Gaming’s eighth generation allowed asymmetrical, four-players-versus-one-character action a more viable genre for console gamers. Starting with the critically lambasted “Evolve”, gamers with friends or who could tolerate teaming with randoms who didn’t understand the class system could come together and succeed or fail to kill monsters, survive horrific events, and embrace the grind of leveling up multiple characters & creatures. As the years progressed so did the genre gaining studios who had the ability to attain access to actual Hollywood properties including “Friday the 13th”, “The Predator”, and even having character-specific levels like those inspired by “Saw” in “Dead By Daylight”.
Now developer Saber Interactive – a studio mostly known for producing high-level ports for the past two decades – gets the opportunity to embrace their inner Deadite by producing an “Evil Dead” game in the same genre space as its horror franchise predecessors & successors. Being a fan of the movie franchise and these types of games in general (at least for a short while), I got ready to cut through some skeletons, possess unsuspecting, would-be heroes, and enjoy every reference I could remember.
Did I Complete “Evil Dead: The Game”?
Very similar to its digital peers, “Evil Dead” sports a single-minded objective with the crux of completion coming via upgrades through multiple characters and their skill trees. This necessity to reach the maximum level of achievement in regards to making any and every character a true beast on the field is the grind-heavy trophy requirements including personally killing multiple boss units (the toughest adversaries in a mission that usually spawn late during a round), unlocking all the Survivor character’s unique skills, or win thirty times as a Demon squad.
There are also five single-player missions that prove incredibly frustrating later on; though do unlock special features and more characters upon completion. As of this time there is a lot to grind through and missions to overcome after putting in about fifteen hours (probably a couple of those hours waiting to play as a Demon); hopefully not growing tired of it before the player base drops off.
Did “Evil Dead: The Game” Live Up to the Hype?
Though obviously inspired by the source material, “Evil Dead: The Game” takes notes from the likes of “Friday the 13th: The Game” and “Predator: Hunting Grounds” with the latter being the fact the player-controlled “Survivors” can fight back via weapons both discovered by looting various areas and even initially equipped depending on what character is chosen in the lobby (though players are barred from picking two of the same characters). Gamers will immediately notice when fighting a foe big or small is how clunky the general melee combat is with light and heavy strikes seeing the Survivor character swinging wildly without much direction (the same can be stated when possessing and attacking with a Demon). This issue is made more emphatic when the foes move without warning mid-attack and the player is trying to position the camera in hopes of aiming properly.
Interestingly enough, shooting actually works a lot better than the more necessary melee combat as each ammo type (“handgun ammo”, “long range ammo”, and “special weapon ammo”) can prove limited depending on how well the Survivors search the map. One of the most interesting aspects about both Survivor and Demon characters is their special ability associated with a class system. For example, Ash from the original “Evil Dead” is a “Support” class character who has the ability to lower the “Fear” level of nearby allies which can prevent possession by the Demon player who can temporarily control a possessed player to attack their teammates. There are three other Survivor classes: “Warrior” (great with melee weapons), “Hunter” (the long-range shooter), and “Leader” (who boosts teammates general stats).
Demon special abilities are a little less interesting than the Survivors like the “Warlord” class sporting the ability to create a Survivor-identifying radius for about thirty seconds. The barbaric “Necromancer” Demon’s ability produces a flute-playing skeleton that has no defensive measures, but does buff the attack power & defense strength of nearby Deadites; the same for the “Puppeteer” class just without the skeleton and the boosting only being connected to a single possessed Demon.
There are some defensive measures including dodging and just running away. Both of these actions use stamina and, depending on the Survivor chosen or how well they’ve upgraded that character, stamina loss at the wrong time can result in a character bleeding out. There are also colas that restore a bit of health, temporary “Amulet” shields, and even a battery-powered flashlight that will help keep the “Fear” meter down with the prior two having to be found on the map while the flashlight is always in a Survivor’s inventory.
