Well, the day’s finally upon us. Shinji Mikami – godfather of modern survival horror and head honcho behind the likes of Resident Evil 4 – is back with his latest bloodcurdling offering, The Evil Within. As with any launch day, the embargo’s lifted and the reviews are coming in thick and fast.
So, we’ve got the definitive rundown of the all-important reviews below for your viewing pleasure.
Game Informer: 9/10
‘’The Evil Within excels at keeping your palms sweaty while delivering a harrowingly rewarding gameplay trial. Watching the credits roll with a sigh of relief doesn’t feel like winning; it feels like surviving.’’
IGN: 8.7/10
‘’A brutal, challenging, and remarkably fun game. Its eerie world and imaginative enemies are genuinely frightening, and the scares are heightened significantly by the scarcity of resources at your disposal.’’
VideoGamer: 8/10
‘’A Mikami megamix of sorts that doesn’t hit the heights of the director’s previous work, but is enjoyable all the same.’’
Vandal Online: 8.9/10
‘’Mikami is back, with a game that reminds of Resident Evil 4, with a touch of Silent Hill and The Last of Us. It’s long, hard, fun and challenging, a game you cannot miss if you enjoyed RE4.’’
Joystiq: 5/10
‘’Evil Within just plain doesn’t give you a fair chance to succeed. It doesn’t provide enough information for you to make good decisions and it handicaps your ability to fight well. It requires so much repetition that it can’t possibly maintain any sense of tension or unease, and its story is told so aimlessly that you’ll likely forget the plot between scenes.’’
Polygon: 6.5/10
‘’The Evil Within has great moments where the excellent combat and creepy environmental design come together. But those moments are fleeting, inevitably sapped of their delightful terror by design choices that feel trapped in the glory days of a decade ago.’’
The Escapist 6/10
‘’The Evil Within is a noble attempt at bringing back classic survival horror, but it could have learned a thing or two from games that aren’t almost ten years old. It has its moments of brilliance, scattered through periods of antagonizing design.’’
Other reviews:
Gameblog FR: 4/5
Hardcore Gamer: 8/10
Meristation: 8/10
Jeux Actu: 8.5/10
Cheat Code Central: 8/10
TheSixthAxis: 8/10
Our The Evil Within review needs a little more time in the oven – we’re looking to make it the most comprehensive around. It’ll be launching later this week, so stay tuned.
Are you picking up Mikami-san’s latest survival horror title? Let us know in the comments section below.