Dark hallways? Check. Creepy hidden documents? Check. Warped puzzles, ghosts and hideously deformed enemies? Triple check. Such is the world of The Evil Within, the next game from survival horror’s grandfather, Shinji Mikami, which was available for personal demonstration during day one of E3 2014.
Turn off your lights, lock your windows and sit down to read our thoughts on what is sure to be a scary and utterly creepy experience, albeit one that we fear may under-deliver.
The Evil Within‘s E3 demo is located in a constructed interior, which is pitch black save for the backlights of LED televisions, and the glowing lights that emanate from multiple controller/headset combinations. It’s by far the darkest demo station we’ve ever seen, and could be up there for an award as a result. As such, it certainly sets the mood for pulse-pounding interactive horror.
Upon setting my stuff down, getting ready and pressing the start button (or menu, as they call it now), I was greeted by a grainy, black and white cutscene. Within it, the game’s main character was shown walking through a creepy forest, before approaching a dilapidated old mansion. This particular section took place around chapter 8 of the game, and I believe that, because there were no tutorials present and things were far from forgiving.