The Evil Within

Overview

The Evil Within is a 2014 survival horror game developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was directed by Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil. The game follows Sebastian Castellanos, who is pulled through a distorted world full of nightmarish places and horrible creatures. It is played from a third person view, with guns and melee weapons, traps to avoid, stealth and collectables to find.

The single player story has 15 chapters. Scavenging for supplies and knowing when to fight or run are key. Dangers include bear traps, barbed wire, bombs and spike traps, the Haunted, the multi limbed Reborn Laura, the Keeper with a safe for a head, the chainsaw wielding Sadist, and the main villain Ruvik. The world can change during scripted events and as a result of player actions, opening new paths or moving the player to new areas. Green Gel collected through the game is used to upgrade Sebastian's abilities.

The story starts as Detective Sebastian Castellanos and his partner Joseph Oda, with officer Oscar Connelly and Junior Detective Juli Kidman, investigate a mass murder at Beacon Mental Hospital in Krimson City and are thrown into an unreal world after a high pitched noise. Anson Mount plays Sebastian, Yuri Lowenthal plays Joseph, Kiff VandenHeuvel plays Oscar and Jennifer Carpenter plays Juli.

Development began in late 2010 under the codename Project Zwei at Mikami's studio Tango Gameworks, which ZeniMax Media bought in 2010. Mikami felt contemporary horror games leaned on action more than survival, so the design aims to make the player feel powerless, with confined spaces, limited ammunition and near invincible enemies that encourage hiding and running. It is built on id Tech 5, modified by Tango with a dynamic renderer for dynamic lighting. Bethesda announced it on 19 April 2013 and said it had gone gold on 25 September 2014.

It was released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360 and Xbox One in October 2014, and in Japan it was called Psycho Break. The Japanese version removed gore to get a D rating for sale to people 17 and over, and the content could be restored with optional DLC. Downloadable story packs followed: The Assignment (March 2015) and The Consequence (April 2015) put the player in Juli Kidman's shoes, and The Executioner (25 May 2015) follows the Keeper in a mission based first person mode.

Reviews were generally favourable on Xbox One and PS4 and mixed on PC. Critics praised the horror, the gameplay and the atmosphere, and criticised the story, the characters and technical issues. Praise went to the survival horror pacing and the atmosphere. A sequel, The Evil Within 2, was released in October 2017.

Gameplay

The Evil Within - Gameplay Video, IGDBcom. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Survival horror

Developer

Tango Gameworks

Publisher

Bethesda Softworks

Series

The Evil Within

Engine

id Tech 5

Composers

Masafumi Takada

Designers

Shigenori Nishikawa

Writers

Itaru Yokoyama, Keith Dwyer

Producers

Masato Kimura

Directors

Shinji Mikami

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

No

Release dates

Editions

Buy this game

Achievements

Achievements71 (1,710G)

