Review – Evil Inside
Opening with a grim television news cast, Evil Inside immediately sets the scene of the murder of a woman and the arrest of her husband under suspicion of committing the atrocity. With his mother buried and his father behind bars, their son Mark is left to raise his baby brother in their family home. Using a ouija board to make contact with his mother, Mark unknowingly welcomes otherworldly happenings and manifestations to plague the house, unable to escape the seemingly endless loop that increases in madness each time. Evil Inside tells a twisted tale within the confines of this home and within Mark himself in this first-person psychological horror experience.
Evil Inside is a linear experience, unfolding within a changing yet familiar environment. There are no enemies, no ways to die or lose, there are only environmental puzzles to solve and answers to find, both on a character level and literally in regard to the puzzles. Playing as Mark the player must simply find their way through the house ten times.
Each time the player passes through a particular door, they are sent back to the first room of the house though this time something will be different. A previously locked room may now be accessible or an object that wasn’t there before has now appeared. Any change is essential to progression and in most cases the story. Completing this game is as simple as navigating the house ten times which can be done in as little as half an hour.
The solutions to the scenarios thrown at the player are combinations of physical interactions with key items within the house and audio cues. Doors in particular may not open unless certain items have been found or specific noises have been heard. This can cause a little confusion, especially as this is at no point explained and sounds that may seem like just a creepy distraction are actually cues to indicate something somewhere has happened.
As the house is small, particularly early in the game before opening up with progression, there aren’t many places to explore and can be fully backtracked through in less than a minute. Luckily this means a player that may feel lost can easily find and trigger what they need to progress, possibly even by accident.
Littered with jump scares, effective manipulation of lighting and spooky apparitions, Evil Inside is sure to satisfy players with an appetite for the supernatural and disturbing spirituality. While extremely short it does manage to feel adequately tense, due large in part to the incredible visuals. The house is so beautifully realised and the lighting appropriately elevates the tension at key moments, particularly when the house becomes illuminated with a demonic red tone. The sound design is just as effective with sharp, twisted sounds and ominous rumbling to create the sensation that the player is not alone.
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DAYNE for One More Game
6 – Above average – As stated, this game is above average. The game provides a solid experience while not delivering anything outstanding. It’s a game that fans of the series will definitely enjoy but one that others may want to wait for a sale.
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Evil Inside was reviewed on an Xbox Series X and is also available for purchase on Xbox One/Series S, PlayStation 4/5 and PC.
This review can also be found at Games of DAYNE at the link here.