• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Shinji Mikami's THE EVIL WITHIN |OT| Where's everyone going? Tango?

antitrop

Member
This pretty much sums up how I feel (I haven't finished the game, but I've played enough to know how I feel about it so far) and I feel this is one I'll look back on years down the road with fond memories like I do RE4 and replay it from time to time

I think when I look back at 2014 in like 5 years, all I will remember is Wolfenstein, The Evil Within, and a fuckload of remasters.
 
HOLY SHIT YOOO, THAT
FUCKING LAURA RINGU LADY CAME BACK. Chapter 10 getting pretty goddamn intense and creepy.

Guys pls, don't get me started on open world games that all make me angry but I keep buying anyway....aside from the wonderful Sleeping Dogs.

antitrop baiting me with that "except Rockstar" comment. I won't bite, I won't bite *struggles internally*

Except Rockstar Tho.
 

antitrop

Member
I'm probably gonna double dip even with all the issues I have with the game :X

Just to see the improvements :X
Well, we'll debate those issues when the time comes, my friend. ;)

I have a laundry list of problems with GTA V, mostly with the story and characters, but it was still my second favorite game of last year.
 

Dominator

Member
Nope, Chapter 10 still sucks. The
double boss guys
or whatever, I can't do it. I just don't have enough ammo and there's not enough lying around. And there are bombs everywhere that just kill me quickly. It's brutal.
 
I think when I look back at 2014 in like 5 years, all I will remember is Wolfenstein, The Evil Within, and a fuckload of remasters.

Right haha, although I replayed TLOU again when the remaster came out and loved it, Evil within is gonna be one I think I'll be playing for years to come
 

Gator86

Member
So for chapter 9, does
Ruvik pop in and out the whole time? I might just quit the game if so. The screen just flashed blue for a moment and he appeared inside my character model and killed me instantly.
I don't think I've ever played a game with as many cheap, unavoidable deaths as this. I think I've died in combat maybe once the entire game.
 

Haunted

Member
This is the first game with black bars I think I've played where I feel like the bars don't suit the game. I feel like I am constantly looking at something just off screen...
Yes. I actually appreciate the look of black bars in games that use it well. Laugh at the simple psychological effect of adding a couple of black bars to make it a more cinematic experience, but it really works for me... usually.

In this game, it just doesn't click. I feel like these bars don't frame the action - they're obscuring it. Like they just shouldn't be there, I constantly find myself manipulating the camera to circumvent the bars - if they were done right, that shouldn't be the case.
 
im going to buy GTAV on PS4

then im going to start it up

then im going to run my character in a circle

then im going to be sad

again

That really should have been it, the moment I tried to run in a circle. Combat so janky it makes TEW look like fuckin' Vanquish

Rocksteady's open world Arkham games still good in my book...because they still pace out their content like they did Asylum lmao. No collect ten Assfeathers or go to this place and kill these dudes because I said so main character man
 

kodecraft

Member
So I finished the game after a marathon session (chapter 7-end) yesterday. Time was around 14:15. Pretty satisfied with the length, especially with NG+ and additional difficulties to play.

Just some quick thoughts. I think the gameplay is generally amazing, with stellar mechanics and encounter design. The feedback from killing, or hell, even merely wounding enemies in some cases is some of the best I've ever seen. Many encounters are crafty in their construction, and even the more rudimentary fights are elevated by the pure joy of the mechanics.

Aesthetically, I'm very pleased with the game for the most part. Sound design is pretty much perfect given the scenarios in the game, and the art design rises above the technical shortcomings of the engine.

A few knocks against the game: The graphics become pretty bland during outdoor areas late in the game. There's occasional jank in the gameplay with certain prompts requiring a bit of effort to trigger, or Seb just not moving quite as accurately as I want, or crouch walking feeling just a tad too slow. I'm pretty alright with the black bars by this point, though the FOV still feels a bit too narrow in most cases. While I found the story to be very interesting in concept, the characters amount to nothing and there seem to be way too many holes for anything to really tie together logically.

I have to mention that dat Mikami pacing is in full effect here. As noted, I played from chapter 7 to the end of the game in one sitting (minus bathroom breaks) without ever getting bored. It's kind of difficult for me to describe why, but Mikami just fucking gets pacing. The game moves from stealth encounters, to balls-out action, to psychological moments, to exploratory situations, back to other stuff over and over without skipping a beat. Just masterful.

