The Evil Within

 PC
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1960 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,417 out of 1960
  2. Mixed: 255 out of 1960
  3. Negative: 288 out of 1960
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  1. slutrag
    Jan 12, 2015
    10
    after the fixes this game is incredible... a true successor to Silent Hill IMO... some epic, beautiful moments, have been waiting for a game like this since Silent Hill 4... dont miss this one.
  2. gameplayer85
    Jan 3, 2015
    7
    Good game. Runs smooth on my pc. Difficult and easy to die. But its a fun ride none the less. Pretty fun ride and this game is 1 of the top 3 survival horror games of 2014.
  3. Asccort
    Jan 2, 2015
    8
    Great Game! One of the best of 2014.
    If you like the survival horror game and experience, then play this title. The characters are a little poor, but the whole game experience is great
  4. Fostin4
    Dec 31, 2014
    3
    It's a great horror game but it runs like crap on john carmacks abomination of a game engine called IDTech 5 with those same issues since ever..texture pop ins,low fps etc.Thank you john carmack.
  5. azeitona
    Dec 28, 2014
    6
    I was wishing to like this game so much more...

    Yeah, some of the problems have been addressed and patched. That stupid letterbox: gone. 60 FPS unlocked, hell yeah. But, even so, the game likes to take a crap on my PC, and even though it's not an Alienware, it should be able to run the game at least at medium settings. But the framerate keeps dropping all the time. And the texture    I was wishing to like this game so much more...

    Yeah, some of the problems have been addressed and patched. That stupid letterbox: gone. 60 FPS unlocked, hell yeah. But, even so, the game likes to take a crap on my PC, and even though it's not an Alienware, it should be able to run the game at least at medium settings. But the framerate keeps dropping all the time. And the texture pop-ins are still there. Ugh. Sadly, the PS4 version is much better and more stable.

    The story is rather interesting. The characters are totally bland and the game already starts with you knee-deep in the **** after only two minutes of intro. The pacing is kinda poor to me, but the plot is so bizarre that it's probably what will keep you going.

    Now, for the gameplay... ugh. The least I say, the better. I know this is supposed to be hard. I know this is supposed to be challenging. But it ends up just being... frustrating. The open combat sections suck. That enemy that throws dynamite at you sucks. And I wouldn't have that much of a problem with all the stealth if the controls and the camera weren't so bad. At the third chapter I just though "screw it", then lowered the difficulty and started shooting instead of trying to sneak my way over the place.

    So... The Evil Within. Not a bad game at all. It even was really fun, at least when I was not engaged in combat. The enemies are really creative, and, although the game is not really scary, it's very disturbing. If you want a challenge, are a fan of Resident Evil and love to try a section of a game again, and again, and again, well, then go ahead. I do not regret buying it, but I could've just watched a complete walkthrough on Youtube and save me the frustration with the clunky gameplay.    … Expand
  6. Smuggly
    Dec 26, 2014
    4
    This could have and yet still might be a great game, currently it is not.

    The controls are extremely unresponsive and the key bindings are terrible. The letterbox screen is terrible. The frame rate is terrrible. The graphics have some nice style, but should have been a lot better. It's a very, very average console port and it's current state is a not worth paying a cent for, demo    This could have and yet still might be a great game, currently it is not.

    The controls are extremely unresponsive and the key bindings are terrible.
    The letterbox screen is terrible.
    The frame rate is terrrible.
    The graphics have some nice style, but should have been a lot better.

