Ever heard of a little game called Resident Evil? It was developed by Shinji Mikami, considered the pioneer of the survival horror genre. He’s the mind behind the nightmarish vision of The Evil Within, so this is no lightweight title.
Firstly, this game is a cross between Dead Space, The Last of Us, Alan Wake and of course Resident Evil. But since Mikami is the inspiration behind survival horror – he’s allowed to borrow.
The Story
TEW is a blend of psychological horror and gore with intersecting storylines and mystery mixed in. You play Sebastian, a detective with a wounded past who is trying to find the truth behind his personal pain, as well as a string of brutal slayings within Krimson City – centering around the city’s mental hospital and a local family of ‘blue bloods’. The story slowly unravels through newspaper articles, audio recordings and visions of past events. Though Sebastian’s story and the villain’s seem unrelated, one can’t help but feel there is some connection between them. It is the gradual revelation of truths that contributes to a well told story.
The Scares
Yes there’s a ton of jump scares and gore, but it’s the disturbing nature of the gore that really gets you. The idea of wading through rotting flesh and blood or running from a twisted, long haired six armed indestructible female monster is as creepy as it gets. Further is the sense of isolation, lightless environments and sounds of unknown origin. The scariest moments for me aren’t the monsters themselves, but the moments when you simply have no idea where you’re going or what will happen – entering a dark room and wondering why I would even want to do this, certain that it will not end well. It usually doesn’t. That said, it’s not a revolutionary game, but it’s probably one of the best of last year.
Game play
Third-person view, it’s strongly reminiscent of Dead Space – the HUD doesn’t stop the action, only slows it down – so this makes battles really frenetic. You have a system for upgrading weapons through a save/home station, and while I was playing on the hard setting (you unlock the survivalist by completing the game in hard), I can’t say it was a really super challenging game. There were times I was out of ammo, but you’ll always find a convenient box of bullets nearby, and there is usually a system for killing an enemy that makes things a tad easy. The pacing is great with a range of challenges including outright battles, some agility tests, puzzles and my favorite: stealth levels.
All in all, this cross-platform game is well worth it, if you love to be scared outta your PJs.
By Blakniss
