A true masterpiece in the psychological horror genre, with elements of science fiction, bearing the signature of Shinji Mikami. It is exactly what a fan of the genre expects: mysterious, dark, violent, repulsive, sadistic. Truly, as an antagonist, Ruvik is a diabolical genius and his story, which we get to know as we progress in the game, is very interesting. The characters are serious, mysterious or supernatural (such as Tatiana and the tenant of the neighboring room in the safe place of Beacon Mental Hospital), laconic, with hidden motives some and the dialogues are very measured, without humor, something that is positively evaluated in this type of games. This is exactly what makes The Evil Within even more mysterious, along with one more element: we never get the answers we want, not even at the end of the game. We are left with question marks - covered by the poorly made, unfortunately, DLC. This game, compared to others of its kind, harmoniously combines horror with action, without having an imbalanced result. The great variety of enemies and the imagination in their design, prove how serious work was done by the designers. It is a true hell in akumu mode, but at the same time it is a real achievement, for those who manage it. In the beautiful safe rooms, you will enjoy the gentle music (clair de lune), taking a breath, preparing your next move. A serious problem that this game faces is the lack of good weapon handling and the fact that one must rely exclusively on the agony crossbow and bolts to finish the game, at the highest difficulty levels. The unjustifiably much blood, splattered all over Sebastian's body, along with his violent deaths (dismemberment), is an element of exaggeration in the game, but rather, in a way, fits with the overall atmosphere of horror and death. If there was an option to hide the excessively violent scenes, it would be good. The graphics are somewhat dull, one can discern a lack of clarity in the image, but let's not forget that this is a game from over a decade ago. Additionally, from level 11 onwards, the game takes on a different character, becoming somewhat less interesting, with battles in open and brightly lit areas, reminiscent of a bombed city. Finally, don't think too much, buy it at a low price! It is one of the first in its genre. Far better than The Evil Within 2.

The Evil Within is filled with terrifying creatures that enjoy every opportunity to take you out. There are the vague human monsters that flood the initial chapters, but as the game progresses, you are faced with increasingly difficult enemies. However, no matter where you are, the danger of being taken out is great. The Evil Within is a violent experience where the slightest loss of focus can turn you into a bloody mess on the floor.

It does a commendable job of pushing you to your limits, but there are moments when it crosses that line and greatly hinders the gaming experience. One of the biggest culprits of this problem is the autosave system, a fantastic and unpredictable thing that doesn't seem to behave logically. It generally records your progress after major encounters, but there are times when it saves in the middle of a battle for no apparent reason, and other times when it has been so long since you last saw the small icon on your screen that you feel like you're in a desert, desperately searching for water, cursed by the sun and its painful harshness. Often, you find yourself replaying certain sections without clear reason, as the game's impressive atmosphere becomes less interesting each time. (Note: there is a Manual Save system, but it is only accessible at the beginning of each chapter, meaning that the further you progress, the more you subject yourself to the quirks of autosave.)

I start with the story, which is typical with some good moments, writing that if you put it aside and it doesn't bother you, you will truly enjoy one of the best action horror games in its category.

The game in the initial chapters reminds me of Resi 4, but as it progresses, it plays with the player's psychology and strongly reminds me of the Silent Hill series. However, what sets it apart from other survival games in the category is that even the simplest battles are difficult, as enemies and especially bosses are tough to defeat due to the game providing you with limited ammunition, which may initially make it challenging for some, but I really liked it. Overall, the gameplay and gunplay are very well-structured.

In terms of the game's technical aspects, it has some frame rate issues on the PS4 (at least in the initial chapters) and the camera is a bit cumbersome, but you get used to it after a while. I would also like to add that there is an update for the game that gives you the option to play without the known black bars that it had in its initial release, as if you were watching a movie.

Finally, regarding the duration, the game is divided into 15 chapters with an average of about 15 to 17 hours for a first playthrough on the survival difficulty level (that's how long it took me approximately). Oh, and I have to say that it has a very good music and sound design that keeps you on edge, which is a big plus for horror games.

Overall, for those of you who are fans of the genre, buy it with closed eyes, especially at this price, it's worth the money. It's not a coincidence that the great Shinji Mikami, the "father" of Resident Evil, worked on it, so you understand what kind of game we're talking about.