The mirror has lead you to another estate. The room smells of dust and old hardwood. The air is stagnant, the house quiet, as if the walls themselves are holding their breath with you. This place is home to distant, grim memories. Heavy with spite.
You are not welcome here.
From the corner of your eye, through the bedroom window, you see a beacon of light: not of the stars, not of the moon, but from a lighthouse. Wherever you go, it will always be there, in the distance, beckoning.
Your head throbs. The tinnitus won't let up.
There is an old tape recorder left on the desk. You press the button...
"Somehow I can see that light, that shaft of light from the lighthouse, from anywhere in this place. It seems to penetrate everything; penetrate me.
That view of the hospital is not my memory, yet somehow it is more solid than anything I have made exist here. Was it always there? Something changed under that light. It calls. It repulses. It draws the others.
They think they'll reach the source, regain what they've lost. They don't even know what that is."
the story of......THE EVIL WITHIN
It begins with an urgent call from KCPD dispatch: back up requested at Beacon Mental Hospital, multiple homicides reported, details left vague...
Detective Sebastian Castellanos, Detective Joseph Oda and Junior Detective Juli Kidman arrive at the scene, finding the hospital's courtyard riddled with police cars, but no officers in sight. Through the main entrance, a scene of true carnage awaits them: the stench of blood, wafting off bodies of both staff and patients alike, scattered around the lobby, lying lifeless in pools of their own blood. Amidst the massacre, the detectives manage to find Doctor Marcelo Jimenez, a sole survivor taking shelter in the security room. The man is rattled by everything he has borne witness to, quietly muttering to himself in disbelief.
While his partner soothes the traumatised doctor, Detective Castellanos turns to inspect the wall of monitors displaying live feed from security cameras around the hospital. A squad of KCPD officers open fire in a desolate hallway, emptying their clips in vain. Their target, a figure clothed in filthy, tattered robes, moves across the scene with inhuman speed, slitting their throats one by one.
Sebastian cannot believe his eyes, watching in awe as the robed figure snaps its attention towards the camera, looking straight through him before vanishing into thin air. He senses something standing right behind him, and turning around at the last second, he catches a glimpse of the face under the hood: Scarred. Burned. Crudely stitched together.
In the blink of an eye, everything is swallowed by a blinding, all-encompassing light. And when Sebastian comes to his senses again, the whole world has changed. Reality bends and shifts around him, manifesting endless horrors, each more grotesque and tormenting than the last. It cannot be real. But the pain feels real. And so does the fear.
But is there anywhere to run when the evil comes from within?
dissecting........THE ORIGINAL GAME
TITLE....THE EVIL WITHIN / PSYCHOBREAK / サイコブレイク
YEAR OF RELEASE.......................................................................2014
DIRECTED BY...........................................................SHINJI MIKAMI
DEVELOPED BY.............................................TANGO GAMEWORKS
PUBLISHED BY........................................BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
The Evil Within is a spiritual successor to Resident Evil. The game was envisioned by Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil, fuelled by his desire to bring the survival horror genre back to its scarier, less action-heavy roots. The Evil Within, and its sequel, took inspiration from and were influenced by not only Mikami's own former works, but also by other horror media and surrealistic cult classics, including Silent Hill, The Shining, Twin Peaks, Sadako, Matrix and Inception, to name a few.
The Evil Within seamlessly blends together a myriad of horror subgenres, including survival, gothic, psychological, surrealistic, and body horror. Despite offering you places to hide and weapons to defend yourself with, the gameplay is stressful and demanding, especially in the early game with limited resources and upgrades. The nightmarish world you find yourself stuck in is full of vicious enemies, nasty traps and unreliable, transforming environments. Not even the safe room feels truly safe and offers little to no respite from the horrors awaiting beyond the mirror. And yet, you find yourself eager to go back out there, with various collectibles and easter eggs making exploration feel rewarding. Especially so, if you happen to come across a statue with a key inside it...
The story of The Evil Within is gripping and confusing, keeping you guessing at what really happened until the very end - and after. The narrative is unreliable. The characters are unreliable. In a world where everyone's memories, fears and hopes all blend together, it's hard to tell what is real and what is not. It is the kind of story you have to experience at least twice to even begin to put the pieces together and comprehend the truth.