Survivors can also drive cars, though the driving itself is rather unpredictable & floaty to the point running into trees or rolling over is a given especially if the Demon possesses a currently occupied vehicle to eject the Survivors. Another positive in the Survivor’s survival is the ability to revive dead characters at least once. When Survivors are downed, they bleed out if another Survivor doesn’t help them up. When that player’s Survivor bleeds out completely, their spirit hovers above the corpse that can be picked up by a currently upright Survivor and taken to one of the many altars located around the map to revive that dead Survivor.
The overall Survivor objective premise can be broken down into three stages: find the three map pieces randomly placed across the gigantic in-game map, attain the lost pages & dagger in a timed stand-off with mounting enemies before the initial thirty-minute time limit, and destroy the Dark Ones to unlock & protect the Necronomicon in another timed gauntlet where the players are pushed to the max either protecting the book or, if the gamer is a Demon, destroying the book or the Survivors before the time runs out. There’s no different goal or mission completion option like killing Jason in “Friday the 13th: The Game” to win instead of simply escaping the map.
While the gameplay objective is pretty straightforward when playing as a Survivor, switching the role and becoming a Demon is an effort in micro-management. In first-person, a Demon player will zip around the map picking up energy that can be used to set stationary traps that, when activated by a Survivor both spawns an enemy and increases their “Fear” meter. The more traps a player stumbles into the better chance for a Demon possession.
As the Demon gains more energy, is successful with their trap placement (including sabotaging crates that usually house match-only-upgrade “Pink F” bottles that helps increase things like health, the effectiveness of the “Amulet” temporary shield, or doing more damage with melee & ranged attacks), and simply moves around will grant the master Demon temporary upgrades like boosting the amount of energy attained from every orb and the length of Survivor possession; as well as opening portals that releases one of three types of controllable minions: “Basic”, “Elite”, and “Boss”. As expected, each type of Demon has their own ability, but controlling the “Boss” Demon shows off the power the Survivors are taking on; though gathering enough points and waiting for the cool-down timer to finish when the “Boss” is defeated makes its usage better for the last portion of a run where Survivors can be overwhelmed.
Depending on the skill level, overall character loadout (both in regards to Survivors and Demons), and general chance, matches can end fairly quickly around the ten minute mark or go as long as over a half-an-hour. One of the main reasons for this differing time in regards to matches is the game’s leveling system associated with its matchmaking. As mentioned, players can upgrade both the Survivors and Demons via a skill tree located in the menu. Players earn experience points via completed matches both won and lost that can be converted into skill points. These spent skill points level up the Survivor or Demon benefiting from the upgrades while attaining better perks and even some new abilities when reaching a certain level.
This wouldn’t be an issue if this game had an online matchmaking system that separated gamers by levels, but it doesn’t. Gamers will find themselves being a level one Survivor alongside level twenty-plus allies taking on a Demon player too playing the game for the first time. Thankfully, leveling up happens pretty quickly at lower levels and, after a couple of hours, most players are around the same range at the game’s launch. In a month or two, it will be difficult for newer players to thrive or even be beneficial to a team; let alone halting the progress of a high-level Survivor group when playing as a low-level Demon.
Another disadvantage that comes with the Survivors getting the lost pages & dagger is the exorcism of the Demon player afterward that can send the player all the way across the map if they aren’t lucky; putting them much further away from defending the Dark Ones than the Survivors trying to defeat the monster. Even with all of that, the developers went on record to state Survivors will almost always have the upper hand especially if they stick together in an effort to stay true to the lore.
There are a few single-player options including the aforementioned “Missions” where players take part in recreations from the movies & show. These “Missions” don’t feature cutscenes or even actual footage from the source material, but rather still-shot pictures and some text. These “Missions” get down-right frustrating through trial & error while not featuring any checkpoints that would’ve helped players succeeding a challenge better for a group to take on than a sole player who only has one life. Players can also gather a group of humans to take on a computer-controlled Demon, or go it alone against the damned with only AI companions. Sadly, playing by oneself will only give gamers half the experience points that someone would get playing with friends or randoms online.