Total

71

Gamerscore

1710

• Weapon of Choice Defeated the Sadist within the village. 20G 93.89% of players
• Old Flame Finished off a shrieking beast. 20G 76.15% of players
• Two on Two Took out both guardians before the church. 25G 69.48% of players
• What's In The Box?! Escaped the Keeper beneath the catacombs. 20G 62.65% of players
• The First, Not the Last Ended a monstrosity in the underground garage. 40G 51.85% of players
• Arachnophobia Outran a gigantic threat in the city. 15G 49.44% of players
• Slither into Oblivion Removed an invisible enemy from the equation. 25G 46.8% of players
• One of the Many Defeated the ultimate evil within. 45G 45.49% of players
• First Step into Darkness Completed the game on Casual difficulty. 30G 45.2% of players
• Another Day on the Job Completed the game on Survival difficulty. 40G 30.31% of players
• Master of Horror Completed the game on Nightmare difficulty. 50G 6.84% of players
• Every Nook and Cranny Collected every collectable in the game. 30G 9.9% of players
• Master of Unlocking Opened up all the lockers in the save room. 15G 10.71% of players
• Hardbody Fully upgraded all of Sebastian's attributes. 30G 22.97% of players
• My Best Friend Completely upgraded one weapon. 10G 31.67% of players
• The Power of Three Completely upgraded three weapons. 25G 17.37% of players
• Unstoppable Arsenal Completely upgraded all weapons. 40G 13.08% of players
• Why Can't I Hold All This Ammo? Upgraded all options in the Stock menu. 20G 18.73% of players
• Blow Up the Playing Field Killed 10 enemies using the Rocket Launcher. 25G 15.37% of players
• Full House Killed 5 enemies with each type of Agony Bolt. 10G 11.77% of players
• Silent Kill Killed 5 enemies in a row with a sneak kill without being discovered. 20G 28.33% of players
• Burn, Baby, Burn! Killed 5 enemies with a torch. 10G 50.53% of players
• ...And the Corpses Mount Killed 30 enemies. 10G 89.23% of players
• Krimson PD Fury Killed 200 enemies. 20G 52.05% of players
• One Man Army Killed 400 enemies. 35G 23.31% of players
• Ammo Conservationist Killed 25 enemies with melee attacks. 10G 31.09% of players
• Bloody Bar Brawl Sneak Killed an enemy after hitting them with a bottle. 10G 31.96% of players
• Drop It Like It's Hot Killed 3 living enemies with one drop of a match. 10G 55.11% of players
• The Quick and the Dead Finished the game with a clear time of under 5:00:00. 45G 7.12% of players
• It Is What It Is Finished the game without upgrading any skills with green gel. 60G 7.71% of players
• You Asked For It Finished the game on 悪夢(AKUMU) mode. 60G 6.03% of players
• À la Corvo Opened the gate to the village without killing a single enemy in Chapter 2. 15G 15.8% of players
• Knife Beats Chainsaw Took out the Sadist with a sneak kill in Chapter 3. 40G 18.4% of players
• Home is Where the Hospice is Experienced the vision in the Hospice in Chapter 4. 15G 77.46% of players
• Not Part of the Job Description Rescued Kidman without Joseph taking any damage in Chapter 5. 25G 15.46% of players
• Everybody Gets One Saved Joseph from falling off a ledge in Chapter 6. 5G 30.02% of players
• I Don't Have Time for This! Escaped from the Catacombs killing only 2 Keepers in Chapter 7. 10G 17.84% of players
• Item Management Finished Chapter 8 without firing a single weapon. 10G 13.12% of players
• Bathed in Flames Defeated Laura before riding the elevator in Chapter 10. 25G 15.72% of players
• Not a Scratch on Her! Drove down the highway without hitting a single enemy in Chapter 12. 15G 10.64% of players
• Entry Level Electrician Powered up all electrical equipment simultaneously in the subway in Chapter 14. 15G 42.09% of players
• Prank Call Lured an enemy with a phone call and locked them in a room. (Ch. 1) 15G 7.26% of players
• Clutch! Used a single trap to kill two or more enemies in The Assignment. (Ch. 2) 15G 5.69% of players
• All You Need is Axe Survived the duel without using any electronic devices in the environment. (Ch. 2) 15G 5.27% of players
• Death Grip Got a Cadaver to grab and kill a Haunted. (Ch. 2) 15G 5.25% of players
• A Different Beginning Cleared Chapter 1, "An Oath." 15G 7.68% of players
• Not as it Seems Cleared Chapter 2, "Crossing Paths." 40G 7.18% of players
• Doctor's Notes Collected all Research Documents in The Assignment. 40G 5.11% of players
• A Piece of My Past Collected all Personnel Files in The Assignment. 15G 5.8% of players
• A Warning Completed the hidden letter in The Assignment. 15G 5.03% of players
• Not Afraid of the Dark Cleared The Assignment in KURAYAMI Mode. 40G 4.11% of players
• Fumbling in the Dark Turned on the generator using no more than 10 chemical lights. (Ch. 3) 20G 4.65% of players
• A Real Hero Saved Sebastian's life in the hotel. (Ch. 4) 20G 5.27% of players
• There Will Not Be Blood Got through the hotel without being spotted or killing any enemies. (Ch. 4) 20G 4.17% of players
• Stick to the Script Didn't really Defeat Ruvik before the final showdown. (Ch. 4) 20G 4.79% of players
• Things Fall Apart Cleared Chapter 3, "Illusions." 20G 6.49% of players
• Where Do We Go From Here? Cleared Chapter 4, "A Ghost is Born." 40G 6.36% of players
• It's All Your Fault Collected all Research Documents in The Consequence. 40G 4.6% of players
• Becoming an Agent Collected all Personnel Files in The Consequence. 15G 5.22% of players
• This is Just the Beginning Completed the hidden letter in The Consequence. 15G 4.44% of players
• None More Dark Cleared The Consequence in KURAYAMI Mode. 40G 3.65% of players
• Nosy Parent Collected all Daughter's Diaries in The Executioner. 15G 6.01% of players
• Cruel and Unusual Completed all Torments. 40G 4.03% of players
• I Might Close Early Purchased all items in the Shop. 20G 4% of players
• Krimson Chainsaw Massacre Killed 10 basic Haunted with the chainsaw. 15G 5.5% of players
• Trapper and Keeper Killed 10 basic Haunted with environmental traps in The Executioner. 15G 5.57% of players
• Got to Destroy the Brain Used Executions on 20 basic Haunted. 20G 7.18% of players
• Home Invasion Cleared the first and second floors of the manor house in The Executioner. 15G 7.23% of players
• The Craftsman's Tools Cleared the basement of the manor house in The Executioner. 15G 7.03% of players
• I've Got Box of Steel Cleared The Executioner without taking any damage. 40G 3.71% of players
• You Had This Coming Got payback on the cop who took down your predecessor. 40G 5.17% of players

