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Is Evil Within the most underrated game this gen so far?
- Thread starter Tidus_Great
- Start date
Haunted
Member
If anything, it's overrated.
It could've been a best-of Mikami romp, but ends up as a shallow retread of earlier, better games at best, and a technical, uninspired mess at worst. Of the 15 chapters in the game, only the 3-4 standout chapters taking the most cues from Resident Evil 1 and 4 are worth playing.
Most underrated game of this generation my ass.
It could've been a best-of Mikami romp, but ends up as a shallow retread of earlier, better games at best, and a technical, uninspired mess at worst. Of the 15 chapters in the game, only the 3-4 standout chapters taking the most cues from Resident Evil 1 and 4 are worth playing.
Most underrated game of this generation my ass.
The game makes it expressly clear. Klepek just ignored the tutorial, and then complained that the game doesn't have one.
I really like Sterling and Klepek as writers and their opinion pieces but I don't put much credence into their actual game reviews. Then again that's a different topic entirely because I think people who review games should be competent at games and the games mechanics.
I really enjoyed TEW. One of my favorite games of last year. It wasn't a masterpiece and some brutal technical flaws really bring it down. Other than that though I thought it was really great and it was nice playing a game that didn't feel like it had training wheels on. A game like TEW is all about the oppressive atmosphere and the games mechanics nail that.
Xaero Gravity
NEXT LEVEL lame™
The scary part is that I can't tell if they're serious or not.
None of this game takes place in real life. I mean, even within the context of the game, it is not the real world,
But yeah, I also really liked this game. I thought it was great. I don't have any expectations or reservations for being scared with these types of games, I just took the game for what it was and it was fun.
SixMachine
Member
I beat TLOU on grounded soon after playing through Evil Within and to me Evil Within seemed more interesting to play tbh. TLOU is well made but it seems to be more of a "jack of trades" where it's solid in many areas but to me it didn't do anything out there or mechanically interesting, it was just well polished, and I have wrote my thoughts on this in more depth in other threads.
For example, Evil Within there are many instances you can use the environment and traps to your advantage, TLOU really didn't do any of that, I got by swimmingly on the whole sneak and peek routine and some neck snapping. You would think the traps Bill set up would make a really interesting scenario, but there were only like 2-3 instances and they were "staged" for a bunch of infected to blow up a trap and automatically run into it (the first time it hits a wire of a trip mine, the second is some bomb planted on the ground, and one of Bill's trap makes you do some shooting sequence).
Where Evil Within had a lot of death traps through the whole game and you can use them against your enemies, like instead of disarming mines, you can shoot them when a crowd is near or shooting levers from afar to set off the spike traps. Playing through Evil Within I do notice that in the encounter design, there are a lot of neat little tricks you can do to be more efficient or to fool around with it, like taking out certain enemies quick enough can prevent some spawns or make some things like traps not trigger.
TLOU I didn't really need to change my strategy throughout the game, I felt like I can kite any infected (you can thin them out easily by climbing terrain and stuff like that and take them on less at a time) and sneak up on any human like normal. Hell, I didn't even know stalkers were a separate enemy type because I just camped them with a shotgun like any other infected running at me or just did the old bottle/brick to the face. The basement of the hotel I just grabbed the keycard first, turn on the generator and sprinted to the door and it was pretty easy to not get caught by the infected (one time for some reason the gas cloud from the bloater killed me on the other side of the door, that was funny). I felt like I was a match for anything even on Grounded, maybe not in a straight up fight but in a manner that the encounters didn't put me in a position where I had no way out (I always had a means to avoid or engage when I wished. Even if I had nothing else on me, one smoke bomb can take me through the last level for example). TLOU is well made but it felt mechanically safe in it's encounter design. It didn't do anything out there for me to explore it's encounters besides just better routing to take out or avoid enemies.
edit: Also I felt the Left Behind dlc wasn't very good. It was nice to see how Ellie got to where she is, but it felt like it could have been way better. Interestingly it was the only times you can get bandits and infected to fight each other but it didn't really feel like I had to work for it or plan it since it is pretty obvious what's going to happen.
TrouzzzerSnake
Banned
The game makes it expressly clear. Klepek just ignored the tutorial, and then complained that the game doesn't have one.
Right on!
Like I said, never played it. Just pointing out it's not intuitive.
But if he missed that... well... who the frick listens to game journalists anyways? That's like taking someone already totally incompetent in their field, and then saying 'do this one specific thing, but it's related to your field. You'll also indirectly receive your income from product manufacturers in this field, so play nice!'
I mean... the buck stops with you fellas! just tune it out.
Yeah yeah, subjectivity exists. If I had a rule about all qualitative judgments like that, though, I wouldn't even allow someone to call any game "good". "Unquestionably" is flavorful emphasis.