Overall, this is nearly a 15 hour ride that I'll definitely take again. Mikami nails the - and I don't use this word often - "visceral" nature of combat like no one else. Fucking dudes up in this game is a sadistic joy. Pacing is pitch-perfect and the scenarios are constantly inventive. The game is also quite a looker most of the time.

Rating this game is difficult. I'd like to say 8/10 but my heart says 9/10. I feel this is definitely a game that's more than the sum of its parts. I suppose its a bit like that Dan Hsu Gears of War review where he trashes several elements of the game before giving it top marks. For all the occasional jank in the gameplay, irrelevant characters, and technical issues (framerate/FOV/letterboxing), the game just hit me in the feels like no other in recent memory. I may be a bit biased because RE4 is my favorite game of all time, but goddamn if TEW not only scratched an itch I've had for nearly 10 years, but scratched it well. Welcome back, Mikami. We've missed you.

I love this, you get it. Salute.
 
That really should have been it, the moment I tried to run in a circle. Combat so janky it makes TEW look like fuckin' Vanquish

Pretty much the opposite of Gears of War 2 for me. First think I did was repeatedly shoot a wall with the Gnasher to see the pellet spread. Unlike Gears 1, it was consistent every time. I was very pleased.

multiplayer sucked anyway
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
Rockstar's recent games haven't been perfect. GTA V's campaign kinda starts wandering aimlessly about halfway through and RDR has Mexico, of course. (I like Mexico, but it was still the low-point of the game)

They hit the quality mark for their gen. L.A. Noire did well considering there had been one or two major open world games to come out a year prior and that was Mafia 2. I think the beginning to L.A. Noire spoke volumes at the time. GTAV had much more to offer than GTAIV did. I think that has also helped them. I think some of us are still hoping for a RDR2. They can't go and make that time period any better than what that game did already. Their games scream quality and even though they did have that mess up with State of Emergency I forget all about it when another title gets released.
 
So for chapter 9, does
Ruvik pop in and out the whole time? I might just quit the game if so. The screen just flashed blue for a moment and he appeared inside my character model and killed me instantly.
I don't think I've ever played a game with as many cheap, unavoidable deaths as this. I think I've died in combat maybe once the entire game.
I never had a single unavoidable death, don't know what's up with some of you.
 
So for chapter 9, does
Ruvik pop in and out the whole time? I might just quit the game if so. The screen just flashed blue for a moment and he appeared inside my character model and killed me instantly.
I don't think I've ever played a game with as many cheap, unavoidable deaths as this. I think I've died in combat maybe once the entire game.

Interesting, considering
he's always opened a door in whatever room I was in, were you in a room without a door (one you entered through the fireplace) every time he appeared I gave him enough space to tucker himself out since he doesn't materialize for more than 25 or 30 seconds I think.i never actually saw him because of that.
you're over dramatizing the one hit kills though, once you learn the enemy they cease to be as big a threat as they started out as.
 

tav7623

Member
It wasn't pretty, but I just finished the game! All in all I really enjoyed the game despite dying a whole lot.



tumblr_ndmbe0Mv0V1sos833o1_500.jpg
 

Gator86

Member
Interesting, considering
he's always opened a door in whatever room I was in, were you in a room without a door (one you entered through the fireplace) every time he appeared I gave him enough space to tucker himself out since he doesn't materialize for more than 25 or 30 seconds I think.i never actually saw him because of that.
you're over dramatizing the one hit kills though, once you learn the enemy they cease to be as big a threat as they started out as.

It was upstairs after you climb the ladder in the library area. He literally appeared on top of me and killed me instantly.
I'm genuinely confused as to how that is something I could avoid.
 

drotahorror

Member
I never had a single unavoidable death, don't know what's up with some of you.

What about
the part where you have to go into 3 different rooms (from the blurry bathroom part early game) and press a switch (left or right) and one of them makes spikes pop up through a body while the other switch makes spikes pop up and instantly kill you?

Unless I missed something ( and I very well could have) that showed you which button to press, I thought deaths on that part was unavoidable.
 

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
I honestly think Rockstar have been fucking pacing up for awhile. IV is just...christ. Way too long for its own good, missions variety was non existent, story threads just kinda end(police GF chick) though I guess DLC tried to tie into some of it. RDR dips in Mexico, and 5 had one of the most rushed finales I have possibly ever seen, it's actually insane to think about how many plot threads get tied all neatly in a 5 minute span. And even then Franklin was just kinda there, never really getting into his character or relationships.

Their games show how much money and craft is put into certain elements but even they seem to aim too high for their own good.

