Shinji Mikami--the game's director--stated that Resident Evil 4 was "action horror" which emphasizes that the action took priority in regards of the experience. The Evil Within is like if they flipped that around. This "horror action" game is simply awesome. The monster designs are fantastic, the environment loves to flip-out and switch on a dime (sometimes with incredibly well-animated transitions), and the gameplay itself is very gratifying.
Granted, the introduction is total balls. Forced-walking scenario that plagues so many adventure games, and the scenario where you hide from the chainsaw-wielding foe only teaches you mechanics that are mostly-useless for the rest of the game. The story itself isn't exactly stellar, but there's a lot to figure out and see what kind of person Ruvik--who I argue is the real main character--really is, and what he wanted out of his actions. The Kidman DLC helps you piece everything together more easily, too.
It bummed me out when this game was new and nearly everyone despised it, but I think over the past few years, it received more of the recognition it deserves. It's not the most modest or eloquent horror piece ever made, but it's still a really fun gorefest by a bunch of Japanese devs that got inspired by Western films. That's an energy I'll always adore. I also respect the ambitious aspect ratio, showing Mikami's team wanted to do more subtle--but more meaningful--ways to show how much they were inspired by cinema when making this game.
Granted, the introduction is total balls. Forced-walking scenario that plagues so many adventure games, and the scenario where you hide from the chainsaw-wielding foe only teaches you mechanics that are mostly-useless for the rest of the game. The story itself isn't exactly stellar, but there's a lot to figure out and see what kind of person Ruvik--who I argue is the real main character--really is, and what he wanted out of his actions. The Kidman DLC helps you piece everything together more easily, too.
It bummed me out when this game was new and nearly everyone despised it, but I think over the past few years, it received more of the recognition it deserves. It's not the most modest or eloquent horror piece ever made, but it's still a really fun gorefest by a bunch of Japanese devs that got inspired by Western films. That's an energy I'll always adore. I also respect the ambitious aspect ratio, showing Mikami's team wanted to do more subtle--but more meaningful--ways to show how much they were inspired by cinema when making this game.