DLC

Three story packs were released in 2015: The Assignment, The Consequence and The Executioner. The Xbox 360 Store closed on 29 July 2024, so they can only be re-downloaded by people who bought them earlier.

Items

Name	Adds	Obtainable today	Date
The Assignment	Juli Kidman's story, part one, released March 2015, with 10 achievements worth 225 gamerscore	no
The Consequence	Juli Kidman's story, part two, released April 2015, with 10 achievements worth 250 gamerscore	no
The Executioner	Mission based levels as the Keeper in first person, with 10 achievements worth 235 gamerscore	no	2015-05-25

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single-player only, with no online features.

Online

Plays offlineYes

The Evil Within is a single player game with no online mode. Only the Xbox 360 Store, where the DLC was sold, has closed.

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale
Metacritic	Xbox One	79	100
Metacritic	PlayStation 4	75	100
Metacritic	PC	68	100

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale
IGN	8.7	10
GameSpot	7	10
Game Informer	9	10
Eurogamer	8	10
Official Xbox Magazine	8	10
VideoGamer	8	10
GamesRadar	3.5	5
Polygon	6.5	10
Destructoid	7	10
GameTrailers	9	10
Giant Bomb	2	5
Famitsu	35	40

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Director	Shinji Mikami
Producer	Masato Kimura
Designer	Shigenori Nishikawa
Programmer	Hideaki Nakata
Programmer	Hideyuki Miyashita
Artist	Naoki Katakai
Writer	Itaru Yokoyama
Writer	Keith Dwyer
Composer	Masafumi Takada

Cast

Character	Actor
Sebastian Castellanos	Anson Mount
Joseph Oda	Yuri Lowenthal
Oscar Connelly	Kiff VandenHeuvel
Juli Kidman	Jennifer Carpenter

Notes for collectors

• The Xbox 360 list is 71 achievements for 1710 gamerscore: 41 in the base game for 1000, 10 for The Assignment worth 225, 10 for The Consequence worth 250 and 10 for The Executioner worth 235.
• In Japan the game was released as Psycho Break, with the gore cut so it could get a D rating. The cut content can be restored with optional DLC.
• The Executioner lets you play as the Keeper from a first person view, which the main game never does.
• The development codename was Project Zwei.
• The game went gold on 25 September 2014.
• Two of the achievements ask for finishing the game on Akumu mode and finishing each of the first two DLC episodes in Kurayami mode, both with Japanese names.

Credits

Region

US

Time to beat

about 15.5 hours