The Evil Within Gameplay Analysis: A Fresh Take on Terror or Something We've Seen Before?

When news first broke out that Shinji Mikami, the grandfather of horror and creator of the Resident Evil series, was working with his new studio to bring us an original survival horror title, I could hardly contain my enthusiasm.  First off, no longer working under the containment of Capcom and the "direction" they have chosen to drive most of their once-beloved franchises is a great start.  Mikami being at the helm of his own studio, Tango Gameworks, will give him the creative freedom he deserves to allow us to really dive into the most sick and twisted experience he can concoct for us.  Also, being published by the well known and respected Bethesda will hopefully allow leniency on any would-be controversial content.  But, none of that means of a damn thing if the game doesn't deliver and now we have footage of two demo locations to draw some speculation from.  So will The Evil Within fulfill its promises to an audience that has felt long abandoned?

The contents of the demo showcase, in my opinion, were a bit of a mixed bag, though mostly good.  I think it might be easier to just layout the contents in a digestible list.  The extended demo I watched was found here and is the most comprehensive gameplay footage (without stage commentary, thank god) I've seen to date.

What I Enjoyed

1. The Varying Locations

I guess this is a bit preemptive as I can only draw from the 10 minutes of footage, but the entirety of the game seems to take place in a recently post-apocalyptic city, as revealed in the last segment of the prologue.  I say recently post-apocalyptic because our main character seems quite surprised to reach the outside only to find the crumbling leftovers of a once populated city before him.  I'm sure there will be some sort of amnesia involved as a plot device.

But in the demo alone, we've seen some sort of butcher's den, a hospital or asylum, and a small cabin in the woods (very reminiscent of Resident Evil 4).  Sometimes, switching up the locations too fast can break the gameplay flow and breach into the immersion.  There is no point in minding your surroundings, if you aren't going to need to backtrack, which I feel is a staple to classic horror.  But, the gameplay seems to showcase some backtracking elements, such as finding keys and items to progress further into the environment.  So the multiple locations could be a great asset to the game by giving us plenty of settings to create different types of tension and shock, or it could go south if we're never allowed enough time to become fully absorbed in an area before being whisked off to the next one.  For now, I'm seeing this in a positive light, because the entire game taking place in an asylum borders on cliche and sometimes you need to change things up so the audience doesn't become familiar and bored with the same jump-scare tactics.

2. The Enemy Design

We really only got a glimpse at three enemy types in the demo.  The hulking butchers, armed with chainsaws and knives, the standard lumbering zombie, and well, one of the most terrifying takes on "creepy girl with black hair and pale skin, crab running around" I have ever seen.  These are all monsters we've seen before in film and games, but the design looks great.  The zombies really are standard, but certain touches like their clumsy movements and being wrapped in barbed wire makes you question their fate.  They almost seem more of a tribute to Ghouls from the Fallout series than a classic zombie, and the hint of mystery surrounding their origins makes you question if there is any humanity left within them.

It also seems like enemies like to pursue you through most of the area, a similar element present in Nemesis from Resident Evil 3 and the Regenerator from the Dead Space series.  Now a lot of gamers hate that mechanic; a somewhat invincible monster that will relentlessly chase you, rarely giving you a moment to rest and compose your thoughts.  I think a lot of the hatred stems from the waste of resources that tends to come with those enemies.  Most bullets and ammunition you use tend to be for a good cause; you're permanently destroying an obstacle hindering your progress.  But with the unkillable baddies, all ammo dispensed is for nothing.  They won't stop and you can't find that moment of peace with them continuing their pursuit.  I personally welcome the chase and find the horror I see in it to drive home the scariness of the game, but I can understand why many gamers see it as an annoyance.

The blackhaired spider lady is what really drove the terror home.  Her appearance was quite unexpected and her quick movements and seemingly lethal presence already has me wondering "How the hell am I supposed to deal with that?"  I don't know anything about her, but its an origin story that I hope stays a mystery.

3. Psychological Thrills

The dumpster full of bodies in the butcher's lair, blood streaks on the ground, abandoned wheel chairs, and tidal waves of blood rushing down a hallway in a shameless tribute to The Shining.  No matter how many times we've seen these things make their way into a horror title, I don't think I'll ever get sick of them.  I'll admit, my initial reaction to waking up on a meat hook in a slaughterhouse was pretty tiresome, but you can't deny that after a few minutes in that environment, the chills start creeping up your spine.  These things are horror stereotypes for a reason; they work.  Being in an asylum, abandoned hospital, or creepy cabin are staples to the genre and I'm in full support of sticking to the classics, since we are fully aware how well those classics can be executed.