The biggest issue with the single-player offerings is the fact players still have to be online to take part in them. This means if the servers are down for maintenance or, in the case of console players, PSN or Xbox Live is unreachable, “Evil Dead” is a brick for the time being. Add that to the fact when the servers eventually shut down, gamers will never have the chance to go back and experience the horror ever again.
Technically, “Evil Dead” is surprisingly strong. As with any horror experience, sound is an important aspect that needs to be done right; and this game does so when playing as a Survivor and the mounting hordes grow more ferocious after the only sounds were the character’s feet trampling the damp ground. The character models are detailed across the board with certain movie environments & landmarks masterfully recreated. While the game maps are large, there are only two thus far (one being based off the original movie, and the other from the TV show).
What differentiates one game from another in terms of environments is the weather & time of day. Certain matches will stick Survivors in the dead of night surrounded by patches of fog. Another round covers the ground in snow while illuminating the environment to the point there’s no reason to use the flashlight unless searching through a building. But the overall environment can be hazardous as well. While Survivors can use the “Vault” button to jump over things like road guardrails, they can’t do the same when facing a low wall of rocks or gated cemetery. There are other bad animation moments specifically connected to the “Finishers” – maneuvers used on Deadites after taking several hits that, at times, will have multiple Survivors attempting to defeat the foe without the game preventing them from slashing away at a static animation.
One of the biggest potential issues that has been anything but is server stability. Thankfully, disconnections and games failing to load hasn’t reached the double digits after dozens of rounds both as a Survivor and Demon. Sadly, if the Demon disconnects the game ends; same for teammates when in the lobby that causes a disbanding of the lobby. If a disconnection happens no points are dished out no matter how long the game lasted. Frame rate drops were mostly nonexistent, though some players with weaker internet connections can cause hiccuping, laggy moments when doing something like driving the entire team in a car. The worst glitch thus far experienced was an odd moment playing as a Demon where the trigger & bumper buttons used to summon minions disappeared and became deactivated.
Wait times to get into a lobby will vary if players aren’t doing private matches with the intent of playing as a Demon taking anywhere from three to ten minutes of waiting to get into the single slot (though it’s not as frustratingly long as “Predator: Hunting Grounds” was at launch). Crossplay across Playstation, Xbox, and PC can be turned off, but the game works fine no matter if the group is mixed or solely dedicated to one format/console. One of the most disappointing aspects in terms of getting into a game is the lack of a rematch option. After a session is done, everyone is sent back to the main menu even if players are in a private match.
While “Evil Dead” is definitely lacking in a lot of areas including maps, matchmaking, single-player offerings, and general differing objectives, there’s something almost whimsical about Ash’s latest digital adventure that, mostly, satisfies at least a few weeks after launch.
Should You Play “Evil Dead: The Game”?
“Evil Dead: The Game” represents all that’s right and wrong about the genre including great teamwork creating some harrowing moments when facing a skilled Demon player, yet single-player content is lacking while the inevitable player base drop off coupled by servers shutting down will turn this game either into a coaster or something needing to be deleted off your hard drive. But, for now, this is a strong experience that, thankfully, isn’t a full-priced product. Console owners can get free upgrades if they bought the eighth gen version and have ninth generation consoles. PC players, however, can only play this through the Epic Store.
With few technical issues and the player base being in its infancy in terms of skill & level, this is the ideal time to play if this is your type of game. If you wait too long there’s a good chance the player count won’t be as significant, their levels will be too high, and the learning curve will be too steep. Even with its limitations, there are very few better feelings in the genre than holding off dozens of monsters to save the world or a Demon destroying the Necronomicon with less than ten seconds left in the round.
