Those who attended PAX East 2014 got a chance to see a sneak peak at The Evil Within, the new survival horror game by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. I got a chance to sit in on the presentation and while I feel The Evil Within has the potential to be great I couldn't help shake this feeling of Deja Vu while watching the video.
The demo was split up into two parts. The first takes place in a city that looks like it's straight out of the movie Inception in how it kept collapsing and shape shifting as the demo went on. If you enjoyed the new Resident Evil games, you should feel right at home. Evil Within looks like a Resident Evil game with its over the shoulder camera, and while I didn't get to play the game, it looks like it will probably use the same Resident Evil control scheme as well. Of course with the similarities to Resident Evil, it's not surprising that Sebastian encountered zombies on his travels with the city. One interesting thing of note was that Sebastian has the ability to set the zombies on fire after they go down. I am going to assume that if you don't set them on fire, they could get back up and start chasing after you again. The first part of the demo reached its conclusion when Sebastian made his way to an area of the map that was completely flooded. Sebastian threw a bottle into the water and a giant creature appeared. I assume that you are going to have to traverse this area in the final game without making too much motion in the water or else you will meet certain death. Certain death was exactly what Sebastian faced as he jumped in the water and made as much noise as possible swimming. The giant creature jumped out of he water and killed him.
The second part of the demo started and Sebastian is now making his way through a sewer system all while being chased by a monster that looks like it is something out of Silent Hill. The monsters were giant men in butcher aprons, with safes as their heads that are wrapped in bloody barbed wire. I honestly felt like I was now watching a new Silent Hill game. Silent Hill games are known for having enemies representing your worst nightmares coming after you so I am really excited to see how they handle this aspect of the game. The demo continued with Sebastian making his way through the sewers while avoiding monsters. Soon after, the demo came to an end.
I am a little conflicted about this game. While I am one of the few that has actually enjoyed the newer Resident Evil and Silent Hill games, I couldn't help but shake this feeling of Deja Vu when watching the video. One the one hand I feel like I would really enjoy this game but I feel like it would absolutely frustrate me at the same time, especially when something as simple as opening or closing doors turns into a button mashing, quick time event. I absolutely loathe this is video games today. Please, just let us either open or close the door. Stop this. I just hope when the final game is released that it feels like something new and fresh and not just another Resident Evil.
A new trailer for the gameplay trailer was also released for the game so be sure to check that out below.