TheSpaceBetween
Member
Oh, so it's turned into a TEW vs TLOU thread?
The Evil Within is far superior, jank and all.
Snapshot King
Member
Honestly I'd say it's overrated. It's a solid 5, unless you don't have an internet connection, at which point it's probably a 3.
I just started it and have been surprised at how much I am enjoying it. I'm only almost through chapter 3 (I figure) and it hasn't been as hard as I expected even though it has been tense. Does it get a ton harder? I really don't want that much more of a challenge to be honest. lol.
SixMachine
Member
I would say some traps or things you don't see coming might kill you but Sebastian does get much better once you upgrade and get a bigger arsenal, so you are more prepared. But it is very easy to waste ammo if you try shooting up everything, instead of say trying to use matches properly or using flash bolts for crowd control/stealth kills.
SuperStiltzkin
Member
That's disappointing to hear. I dug how I had lots of area to explore slowly Around. Oh well.
Chapter 3 was the absolute highlight of the game, for me. That's not necessarily a bad thing, seeing as the Village setpiece from the beginning of Resident Evil 4 was also the high point of that game.
TEW played with some fierce jank and some severe frame rate issues on current consoles, which dampened my experience quite a bit. I thought about quitting several times, but the game itself got progressively easier as it went on (aside from a few bullshit encounters) so I saw it through. Some parts of the game were very gratifying while others felt like either a complete slog or terribly made.
It was one of my most anticipated games along with Alien Isolation, but my excitement quickly dissipated the more I played TEW. It's far from a bad game, but I was ultimately disappointed that it became a game I wanted to finish for the hell of it instead of being completely enraptured by it.
As a side note I didn't enjoy the upgrade system because it felt like they were purposefully gimping all the weapons and abilities from the start by having you add incremental ".5 seconds of faster reload" or "+3% damage" in order to make your weapons feel like they're even worth carrying around.
It was one of my most anticipated games along with Alien Isolation, but my excitement quickly dissipated the more I played TEW. It's far from a bad game, but I was ultimately disappointed that it became a game I wanted to finish for the hell of it instead of being completely enraptured by it.
As a side note I didn't enjoy the upgrade system because it felt like they were purposefully gimping all the weapons and abilities from the start by having you add incremental ".5 seconds of faster reload" or "+3% damage" in order to make your weapons feel like they're even worth carrying around.
Sure, that's what the stealth is for.
SuperStiltzkin
Member
I would say it opens up again slightly in Chapter 9, but it's hindered by a mechanic that doesn't let you explore as freely as you'd want.
Yeah, I thought Chapter 3 was indicative of how most of the game would be. Just a great area with multiple interiors and traps and levels.
It is. The match system is possibly the most overlooked thing, especially when people try comparing it directly to Resident Evil 4, which didn't have nearly as many organic "puzzle elements" in it as Evil Within. Seriously, the design in the game is top notch if you know what you're doing. I count myself lucky to have loved Chapter 11.
I think they could have accomplished both though
I understand. I felt like The Last of Us did a good job balancing its emphasis on stealth or gunplay, often making it so neither option is strictly preferential to the other (although stealth will always be available if you're poor at managing resources). Only on Hard difficulty, though, because on Normal you can just shoot everything.
-MD-
Member
And Bethesda even knew they would, which is why they sent out that "guide" with the review copies. Clearly wasn't enough. Sterling simply mocked it, while at the same time demonstrating how much he needed it.
Same reason why The Evil Within is like the only AAA game in recent memory to get a full, no-shit instruction manual.
swazzyswess
Member
What does this even mean? Dark Souls (well, Demon's Souls) added a handful of totally unique gameplay elements to its old-school-inspired design. TEW did absolutely none of that.
Gipsy Danger
Member
No. I thought the game was bad. Just felt like another third person shooter to me.
DoubleTake
Member
Im halfway through chapter 11. The game is by no means great but it isnt bad either. So no its not underrated, its right where it needs to be.
The technical problems were an eyesore getting started, but after a while I adjusted(black bars are horribly implemented).
The Story is meh, IMO. The combat is good but can be held back because of said technical problems. And a few encounters were downright annoying
If I had to rate it now I would give it a 7/10.
The technical problems were an eyesore getting started, but after a while I adjusted(black bars are horribly implemented).
The Story is meh, IMO. The combat is good but can be held back because of said technical problems. And a few encounters were downright annoying
Kill all these zombies coming out of this garage, then you can progress.
If I had to rate it now I would give it a 7/10.