    It's a very, very average console port and it's current state is a not worth paying a cent for, demo is out, play that and make your own decision. I love survival horror, but this game isn't worthy.    … Expand
  7. kayudin78
    Dec 25, 2014
    8
    Bad quality port of good and interesting game.Working wery unstable on my not wery modern PC.(But Wolfenstein and Rage - on the same Id Tech 5- working wery good).
  8. Rushrush2meyayo
    Dec 24, 2014
    4
    What I liked:
    - the creativity and imagination poured into this game is unsurpassed
    - the protagonist reminded me of a certain John Marston - game was very stable - the ending.. at long last What I disliked: - saving the game is very cumbersome and painful - ammo is very scarce that I ended up using the clunky melee attack more than I'd use guns - the handgun/magnum is    What I liked:
    - the creativity and imagination poured into this game is unsurpassed
    - the protagonist reminded me of a certain John Marston
    - game was very stable
    - the ending.. at long last

    What I disliked:
    - saving the game is very cumbersome and painful
    - ammo is very scarce that I ended up using the clunky melee attack more than I'd use guns
    - the handgun/magnum is horrendously inaccurate
    - early encounter with Ruvik is nothing but nuisance
    - some portions where the game locks your camera at a certain angles can be very disorienting
    - very poor visibility in dark areas
    - extreme visual effects can make your eyes and head hurt in epileptic proportion
    - inconsistent damage from fire

    A marriage between Resident evil and Silent Hill, with The Matrix as venue - an experiment gone wrong.

    The game is peppered with cheap traps, cheap deaths, mediocre scares, levers and cranks, and distasteful visual effects that leave your head and eyes hurting.

    The only horror to you'd face here is that curiosity got the better of you to pickup the game.    … Expand
  9. Toiletfinger
    Dec 22, 2014
    8
    It starts out slowly, a little too slow for many. After you get past the initial stealth mechanic, it gets to feel more like resident evil 4/5. It's a good creepy horror game. We haven't had one in a little while. A few sections feel a little too difficult. 15 chapters. The game really get started around chapter 3 or 4. Worth playing through twice.
  10. shambles1980
    Dec 18, 2014
    1
    very slugish and underwhelming game play, controlls that cannot be edited to preference, and forced aspect ratios are among the issues with this "game" forced "press this button repetedly to do a basic task, gameplay features also are an issue. then you have the fact that the game just feels horrible. i reduced all the settings to minimum thinking it had to be a hardware issue.. but it isvery slugish and underwhelming game play, controlls that cannot be edited to preference, and forced aspect ratios are among the issues with this "game" forced "press this button repetedly to do a basic task, gameplay features also are an issue. then you have the fact that the game just feels horrible. i reduced all the settings to minimum thinking it had to be a hardware issue.. but it is not. that is just how the game play is. I would not reccomend this game to any one. if you want a decent survival horror type game, you should look at alien isolation. this game is a huge dissapointment from a person who brought some of my fave survival horror games to life. it is a shame.… Expand
  11. carnivorCactae
    Dec 15, 2014
    0
    Don't get fooled by the praise and the good reviews from suposedly "Horror Fans".
    There is nothing scary or creepy about this game.
    Sure, it can make you feel uncomfortable or stressed, but it's like splashing your face with a bucket of blood and guts and asking you if you are scared. The best definition of scary Horror would be the unknown. Something so surreal that your mind can't    Don't get fooled by the praise and the good reviews from suposedly "Horror Fans".
    There is nothing scary or creepy about this game.
    Sure, it can make you feel uncomfortable or stressed, but it's like splashing your face with a bucket of blood and guts and asking you if you are scared.
    The best definition of scary Horror would be the unknown. Something so surreal that your mind can't handle it and answers with fear.
    Nothing about that here.
    A mad butcher as seen hundreds and millions of times in movies and other games, blood and guts everywhere, thats a cheap effect that wears off quickly.
    "Traps" that are predictable and you allways know that you are gonna make it.
    Everything has been seen before and the missing subtle horror gives this game the feeling of a action game with clunky controls.

    Obviously made for People who think Horror consists of "BLOOD EVERYWHERE, HERE GET SOME IN YOUR FACE!" and Cheap, predictable Jumpscares.