This game will scratch the itch for classic survival horror, and leave you wanting more...
I N T R O D U C I N G T H E S U B J E C T S
FIRST NAME....SEBASTIAN LAST NAME...CASTELLANOS
AGE.................38
HEIGHT............6' 0"
WEIGHT..........174 lbs
AFFILIATION........KCPD
FIRST NAME.......JOSEPH
LAST NAME...........ODA
AGE.................33
HEIGHT.............5' 9"
WEIGHT..........148 lbs
AFFILIATION........KCPD
FIRST NAME.........JULI
LAST NAME........KIDMAN
AGE.................27
HEIGHT.............5' 9"
WEIGHT..........119 lbs
AFFILIATION..[REDACTED]
dissecting...........................THE SEQUEL
TITLE..THE EVIL WITHIN 2 / PSYCHOBREAK 2 / サイコブレイク2
YEAR OF RELEASE.............................................................................2017
DIRECTED BY.................................................................JOHN JOHANAS
DEVELOPED BY...................................................TANGO GAMEWORKS
PUBLISHED BY..............................................BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
Another twisted world. Another hooded figure. Another nightmare for Sebastian Castellanos.
It is difficult to discuss The Evil Within 2 without completely spoiling the narrative and premise of the first game. So, if you are keen to experience these two games for yourself and wish not to have the twists ruined for you: I will do my best to remain vague and obscure - in true TEW manner.
While the original game feels like a love letter to Japanese survival horror classics, its sequel takes after more Western influences. The world is more open, the narrative less mysterious and surreal, and the gameplay more reliant on exploration and side content. Figuratively speaking, we take a step away from Silent Hill and into The Last of Us, with an increased focus on gathering supplies and crafting equipment, as well as interacting with other characters. The level design is less mazelike and claustrophobic and the atmosphere does not come across as threatening or scary. With a map, objective markers and quests, TEW2 wanders quite far from its "classic survival horror" origins.
Even though the game has received criticism for the above reasons, personally I enjoy it regardless. As a sequel, TEW2 may not be the most successful, but as its own game it is an enjoyable horror experience. It plays very much like RE requiem, and I am willing to bet if this was a RE title, there would be no complaints about the gameplay mechanics or the story. In addition, much like before, the visual and audio design in this game are true wonders to behold, especially in the art gallery sections of the first half.
E V E R Y O N E H A S T H E I R F A V O U R I T E S
RUBEN VICTORIANO
Ruben Victoriano, later known simply as Ruvik, was a child prodigy, an unappreciated scientific genius. A disturbed yet brilliant mind, Ruvik's talents are recognised by Doctor Jimenez, and he joins MOBIUS in their efforts to harness the power of the human psyche. Mistreated throughout his youth, burned, betrayed and trapped inside his own creation, Ruvik is a fuelled by spite and vengeance.
Most of the horrors we encounter during the story are of Ruvik's making, whether conscious or not. He doesn't forgive and he doesn't forget. And he will do whatever it takes to escape his prison.
Ruvik is an interesting villain. You hate him and sympathise with him at the same time. You know he is not the only one to blame. You know he suffered so much. You want him to get his revenge. But you don't want him to do it this way. It's complicated.
Are we surprised that my favourite characters are found among the villains again?
A lot of the characters in The Evil Within are dear to me, but if I had to pick who I am most excited to see when I start another playthrough (in addition to the protagonists), it would be these two. Horrible men can have a little murder as a treat.
STEFANO VALENTINI
Stefano Valentini was a war photographer until he lost his right eye on the battlefield. Having photographed the exact moment a soldier was blown to pieces by the very same explosion, Stefano became obsessed with capturing the beauty found in death. Unfortunately, this eventually devolved into killing and mutilating civilians for his art.
Self-centered yet secretly insecure, Stefano does not take well to people criticising his masterpieces and is quick to lose his temper and lash out in such situations. With the power granted to him inside Union, he wishes to reshape the world according to his vision.
I don't think this man has any redeeming qualities really (except for being hot and having a great fashion sense) , but I do genuinely enjoy most of his artworks, especially the "installations". My favourite one from the game is "Rebirth" , displayed below. So grotesque, yet intricately beautiful.
Do you wish to go return to the past?
