people are playing it, like I said in another post, people have been wanting THIS type of game for a long time, yet nobody is playing it or buying it. I dont understand, soon there will be no more Third Person horror games but First Person instead. I really wanted this game to do good because I wanted Capcom to realize how Survival Horror DOES sell.

[hemmo1986]

Yeah stick with it dude. I wasn't impressed with it but at about chapter 6 or 7 I started to really get hooked and can't put it down. I couldn't get used to the clunky controls and everything in general but like I said now I'm really enjoying it.

[CocoWolfie]

ive gotten to a similar place too. i honestly agree, its hard to explain, its there but its not. you have the gore and the monsters but it doesnt connect which really hurts me :c

[Rocky5]

What's scary (or gets the adrenaline pumping) is what you can't see oO

Shat my pants the first time lmao, hate them buggers. (Not literally)

[Akuma2K]

For a game that was hyped up to its release of going back to its survival horror roots of the original first RE game, this game has truly missed that mark in achieving that goal big time. The game isn't scary none whatsoever and its more on the action side rather than being spooky and creepy like it was advertised to be, basically it's RE4 2.0 and that's pretty much it.

There's nothing that says survival horror about Evil Within and if you want a true survival horror experience look no further than Alien Isolation, the tension in that game is so severe you'll be scared to move anywhere because death from the Alien is ever present always.

[darren_poolies]

Really? All I've got from all the advertising is that it is basically RE4 2.0.

[hemmo1986]

Huh? Its definitely survival horror dude. Maybe not that scary but definitely survival horror.

[frelyler]

I find it funny that this article talks about critics not getting the game. Then goes on to mention the controls not being responsive. It has been stated that was a conscious choice to induce panic and it works. Game reviews really have become quite a joke.

[Muzikguy]

I completely agree. If controls were super fluid the game would be too easy and then the tension would be gone. I've found that the more people complain, the less they know what they really want. Like the girl that complains all guys are the same....

Anyway I absolutely LOVE this game. All these people are on Chapter 5. I'm only on Chapter 4 lol. The game is great, atmosphere is great, ammo and health are scarce unless you're looking everywhere, it's just a cool experience. Not as scary yet, but the sound is awesome and I'm hoping it gets better! Either way I'm cool with this game. It's my favorite PS4 game so far, so that has to say something :)

[Talgrath]

Bad controls don't induce panic in me, just frustration. One of my biggest gripes with so-called survival horror is that atrocious controls are supposed to be a feature, when there are lots of better ways to induce fear and panic than bad controls.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

To call The Evil Within a survival horror game is an overstatement. It's more of a psychological thriller. It is a good game. There are tense moments, but there aren't any events i'd consider to be scary. Definitely worth a few play throughs on different difficulty settings.

[dansdooz]

What? Of course its horror bit more psychological than old resi, theres nothing thriller about it.

[hemmo1986]

Yeah I know. All these comments about it not being survival horror has got me going huh?
Scarce ammo, blood and gore everywhere. Horror is supernatural themes with gore. Doesn't have to be scary. When is the last time you found a friday the 13th movie scary?
Never, but it's still horror. Weirdos

[Muzikguy]

Definitely. There's all kinds of horror nowadays. I'd coin psychological thriller as more of an edge of your seat, what's gonna happen next, type of thing. Thriller is more action/suspense which is great for movies! I don't get that vibe from this game.

@hemmo
Agree completely. There's a lot of horror that isn't scary, and I'm yet for this game to get scary, but it's still an enjoyable experience. +1

The title sure is funny. I'd think of myself as a purist and I don't give 2 sh!ts about the reviews. It's a great game in my book. Just want something to complain about I guess

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

There's nothing horrifying about The Evil Within. PT is a horror game. Outlast is a horror game. A horror game is supposed create a sense of fear and The Evil Within doesn't do that. The reason why it isn't scary is because the game seems to be trying to cater to casual gamers by adding guns and crossbows. I'm not saying it's a bad game, it's a great game. It's just not scary and it doesn't create a sense of survival or horror. The Last Of Us is a survival game. The Evil Within is psychological quest that has nothing to do with surviving. You avoid danger, kill zombies, solve puzzles and progress to the next chapter. It caters too much to casuals. Sorry, it's just my opinion.

[WeAreLegion]

I love The Evil Within. It's all about that sense of dread.

[46889337]

Most negative reviews highlight issues with its storytelling, characters, presentation, and design choices.

The user score is worse than the metacritic average. Its not just critics complaining about these things.

