I've tried out The Evil Within demo. I have a few questions.

[ninja666]

As the title says, I've played the demo version of this game. For anyone who doesn't know, it lets you play the first three chapters of the game and then boots you out. I'll have to say I didn't like what I'd seen - there was too much sneaking, barely any ammo, and no action whatsoever. Despite all that, everyone keeps telling me I should give it a chance and get the full version because apparently later it gets far more action-y and has you swimming in guns and ammo, almost to the point of becoming "another third person shooter". So, here are my questions:

1. Is what they're telling me true?
2. If yes, for how long, counting from chapter 4 onwards (because it's where the demo ends and the full version starts) do I have to bear with stealthy "survival" gameplay before the action part starts?
3. Do I really get much more ammo for the weapons in the later parts, or was this an overstatement made by the survival horror fans because the game is merciful enough to give you enough bullets to fill one and a half of a clip?

 

[Catfood220]

1) No, I have slogged through most of this game and am on the final boss and have never felt overwhelmed by ammo. If I have a full gun and few extra bullets, I have felt luck. But the enemies are such bullet spunges most of the time, that feeling doesn't last very long. I really hope this game has a new game+, everyone is going to be super dead.

2) I never really used the stealth that much, the game will give you enough ammo to get by. You can stealth it up if you want, I didn't like the stealth that much, the only way I could get it to work was to run up behind the enemy until a few steps behind, then crouch and stealth kill. Maybe I just sucked at the stealth.

3) Again, no you will not be swimming in ammo, like I've said before. The best tactic I found was to shoot the enemy in the leg and then set fire to them with your matches. If you have any, they are rarer than rocking horse shit.

I have a question myself. Does the story make sense after you kill the last boss? Because I've got to the end of the game and not one bit of it has made sense.

 

[sageoftruth]

Anyone else think it's kind of ironic that someone named "Ninja666" is complaining about having to be stealthy?

I couldn't resist. Anyway, I've never played the game and I know that stealth can be done in a piss poor fashion in a bunch of games, so please don't take that as any sort of criticism. I've only seen a brief Lets play of the first 15 minutes. Just curious, how does the stealth work in that game?

 

[ninja666]

I've only seen a brief Lets play of the first 15 minutes. Just curious, how does the stealth work in that game?

It works like in any other game - enemies have vision cones that you don't want to get into, and you have a stealth kill option and some items lying around that are used for distraction. There are also traps here and there you can use to neutralize enemies.

 

[sageoftruth]

I've only seen a brief Lets play of the first 15 minutes. Just curious, how does the stealth work in that game?

It works like in any other game - enemies have vision cones that you don't want to get into, and you have a stealth kill option and some items lying around that are used for distraction. There are also traps here and there you can use to neutralize enemies.

Interesting. I'll have to see if any more let's plays are out. This might suit me. Anyway, I'm starting to derail this thread, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[Clearwaters]

To answer OP. Yes the game does get more focused on action in the later chapters. I can't remember using stealth at all past the first couple chapters. However you'll never be swimming in ammo so you'll need to be conservative with that, although I do remember always having a good stock of crossbow bolts.

I really hope this game has a new game+, everyone is going to be super dead.

It does have a New Game+. You even get a few new toys to level the playing field. You also unlock a neat character model viewer after beating the game.

I have a question myself. Does the story make sense after you kill the last boss?

Nope!

 

[ninja666]

However you'll never be swimming in ammo so you'll need to be conservative with that, although I do remember always having a good stock of crossbow bolts.

How conservative are we talking? "Don't go wasting an entire clip on one enemy" conservative, or "either learn to kill every enemy with two shots at best or else you're screwed" conservative?

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

Let's put it this way. The game doesn't exactly put you in a position where "ooops, missed the headshot, now I'm screwed better run". Basically, it gives you a lot of options on how to wear down or clear out your enemies. Some you can just run past altogether, though I pretty much killed everything in my path. You just have to get "creative" and try to use the appropriate methods for each scenario.

Save your parts and explosive bolts for bosses. Some guys in a tight space giving you a hard time, use a flash bolt then sneak up and stab them in the face. Have a bunch of guys chasing you down a corridor, shoot the first one in the leg and set him on fire, the rest will go up in flames too. There's plenty of traps that you (and them) can set off, so keep those in mind while experimenting and exploring.

Have a quick moving enemy that you want to pin down and nail with heavy damage weapons/grenades, use an spark bolt. It all comes down to your resourcefulness, and willingness to retry a section if you didn't go so well the first time and wasted bullets or took damage because your strategy went pear-shaped.

The only thing I can't help you with, without completely spoiling the game is the boss strategies. Those are all different, and take quite a bit of trial-and-error and possibly rage quits until you get it.

 

[ninja666]

Let's put it this way. The game doesn't exactly put you in a position where "ooops, missed the headshot, now I'm screwed better run".

I find it hard to believe. This kind of stuff happened to me all the damn time in the demo.

Basically, it gives you a lot of options on how to wear down or clear out your enemies. Some you can just run past altogether, though I pretty much killed everything in my path. You just have to get "creative" and try to use the appropriate methods for each scenario.

So it's kinda like the first Bioshock. This isn't what I expected and was led to believe. It's not a game for me. Thanks for the info, though. You've all been a great help.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

Well, what I was getting at is that later on in the game, you have a lot of different types of weapons at your disposal, so even though you might level up your handgun ammo carrying capacity, it's not the only thing you will have to rely on.

