Unlike my fine colleague Nathan Birch, I have to admit I wasn’t entirely sold on The Evil Within. I just didn’t think an old-fashioned survival horror game would really click. But, this hour-long gameplay demo, complete with Peter Hines playing through, went a long way towards making me interested, I have to admit.
Mostly what’s nice to see is the gameplay mechanics in action in long form. This isn’t a revolution in gaming, but it’s a pretty straightforward stealth game in some respects, and the level design in particular stands out for being surprisingly flexible and open-ended. You’re still in corridors, but you’ve got a few strategies. Another nice touch is that the zombies have guns and can shoot back, so really, it’s even more important to keep your head down and your stealth-kill abilities on hand.
Also on full display is the atmosphere of the game. What’s streaming here is the PS4 version, and it looks, but more importantly, sounds really, really good. It’s also a nice touch that the game doesn’t flood every crevice with murk but that once the lights go out, things get tense. And there’s creepy brain surgery, because really, what game is complete without it? The Evil Within arrives October 14th for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms.