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[symphonask]

So I got the chance to play The Evil Within's mansion level at an event held in a Game store in London. I played for around an hour and a half and beat the level on both Casual and Survival difficulties. Survival is the normal difficulty level. There are two above it that were locked out - Nightmare and Akumu.


Controls - First thing I did when I got my hands on it was to get a feel for the controls. Aiming is weighty - the reason you don't have a laser pointer for a reticule in this game is because the reticule is dynamic. Think Counter-Strike - when your moving and panning the camera around the reticule is spread out - stop and keep it steady, the reticule is smaller and you are more accurate. Coupled with the weighty aiming, this makes the gunplay less snappy than the likes of an RE4. But that's a good thing. If RE4 skewed a little bit towards the action spectrum in the survival horror genre, then the Evil Within skews towards a more tactical, survival-based approach. A lot of the time you don't want to take enemies on head-on.

Ammo is scarce. If you are not using your resources carefully, you will run out of ammo. The game isn't afraid to throw multiple enemies at you even if you have next to no ammo.

The game is challenging. You do not want to be in close proximity to an enemy with only a few rounds left in your pistol. I tended to run back and aim from midrange. Multiple enemies can overwhelm you very quickly. In this game, more so than in RE4, you will need to make use of every available resource in a gunfight. For example, I had the unfortunate luck of facing 4-5 enemies in a single room. Taking out one guy with a few well placed headshots with the pistol alerted all his friends in the same room. In this game you can't shoot one of them in leg then run up and do a roundhouse kick in the face of three guys in front of you. After the first guy was down, another was coming really quickly towards me from the doorway I shot his friend from. Precise, time consuming aiming with the pistol was no an option here - too much risk if I missed. I switched to my shotgun. I blew the enemy's head off as he was two feet away from me. I then very quickly switched to my explosive crossbow bolt and shot one of the remaining two enemies who were further back. Both thankfully exploded in satisfying chunks of gore. What makes these encounters so exhilarating is that had I missed the first few shots with my pistol, the encounter would have gone very poorly or I would have run out of ammo very quickly.


There is no go-to weapon here. No ideal way to dispatch a group of enemies every time. Every encounter, I had to stop and think, plan ahead on my next moves. Because once a group of enemies are alerted to your presence in a room, you have to react quickly on instinct and make decisions on which weapons to conserve and which you can afford to use in this encounter - because the next one might require it more.

Playing through the level multiple times, I really appreciated the occasional random enemy placements. There is less trial and-error gameplay, and it keeps you on your toes as there might be a threat behind every door. I also found that it helps replayability a great deal.

The gunplay is satisfying - the tactical decision making you do for tough encounters makes it really satisfying when those decisions pay off.

I won't bore you guys with how great the art in this game looks, or how you can take multiple paths to beat a level because, well you guys can all see it in the long gameplay videos on youtube. I mainly wanted to talk about the mechanics of the game. I loved my time with it. This isn't the next RE4 - this game is if RE4 grew some balls and stopped treating you like an action hero and took pleasure in punishing you, taking away the things you like - your ammo, your snappy aiming, you're paused inventory screen, your unlimited run and so on.

Take it from me, Mikami is back to school designers on a new type of modern TPS.


- - - - - - - - - - - -

EDIT: Thanks to SlasherJPC for collating the below:

Do I have your attention?


First up we have hands on impressions from Dusk Golem:

The Evil Within I believe will have people a bit uncertain or cautious toward the title until release. The game has an uphill battle to win for player favor and success, in big part due to Bethesda not being exactly sure how to market the title, especially early on, and less than stellar showings and previews earlier this year around the time of PAX East.

People seem to have many misconceptions on what the game actually is. Many think the game is an action game trying to pass off as a horror game, or a shoddily made game with a lack of oomph due to early footage, a game with an identity crisis on what it wants to be, or a sequel essentially to Resident Evil 4.

The verdict of how it will all turn out is up in the air still obviously, but it's become my most anticipated title and a game I'm personally very certain will surprise a lot of people based on playing a demo of the game for a collective period of time of three hours, played the game more than once.

I wanted to make the topic simply to tell others that via GMG coupons, for a short time you can pre-order the Steam version for a substantial amount cheaper with pre-order bonus and all. But to make this topic more interesting, to help more people understand why I'm excited and maybe get excited themselves, an overall just being awareness, here's 25 reasons The Evil Within will probably rock.

01.) The game is littered with developer veterans. Shinji Mikami, the father of Resident Evil and director of Dino Crisis, Resident Evil 4, & Vanquish, is the most obvious one. But a series of other people from Shinji's past are involved, including staff that worked on RE1-RE4 (including the lead environment artist from REmake), a few people who worked on Haunting Ground, a few from Platinum Games who worked on Bayonetta 1 and Vanquish, and people from Grasshopper Games who worked on Michigan: Report From Hell, Killer7, and Shadows of the Damned. This has also been measured out with fresh blood to the industry who the staff at Tango have been reaching and training during the game's development.

02.) The game is legitamitely challenging. People often complain about games being too hand-holding, easy these days, and for a horror or action game want to be challenged, and Evil Withon is just that. The game is even challenging on its Normal difficulty, though there are two difficulties higher than that available. This is coming from someone who commonly plays most games on hard difficulty the first time through, The Evil Within on normal alone challenged me.

03.) The enemies are intelligent and deceiving. The main force of enemies in this game are beings known as The Haunted, they make creepy noises, strange and creepy animations, and are tough to take down. They work together, pointing you out to others with loud noises when spotted, using odd signals to tell others to corner or crowd you at the right time. Some will decide to hide around comer to ambush you, duck or side-step your aim if you're trying to take that perfect shot, or madly charge at you with a weapon to induce your reaction time. Some even try to sneak up on you and grab you to let others get at you, and if you manage to hide or evade them after alerting them, they'll still scour the level hunting for you actively rather than just forgetting you were ever there.

04.) A mechanic similar to Crimson Heads from REmake is present in this game. Enemies are not killed in this game just by shooting them. Just like Shibito from the Forbidden Siren series, the enemies will just revive after a while after being shot down. Some almost immediately, some after a period of time. Some will come back faster, stronger, and more aggressive once back from the dead and be a force to reckon with. The only way to destroy a body is to get a headshot, or burn the body. Buuut...

05.) Headshots are hard. A lot of games make headshots instant gratification and an easy task to do even with a casual player. Evil Within's headshots are hard. The enemies have way smaller Hitbox's for their 'weak points' than say, Resident Evil 4 or 5, Dead Space, or the like. They're very precise where you must shoot them. Simply shooting the head won't do it, you can shoot off their jaw or chunks of their skull, and they'll still keep marching, unphased. And Sebastian's aim is not perfect, shakey and he doesn't always hit the mark. Headshots are hard, but rewarding as they send out juicy amounts of gore and feel, sound, and look satisfying. Speaking of that...

06.) The gore is satisfying. When Sebastian gets a particularly gruesome kill, gore will spray from the enemy an coat nearby walls and furniture, and even Sebastian itself. It looks cool, and feels good.

07.) And the game has satisfying death scenes. Two I've witnessed is Sebastian being blown up, his body limbs tearing apart as scattering around, and one where an enemy with a knife grabbed me and slit my throat. Blood poured out as Sebastian clenched at his throat and fell to the ground. They're gruesome and morbid, but awesome.

08.) The game will punish you. Trying to hide when an enemy see's you will prompt then to drag you out and get a free hit on you. Trying to be an idiotic and run up and melee an enemy will get you killed very quickly (on not so they take 15-25 melee strikes to kill, and they can kill you way before that if you attempt it like an idiot).

09.) Ammo is scarce. You will run out of ammo, only get 1-2 billets when you do find ammo usually, and finding it is a lot rarer than most all games of its over-the-shoulder style. You need to choose when to fight, run, sneak, hide, or set up traps.

10.) The game has puzzles, and their difficulty scales to difficulty. The puzzles have differences based on what difficulty you play the game in. Playing the game on Easy/Normal/Hard/Akumu will provide different twists on the puzzles to make them more challenging the harder difficulty you play on.

11.) The game has randomized elements. I've played the demo 7 times, and each time things changed. The items you get from boxes always changed (most boxes give you nothing, but sometimes drop things like ammo, green gel, trap pieces, and the like), enemy placement changed (sometimess when entering a room in a Playthrough there's be no enemies in a certain room, sometimes a ton. Sometimes there'd be an enemy waiting for you around the corner in this hallway, sometimes there wouldn't be. It changed per Playthrough), and some random atmosphere building spooky scenes and noises that only sometimes happen.

12.) The game has a save-room hub area. Through the game, you'll find glowing mirrors you can stare into and transport into, and find yourself in a hub area with multiple unlockable rooms, a strange nurse character, a place to upgrade using green gel, and other little Doo-dads and the like.

13.) The game had an interesting collectible element. Finding and breaking Goddess statues found in the game reveals a key inside. You can use keys found in these statues to open up lost locker drawers in the morgue in your hub area save room for extra goodies

14.) Upgrading is diverse and useful. The game has an upgrade system, letting you upgrade with green gel you collect in your save room area. You can upgrade everything from character abilities like health or stamina, individual weapon stats as efficiency, capacity to carry things, ability to make traps from collected parts, and more. They each can be upgraded by level, have a cap, and get more ad more expensive to upgrade by the level, but can help players in the style they did to play te game.

15.) The nurse is emotionless, observant, and amusing. She watches over the hub area you visit, and often will start with a comment about the state of which you're visiting (if you're carrying a lot of green gel, she may ask if you plan to use it, if you enter in a few times shortly after each other, she'll accuse you of being paranoid, etc). She has a dry sense of humor and speaks with little to no emotion. An amusing re-occurring character, ad the closest thing to a friend you have.

16.) The HUD is completely adjustable. From the options menu, you can turn everything on/off, and many onto fade. You could play with absolutely no sor of UI on the screen at all if that's what you desire.

17.) Screen grain/noise is also adjustable from the options menu and can be turned off. Thought I should mention.

18.) Sound design in this game is absolutely terrific. Really good 3D sound, creepy, atmospheric, and unnerving tunes, the music does it's jump perfectly and is somewhat undertoned or completely silent to let the the environment sounds take over. Adds a whole lot to the experiences, the best sound design I've personally seen in a game since Among the Sleep.

19.) The environments are detailed, moody, gothic, varied, and creepy. There are a variety of objects to hit and destroy, drawers to open up, places to hide user beds, tables, in cabinets, etc. Weird but interesting art direction and unique designs to attribute to different rooms. And the variety of locations you visit in the game are varied, ranging from a mental hospital, a forest, a ruined city, a cave, a church, and more. Lighting is also a very well handled.

20.) Game has a variety of different 'stalker' enemies, ranging from a crazed chainsaw maniac who appears multiple times in the game with a distinctive chainsaw sound as you either try to sneak past or run past him, or take him on. Re-bone Laura, a multi-armed black-haired girl who comes out of blood and corpses. The Keeper, a strange box-headed man with a hammer. Ruvik, a randomly appearing hooded man who cause a screen effect as he appears and disappears to stalk you down. They have different functions, are intimidating and panic inducing, and play fun, varied roles in gameplay and function.

21.) Game doesn't rely on cheap scares overly, and instead works with a lingering tension that puts you on edge and uncertainty. An atmosphere that is strong and effective in making you paranoid and fascinated.

22.) Some fun and challenging achievements for those who like to be challenged, ranging from completing the game without upgrading, overcoming situations with self-pertained odds against you, and more.

23.) Game has a well thought-out Post-game. From what we know, the game has unlockables, including new weapons once completing the game, and a New Game+ mode, though can only do this mode for te difficulty to beat the game on a d lower (not higher).

24.) Game includes areas off the beaten path, exploration, and levels with multiple paths and ways to approach a situation, even though it does go over a linear path. Good thought put into the design, layout, and pacing.

25.) The game comes off and plays as its own thing, inspired by other things from film snd its own developer history, but their talent shows, in a game that has a legitamete survival element and tense atmosphere.

I think it'll surprise people from what I've played, but to be seen how it all comes out. I think this game gets a lot of negativity because of misunderstandings people have on the game due to bad marketing early on and it being hard to get a demo down for the game until more recent, complete ad polished builds.

Maybe just the part of the game I've experienced is fantastic and the rest is shit, but if the rest of the game can be as good as the part I and a few other GAF'er have played at recent events, it could be very much a surprise hit I feel, though one can hope it can find some more success than niche cult title in the future.

Next up, Game Informer has a cover story on The Evil Within for their Oct. issue and it's has information from Andrew Riener, who had the opportunity to play through the first 5 chapters of the game (out of 16) and here is some new information we learned from that article. Also included are some "JUCY" gifs from random moments in the game.

Thanks to Jockfer666 for sharing. Can pick up the October issue of Game Informer digitally here: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...-01506106.aspx (links at the bottom of the linked article)
Also available in GameStops this week.

Now some details:
-Game has a lot of different kinds of enemies, environments, and traps. Enemies and traps see radomization. Even a number of scares are randomized.
-The introduction to the game has been significantly altered from what's been shown in trailers and demo videos. Lots of changes in dialogue, execution, pacing, etc. Start the game arriving at, approaching, and exploring a murder scene at Beacon Hospital ks the same, but goes in a very sifferent directio after that. Before entering the hospital, Sebastian is having some terrible headaches.
-The first enemy to you face is similar to the first zombie encounter in RE1. It's a human-like, but also obviously not human, thing in a straight jacket who comes at you.
-The first boss in the game you encounter is The Sadist, a chainsaw wielding enemy. He chases you around a village location in chapter 3. You can fight him directly, stealth and evade him to sneak up and get stealth strikes on him, or use the various traps and set your own traps for him.
-A compliment that the game allows for a lot of different choices in most scenarios, and starts really opening up with the village.
-One of the traps in the game is a catapult that throws knives. Game has an interesting cat and mouse thing where both you and the enemies can use traps on one another.
-The AI for both te enemies and in a section where you work with A cop friend, Joseph, are heavily praised, saying that your partner is precise, intelliget, an holds his own while also mot invincibld, and the enemies, how they react and respond are very detailed and believable, and threatening.
-There are various traps around the village, including bombs in boxes and enemies hiding I spots to ambush you. And it's randomized, if you die you can't predict where it'll be next, so you have to be on your toes for clues.
-There are invisible enemies that look human, but have the head of an Octopus. They're completely invisible, but you can use things like water ripples, footsteps, and the like to locate or evade them.
-In one of the new screenshots it shows another new type of enemy, that looks like a collection of people melted and then sown together like a giant blob.
-Mentions the game feels half survival-horror game, half psychological thriller. Game was much different than he previously believed from last showings, but he actually really liked it.
-Mikami says to strike the right balance of challenging and fun, they replayed each section of the game over and over, for a horror game you can't determine this by numbers or equations, you have to judge the experience. They replayed each part the game so many times to make sure it was fun and challenging, Mikami doesn't even want to count.
-Game opens up with Sebastian, Juli, and Joseph riding to the scene in a police car. They talk on the drive. Sebastian is a noir-style cop from head to toe who usually analyzes situations and takes risks and gambles, all while casting out some dry humor, Juli is much more lax and fights the stress with dumb jokes, and is a fan of horror movies, Joseph is calm and collected and a calculating type who wants to help people.
-Says the game varies a lot in horror tone and inspirations. There's a mix of J-horror and Western Horror here. There's a segment evidently inspired by Ju-On, another section that feels kik it's out of The Shining, etc.
-The game also has a lot of different gameplay tones, it sometimes feels like it's directly out of the old Resident Evil. Other times it feels much more in line with Silent Hill. Other parts feel really like Eterenal Darkness. Others more like F.E.A.R. But he says this avoids feeling weird as the game had excellent pacing and design that leads into everything naturally.
-But the variety of times in gameplay and horror makes everything unsacred, and makes you cautious of everything as anything can be out to get you in whatever way.
-There's a screenshot of what looks like bloody, fleshy babies with tumors coming at Sebastian in a cave.
-There are a variety of well-hidden keys to collect do a hub-like save room area, and some of them are very well hidden. Mentions he saw a key strapped to a rat.
-Mentions and intriguing part of the game involving a white tile room that starts with nothing in it and slowly changes, involving strange puzzles, and growing weirdness as it goes on.
-To beat the first 5 chapters (of 16) took him 4-5 hours.
-To quote, "An exceptionally polished and well thought-out horror experience. It seems like a game that's received heavy iteration in development to plot scares and to switch things up at the perfect times to make sure you're never too comfortable. It brought back a flood of memories from Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4, only with a heightened level of terror that warps reality and made to mess with your mind."

If videos are more your thing, I have three to suggest. First off would be Pete Hines playthrough. He takes you through the mansion chapter and it's about a hour worth of gameplay (granted he dies... ALOT *Sorry Pete*) Second video is a look at the making of TEW and features how they go about doing some of the "dericus" sound effects from the game. Lastly, I created a video that offers a great overall synoposis of the plot, some of the enemies you'll be encountering and covers some of the gameplay information Dusk provided.

A few GAF members have been getting ready for the release and altering their avatars to show excitement for the impending release. Below you can find two overlays provided by _Nemesis to do up your own or if you need assistance with doing something for your avatar, we are more then willing to help. Also HUGE thanks to all fellow GAF members that have help get this information out. Without you this wouldn't have been possible. We have just 32 days left! It's time to get excited.

 

[Game4life]

Nice write up OP! I had the same experience playing it at the fan expo in Toronto. I dont know why media was bashing this game. It felt pretty good!

 

[antitrop]

 

[Xpliskin]

Which platform did it run on ?

The combat in this game sounds so great.

I completely forgot you can't "shoot leg + kick" combo anymore

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Sounds pretty much in line with what Dusk Golem has been going for and from what has been shown thus far.

Probably will be my personal GOTY, though I expect it to review divisively.

 

[BY2K]

 

[OrlanisWorks]

How is the saving system?

 

[MayMay]

So many TEW impressions lately, and they all sound so good. This is the game I'm most looking forward to this year.

Thanks for the write up!

 

[Janglewaltz]

Which platform did it run on ?

The combat in this game sounds so great.

I completely forgot you can't "shoot leg + kick" combo anymore

It ran on Xbox One

I was just at the London event at GAME too! It was a great experience. There have been so many reactions and critiques on the game already with all of them split down the middle saying opposite things.

The only really way you can know is by having an opportunity like this where you can see for yourself. It has certainly made my mind up about the game, I shall purchase this finely crafted fear trap.

 

[brandonh83]

this game is if RE4 grew some balls and stopped treating you like an action hero and took pleasure in punishing you, taking away the things you like - your ammo, your snappy aiming, your paused inventory screen, your unlimited run and so on.

I can see reviews labeling these elements as cons.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Every time I read new Evil Within impressions/previews my pants get a little tight

 

[InfiniteNine]

I'm really excited for this game and glad Mikami is making the survival aspects more important. I'm grabbing on PC ( Also PS4 for some reason I don't understand.) day one and jumping into this bad boy.

 

[Professor Lich]

Nice, this is great news. Thanks for the write up.

Side note, what does Akumu mean, anyone know?

 

[Skab]

Oh my. Sounds great!

 

[Neon_Icarus]

Hnnnggg....if this game turns out to be good, I might feel tempted to get a PS4 before Bloodborne.

 

[Rich!]

wait

I've only just started reading up on this game just now. this shit looks amazing, and it's out next month!?! I thought it was out late 2015!

