The Evil Within

The single-player story is arranged in 15 chapters, which players complete in order to progress through the story. The game is played from a third-person perspective in which scavenging for supplies and learning when to fight or run are key to surviving the dangers of the game. Such dangers include: bear traps, barbed wire traps, bombs, and spike traps; 'The Haunted', the game's most common enemy; 'Reborn Laura', a multi limbed, long haired, crawling creature; Ruvik, the game's main antagonist; 'The Keeper', a large humanoid with a safe as a head who wields a large meat tenderizer hammer; and 'Sadist', a large humanoid wearing a spiked metal mask on his face, wielding a chainsaw covered in blood.

Sebastian Castellanos, the protagonist, needs to make use of the environment and things he may find in order to survive. The game world can transform during scripted events and as a result of player actions, altering locations and creating new paths or teleporting the player to new areas. Sebastian can find and use Syringes and Medical Kits to heal himself when injured. The Medical Kit expands Sebastian's health, but causes hallucinations to occur for a short time. Collecting vials of 'Green Gel' hidden throughout the game, players can upgrade Castellanos' abilities; more ammunition, extra stamina, and additional health are some of the upgrades.

While investigating the scene of a mass murder at Beacon Mental Hospital, Krimson City Police Detective Sergeant Sebastian Castellanos (Anson Mount), his partner Joseph Oda (Yuri Lowenthal), police officer Oscar Connelly (Kiff VandenHeuvel), and Junior Detective Juli Kidman (Jennifer Carpenter) find themselves suddenly thrown into an unreal world, after hearing a high-pitched noise. Shortly after this occurs, Sebastian is separated from his partners and is forced to flee from a monstrous man wielding a chainsaw. Upon reuniting with his colleagues, they attempt to escape via ambulance while Krimson City is destroyed by a massive earthquake, eventually causing them to crash. Freeing himself from the wreckage, Sebastian wanders through dark forests and abandoned buildings full of monstrous creatures and witnesses the apparition of a disfigured man in a white hood.

Sebastian runs into Connelly, who is suffering from a strange form of transformation which compels him into a murderous rage. Sebastian is then forced to kill Connelly in self defense. Sebastian soon encounters one of Beacon's doctors, Marcelo Jimenez, who is searching for his patient, Leslie Withers. Jimenez identifies the hooded stranger stalking them as Ruvik.

The Evil Within began development in late 2010 under the codename "Project Zwei". Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami served as the game's director, with development taking place at his studio Tango Gameworks. The studio was bought by ZeniMax Media in 2010, shortly after development began. Initially, Mikami had no interest in making another survival horror game but after realizing there was a demand for one, he felt compelled to respond. The other reason was because he believed that contemporary horror games relied more on action than survival.

The game was announced in April 2013. Believing that the tropes of the survival horror had become predictable over time, the design deliberately attempts to make the player feel powerless by taking place in confined spaces, limiting ammunition, and presenting near-invincible enemies that promote running and hiding over engaging in combat. Art director Naoki Katakai said that the design concept of enemies, such as those wrapped in barbed wire or filled with glass shards, is that they are victims suffering under a greater evil. The asylum itself was inspired by the Winchester Mystery House, a Californian mansion famous for its architectural curiosities.

The Evil Within received "generally favorable" reviews from critics for the Xbox One and PS4 versions, while the PC version received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.

Computer and Video Games (CVG) described it as "the game Resident Evil 5 should have been", although they were critical of some technical issues. VideoGamer.com liked the gunplay and horror, but disliked the story and its pacing, stating: "The Evil Within has enough magic to make it a worthy investment." Destructoid said: "[The game] will definitely scratch the itch of someone who has been pining for a return to the older days of gaming, but everyone else who has come to expect that certain layer of polish likely won't be amused." Polygon's Philip Kollar summed up his thoughts by saying: "The Evil Within has great moments where the excellent combat and creepy environmental design come together. But those moments are fleeting, inevitably sapped of their delightful terror by design choices that feel trapped in the glory days of a decade ago."