The Evil Within

The Evil Within, a survival horror game from 2014, was created by Tango Gameworks and released by Bethesda Softworks. Shinji Mikami, the creator of the Resident Evil series, served as its director. Players control Sebastian Castellanos, a detective who gets dragged into a twisted realm filled with grotesque creatures and nightmarish settings. The game uses a third-person perspective, where players fight disfigured, nightmare-like foes—including bosses—with guns and melee weapons. Progress involves navigating levels, avoiding traps, using stealth, and gathering collectibles.

The game launched in October 2014 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Critics generally gave it positive reviews, highlighting its horror elements, gameplay, and atmosphere, though they criticized its story, characters, and technical problems. A sequel, The Evil Within 2, came out in October 2017.

**Gameplay**

The single-player campaign splits into 15 chapters that must be completed in order. Played from a third-person view, survival depends on scavenging supplies and deciding when to fight or flee. Hazards include bear traps, barbed wire traps, bombs, and spike traps. Common enemies are "The Haunted," while other threats include "Reborn Laura" (a crawling creature with many limbs and long hair), the main antagonist Ruvik, "The Keeper" (a large humanoid with a safe for a head wielding a meat tenderizer hammer), and "Sadist" (a large humanoid in a spiked metal mask carrying a blood-covered chainsaw).

Sebastian must use the environment and found items to survive. The game world shifts during scripted events or through player actions, altering locations, creating new paths, or teleporting the player. He can heal with Syringes and Medical Kits; Medical Kits expand health but cause brief hallucinations. Collecting vials of Green Gel hidden throughout the game lets players upgrade abilities like ammunition capacity, stamina, and health.

A safe house called "Safe Haven" becomes accessible during scripted events or by finding bright, glowing mirrors. This mental hospital contains a save point, an upgrade room for improving skills, and a safe room where keys open storage safes holding useful items like Green Gel and ammunition. Players collect these keys by finding and breaking Madonna statues hidden in levels.