I'd really like to start new game + but can't find a collectables guide that includes key locations >_<

Also I just want to throw this out there: Game isn't scary at all. It's quite thrilling at times and the atmosphere can be very tense/oppressive, but anyone holding out because of a dislike for horror games has nothing to worry about. I like to think I'm jumpy as fuck and the game only got me like 3-4 times in nearly 15 hours.

The worst of it is probably in chapter 4/5 anyway, but that was more Verdugo-tier in just being tense. Amazing art design but nothing that gets me legit shook.

And the keys in this game are fucked up stuff. In that short ass chapter 8 area alone there are actually three keys I found, so I can just imagine how many I missed through the game.

That really should have been it, the moment I tried to run in a circle. Combat so janky it makes TEW look like fuckin' Vanquish

Rocksteady's open world Arkham games still good in my book...because they still pace out their content like they did Asylum lmao. No collect ten Assfeathers or go to this place and kill these dudes because I said so main character man

Those still bug me just because of that. They pretty blatantly throw you into a closed building so it can become Asylum again, while the open world itself is just full of respawning dudes and is usually not utilized too much aside from loading them up with Riddler things, or the most setpiece-like stealth sections are outside/near the building entrances. Not super thrilled about the new one making the playspace even bigger.

It was upstairs after you climb the ladder in the library area. He literally appeared on top of me and killed me instantly.
I'm genuinely confused as to how that is something I could avoid.

This stuff is 100% random as far as I can tell.
When the area turns blue he's showing up, but can warp around. I would need to mess with it more to see what all could happen but it does seem like the game can put you in a really bad spot.

What about
the part where you have to go into 3 different rooms (from the blurry bathroom part early game) and press a switch (left or right) and one of them makes spikes pop up through a body while the other switch makes spikes pop up and instantly kill you?

Unless I missed something ( and I very well could have) that showed you which button to press, I thought deaths on that part was unavoidable.

The symbol on the correct button was on the wall to let you know which one to hit in each room.
 
So for chapter 9, does
Ruvik pop in and out the whole time? I might just quit the game if so. The screen just flashed blue for a moment and he appeared inside my character model and killed me instantly.
I don't think I've ever played a game with as many cheap, unavoidable deaths as this. I think I've died in combat maybe once the entire game.

It's not for the whole time. I found it just as annoying but push through. The chapter picks up after that.

I never had a single unavoidable death, don't know what's up with some of you.

Well
Ruvik_______
did pin me in an unavoidable death in that chapter (nearly got me while I was on a ladder as well) but since the spawn is random everyone will have a different experience.

I do think the game relies too much on instakill moves though. When nearly every boss/mini-boss has one it numbs you to the surprise and basically boils down to "fight or flight" with very little middle ground because the middle ground gets you dead. I wish they brought back the contextual dodge for some reflex testing risk/reward attached to those one hit kills..
 

Gator86

Member
his stuff is 100% random as far as I can tell.
When the area turns blue he's showing up, but can warp around. I would need to mess with it more to see what all could happen but it does seem like the game can put you in a really bad spot.

Actually just had it happen again haha.
He appears on top of me while I'm running and just instantly clotheslines me.
I actually managed to capture the clip this time. I might upload it later.
 
What about
the part where you have to go into 3 different rooms (from the blurry bathroom part early game) and press a switch (left or right) and one of them makes spikes pop up through a body while the other switch makes spikes pop up and instantly kill you?

Unless I missed something ( and I very well could have) that showed you which button to press, I thought deaths on that part was unavoidable.

Watch the drawings in the wall.
 
It was upstairs after you climb the ladder in the library area. He literally appeared on top of me and killed me instantly.
I'm genuinely confused as to how that is something I could avoid.

ha ha ha , sorry dude,
he trolled you super hard, what you should have done as stalled on the ladder, he can't touch ou till you get off, but he can't stay forever, so he'd disappear
 

Gator86

Member
ha ha ha , sorry dude,
he trolled you super hard, what you should have done as stalled on the ladder, he can't touch ou till you get off, but he can't stay forever, so he'd disappear

I wasn't even on the ladder. I was upstairs right in front of it. There was literally nothing I could do besides instantly die. On the clip I just captured, after the second time, I think I had less than a half second after he appeared before I was a smear.
 

Lucent

Member
ha ha ha , sorry dude,
he trolled you super hard, what you should have done as stalled on the ladder, he can't touch ou till you get off, but he can't stay forever, so he'd disappear

I should've tried that. Every time
I hid under a bed or table he'd see me do it and he'd walk up, raise his hand, and I'd explode into a bloody mess. =l

There was one time where I ran into a room and
he was on the other side of the door and it looked like he clotheslined me and he was like "'sup, breh?!"
lol
 

Sanctuary

Member
2 and 3 are some of the best imo.

