The video game industry’s had a stellar 2014. They gave us piles and piles of games to enjoy, so many in fact that not everyone got to play all the gems that this year had to offer. Sadly, I was one of those people that didn’t get to play all the AAA titles this year, I got my hands on a fair share of them and loved plenty of them. The variety and quality of the games that were released made a Game of the Year decision very difficult, I even had a tough time picking which game I wanted to be my personal game of the year.
However, my survival horror roots drew me to BagoGames’ Game of the Year years before it was even released. The hype and excitement that I carried with me for years until October finally rolled around was almost overwhelming. And I am very happy to say that the game did not disappoint; in fact, it hit my expectations and blew them out of the water. With all that said, I am proud to announce that Shinji Mikami’s masterpiece, The Evil Within, is Bagogames’ Game of the Year for 2014.
Survival horror has been on life support for a few generations, yes there were blips in its heartbeat with Alan Wake, Dead Space and Outlast, but nothing captured the scares from the PlayStation era. Thankfully, Shinji Mikami went back to his horror roots, using all that he had learned directing and creating the Resident Evil series and inputting it into this game.
I haven’t felt so worried in a game while firing my weapon, always wondering if there would be more ammo to be found. I worried every time that I used a health kit or syringe pack to continue living, knowing full well that that may be my last. The last game that did that to me was Resident Evil: Code Veronica in 1999, my 20 year old self could hardly contain the joy I felt every time I heard he safe room music. The Evil Within also gave me that feeling as well, every-time I ran across the door with the hospital symbol and that old time music hummed in the background I knew I could save and level up. My nostalgia was driving nearly insane as I found those rooms and I loved every minute of it. However my nostalgia is not the only factor that makes this our game of the year.
The graphics on the Xbox One version of the game were almost perfection. The hallways make one feel claustrophobic as you frantically try to stay alive. The monster design was also very well done, if you were in a farm house the low level monsters that you battle would have overalls and pitchforks. The tougher enemies were also very well designed, not only do they terrify you after you meet them and they kill you for the first time, they are insanely detailed.
“The Keeper” while being one of the best designed enemies in the game, is also the most annoying, he’s insanely difficult to fell but like Dark Souls insanely satisfying to defeat. In fact every level gives you that feeling of satisfaction when you hit the “Chapter Clear Screen,” it makes you want to continue through the horror. I can’t convey enough the feeling of being on the brink of the death at every turn during this game, the mood and atmosphere keep you on your toes at all times.
As mentioned, that doesn’t mean that killing even low level enemies was easy at all; five or six rounds into the head and you may have been lucky to down them, but you can never be too sure. As you go through levels you find matches, which are used to burn the bodies of the fallen enemies, should you ever have been suspect, burn the body, always burn the body. This trick comes in handy when you find harder enemies to down, one shotgun shell to the knee then a match and you’ve saved countless bullets and health packs.
The game’s not easy and might be difficult for the casual gamer, luckily I was brought up on Mikami’s Resident Evil so I knew how to manage my ammo and my health packs. I did run into many spots of bother, but the game was nice enough to replenish me with some items each time I fought a giant boss or massive amounts of enemies. It’s still a huge challenge, and that’s what made me like it so much, there were game sessions where I fought one boss for the whole day until I lucked out or gained enough skill to fell a beast. Generally I quit when I can’t beat a boss for the first time, but The Evil Within kept me coming back for more, that is another part of the magnificence of this game.
Gone are the days of tank controls, which has me sadden slightly, but controlling Sebastian through this virtual nightmare is not, in fact a nightmare. You can run and gun easily in this game, which is a gift, had this game been given tank controls I would surely still be on the first chapter. Mikami was even nice enough to allow a quick switch between weapons, but sadly only four. You’re given a robust armory but you can only use four weapons at a time, which makes the decsion quite hard of which weapon should be leveled up.
I naturally leveled up my shotgun and my pistol, shotgun being my favorite and pistol having the most ammo in the game. You can use one of the four slots for health packs but Mikami allows the player to click the right thumbstick and open the menu. A quick movement over the health pack and you can be on your merry way again, but there is an added horror in that menu for time runs as you decide what to do in it, so even in the menu you are not safe. Mikami made this game challenging for all, but he did not handicap the player with lousy controls, he handicapped them with minimal supplies. Which is just perfect for me.
I’d love to continue to gush about how amazing this game is, but I should wrap this up or you’ll be reading it until 2016. The Evil Within is a game that deserves GOTY, it’s an original piece of art that is hopefully going to usher in a new chapter of survival horror for the new generation. Original is one of the most compelling arguments for this game to be on the top, gamers are a group of people that are inundated with sequel after sequel, after all.
The Evil Within, while I want a sequel, is something that is completely new, something I’ve really never seen before, but I would love to see again. Mikami borrowed from Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Dead Space and Cold Fear, all great horror games, and now intertwined with next generation graphics and controls make a masterpiece. I beat this game very recently and even after almost twenty hours and 107 deaths I wanted more, I know DLC is on the way, but I truly cannot wait for what Mikami has in store for us next.