The Evil Within is Shinji Mikami's mixed result of a return to the survival horror genre. On the one hand it faithfully recreates the feel of older entries to the genre, but it does nothing more than that
The Evil Within
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The Evil Within Review Summary
Critic Reviews for The Evil Within
A challenging blend of stealth and action, but relies on gross-out rather than real fear. Poor design choices leads to technical shortcomings.
'The Evil Within' has some rich and interesting imagery, but its story and gameplay are disappointingly derivative.
Superb gameplay, a breakneck pace and terrifying enemies makes The Evil Within a wonderful survival horror experience.
Shinji Mikami has yet to make a poor game, and The Evil Within does not blemish his record. But neither does the game enchant and disrupt in the way that Vanquish and the others managed. This is Mikami revisiting his past glories and, as such, it's both a delight and a disappointment.
Despite letting some of its most compelling aspects die off, The Evil Within is still worth a shot for bringing some unique ideas in the first place, and giving us a new way to think about survival horror.
Rather than the future of survival horror this is merely a retread of its defining moments, and even then it rarely manages to equal what has gone before – let alone exceed it.
Is feeling completely unnerved for 15-plus hours your idea of a good time? Then you're in for a treat
The Evil Within has a strong foundation in the past but fails to build on it