The Evil Dead series spawned some real stinkers when it comes down to game adaptations. This new Evil Dead: The Game has some making up to do. As a big fan of the series (excluding the 2013 soft reboot a.k.a. no Ash Williams no Evil dead) I need this to be good – for once.
4 vs 1 asymmetrical action PVP
Evil Dead: The Game is described as a 4 vs 1 asymmetrical action PVP. A term slapped on to impress but probably failing to explain what this game is all about. Allow me to explain… Evil Dead: The game lets you play in a group of four survivors to save the world from the Kandarian Demon. The Kandarian Demon is a spirit able to control the Deadites and its sole purpose is to restore the “evil” in the world. The only way to stop the Kandarian Demon is by destroying the thing that awakened this whole mess – the Necronomicon. Pages are missing and the book is guarded by the Dark Ones making this task almost impossible. However, there is a way. Finding 3 pages of a map will point you to the missing pages and the Kandarian Dagger. The dagger is the only weapon able to destroy the Dark Ones.
Working together with your teammates will be vital to survival. The asymmetrical part of the game’s description translates to a fifth player taking on the role of the Kandarian Demon. As the evil spirit, you need to do everything in your might to stop the other 4 players from succeeding. Controlling an army of deadites will come in handy to fulfill your task since you can’t quite do much in your spirit form. Strategically placing armies of deadites across the map and placing traps will surely raise fear levels in the opposing team. Getting all four survivors their health bars depleted is the only way to win the match.
Different roles
As a survivor, you choose one of 13 characters from the classic trilogy and the Ash vs. Evil Dead TV series. 9 of them are available from the start with 4 unlockable through a separate “missions” mode. Each survivor is divided into one of four types: Leader, warrior, hunter or support. Ideally, a team comprises of one of each type will have much more chance of survival. The type/role you choose determines how you can aid the group towards success. Each character has its own perks and special abilities giving you plenty of ways to experience the game. Once the team is picked, you start out by exploring and gathering supplies if you want to have a chance. With boomsticks, hand-mounted chainsaws, and other Evil Dead canonical weapons to find you’ll have plenty of ways to buff out your character to take on the evil dead.
Besides weapons and supplies, you should also be on the lookout for Pink F*ck – the drink from ash vs. Evil Dead. Pink F – as it is shortened in this game – acts as a way to upgrade your character. At the start of a 30-minute “match”, you are pretty weak. When the Kandarian Demon hasn’t found you yet, you get by with these low stats but once you are found, you better be ready. Upgrading your character is a sure way to give you more chances to succeed. While getting around you’ll need to keep an eye on your fear level. This stat will increase when not in buildings, not in well-lit areas, or when wandering alone. Once high enough your location is shown to the demon and you are prone to be possessed and potentially inflict serious damage on your teammates giving the Demon more “edge” than needed.
Kandarian Demon
Playing as a survivor is fun from the start with a lot of things to do. When you happen to be in a team that is working together the game offers a lot of exciting things to do. Playing as the Kandarian Demon sounded like the best thing ever. Controlling armies of deadites and trying to inflict fear into the survivors by placing traps sounds awesome. The reality is that it is just not balanced in the right way. Like the survivors, you start out weak – as far as evil demons can be weak. You need to collect infernal energy to act as “currency” to activate portals, set traps, and possess things. Upgrading your abilities opens up a lot of the tools a demon has. The thing is… this takes way too long and makes for half a match just floating around searching for the survivors. I wished there was some more action. Once you have more abilities upgraded the game is almost over and you only get to experience “the fun part” for a brief period of time.
All the details
Evil Dead: The Game slam dunks the “hommage”-factor. Every character delivers iconic lines from the movies/TV series. Four different Ash Williams characters might sound a bit abundant but each of them feels distinctly different and true to the different source materials they came from. Ash from the TV series is definitely more a leader type while Ash from the original movie acted more in a support role. These “nods” to the source material can be found in every corner of the game. The iconic places from the series are replicated in detail, the traps are all inspired by scenes from the series giving this game the Evil Dead feel like no other Evil Dead game had by a landslide. As a fan, I appreciate the care Saber Interactive took to get things not only right but also looking awesome.
Conclusion
Evil Dead: The Game is the best game the series ever produced but that’s not saying much. Fans will love the franchise being incorporated into the game with love and care. The gameplay is heavily dependent on many factors. As a survivor, your enjoyment will correlate with how well your team works together. Getting thrown into a game with a bunch of lone wolves just wandering off on their own results in a game of waiting for the inevitable end. Playing as the demon isn’t quite balanced enough to make it enjoyable for the whole 30-minute match. All this makes this game a bit of a mixed bag. Tweaks will surely need to be made by the team. Upcoming free DLC (The Kandar Castle map from Army of Darkness is on its way) might make things better balanced. Until then, you’ll still get some “groovy” gameplay out of this one.