[homerlvsbeer]

remember when we use to play side scrolling games and platform games and use to really enjoy them. Look at the games today. 3d in every way. even more than 3d. but. also look at how the graphical ability's have also grown. i remember enjoying many games but not really like the way some of them looked in the old days. but the game had spirit. they was fun and addictive. games are not addictive now. so much is put into graphics and building games and textures etc. that i feel most game developers are not thinking about the most important thing gameplay value. Many games look good before release and you get all hyped up thinking this is gunna be that game i want so badly. and when you get it. your bored of it in 10 minutes. all my games do this to me. most of them. ive actually had games from indie developers that have held my interest for much longer. try gamejolt

[opoikl]

Last game that didn't do this to me was Wolfenstein The New Order (one out of 8 next gen games I own..). That game had some seriously fun gameplay, but yeah, apart from a few exceptions, you're absolutely right.

Thanks for the tip on Gamejolt!

[Sie]

I'm on chapter 11 and so far absolutely love it. It's more tense than scary due to the lack of ammo so you can't just shoot your way out of every situation.

I have no idea whats going on with the story though that lost be many chapters ago.

[hemmo1986]

Same, the more I push through it the more I'm enjoying it. I was really put off by the clunky controls and the visuals are lacking a little but once you get into it you don't notice all the bad because the game-play and balance is sooooo good.

[Jyndal]

I hear the controls are in need of some serious tweaking. Other than that, the reviews seem to favor it overall.

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

I have been a gamer all my life and among my favorite genres are horror games and I think The Evil Within is an excellent game. I love it and think that the art direction and atmosphere are brilliant. It is scary and a total mind f***. Ammo and resources are incredibly scarce so the survival element is very strong as well. I am pleased with what Shinji Mikami and his team have made and couldn't care less what reviewers are saying about it. I give the game a 9/10 easily.

[ghostface9]

ya I think its way better than its metacritic score

[hemmo1986]

Remember people its one of those games that takes a little while to get used to (controls etc) but once you do its awesome. I hate people that play for an few hours and judge a game. All games deserve a proper chance.

[Knightshade]

As I put in my review, Chapters 1, 9 and some of the ending are tense and scary. Other than that, it's straight up Resident Evil for the most part. I expected more horror out of my survival horror I guess.

[Biohazard8860]

I am a survival horror fan and i loved this game so much it is def as great as silent hill 2 3 REmake and the original dead space.

[spacedelete]

The evil within is not a survival horror. its an action game. theres more weapons than you can shake a stick at. the focus on gore is a cheap tactic. a good horror game doesn't need little to no gore at all.

[Muzikguy]

Seriously?! Smh....
Weapons aren't that abundant and you know it, if you've played the game. I've got 3 weapons and almost no ammo for them. That gore thing is funny too. All horror, games and movies, use gore in their mediums. Come on now, this isn't anything new. It's when the gore is overdone that things get ruined. That's not what has happened in this game though IMO. It's not as "scary" as I would've hoped, but it's good enough!

[kevnb]

It really doesn't matter, it's a good game .

[Donnywho]

Solid horror game.

[NRGuitarist]

I just finished Chapter 5 and, up to now, it's been everything I hoped for.

Resident Evil is one of my all time favourite series but none have ever 'scared' me. The only games I ever felt hesitant to get back on and play were Amnesia and, back in the day, Doom 3. Classic survival horror games I find tense and atmospheric, but never scary. The Evil Within is much the same.

It's got a good mix of slow, creepy moments and frantic, tense battles with the well-designed enemies and bosses. The controls are just restricted enough to give it that old-school feel, but simple enough not to be irritating.

Visuals are slightly dated but I always prefer that look in a horror game as opposed to gleaming, polished graphics. Audio is phenomenal and whilst the dialogue and voice acting is laughable, it all adds to that nostalgic charm of the early Resident Evil style of survival horror.

I also think the gunplay is excellent, the nightmarish change in environments is a great way to keep it varied and pretty much the entire game rocks balls.

It feels like an homage to early survival horror, and whilst critics have made this out to be a bad thing it's exactly the kind of game I wanted. Horror seems to be drifting into either all-out action (RE6) or going the way of weaponless, defenseless chase sequences (Outlast etc.). I love the latter, but that style of horror can get repetitive quick, and sometimes more of a 'blast from the past' type game such as TEW is exactly what the horror scene needs.

[vicristion]

I feel like playing a shooter. When I see all the "enemies" with firearms: pistols, machine guns, shootguns. And there are those who hit you with knives, scythes, axes, pickaxes. The atmosphere is ok but I hope in the future not to see such "enemies". Look at the Last of Us (The Infected), the Walking Dead (zombies), Resident Evil 1 & 2 & 3 (zombies) are ok as they are made ​​without guns in their hands.