After 23 and a half hours of playing The Evil Within on standard survival mode, I was informed that I had been eaten alive, my head crushed, and my torso trisected a whopping 218 times. There are no fools in this incredibly creative, exciting, and yes, hard game, but every time the screen turned red I had to play it over and over again. In my opinion, this is the definition of a great survival horror experience.

Aesthetically, functionally, and spiritually, The Evil Within is in line with the iconic Resident Evil 4, director Shinji Mikami’s final foray into the genre. But Mikami and his new development studio, Tango Gameworks, have made this more than just a remake. Time has brought about a harder, darker game.

The story isn’t a spectacularly original entry into the horror genre. The Evil Within is about investigating what appear to be multiple murders at Beacon Psychiatric Hospital in the fictional Crimson City before discovering (an understatement) that things aren’t as they seem. The central mystery seems compelling at first, but slowly loses its way and eventually collapses under the weight of its own unfocused ambition. The ending in particular is disappointing, featuring an unnecessary boss fight that feels like it was added solely to spice up the story.

Partially undermining this shell of a story is the rather lifeless player character, Detective Sebastian Castellanos, who is emotionless and cold to the point of parody. Even after hours of facing monsters that would drive any normal person crazy, Sebastian makes banal jokes like, “What’s going on here?” It’s hard to care about the stakes when he doesn’t seem to, even if his quiet indifference is sometimes darkly humorous: “I’m probably going insane!”

Though far from subtle, and over the top for a horror game, Tango has created some incredibly weird and wonderful locations throughout The Evil Within’s 15 chapters. Even common horror clichés were twisted and distorted in imaginative ways. Refrigeration facilities, clanking industrial interiors, and mannequins were given new, creepy life.

Zoomed in, these locations have small, linear level designs, but the excellent lighting makes them seem claustrophobic and labyrinthine. Though it does have some unevenness around the edges, and I did notice some texture pop-ups and clipping issues in the PS4 and Xbox One versions, the game is beautifully designed.

Tango shows a keen eye for composition in The Evil Within, and the interiors are grungy and full of looming shadows, ornate architecture, and eerie escape routes. They create a sense of terrifying anticipation. Once or twice I found myself ducking to avoid an attacker that turned out to be my (harmless) shadow, or fleeing from an unseen foe, only to realize that no one was pursuing me except for the moans of enemies in the distance.

Otherwise, the threat here is very real. The enemies scattered across these locations are numerous, unpredictable and cunning. At first, they’re reminiscent of the shuffling Ganados from Resident Evil 4, but they get weirder and weirder as The Evil Within progresses. Not entirely The Infected, but more like The Perverted. Designed with childhood nightmares in mind, and heavily influenced by Japanese horror movies. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these enemies, especially the unforgettable Keeper boss, come to define The Evil Within over time, continuing to be cosplayed and endlessly reimagined in fan art for years to come.

What’s most disturbing about The Evil Within is how fighting these horrors is so grounded in reality. All you’re given is the usual mix of pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, grenades, and crossbows for combat, as well as basic melee skills, a modest but well-rounded arsenal. And while the crossbow allows for a variety of special attacks (freeze, electrocute, harpoon, etc.) and shooting is just as satisfyingly crisp as you’d expect from Mikami, you’ll have very little ammo, first aid, or even stamina left at your disposal. Cruelly, for a game where I spent a lot of time running away, Sebastian quickly loses his powers. Checkpoints are rare, so the stakes are high in this hostile world. This makes for a thrilling experience, with creatures running at you screaming, whether you’re running away or fighting.

The Evil Within is somewhat tuned for those who choose the stealth route, but the AI ​​seems unfairly biased against you. You can set traps, throw bottles to distract enemies, or sneak up behind them for a stealth kill, but most of the time, enemies turn around at the last moment or discover you seconds before they can. Stealth play works sporadically, but I didn’t find it the easiest playstyle.

Of course, you are not completely powerless. One of the most interesting mechanics of The Evil Within is its simple upgrade system. “Green Gel” is a limited resource that you use in your safehouse to upgrade your skills, weapons, consumables and crossbow bolts. It is scattered around the world like hidden gold and will be your most sought-after resource. Cashing in this gel will present you with a big decision dilemma: do you want to improve your shotgun damage or make you run longer? – I liked how it allowed me to develop my own playstyle and briefly get a sense of control over the situation, albeit in a generally illusory way.

Since The Evil Within is about chaos, not control, these quiet spaces are very welcome. The action and horror pace propels you forward at breakneck speed, from one thrilling encounter to the next, with little to no respite. Throughout my playthrough, I always felt like I was on the defensive, but the moments when I was truly on the defensive – talking to six people and one melee boss in a sniper rifle room – led to some of the most amazing moments. I’ve had years of video game experience. Most of the time, my palms were sweaty and my heart was in my throat.

The PC version of The Evil Within plays similarly to the console versions, so it’s set in a cinematic aspect ratio of 2:35:1. This is a minor issue. I was playing on a small 22″ monitor, and the thick black letterbox bars at the top and bottom of the screen made it hard to see much, which ruined my enjoyment of The Evil Within. I didn’t have this issue at all when playing on a 40″ TV screen, but depending on your life situation, it’s something to take into consideration when deciding which version to get.

Other things to note: The Evil Within is limited to 30 FPS by default on PC. Video options in the menu are sparse, but you can change this to 60 FPS using an (unsupported) debug console command. When playing at the latter frame rate, I noticed some stuttering when moving the camera quickly from left to right. Not ideal during a tense gunfight. Overall, I preferred a constant frame rate of 30 frames per second.

Another small point of criticism: mouse control in menu screens lags a lot, but worked perfectly in games.