*This is part 3 of a five-part series detailing five games that you absolutely have to check out this month leading up to Halloween. Be sure to read Month of Evil (Part 2) – Resident Evil HD Remake.

WHAT IS IT?
A return to form for the survival-horror genre that’s been watered down in recent years by series that abandoned their roots in favor of more action oriented gameplay. The Evil Within is a violent and punishing game that never lets up once you’ve been dropped into its twisted world. During an investigation regarding a mass murder at a mental hospital, Detective Castellanos and his partners are sucked into a nightmare placing them at the mercy of a mysterious character known as Ruvik.
  
WHY IT WILL TERRIFY YOU
If the film Hostel and The Grudge were to have a baby, then The Evil Within is the demonic child that it would spawn. Not only violent and grotesque in its display of horror, but it’s environments are depicted with such gross detail that just walking around is enough to give me goosebumps.

Enemies you encounter in The Evil Within are abominations to say the least. Townsfolk overtaken by an evil entity, crucified giants, and several twisted creatures straight out of John Carpenter’s The Thing all stand in your way of escaping the nightmarish prison you’ve been trapped in. The opening frame quickly establishes the fact that too many other games have gone soft on us, and that we’d better get used to dying. A lot.  

WHY I RECOMMEND IT
The Evil Within fills an enormous void left by previous “survival-horror” series while also advancing the genre in the right direction. Directed by the father of “survival-horror” himself, Shinji Mikami has once again redefined the genre and given us something much more thought-provoking than he could have had he been constrained by an already established series’ canon. Tons of symbolism and un-lockable items make subsequent play-throughs all the more satisfying. Anyone looking for a challenge will have their hands full should they attempt either of the game’s Nightmare or the sadistic Akumu modes. After four play-throughs I’m still finding new things to love about this game, and there’s no better time of the year to play it than right around Halloween.

*Thanks for reading the third part to my Month of Evil series! Hope you enjoyed it, let me know in the comments if you played and what you thought of The Evil Within. Look for Month of Evil (Part 4) later this week and come watch me stream these games live on my Twitch Channel: ValhallaX27!