    Someone remembers the Lakeview-Hotel-Level in SH2 ?
    Or the atmosphere that build up and you ran into the "they come" sign?
    The thrilling soundtrack and some
    unrecognizable
    noises around you?

    The feeling that it got worse and worse?

    Nothing about that here!

    The Boring within on the other hand is designed to please the impatient, the "Horror"-Fans who think "horror = gore".
    After the short first third it goes modern Resident Evil Style and you shoot everything on sight.

    don't fall for the hype!    … Expand
  12. Jonathan117
    Dec 11, 2014
    8
    A decent story featuring amazing combat and a nice survival-horror atmosphere. You may not love it because of the sub-par story, but what made me adore the game was its top notch gameplay.
    Pros:
    - Combat - Upgrading System - Graphics (constant 60fps and great graphics after patch) - Long game - Doesn't get repetitive Cons: - Only a decent story - Boring characters - Repetitive    A decent story featuring amazing combat and a nice survival-horror atmosphere. You may not love it because of the sub-par story, but what made me adore the game was its top notch gameplay.
    Pros:
    - Combat
    - Upgrading System
    - Graphics (constant 60fps and great graphics after patch)
    - Long game
    - Doesn't get repetitive
    Cons:
    - Only a decent story
    - Boring characters
    - Repetitive bossfights (sometimes)    … Expand
  13. Sky-Moondrift
    Dec 6, 2014
    1
    TEW ranks pretty highly as one of the worst PC ports ever made.

    Not a bad game, but it wreaks of console exclusive feature sets and restrictive linear systems, not to mention the game plays like utter tripe. Looks like Bethesda have joined the ranks of developers that don't give a toss about PC gamers. They put minimal effort into porting this, to the point you need to use cracked    TEW ranks pretty highly as one of the worst PC ports ever made.

    Not a bad game, but it wreaks of console exclusive feature sets and restrictive linear systems, not to mention the game plays like utter tripe. Looks like Bethesda have joined the ranks of developers that don't give a toss about PC gamers.

    They put minimal effort into porting this, to the point you need to use cracked executables and other third-party tools just to get the game to run properly.

    It's has horrible PC optimization- FPS in many areas can be as low as 20 fps using an overclocked i7-3770k and 2 x GTX-980 Strix cards. There is no support for widescreen aspect ratios, even with the console hack. You have to use Flawless widescreen to run at fullscreen.

    Controls are terrible, you can't bind keys properly and there is extremely bad mouse lag in menus/inventory, very frustrating. The control system itself is clunky and your character bumbles and staggers around, it's made strictly for a gamepad.

    I bought it on sale and I still feel ripped off, but more importantly I feel like i'm being treated like a gullible fool by the developer. We PC gamers are just an afterthought, yet we pay full prices for these sloppy-seconds.

    If I could go back I would probably have just downloaded it.    … Expand
  14. mpelley92
    Dec 5, 2014
    0
    I played this on a friend's computer after he told me how terrible it was...I can't believe Bethesda's name is on this game...they've really gone downhill. It's amazing what kind of garbage they release...broken games. I didn't even get past the first bit of gameplay because there is no clear instruction on how to do anything...totally ridiculous.
  15. davefu
    Dec 2, 2014
    1
    Terrible optimization issues. Just downloaded the demo on Steam, and couldn't play for more than 5 minutes. I5 2500K 4,5GHZ, Nvidia GTX 970. Clunky framerate. Even in the main menu the mouse lags. Stay away from this **** and from this horde of non optimized releases.
  16. Adel2Mass
    Nov 28, 2014
    10
    The game's been really underestimated..
    Good graphics: Check!
    Good story that goes along with the gameplay: Check!
    Good gameplay: Check!
    Scary atmosphere: Check!
  17. R_access
    Nov 27, 2014
    6
    I only have 30 minutes in, so I suppose I should give it more time, but wow is it hard to do so. Crashed immediately after starting it, terrible frame rate, poor graphic filter and more are the least of the problems, sadly. Its just a poor experience. Its a trial and error game, where immersion is broken constantly by the completely illogical progression method.