 

[Xpliskin]

Xbox One ?

Yup this game's latests build are marginally better.

The finished product even more.

This is great news.

The tech issues have been fixed.

 

[brandonh83]

wait

I've only just started reading up on this game just now. this shit looks amazing, and it's out next month!?! I thought it was out late 2015!

It was originally supposed to come out last month even but got pushed to October.

 

[Andrew.]

My balls.

They are tingling.

Tingling I say.

Tingling.

 

[Rich!]

It was originally supposed to come out last month even but got pushed to October.

woah

I've been out of the loop on this one. I'll get it on PC for sure

edit: retail PC version is £24.99 on amazon UK. preordered. bargain. It's a steam game, so I'll just redeem the code in the box and play away.

 

[Nibel]

Thanks for your impressions OP. Not that I would need anymore to decide wether to get this or not. Can't wait to experience this for the first time myself.

 

[SlasherJPC]

 

[Gbraga]

Every demo they showed looked like shit, honestly, but ever since the audience got a chance to play it, reading their impressions has me so much hyped.

It would be day one anyway because Mikami, but now I think I'll actually love this.

Pre-ordering it on PS4, will double dip on PC if the port is solid.

 

[dominuece]

Hnnnggg....if this game turns out to be good, I might feel tempted to get a PS4 before Bloodborne.

These are my thoughts word for word.

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

Not surprised!

Even Mikami's crap games are legendary.

But if this get's universal praise, from all the doubt it received (from the demo), I'll finally break down and get a PS4 instead of settling on the PS3 ver

Not a big fan of Cross Gen, but for Mikami I'll make an exception.

 

[Wishmaster92]

Never doubted Mikami. Can't wait.

 

[SlasherJPC]

Was in Gamestop the other day putting some money down on pre-orders when suddenly The Evil Within commercial came on and 3 people in the store were watching. After it ended they started discussing how it would be perfect to play that since it will be around Halloween. So yes!!!! I think it's going to do better then we think. People eat scary movies and game like crack the month of Halloween in the US.

 

[djshauny]

Great impressions mate.

Im attending tommorow.

Cant wait to play it

 

[SlasherJPC]

Great impressions mate.

Im attending tommorow.

Cant wait to play it

I was just about to ask on twitter if you got to play yet! And yes OP, great read. My first gif should have expressed that though!

 

[symphonask]

How is the saving system?

There checkpoints are spread out at various points in the level. For example there might be three paths in the mansion - when I complete a puzzle in path one, the game will checkpoint there.

Every demo they showed looked like shit, honestly, but ever since the audience got a chance to play it, reading their impressions has me so much hyped.

It would be day one anyway because Mikami, but now I think I'll actually love this.

Pre-ordering it on PS4, will double dip on PC if the port is solid.

I think one thing watching the demo doesn't convey is how the player is taking into account every situation and making decisions based on when to use stealth, run or fight. All three of these elements have various layers to them.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Nice, this is great news. Thanks for the write up.

Side note, what does Akumu mean, anyone know?

Roughly it translates to nightmare/bad dream from what we discussed in the other threads.

 

[Messofanego]

Thanks for this. I'm not sure why "Akumu" is a separate difficulty setting, isn't that just the japanese word for nightmare?

 

[Xpliskin]

You lucky peeps

/s

Try to take the dvd with you and share it with us. It's just a demo. One of you can leg it fast enough. Box-head is slow.

 

[-MD-]

I loved my time with it. This isn't the next RE4 - this game is if RE4 grew some balls and stopped treating you like an action hero and took pleasure in punishing you, taking away the things you like - your ammo, your snappy aiming, you're paused inventory screen, your unlimited run and so on.

Take it from me, Mikami is back to school designers on a new type of modern TPS.

the reason you don't have a laser pointer for a reticule in this game is because the reticule is dynamic. Think Counter-Strike - when your moving and panning the camera around the reticule is spread out - stop and keep it steady, the reticule is smaller and you are more accurate.