Your character also seems to be suffering from some sort of mental trauma as he imagines blood flooding towards him.  Having your character imagining things puts you at the mercy of the game designers, as all breeches of reality are fair-game.  Monsters are scary in their physical form, but at the same time, you know you can run away; you know you can defend yourself and that they are limited to the rules of this world.  But once you start diving into the psychological scares, you need to be prepared for anything.  One moment you can be walking into a room, and the next a giant twisted mouth could be forming from the ceiling, slowly descending upon you.  Is it all in your head?  Who knows; all that's certain is that its there, its coming for you, and it could happen when you least expect it.

What I'm Hesitant About

1. Another Third Person Shooter

I had an intense excitement during the first part of the demo, when you're extremely vulnerable.  You have no weapon, no form of self-defense, and you have to sneak your way through a hazardous environment.  The intensity was doubled when you sustain an injury that has you limping for the rest of the segment.  With limited mobility and no protection, you are truly exposed and nothing could be scarier.

But then, the latter part of the video shows you defending a small room from waves of zombies as they try to break through the windows, which is about as subtle of a nod to Resident Evil 4 as a brick to the face.  You're armed with a revolver and a scarce amount of bullets.  Okay, that's fine; limiting your character's ammunition is a great way to add to the intensity. But then all of a sudden your character has access to mines.  Mines?  Really?  Talk about breaking the immersion.  What kind of cabin is stocked with some hunting trophies, a few bookshelves, a revolver, a handful of bullets, and time bombs?  Being armed to the teeth is not an element of horror and is one of the primary reasons the Resident Evil series began to suffer.  Give your character an arsenal, and you get rid of the tension.  Hopefully, these are just sections of a much bigger experience to break up the gameplay.  But for now, I'm remaining skeptical.

2. Fetch Quests and Linear Puzzle Solving

As I stated before, I enjoy backtracking in horror games.  I think it gives you a reason to take care in your actions and the enemies you dispose of, since you're going to need to re-enter that area at another point.  I also like puzzles contained to an area that force you to examine your surroundings and recall certain aspects of environments previously explored.  But, puzzle solving was killed off in Resident Evil 4 as the experience was meant to be more linear.  You find a locked door.  You go a different way, fight your way to the end, find a key, loop back around to said locked door, and continue on your way.  There was no search and discovery or necessary backtracking, only a short lived obstacle.

The Evil Within showcase demonstrated this early on.  You find a locked door, look to see the key hanging from a hook, you sneak over to get it, and make your escape.  Now I fully realize this segment of the game seems to be extremely early on, if not the beginning, so I have no problem with that existing as a tutorial.  It does, however, worry me about their further use of such "puzzles" and how they will handle the exploration of your environment aiding to your progress.

3. What The Story Will Bring Us

Now there's a few ways of executing a story in horror games, but typically your character either exists as the hero tasked with saving the world, or just some sad sap who got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong type.  I'm a firm believer that the latter is a much stronger way of a capturing the horror genre than the former.  The Resident Evil remake for the Gamecube, one of my favorite games, keeps the characters human; they are just some people who got wrapped up in some shit they were far too unqualified to handle.  It was about surviving a nightmare they were unprepared for and simply escaping with their lives intact.  The Last of Us is a similar experience and I think driving home the point that your character is vulnerable and just as clueless as you are drives the mystery and strengthens that aspect of the story.  It wasn't until later Resident Evil titles that the characters became the heroes; the ones meant to uncover the secrets, battle giant monsters, and save the planet.  When something of that caliber is already expected of your character, all fear is out the window.  You already know you are capable of incredible feats, and a few zombies or mutated freaks in your way isn't going to stop you.  This form of narration kills the suspense of whether or not you'll succeed or even survive and leaves the story drained of mystery and the overbearing unknown.

It is obviously far too early to tell what direction The Evil Within will go in, but I think its a fair criticism to be worried.  Overall, I think the game will be refreshing, even if we've seen some of it done before.  The context of the setting and the discovery of your character is what makes the first entry to a series a great experience.  There is no expectation; just a blank slate to captivate us with.

Capcom Returning Resident Evil 7 to its Survival Horror Roots. But How Much Damage Has Already Been Done?

Fans finally have Capcom by the face.  The key is to not let go

In a recent interview with MCV (found here), Capcom has announced recognition of the negative feedback surrounding 2012's Resident Evil 6 and have stated that the next title on the docket, Resident Evil 7, will be a return to the classic horror gameplay on which the series' predecessors were founded.  That's right, the very core element of the franchise, neglected by its own creators, is finally making a comeback.  It only took Capcom ten years worth of screaming fans to realize it (though I'm sure the poor sales of RE6 rung in their ears louder than any fan's plea ever could).