    Sadly, this isn't scary.    I only have 30 minutes in, so I suppose I should give it more time, but wow is it hard to do so. Crashed immediately after starting it, terrible frame rate, poor graphic filter and more are the least of the problems, sadly. Its just a poor experience. Its a trial and error game, where immersion is broken constantly by the completely illogical progression method.

    Sadly, this isn't scary. Its just a very slow, plodding trial and error exercise with predictable gore and frustration.

    This is no successor to resident evil, its a huge step backwards    … Expand
  18. MrSaberra
    Nov 23, 2014
    9
    Flawed as this game might be, it had moments, when I was amazed, truly amazed. I love surrealism and Beksinski, whose pieces of art looked similar to some scenes in The Evil Within.
  19. scoobers
    Nov 23, 2014
    0
    The fan boys defend shinigaminichi or whatever his name is but most of us credit him for ruining the RE franchise. Just get Alien Isolation instead, runs great, is scary has challenge and looks amazing compared to TEW's playstation 2 gfx with a PS3 character model.
    Dev's unlocked 60 fps, unfortunately the "fix" for the FOV is basically no better than the console command(it probably is the    The fan boys defend shinigaminichi or whatever his name is but most of us credit him for ruining the RE franchise. Just get Alien Isolation instead, runs great, is scary has challenge and looks amazing compared to TEW's playstation 2 gfx with a PS3 character model.
    Dev's unlocked 60 fps, unfortunately the "fix" for the FOV is basically no better than the console command(it probably is the command hard coded). They blew it on the FOV if you love nausea and headaches get TEW! If you love having you character take up 47 percent of the screen space go for it. ALSO not SCARY!!    … Expand
  20. goodterling
    Nov 20, 2014
    3
    The choice to make your character LIMP through huge parts of the game is a deal breaker for me. It's just too slow to be fun. Also, it's like you're playing as someone's grandma. It's far easier to shoot a gun, dodge a haymaker punch, or just sprint for more than 2 seconds in REAL LIFE than in this game. Developers can increase difficulty through making tougher enemies or throughThe choice to make your character LIMP through huge parts of the game is a deal breaker for me. It's just too slow to be fun. Also, it's like you're playing as someone's grandma. It's far easier to shoot a gun, dodge a haymaker punch, or just sprint for more than 2 seconds in REAL LIFE than in this game. Developers can increase difficulty through making tougher enemies or through gimping your character. Choosing that 2nd option is a recipe for frustration.… Expand
  21. MouseyV
    Nov 19, 2014
    7
    As a longtime fan of the Resident Evil series, I am disappointed with this new installment, but at least it's better than RE6!
    Gameplay: 8/10
    Story: 6/10
    Visuals/Atmosphere: 9/10
    Sounds/Voice Acting: 6/10
    Overall: 7/10
    Would Recommend to a friend!
  22. pristiq
    Nov 19, 2014
    10
    dont know why you all cry about the game running poorly.. for me it runs perfectly, no clunky controles, no bad framerate.. (300fps here). learn to set up your computer properly.
    and for people complaining about that its not scary, might be cause you dont play it in the proper settings, this is meant to be enjoyed like a horror movie, hence the black bars and movie grain effect. you need    dont know why you all cry about the game running poorly.. for me it runs perfectly, no clunky controles, no bad framerate.. (300fps here). learn to set up your computer properly.
    and for people complaining about that its not scary, might be cause you dont play it in the proper settings, this is meant to be enjoyed like a horror movie, hence the black bars and movie grain effect. you need to sit alone in the dark, with headphones on while playing. and if for thoes who says the story is bad, is cause they are too stupid too understand all the little hints, and the way it is supposed to play out.

    btw reviews based on technical issues, is just like pissing your pants when its cold. get a better comp or buy a console and stop whining.

