Amid Evil

Amid Evil borrows heavily from 90s first-person shooters Unreal, Doom, Heretic, Hexen, and Quake. Similar to most first-person shooter games of that era, Amid Evil is structured as a progression of levels, each of which featuring a complex, non-linear structure with progression often requiring the player to seek out keys to unlock doors. The level design in Amid Evil promotes exploration, with most levels containing several hidden "secrets" where the player can find power-ups, as well as lore (plot exposition) in the form of inscriptions on walls or floors. Levels are grouped into episodes, with the levels in each episode sharing a unique theme.

Episodes consist of four levels each, the last of which being a boss battle. Like Quake, players start in a hub level that allows episode (and difficulty) selection by walking through various portals.

In the ancient past, a mysterious and powerful "Evil Force" appeared and corrupted the sacred lands of the known realms. Though many heroes have tried to defeat the Evil Force, none have succeeded. The protagonist, known only as "the Champion", is the first to overcome the trial of the Black Labyrinth and win the right to carry a holy battle axe. Possessing the powerful relic grants the wielder passage to the higher planes. As the Champion travels to an inter-dimensional gateway, the voices of ancient deities warn of the great power of the Evil Force and implore the Champion to cleanse the sacred lands.

Developers Leon Zawada and Simon Rance, friends since childhood, began their career in game development with Doom mods, most notably a Rise of the Triad total conversion called Return of the Triad. The two started Amid Evil as a Doom mod in 1997. Though that game would never be completed, the concepts that they developed for it evolved over time and were incorporated into the new incarnation. They knew they wanted to make a "fantasy shooter"—a game with a medieval magic theme, but featuring ranged weapons as the main weapons.

Zawada and Rance eventually worked together on the 2013 Rise of the Triad remake, where they met other game developers that would help them form Indefatigable. Amid Evil was to be the new company's first project.

The early access release of Amid Evil did receive press coverage, though nearly all outlets opted to provide a first impressions summary rather than a full review. In one such example, PC Gamer UK offered the summation, "A truly weird (and beautiful) fantasy setting lays the groundwork for a worthy ode to Heretic." Reviewers typically praised the weapon and level designs, while some criticized the enemy design and others criticized glitches in the pre-release version.

The full release of Amid Evil received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. Reviewers praised the variety of weapons and environments, comparing the game favorably to Unreal and Quake.