I've seen a few people requesting a reticle but I figured this is what the reason was. This game sounds amazing, thanks for the write up.

 

[djshauny]

I was just about to ask on twitter if you got to play yet! And yes OP, great read. My first gif should have expressed that though!

Tommorow mate.

6:30 - 9:30pm UK time.

Be home around 10ish

 

[symphonask]

Thanks for this. I'm not sure why "Akumu" is a separate difficulty setting, isn't that just the japanese word for nightmare?

I think the description for Akumu stated that "one hit and it's all over". Could mean that you die in one hit - you'd have to play really carefully.

 

[Messofanego]

I feel like with the way this game has been received from the start to now, mostly blamable on their marketing, it deserves this:

The Evil Within |OT| The Comeback Kid

 

[GrayFoxPL]

OP please tell me if L3 is used for anything important, please.

 

[Messofanego]

I think the description for Akumu stated that "one hit and it's all over". Could mean that you die in one hit - you'd have to play really carefully.

Ah, Iron Man mode, interesting! I never have the time or tenacity for those kind of things, but cool to know.

 

[Majora]

I was at the same event as the OP and, honestly, I barely recognise it from his description. I too played it on the higher difficulty level and found it rather pedestrian. Like a halfway house between REMake and RE4 but with neither the incredible art, atmosphere and creepiness of the former nor the pulse-quickening combat and exhilarating encounter design of the latter.

The demo revolved around unlocking a door via three different minigames dotted around and between the minigames you fight zombies but most of the time in the demo you just ran into one or two in a corridor and dispatched them with ease. Or I did, anyway.

There are beds to hide under and wardrobes to hide in but they didn't really feel necessary. I'm sure they make sense in the full game but I always had enough ammo to deal with any combat encounters. I suspect it was one of those demos where they make the player feel overpowered with too much ammo etc, plus of course in the full game you'll want to conserve ammo whereas in the demo I was firing it off with impunity.

There are interesting elements - the randomisation, the traps, the ghostly apparitions from the past a la Bioshock (the section demoed was surprisingly narrative heavy) and the impact when you shoot an enemy with a shotgun, explode them on a trap or hit them in the head with an axe is deliciously solid and meaty.

Giving it the benefit of the doubt, I'm hoping that it's just the type of game that doesn't demo all that well in discrete chunks. But I can only go off what was in front of me and it just wasn't scary at all, nor very exciting.

There is promise there in the underlying mechanics though, and the Game Informer preview does make the full game sound much more interesting. In Mikami I trust (just about).

 

[symphonask]

OP please tell me if L3 is used for anything important, please.

It's your lantern button. There are multiple control options in the menu (Type A, Type B etc.) but I didn't check them.

 

[Messofanego]

I was at the same event as the OP and, honestly, I barely recognise it from his description. I too played it on the higher difficulty level and found it rather pedestrian. Like a halfway house between REMake and RE4 but with neither the incredible art, atmosphere and creepiness of the former nor the pulse-quickening combat and exhilarating encounter design of the latter.

The demo revolved around unlocking a door via three different minigames dotted around and between the minigames you fight zombies but most of the time in the demo you just ran into one or two in a corridor and dispatched them with ease. Or I did, anyway.

There are beds to hide under and wardrobes to hide in but they didn't really feel necessary. I'm sure they make sense in the full game but I always had enough ammo to deal with any combat encounters. I suspect it was one of those demos where they make the player feel overpowered with too much ammo etc, plus of course in the full game you'll want to conserve ammo whereas in the demo I was firing it off with impunity.

There are interesting elements - the randomisation, the traps, the ghostly apparitions from the past a la Bioshock (the section demoed was surprisingly narrative heavy) and the impact when you shoot an enemy with a shotgun, explode them on a trap or hit them in the head with an axe is deliciously solid and meaty.

Giving it the benefit of the doubt, I'm hoping that it's just the type of game that doesn't demo all that well in discrete chunks. But I can only go off what was in front of me and it just wasn't scary at all, nor very exciting.