    10/10.    … Expand
  23. infin
    Nov 15, 2014
    4
    The Evil Within had a lot of potential. The story centres around a generic type detective who, upon attending the scene of an asylum which has been subjected to an unexplained revolt by its inmates, is drawn inside the asylum to investigate. He is instead captured by the force within and must survive through a range of horrifying and deadly encounters not of this world.

    The problem    The Evil Within had a lot of potential. The story centres around a generic type detective who, upon attending the scene of an asylum which has been subjected to an unexplained revolt by its inmates, is drawn inside the asylum to investigate. He is instead captured by the force within and must survive through a range of horrifying and deadly encounters not of this world.

    The problem with the PC game is that it constantly crashes for me and the frame of view is weird with top and bottom black movie-type banners. Perhaps best to wait to get this one in the bargain bin/Steam sale. Hopefully by that they will have patched all the bugs.    … Expand
  24. Jacsam
    Nov 14, 2014
    9
    I do not understand how anyone can give this game a zero. I personally love this game. To me a game is great when I cannot wait to come home and play it. I love the survival horror games and this game keeps me on the edge of my seat at all times. It is much easier to play with a mouse and keyboard as aiming is much better. I tried playing it with a controller and it was veryI do not understand how anyone can give this game a zero. I personally love this game. To me a game is great when I cannot wait to come home and play it. I love the survival horror games and this game keeps me on the edge of my seat at all times. It is much easier to play with a mouse and keyboard as aiming is much better. I tried playing it with a controller and it was very difficult. Also play it on the easier setting. The easy setting is still very difficult but at least you get a little more ammunition. The game looks great and the voice acting is very good. If you are not a resident evil fan this probably will not be for you but if you like resident evil then this is a must buy. The metacritic user score is brought down by these ridiculous zero ratings. If you take away all of the 0 scores this game would have a very good rating.… Expand
  25. kirstu
    Nov 14, 2014
    6
    I must admit that the game seemed stellar at first and I was blown away. I had the true feeling that this had the true essence of a nice continuation of what it was to be a true horror came, akin to early resident evil or the silent hill series (Do keep in mind this is relative to their release times).

    However, after less than a few hours of gameplay i was bitterly disappointed by the    I must admit that the game seemed stellar at first and I was blown away. I had the true feeling that this had the true essence of a nice continuation of what it was to be a true horror came, akin to early resident evil or the silent hill series (Do keep in mind this is relative to their release times).

    However, after less than a few hours of gameplay i was bitterly disappointed by the repetitive gameplay elements and it seemed that the game simply boiled to a gameplay that closely resembled a splinter cell with zombies.

    In the beginning i really had no expectations. My hopes were elevated to a completely fascinating degree, and dashed down like no before. Bravo.    … Expand
  26. Jeek
    Nov 14, 2014
    3
    After the patch when you could put 60fps from options and really play fullscreen i decided to give this game second chance. I really tried but just couldn't really enjoy playing this, it wasn't fun. When you play good game, you don't want it to end, but must say that after 6th chapter i already was waiting this game to end.

    Plot is very confusing and not entertaining. Bossfights were    After the patch when you could put 60fps from options and really play fullscreen i decided to give this game second chance. I really tried but just couldn't really enjoy playing this, it wasn't fun. When you play good game, you don't want it to end, but must say that after 6th chapter i already was waiting this game to end.

    Plot is very confusing and not entertaining.
    Bossfights were boring.
    It's not fun to break every single barrel or vase and watch if you get more bullets or keys.
    And extra minus from Spider-Lady boss. Probably the most hated and the most frustrating boss in this century. Some people likes it, but i couldn't stand it.    … Expand
  27. Ferrelicious
    Nov 13, 2014
    8
    This game gave me Re4 feeling with more twisted and gore gameplay i LOVED it.
    it took me sometime but it feels really good and the graphics are amazing.
  28. Zachariel
    Nov 11, 2014
    5
    I won't detail the flaws of the PC version. Yes, black bars, bad camera, bad control schemes . Nothing the consoles aren't also suffering from. You can disable the bars at least, you can enable 60 FPS and you can remap your keyboard. The texture pop-in gets really annoying, but that's more of an engine problem, Rage had the same issues.

