And as Castellanos bounces between horrific, demented scenery, The Evil Within edges on the absurdist. The characters are oddly calm, the sudden changes in environment aren't discussed and no-one has a clue what is happening. The Evil Within starts to feel like genuine surrealism. To begin with, the writers are totally unconcerned with what exactly is going on. The narrative of The Evil Within only falls down because it tries, in the later chapters, to concretely explain itself. The dialogue is at least functional and is used to efficiently relay story beats. At the best of times, he reminds me of Deadly Premonition's Agent York, since both are completely – refreshingly – unfazed by the insanity around them. Protagonist Sebastian Castellanos is fantastic. The Evil Within: Sebastian Castellanos is a shadowy character Bethesda The combat is tense, and you'll suffer a few cheap deaths at the hands of traps and boss enemies, but the sense of oppression and ordeal that lies at the core of good horror isn't present throughout The Evil Within – it vanishes completely in the last few chapters. If Mikami created action-horror with Resident Evil 4, on The Evil Within he's pioneered another new genre, something you might coin "entertainment-horror." There are a few ghastly moments, but no real scares. It's certainly less frightening, not just than Silent Hill but the majority of its inspirations. Arguably, that makes it less sophisticated. Still, Mikami puts his spin on it - The Evil Within is aesthetically more concerned with campish torture devices than phallic or psychological symbols. A lot of the specific aesthetic touches, the booby-traps, the moving walls, the bloodied floors, remind me of movies, specifically The Cell and Tinto Brass's Caligula.īut the idea of a living, predatory environment, which adapts to torment the main character, has obviously come from the Silent Hill games. It's awkward to control and clings tightly to the player character, making each environment feel claustrophobic and enemies, no matter how close they are, difficult to spot.Īdding to that sense of enclosure, The Evil Within takes place inside nightmarish, seemingly organic worlds, that repeatedly contort and twist so as to more efficiently beguile the player. And like that game, The Evil Within relies heavily on the interactive camera for creating tension. The combat in The Evil Within - difficult, sporadic and best avoided - is inspired by The Last of Us. He also pays homage to other horror staples. Onimusha, Vanquish, Devil May Cry: Mikami uses The Evil Within to recount his entire track record. Not to lend The Evil Within too much art world credibility, but it's comparable to Inland Empire, by David Lynch, a film that comprises dozens of winks to the auteur's previous work. This is a director reflecting on his career, his collaborations. The Evil Within: You might have a gun, but you'll still have to run BethesdaĮven Shadows of the Damned, the flawed Suda51 pet project which Mikami co-produced, gets an acknowledgement, by way of exaggerated blood and gore effects. Save points meanwhile are tended by an enigmatic, obsequious nurse, redolent of Samantha from Killer7, on which Mikami served as writer. Enemy behaviours, over-the-shoulder shooting, and some of the late stage set-ups are lifted from Resident Evil 4 – there's even a guy with a chainsaw. If I wasn't certain that Mikami was planning a follow-up, I'd say The Evil Within was his swansong.īasically every major game he's been involved in receives a nod. It's a celebration of where the horror game started, how it grew and where it's at now. But this is clearly the work of someone who understands what is and what isn't worth preserving from the past 20 years of games. With so many mechanics, locations, and pretences borrowed from elsewhere, it often borders on the derivative. You can trace not only the history of horror games but the career of Shinji Mikami throughout The Evil Within. The Evil Within: it's a celebration of where the horror game started, how it grew and where it's at now.
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