Chapter 3 is the best in terms of it feeling like an actual Survival Horror game. Later on the game just decides to say "fuck it, lets go full RE5" with the action. When it's not trying to mime Saw anyway.
 
I have to ask it; With everyone playing/completing the game now, does it make you all more or less excited for the DLC? (playing as Boxman and the two-part Juli Kidnman campaign DLC).

Not too interested in the Boxman DLC as I think that will just be them reusing some assets but not fun to play (sort of like the Ustanak modes from RE6). I'll play the Juli ones for sure but I would really like some DLC focused on re-playability. I'm loving the combat system in this game so some DLC focused around that like a Mercenaries or some way to shuffle or randomize the stages and let you take them on in a fashion that skips all the scripted stuff would be great. Maybe a way where you can design specific loadouts to take into a chapter and try and beat it the most efficient way possible. For example, start you at chapter 6 and 20k green gel to spend as you think best.
 

Yamibito

Member
Just finished it, and with the exception of a few moments, I enjoyed it. Not usual Mikami standards for sure, but enjoyable nonetheless. His signature pacing is all over this, but it felt quite flat in a bunch of areas, as if the inventive scenarios he's known for ceased to exist. I expected better, but I'm happy with what I got. Seemed a little dated, perhaps stuck in development for a little too long or something. Hoping for more from Tango next time, but it looks like Alien will remain my game of the year.
 

antitrop

Member
When I look back I'll still be wondering why I bought a PS4 before this came out and why I didn't buy a WiiU in 2013

I'm probably going to order a refurbished Wii U from Nintendo tomorrow, or whatever. I don't want to pay more than ~$200 and I don't want any bundled game bullshit. I just want Bayonetta 1/2 and The Wonderful 101.

I won't start Bayonetta 2 until I finished TEW, and I'm considering replaying Bayonetta 1 for the 4th time with the new definitive version first...

EDIT: Found it, https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/browse/subcategory.jsp?categoryId=cat140077

Wii U Deluxe w/Nintendo Land Bundle (Refurbished)

$200.00

Add To Cart

Done. What have you made me do, Platinum
 

StewboaT_

Member
Just rented it and I'm enjoying it quite a bit, minus the terrible first chapter. God damn though, the ridiculous fov is actually giving me a headache!
 

Gator86

Member
The story is completely missing for me. Every time there's a dramatic moment I'm like "I don't give a shit, just let me pick up the gel that guy dropped!" I spend most fights running around trying to collect gel because I know killing the last enemy is gonna trigger some goofy psychological transition.
 

jett

D-Member
Heh, one of the news stories in the save room is "Ebola virus plagues Mexico." That's strangely current. :p

p.s. this game is awesome
 
Chapter 10 is amazing. The perfect merging of the best parts of the game: great encounter design, awesome combat, varied and surprising enemies, environment that you have to be wary of but also can use to your advantage, and a killer boss fight.
 

JoeFenix

Member
JUuWVcB.png


Chapter 15 was surprisingly easy, hardest parts are easily chapter 6 and 11.

AKUMU UNLOCK SPOILER
BRASSKNUCKLES which are always equipped when your weapon is holstered.

They buff your barehanded melee attack to the point where you headshot all regular Haunted in 1 swing.

The description for them says that the melee upgrade improves damage on the brassknuckles too. Super fun to use!
 

Lucent

Member
JUuWVcB.png


Chapter 15 was surprisingly easy, hardest parts are easily chapter 6 and 11.

AKUMU UNLOCK SPOILER
BRASSKNUCKLES which are always equipped when your weapon is holstered.

They buff your barehanded melee attack to the point where you headshot all regular Haunted in 1 swing.

The description for them says that the melee upgrade improves damage on the brassknuckles too. Super fun to use!

Wow. I guess I'm gonna have to do it then.
I wanna punch stuff!
lol. How does it do on bosses? =p
 
So, for money reasons, I had the options of buying either Evil Within + MGS GZ or Driveclub + Watch Dogs this month (I already bought Shadow of Mordon). I chose the first option. Hope I did okay :)
 

-tetsuo-

Unlimited Capacity
Just finish Chapter 7
(Bank of America boss fight.
. It's definitely fun, but it's getting less and less creepy the more I play.


This typically happens in every horror game I play. I get very tense when I first start playing but eventually just don't even give a damn.
 
Top Bottom