You're spot on about it being like the first Bioshock though, but if that kind of gameplay annoys you, then yea you might not want to get too stuck into it, will definitely wear down your patience eventually.

 

[Hazy]

1. Is what they're telling me true?

Let me begin by saying that TEW is a survival horror game through and through. I played on the hardest available difficulty from the start and I never, throughout the 17 or so hour campaign, had a surplus of ammo or curative items. The game does a fantastic job of making resources feel extremely finite and that consists throughout. The way I've been describing it to people is "what if Resident Evil 4 had the resource conservation of 1-3?"

2. If yes, for how long, counting from chapter 4 onwards (because it's where the demo ends and the full version starts) do I have to bear with stealthy "survival" gameplay before the action part starts?

There's only one truly "action" part in the game and it is universally regarded as the worst chapter in the game. The majority of your time is going to be spent creeping where, upon detected, you'll be thrust into life or death encounters while you struggle to make every shot count. There's a great sense of just managing to survive by the skin of your teeth.

3. Do I really get much more ammo for the weapons in the later parts, or was this an overstatement made by the survival horror fans because the game is merciful enough to give you enough bullets to fill one and a half of a clip?

You'll get some, but again, resources are always extremely finite. I'd end up with 20 rounds for my revolver and be down to 4 within the next three minutes if I was lucky. There's a lottery type system in place where you'll be able to open morgue refrigerators with keys you'll find in tiny, hidden statues throughout the world, which will either supply you with ammo or gel. You'll be using the crossbow a lot, since it's easily the most satisfying weapon to use and you can craft your own ammunition by disarming traps or finding scrap throughout the world.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

As the title says, I've played the demo version of this game. For anyone who doesn't know, it lets you play the first three chapters of the game and then boots you out. I'll have to say I didn't like what I'd seen - there was too much sneaking, barely any ammo, and no action whatsoever. Despite all that, everyone keeps telling me I should give it a chance and get the full version because apparently later it gets far more action-y and has you swimming in guns and ammo, almost to the point of becoming "another third person shooter". So, here are my questions:

1. Is what they're telling me true?
2. If yes, for how long, counting from chapter 4 onwards (because it's where the demo ends and the full version starts) do I have to bear with stealthy "survival" gameplay before the action part starts?
3. Do I really get much more ammo for the weapons in the later parts, or was this an overstatement made by the survival horror fans because the game is merciful enough to give you enough bullets to fill one and a half of a clip?

Whether you're going to be "swimming" in ammo largely depends on how you upgrade your character. If you increase the critical hit chance and power of your guns, and max out the power on the harpoon bolts for your crossbow then enemies are going to die much faster and you won't be hard up for ammo. If you waste your upgrades in things like melee damage, or increased fire rate then you're going to have a bad time because you'll be using way more ammo and you'll always be running low.

You never quite get away from the stealth survival stuff, but the longer the game goes on the less and less you have to rely on it. I think somewhere around chapter 6 or so the stealth elements really step aside for some pure action, but the game does go back and forth between action sections and stealth sections.

I think the game is a lot more fun on new game plus, where you get to run through the opening areas and blow through everything with your shotgun and ridiculous one hit kill fire crossbow of ultimate boss killing.

 

[DementedSheep]

One of the reason I WASN'T interested in The Evil Within is because I heard the stealth and use of traps don't last and it's basically just a run and gun shooter with horror elements so this thread is actually making me more likely to get it. Probably still won't though as this style of horror doesn't do much for me.

 

[PinkiePyro]

if you do get it use a controller the keyboard + mouse controls are shoddy

 

[stroopwafel]

I really liked how Evil Within mixed suspense with action. Like the stealth felt clunky at first but later I really got to enjoy luring enemies into traps. The game's suspense(or rather, tension) relies solely around being swarmed by enemies while having limited ammo. But every encounter feels satisfying and eventually you get a hang of the game's rythm. The game takes some getting used to b/c it deliberately scales back on some design decisions that are more or less commonplace since Resident Evil 4 redefined the genre. But the minimalist approach really still suits this kind of game the best. Making a horror game that disempowers the player but still has a satisfying pay-off without becoming frustrating or overly action-y is a difficult balancing-act for any developer, but Mikami once again nailed it. So play it like its 2005 I guess?

This game reminds me most of a slower-paced, cult/arthouse version of RE4. I absolutely loved it though. Without a doubt my favorite game of last year(PS4 version that is, so I don't know how other versions stack up).

I actually enjoyed the story as well. I'd recommend reading all of Sebastian's journal entries as they shed more light on the character and the declining state of the mental hospital. The story is basically about Seb having had to endure a personal drama and Ruvik, the main antagonist being in a similar predicament that tried to..

figure out a technique to connect brains together(and was actually kind of succesful at it) sponsored by some kind of organization that explains Kidman's involvement. In the end I think Ruvik succeeded transplanting his conscious into Oda as he leaves the hospital.

In any way, I really hope they will make a sequel.

 

[ninja666]

if you do get it use a controller the keyboard + mouse controls are shoddy

To be honest, I never found the K+M controls to be bad in this game. Also, I never use controllers in third person games, unless they are actually built to work better with one (e.g. Dark Souls, Resident Evil 4).

-snip-

I think I'm spoiled too much by modern games to play it "like it's 2005". I'm also not really all that into survival gameplay. I'd prefer a much more action-oriented gameplay - something that The Evil Within doesn't have.