There is promise there in the underlying mechanics though, and the Game Informer preview does make the full game sound much more interesting. In Mikami I trust (just about).

Thanks for the impressions Nice to hear the consensus on hit feedback being good and randomisation of enemies at least. If symphonask was close to losing out on ammo but you were the opposite, he needs to step up his game!

 

[symphonask]

The demo revolved around unlocking a door via three different minigames dotted around and between the minigames you fight zombies but most of the time in the demo you just ran into one or two in a corridor and dispatched them with ease. Or I did, anyway.

Did you play on Survival difficulty? Twice I ran into 4-5 enemies at once - and I always felt I needed more ammo.

EDIT: Sorry - I just re-read you did.

 

[GrayFoxPL]

It's your lantern button. There are multiple control options in the menu (Type A, Type B etc.) but I didn't check them.

Thanks, hopefully it's not required to click often...

 

[Bronetta]

As a fan of the people behind both games, October is going to be the greatest month ever with both Evil Within and Bayonetta 2. Especially with the history behind both titles and the people involved, its a must to support both games on day 1.

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

Thanks for this! The Evil Within threads are pretty much the sole reason I'm on GAF at the moment.

 

[SlasherJPC]

I was at the same event as the OP and, honestly, I barely recognise it from his description. I too played it on the higher difficulty level and found it rather pedestrian. Like a halfway house between REMake and RE4 but with neither the incredible art, atmosphere and creepiness of the former nor the pulse-quickening combat and exhilarating encounter design of the latter.

The demo revolved around unlocking a door via three different minigames dotted around and between the minigames you fight zombies but most of the time in the demo you just ran into one or two in a corridor and dispatched them with ease. Or I did, anyway.

There are beds to hide under and wardrobes to hide in but they didn't really feel necessary. I'm sure they make sense in the full game but I always had enough ammo to deal with any combat encounters. I suspect it was one of those demos where they make the player feel overpowered with too much ammo etc, plus of course in the full game you'll want to conserve ammo whereas in the demo I was firing it off with impunity.

There are interesting elements - the randomisation, the traps, the ghostly apparitions from the past a la Bioshock (the section demoed was surprisingly narrative heavy) and the impact when you shoot an enemy with a shotgun, explode them on a trap or hit them in the head with an axe is deliciously solid and meaty.

Giving it the benefit of the doubt, I'm hoping that it's just the type of game that doesn't demo all that well in discrete chunks. But I can only go off what was in front of me and it just wasn't scary at all, nor very exciting.

There is promise there in the underlying mechanics though, and the Game Informer preview does make the full game sound much more interesting. In Mikami I trust (just about).

Also good feedback but I don't really see anything that strikes me as bad persay. Especially if the game features randomized enemy placement at times and supplies. Perhaps you just got lucky. As for the idea of it not being creepy, etc, that is very subjective sort of thing. I know for me also I need to be in the dark, with head phones on.

 

[symphonask]

Thanks for the impressions Nice to hear the consensus on hit feedback being good and randomisation of enemies at least. If symphonask was close to losing out on ammo but you were the opposite, he needs to step up his game!

I will say he's right that in this demo there is a lot of quiet time. I almost wish there was a lot more encounters so I could play with the mechanics more but a lot of the time you are exploring - which in a demo setting is not what I wanted to do.

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

Dat improved framerate.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Also good feedback but I don't really see anything that strikes me as bad persay. Especially if the game features randomized enemy placement at times and supplies. Perhaps you just got lucky. As for the idea of it not being creepy, etc, that is very subjective sort of thing. I know for me also I need to be in the dark, with head phones on.

Yeah, horror is a finicky thing. Outside of the initial "oh shit" with a crimson head in REmake that was more of surprise, there hasn't been anything creepy to me in a game. That was until P.T., but that was an extremely controlled environment that didn't have to factor much on the player's end.

As long as the gameplay is solid, enemies are interesting to encounter, atmosphere is nailed, and the lore is immersive, I'm good to go.