Its a bit of an odd coincidence that barely three days ago, I posted my thoughts on Dark Souls II and my fear the series is slated to follow in Resident Evil's footsteps.  As a game gains recognition, its very understandable for publishers and developers alike to ask, "What we can do for the next game that will equate to even more recognition?"  And unfortunately, most companies narrow their vision to the most short-sighted answer possible; to integrate current popular features into their titles in order to set their scopes on the mass market. And we see the result time and time again; the sequels disappoint, sales begin to drop, the company tries to recover by implementing even more elements they think the general public craves (cover based shooting, weapon crafting, multiplayer) only for it to backfire with the sound of a million angry nerds.  But low and behold, history is destined to repeat itself, and even more up and coming game companies eagerly line-up for the guillotine titled, "Franchise Suicide," so long as the severed head can rest comfortably on a pillow of dollar bills.

Maybe this is just my naive observation, but it seems a lot of the companies making these mistakes are non-western developers trying to appeal to a western audience.  Just look at how Japanese publisher Square-Enix has transformed the Final Fantasy series over the years; catering more and more to a primarily North American audience (for gods' sake, Final Fantasy XIII features a character named Sazh Katzroy, a black man with an afro housing a baby Chocobo).  Capcom is still trying to scrape the bottom of the ice-cream carton that was Resident Evil 4's explosive success in the west.  And now Namco Bandai is presenting clear signs of similar strategies regarding the upcoming Dark Souls II.  I understand there is good reason to aim your product at a target, especially one as big as the Americas and Europe, but publishers make the constant mistake of thinking only one type of gamer exists in these countries.  I've said it before and I'll say it again; there is an alarming disconnect between publishers and their consumers and its plaguing the game industry.

Nope, I wasn't kidding

But let's switch back to Capcom.  Here we finally witness a company admitting its recent faults and actually announcing planned changes to alleviate these stumbles (if you can call ten years of bulldozing yourself into a hole "stumbling").  That's right fellow Resident Evil fans; we're finally getting the attention we've begged for and its paying off with a whole genre revival.  However, let's not get too excited all at once.  If we're being honest here, there is no way in hell Capcom would be reverting the series back to its roots if Resident Evil 6 had turned the profit they expected.  No matter how many more message boards, forums, and blogs continued to erupt with fan disappointment, Capcom would continue to follow the guaranteed cash flow.  They would drive thirty more stakes into the heart of the games we love until they soaked up every last drop of golden blood from the dead corpse.  And because I'm so sure of that fact, I will remain extremely suspicious regarding Resident Evil 7.  Personally, no amount of good news from the mouths of Capcom could undo the years of outright ignoring the very fans who breathed life into their company and kept it alive.

Shifting gears from all the negativity, I wanted add that I'm very proud of the gamers and reviewers alike who covered Resident Evil 6 justly.  All of the long-time fans who weren't afraid to proclaim that the game was full of flaws and without an identity (as much as it hurts to admit that one of your favorite franchises of all time is no longer what is used to be).  Gamers have always been pushovers, to a silly degree.  We'll get on the boycott bandwagon for a game one day, but the second we see something that suits our fancy, we're off preordering the Ultimate Limited Collector's Edition for $150 of our hard earned cash.  But while 5 million sales is still way too high for such a mediocre game, I'm glad that Capcom got a clear message from its fans regarding Resident Evil 6; "We do not want this."

Remember, in a capitalist economy, your dollar is your vote.  What you do and don't spend your money on could very well guarantee that thing's success, failure, change, or even revival.  I urge not just gamers, but all members playing a role in this society to really take your purchases to heart.  If you don't agree with something and it doesn't meet your standards, the best way to send a message of your distaste is to not buy it.  Show companies that they can't coast by with mediocrity and that we have standards.  Demonstrate that we're not a "one size fits all" audience and that some of us will not pump out money for what is merely a passing grade.  It comes down to us standing by our wants and using our power as consumers to steer the gaming industry to a place of quality, where publishers, developers, media, and players can all benefit equally.

Review: The Last of Us

Joel and Ellie; an unlikely duo of wary travelers that share a common goal, but not exactly common motivation.  Meeting these two, and following them along their treacherous journey is sure to leave a hefty impact.  Prepare yourself for survival and strap in.

The Last of Us is wild concoction of genres, but the most straight forward description of it would be a third person shooter with stealth and survival horror elements.  Just don't expect to rely on your cover-shooting skills to trudge through this title in one piece.  Gunplay is incredibly frantic, dramatic, and chaotic.  If you find yourself using your firearms, you know full well that your most recent encounter has turned into a tooth and nail struggle for survival.  Guns go off with loud, startling pops and you can almost hear Joel's bat and lead pipe swings crushing bones with every blow.  Every firefight and fisticuffs feels brutal and desperate and it only takes one mistake to end up a corpse in a pool of blood.