RetrospectiveLamb
Member
The game sadly didn't resonate with me at all. Being a huge Resident Evil 4 fan, I was really disappointed with a lot of decisions Mikami made with the Evil Within, specifically how lame the stealth sections were and how the plot never materializes into anything. A lot of levels felt tedious, the controls felt stiff, all the characters couldn't be more poorly distinguished, and it wasn't stressful or scary (things you'd feel in a survival horror game). Overall, I felt like it lacked the personality of a survival horror game.
You got it.
loaf of bread
Member
Ah yes. So now we've reached that point in time where everyone has to act like TLOU wasn't any good and say how overrated TLOU is. If you didn't like TLOU thats fine but when you pull the argument that the the story is the only thing good and the gameplay mechanics suck is when your opinion goes out the window.
JohnnyFootball
GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
They were much worse.
One of the most pointless stupid game design decisions I have ever seen.
They were nothing but a cheap stupid attempt to make the game feel "cinematic" and to give the game a pointless unique feature.
It was also an annoying cheap attempt to make the game feel cramped.
Oh, I fucking HATED those black bars.
I hate them so bad I almost don't want to play The Order.
-MD-
Member
Back to back games of the year for me.
The Last of Us and The Evil Within are the best of the best, for different reasons.
Marty-esque
Member
Couldn't have said it better myself. Probably
My favorite game of the last couple years.
TetraGenesis
Member
Absolutely not. A purely okay game with hints of Mikami's greatness obscured by a haphazard collection of half baked ideas.
Some people may be able to overlook that and love it and I appreciate that, I've done that plenty, but that doesn't make it under appreciated. I'd say the mostly okay response to the game with pockets of fervent fandom suits it just right.
Some people may be able to overlook that and love it and I appreciate that, I've done that plenty, but that doesn't make it under appreciated. I'd say the mostly okay response to the game with pockets of fervent fandom suits it just right.
Wolfgunblood Garopa
Member
It has it's strong points, it's just... how many times am I supposed to enjoy sneaking past 12 enemies. I just ran through as many of those combat/stealth sections as I could. I actually skipped The Evil Within because of TLOU.
Snapshot King
Member
Evil Within has scores of fucked up problems that easily drown out it's few strengths, and spends the entire time begging you to pretend that it's RE4.
Tricky I Shadow
Banned
Yep. It has problems, but it still has the most satisfying gunplay ever. Dat shotgun. Dem headshots. LAWD!
You can say this about so many games if you simplify the core mechanic into one sentence.
grandwizard
Member
It's one of them for sure. I played it on PC with no black bars and a good framerate and had a great time. Unfortunately many people played it on consoles where it was a technical mess which rightfully sours opinions. But the pure design of the game is excellent. It is almost a halfway step between what they achieved with RE4's action and the survival horror of REmake. You can still pop heads (and they pop gloriously) but you have far less ammo and are much more vulnerable than RE4. Every fight is intense as hell.
Chapters 6-8 are just pure brilliant design and pacing, and the mouse controls are excellent. Didn't like the first two chapters but the rest was smooth sailing.
Looking at the metascores for TEW, Alien and ZombiU though it seems there is an upper barrier on real survival horror anyway. Mid 70s seems about right for mainstream critical reception but I do believe this was one of the better games of last year.
Chapters 6-8 are just pure brilliant design and pacing, and the mouse controls are excellent. Didn't like the first two chapters but the rest was smooth sailing.
Looking at the metascores for TEW, Alien and ZombiU though it seems there is an upper barrier on real survival horror anyway. Mid 70s seems about right for mainstream critical reception but I do believe this was one of the better games of last year.
me0wish
Member
When I read some of the people's comments, it makes me think that I've played a different game.
How is it boring and uninspiring? How are the controls flawed? Just because it doesn't play as other games you are used to, it doesn't mean it's a flaw with the game, it means it needs getting used to with an open mind.
it's RE 3.5 that I've been waiting for for many many maaaany years, my only real complaint are the technical issues.
The situation with this game reminds me of this:
No wonder why every fps is trying to be a carbon copy of COD.
How is it boring and uninspiring? How are the controls flawed? Just because it doesn't play as other games you are used to, it doesn't mean it's a flaw with the game, it means it needs getting used to with an open mind.
it's RE 3.5 that I've been waiting for for many many maaaany years, my only real complaint are the technical issues.
The situation with this game reminds me of this:
No wonder why every fps is trying to be a carbon copy of COD.
zero shift
Banned
As long as you aren't expecting it to be as good as Resident Evil 4, the game is fantastic. My GOTY 2014.
Dying Light has been downright terrifying.
Was not expecting it to be this scary since Dead Island wasn't at all.
To answer the OP's question, DriveClub. Only time it gets mentioned outside of the OT is when the PS+ version is brought up
Uno Venova
Banned
lol What year is this.