Preview - Hands-on with The Evil Within
The Evil Within is an ode to when horror games kept you awake at night, struggling to remain calm if you heard a small noise from downstairs. The influence of Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami is here for all to see, and by going back to the roots of survival horror he might just have crafted a game that'll end up being more spine tingling than anything else he's built. And that's saying something.
We took a look at the early parts of the game last year, but now we're back to get hands-on. We start in the fourth chapter, and by now it looks like protagonist Sebastian has already been through a hell of a lot. He finds himself in a creepy looking village, with monsters wandering around the fields and not looking too friendly. Already I feel tense, attempting to stay undetected as I try to navigate my way around. Sebastian is accompanied by an eccentric doctor and eventually they find a small house and head inside.
Even the way doors open is reminiscent of classic Resi Evil, as that timeless creaking sound makes an appearance and you anticipate the worst. The doctor rushes ahead and leaves you behind to explore the squeaky floors by yourself, and you just know the silence isn't going to last for too long.
Eventually you head downstairs and find the doctor again, he's discovered a woman called Leslie who appears to be very important to him. Maybe she's the key to answering why you suddenly find yourself in this strange world full of monsters and spirits? You walk to go back upstairs but you find they're not there anymore, they've vanished and instead you're faced with a long hallway.
Before long a spirit called Ruvik appears, and it doesn't seem to like you very much. After a cutscene the ground below you gives way and you end up falling into a pool of blood. Gruesome. This is where the first piece of action in our hands-on starts, and it's tough going.
You're trapped in a room and have about six or seven zombie-like monsters hobbling towards you. Sebastian has a few weapons - pistol, shotgun and a projectile device - but ammunition is sparse so you'll have to use some tactics. Dotted around the room are gas canisters you can use to cause small explosions and take out multiple enemies at once. Using fire seems to be the best offense against these creatures, and after they're down you'll want to set them alight to make sure they're completely exterminated and can't get back up.
The challenge is made even harder as there are traps set up in the room, and if you set them off a small explosion will drag your health down to dangerously low levels. This means you'll have to look out for trip wires and not get too close to certain walls. You can disarm some of the traps by sneaking up to them and playing a little mini-game where you have to stop the dial at the right time, but doing so is a risky business as one wrong move will see it go off in your face.
Some of the enemies are also tougher than others, and there's one big guy in particular who caused us a bit of trouble. He could take more punishment than his friends and when he rushed you it was hard to get out of the way. Eventually we managed it, though, but we're not ashamed to say it took us more than a few attempts. The Evil Within has no qualms about being a hard game, and again it takes you back to a decade ago when trial and error was the only way to progress.
Leaving the area we head down a few more hallways and come to a dead end, but as usual things aren't always as they seem. A terrifying creature rises from a pool of blood on the floor and this begins a chase sequence that'll have you sprinting for survival. You'll turn left, right, head down an elevator and dive under a closing barrier in your attempts to escape - it's all heart-pounding stuff that'll leave you shaking. If The Evil Within wanted to have us freaking out with a controller in our hands, it's already done a good job.
The next chapter we're shown is from even later in the game. Sebastian is outside and he's walking up to a large house, while the scene is made spooky thanks to some rustling in the bushes that has you fearing the worst. As you head inside you see the doctor and Leslie again, and they go through a door that locks shut behind them. You'll have to go on a tour of the house to open it, and this where we get to see a different side of the game.
You'll be exploring the house on your own terms, searching different rooms and hoping to avoid anything that wants to do you any harm. You can use stealth tactics and sneak past enemies or take them out from behind, but we found it was always best to avoid conflict if you could. The key to unlocking the main door is by finding a series of puzzles around the house that are to do with the human brain. You have to insert a pin into the correct area of the brain by following some guidelines next to you, but placing it in the wrong position will zap a little bit of your health. The whole process was very strange, slightly disturbing and a little bit difficult thanks to us not knowing where to place the pin, but we got there.
What makes things even more tense is that Ruvik will make an appearance if you spend too long in any one room. He'll walk towards you and if he manages to touch you then you'll instantly die, so you best get out of there as fast as possible. This means we were nervous whenever we explored, and we did things a lot quicker in fear of coming across that deadly spirit again.
After repeating the brain process three different times you'll unlock the main door so that you can go through it, and this is where our hands-on ends. After nearly two hours we're left slightly shaken, but eager to discover even more disturbing scenes. If you're after a horror game that'll have you hiding behind the sofa, this looks like it'll be right up your street.