Its not only in the fantastic sound design, but in the scavenger gameplay after each battle that showcases the gravity of this post apocalyptic world. Bullets are scarce, max ammo capacity is shallow, bricks and bottles break, melee weapons deteriorate after a few hits, and shivs, med packs, and Molotovs cost valuable resources.  An encounter usually leads to being drained of supplies, so its essential to explore every nook and cranny of the beautifully sculpted environments to scrounge up just enough tools to get you through the next area.

Because your cache can be spent so easily, stealth tends to be the sought after route.  Being sneaky, however, doesn't always go as planned, as the enemy AI scours the area ready to alert their companions to your presence.  More often than naught, you'll misjudge the enemy's vision range or knock over a glass bottle and find yourself struggling to fend off a wave of attackers.  But its because of this challenge that successfully taking everyone down or sneaking by them altogether feels very rewarding, especially when you look back and consider all of the ammunition you saved.

Stealth is a challenge to be sure, but you'll find much satisfaction in saving the bullets.

Despite the game following Naughty Dog's standard Uncharted formula (enemy encounter, world traversal, enemy encounter, world traversal) the combat stays fresh as you fight three diverse groups of enemies throughout the story; Military soldiers, the infected, and other survivors. The strategy used for each varies drastically. The military are heavily armored and equipped with superior fire power, Looters are smart, cautious, and brutal, while infected are less intelligent but boast greater numbers and Echo Location to help them detect moving targets.  These Clickers will easily one-hit kill Joel, which can be frustrating at first, but its those blunt lessons in combat that teach you how to best clear out a room of enemies.

Each tool for survival has its own strengths for every scenario, leaving you with some tough decisions when it comes to allocating your resources.  Molotovs require the same ingredients as a med pack.  The spreading fire from a Molotov (when aimed well) can take out a pack of infected in one toss, but your health is still quite fragile to the many dangers.  Where a precious shiv can be used to one hit kill a Clicker, it can also be disposed to force open a locked door with potential loot inside. All weapon switching and item crafting is done in real time, leaving almost no breathing room when narrowly escaping an assault.  These situations will keep you wondering "What gear is best for my survival?" when determining how to advance through a regal world with no authority and no rules.

The visuals are simply gorgeous, and its no surprise with Naughty Dog behind the helm. The effects of the gore, particles, water, and weather are all breathtaking and the diversity in your surroundings prevents any exhaustion of one particular art style. Flora and fauna have overrun the populated cities and metros we know in our time, leading to some very desolate, eerie, yet captivating world traversal.  Character models and their animations are rock solid.  Controlling Joel has a comfortable feel as you sense the weight behind every motion.  Melee attacks and their interactions with your settings are smoothly executed and even watching enemies carefully stalk around the corners cautiously is a stunning detail. You might notice a little glitch here or there and some minor textures coming in a little too late, but these are unrecognizable blemishes on a beautiful work of art.  Combine that with some of the most memorable environments this generation of gaming has seen, and you easily have one of the most stunning looking games on consoles to date.

But the character driven story is where the meat of the game is.  Traveling with Joel and Ellie never gets old and every temporary companion is likable and not without purpose. Every performance is well acted, believable and genuine, while the motion capture really drives home some exceptional character interactions. While Joel and Ellie are the centerpiece, meeting memorable characters like Bill or David is sure to be the focal point of many conversations to come.  Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson definitely steal the show though as the development between Joel and Ellie stays heartfelt and incredibly paced. Each character transforms the more time they spend together, but never too fast. In fact, they both have enough stubborn tendencies that keep them from changing as quickly as you'd imagine they would.  This speaks volumes to the pacing Naughty Dog has instilled within the experience.  Every line of dialogue feels real and you can imagine putting yourself in every scenario and making the very same decisions as Joel.  The story unfolds through a very straight-forward narrative that has been done in apocalyptic and undead media for almost half a century, but the high polish and care with which its done, not to mention the incredibly tough questions the story brings up regarding humanity and survival gives this simple journey an overarching theme that has really never been done before.

Make no mistake, The Last of Us is a very draining experience.  Some might have trouble even classifying this game as "fun", at least not in the traditional fashion. Though I tend to find The Last of Us is addicting in the same sense as most survival horrors. There is something immensely satisfying to barely scraping by, using limited resources wisely, and really facing a true challenge. Its the same reason why Dark Souls fans feel so rewarded, despite the game being so punishing and emotionally gut-wrenching.  The gameplay has a way of transferring your mind into Joel's body; survival is your utmost concern.  Playing becomes less about escaping a stressful day at work with a nice relaxing video game, and more about "If I can just make it through this next hallway... if I can just scrounge up a little more ammo... if I can just protect Ellie a little longer..."

You'll weigh heavy decisions, both in combat and from the story, and you'll lose yourself in this amazing and dramatic adventure.  Any fan of a strong narrative would do themselves a favor by playing The Last of Us.  It's a game that will be talked about for decades and stand as a prime example of what it means to set a new standard for gaming experiences.