Although it has been a few years since the release of PT, it can be said without any doubt that Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro’s “Playable Teaser” was One of the most important experiences of the last generation of consoles. Its influence radicalized the horror genre and there were several titles that attempted to replicate the creative flashes that hinted at the introduction to the project – Never Born – Silent Hills. Evil Inside fit this trend Reproduction of PT Bringing into indignation the slave tradition of everything made the now inaccessible humor distinct and unique. The result is a short title that unfortunately fails to shake off the intense confrontation with Kojima’s business, further amplifying all the constraints dictated by a low production budget.
Horror without personality
It was assumed that an important demo like the PT would pollute the collective imagination, giving way to a host of titles clearly inspired by the pesky spin-offs that featured playable humor. While titles like Visage (if you don’t know that, here are our addresses Visage ReviewShe takes the work of Kojima and Del Toro as being The starting point for developing a game that seeks to have its own distinct identity, Evil Inside chooses the exact opposite path, staying firmly on the reference play structure.
Young Mark finds himself an orphan by his mother after her father kills her for no apparent reason. In despair, the protagonist attempts to contact the soul of the deceased through the oujia table, but causes a chain of paranormal events. The player’s goal will be to rebuild the shattered board in an effort to counteract the nightmare that Mark is stuck in.
Just like in PT, in fact, the user will find himself forced into the walls of the house with only the ability to cross the aisle, which leads his last door to the beginning of the same house.
In every cycle through this structure, Similar to the optical illusion of the Penrose scale, The environment will change slightly. Allowing, in this way, always new interactions and reformulation of an inanimate context and at the same time a constantly different space.
Evil Inside also proves to be a deeply immersive experience, which from a first-person point of view requires a lot of attention from the player, who must quickly learn to recognize every little change, be it a moving board or a slightly open drawer, such as in addition to hearing all the audible clues. That indicates opening a door or activating a key.
When ideas are not enough
Evil Inside’s problems are specifically evident in the concrete development of these playful buildings. With PT, Kojima intentionally created a mysterious experiment, Which was impossible to solve in his week-long plans.
The goal was to decipher all the clichés of the horror genre and encourage players on the “social” dimension of discovery, a progress that required comparison with all the other users who got lost in the demo frenzy. Unfortunately, Jandusoft’s developers couldn’t get past the path taken by the Japanese game designer. At times, it seems to play a new role in an amateur remake rather than a standalone title: Not only is the structure of the house identical to what was actually seen – whether in the planning or in the distribution of furniture – but the same fun and narrative rarely skew tricks that allow progress in the game From the demonstration, thus negating any sense of discovery, novelty, and possibility of participation. The few times Evil Inside proposes fun new solutions, unfortunately, we’ll find ourselves faced with barely-drawn ideas that would have deserved an entirely different implementation sponsorship. For example, after the middle of the title, the player will find himself faced with a “turn” in a mirror version of the house, a method that, for its simplicity, succeeds in changing the spatial perception of an environment that is not really familiar.
Unfortunately, this is an intermittent hunch that does not find any kind of depth and is mitigated by the constant resort of horror jumping, an option that numbes emotional engagement in a short time.
Not to mention, the game also lacks longevity: Evil Inside takes about 2 hours to reach the final credits, But in counting all the dead times dictated by a certain slow in the movements are also included and not always the instant readability of environmental puzzles. Once these obstacles are removed, the second run can be completed without any problem in about half an hour, highlighting the obvious gaps in the product content. After all, PT was a Playable teaser, a playable advertising game designed to replace the classic video game promotional formats, and it’s not surprising. Hideo Kojima is a communication expert.
It was more than a declaration of intent, the taste of the nightmare that awaits the player outside: Silent Hills has been waiting to be discovered. On the other hand, Evil Inside runs out once you cross the walls of the house, leaving a sense of incompleteness.
Even artistic perception leaves much to be desired: far from the strict graphic component, Evil Inside lacks an artistic direction capable of overcoming the limitations of an obviously limited budget. Despite a decent lighting system and good acoustic work, the title’s potential is lost in the ceaseless search to recreate the same situations I already experienced on the Silent Hills show, Which makes the comparison more mixed.