    Worst offenders gameplay wise are sections,    I won't detail the flaws of the PC version. Yes, black bars, bad camera, bad control schemes . Nothing the consoles aren't also suffering from. You can disable the bars at least, you can enable 60 FPS and you can remap your keyboard. The texture pop-in gets really annoying, but that's more of an engine problem, Rage had the same issues.

    Worst offenders gameplay wise are sections, starting in the middle part of the game, where the camera inverts the scene, your already imprecise controls are also inverted and any misstep means insta-death. Great, thanks and thanks for making me reload, change from save location to game, walk to this area, endure two cutscenes before retrying this annoying section, as there is no immediate checkpoint before...

    Most of the game plays like a Resident Evil 4 / Resident Evil 1 / Silent Hill 1 Hybrid with slightly worse controls. I could deal with this, the old games were fun even with bad controls, but this game delivers nothing exciting, nothing new. It's seems more like a collection of deleted scenes from a various number of horror films and games. They just don't seem to fit together. Every chapter for itself is okay, but I always get the feeling I had already played or seen this before. Been there, done that. The game just seems uninspired, which is strange as the creator's previous work was bursting with creative ideas. And it does the modern horror thing of "how much blood, gore and other disgusting stuff can i put on the screen before i become a parody?". Also, the game has very few scary moments.

    It does have some good moments, especially the chapter heavily borrowing from the cancelled "Resident Evil 4 - Hooked Man" demo version. Or the Silent Hill 2 like Boss fight a little earlier. However, picking up my earlier criticism, for every scene I can point to some game or film which did almost exactly the same, only better. Or more original.

    All in all, neither deserving praise nor condemnation. If you like the genre, give it a try once it reaches 20 bucks or less and you find nothing more deserving for your money. Definitely not worth full price. 6/10 for gameplay, 4/10 for content.    … Expand
  29. Dunge
    Nov 11, 2014
    10
    This game is god damn awesome. I'm at chapter 7 now and everything's been perfect up to now. Among the best visuals out there, perfect for testing my GTX 970 :). I don't understand people, how could this get a 54% userscore? Sure there was the 30fps lock/letterbox problem, but the patch fixed that in the first week, get over it. This site is filled with angry kids who don't have toThis game is god damn awesome. I'm at chapter 7 now and everything's been perfect up to now. Among the best visuals out there, perfect for testing my GTX 970 :). I don't understand people, how could this get a 54% userscore? Sure there was the 30fps lock/letterbox problem, but the patch fixed that in the first week, get over it. This site is filled with angry kids who don't have to hardware to play correctly and then whine it's the game fault.… Expand
  30. strangermoon
    Nov 10, 2014
    9
    after dead space best horror survival title and not for just a game as a mind story and movie style. if call of duty action peaced storytelling titles score 9 or 8 this game simply 20. I loved its hard for casual gamers.
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Awards & Rankings

22
#22 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
38
#38 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 18
  3. Negative: 1 out of 18
  1. CD-Action
    Jan 9, 2015
    50
    It seems the developers were not entirely sure what they wanted to achieve and got caught between traditional and innovative approach, properly employing neither. [13/2014, p.56]
  2. PC PowerPlay
    Nov 30, 2014
    70
    Borrowing heavily from past survival horror games, The Evil Within still manages to create fear in its players despite some clunkiness. [Dec 2014, p.58]
  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Nov 15, 2014
    82
    As the Japanese survival horror genre goes, The Evil Within feels a bit old fashion but in a good way. It certainly has the potential of becoming a cult classic. [Nov 2014]
See all critic reviews »