Recently released, the Saber Interactive title Evil Dead: The Game brings players and fans back to that epic horror franchise. Returning to the world of Ash, players can step into the shoes of their favorite heroes and villains from the Evil Dead universe. With the title release, we decided to check it out. Find out how it is in our review of the Saber Interactive title Evil Dead: The Game.
Story: Little lore from the horror-comedy classic to be found
Players will jump into the shoes of fan-favorite heroes of the Evil Dead universe. Together you’ll set out to right a mistake made by Dr. Raymond Knowby, who accidentally set forth the forces of darkness. Travel across a vast open map with multiple locations to find the torn pages. Assemble the pieces of the book, grab the Kandarian dagger, defeat the dark ones, and secure the Necronomicon.
There isn’t much in the way of a story that players will experience. Mission mode goes into a bit of the story from the different Evil Dead franchise entries, but it is still pretty shallow. Playing through each mission will offer small cutscenes and voice-overs as you complete the mission objectives. Additionally, players will find voice-over during online matches narrating the mission along.
Unfortunately, this is all that there is to be found currently. Hopefully, in the future, the team at Saber Interactive will add more, especially with the wealth of lore from the Evil Dead franchise. So, if a deep story is something that you’re looking for, you may want to check something else out.
Gameplay: enjoyable but needs polish
Tasked with gathering the pieces needed to summon the Necronomicon, you and your team will have to traverse a vast map in search of these pieces. Explore the various houses, garages, and offices, looking for ways to prepare for the oncoming forces of darkness. You’ll want to gear up, finding weapons and items to assist your team’s survival as you progress towards your goal.
The team will have to fight through waves of enemies of various kinds as the fifth player in the game attempts to stop them. This fifth player will play the role of the demon, tasked with stopping the heroes from securing the Necronomicon and allowing the forces of darkness to claim victory. As one of the three available demons, the player will gather resources that will enable them to set traps that spawn basic or elite enemies. In addition, each of these demons comes equipped with upgradable skills that will assist them in their goal.
An asymmetrical battle of good and evil
This multi-staged fight for power is the kind of multiplayer game that we encounter now and again. Early in Evil Dead: The Game is enjoyable, learning the class that you choose, where items are on the map, and of course, completing the main objective. Over time though, this gameplay loop will feel repetitive, with the online modes being the primary game type. Unfortunately, the game’s matchmaking system worsens the experience, requiring improvement.
In many cases, you’ll find yourself in a group with no cooperation and are quickly picked off by the fifth player. Or where one or more members disconnected, giving you no choice but to disconnect yourself and receive a ban from matchmaking. By the end of our review of Evil Dead: The Game, we had wracked up a 3 minute ban time due to thrown matches. Making things worse is matchmaking for those attempting to play the demon. We had an average of a 10 to 25-minute wait time.
The Saber Interactive release Evil Dead: The Game offers dynamic multiplayer gameplay to give players a new experience every match. Unfortunately, a dysfunctional matchmaking system will affect the enjoyability of the gameplay.
Graphics/Audio: A beautiful game hindered by issues
Evil Dead: The Game utilizing the Unreal Engine offers a beautifully crafted world from the Evil Dead franchise. The dark and environmentally gorgeous regions of Cleaver County and Remington Rapids will give players a wide area to explore. However, the darkness of the map is something that the player will constantly battle.
The darkness is a part of this game, dealing with fear and light. This mechanic will remind you of Alan Wake, but the level of darkness becomes a significant hindrance at a certain point. The player will collide with everything, and it quickly becomes a headache with the lack of traversal options.
These frustrations will only be made worse by the UI design. During our review of Saber Interactive’s release Evil Dead: The Game, we would go to pick up an item. Only to not have the interface button function until we looked away from the object and then back. This doesn’t help when you’re quickly trying to grab an amulet or shep’s soda to save your life, to have the take button lose functionality.
With all these frustrations in mechanics, UI, and matchmaking, the world design remains delightfully true to form. This remains the same with the audio of this Saber Interactive release, offering background music that sounds straight out of your favorite horror movie. The player will have a beautiful soundtrack to accompany you from the main menu and out into the match.
Conclusion:
In the Saber Interactive release Evil Dead: The Game, players will again get to step into the shoes of their favorite characters from the Evil Dead franchise. Unfortunately, players will discover that there is little more than visual eye candy with underdeveloped story missions. In addition, a multiplayer is hindered by its matchmaking service and a slightly unbalanced PvP combat. With our review of Evil Dead: The Game, we can say that the game does a decent job as a faithful homage to its source material. For now, if you pick up this title, know it’ll be a few updates before the game may shine.
But if you still want to give the Saber Interactive release Evil Dead: The Game a try. You can find it on PC on the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4 & 5, and Xbox One & Series X|S for $39.99. Additionally, check out the product page if you want to learn more about Evil Dead: The Game. You can also find out more about the developer’s Saber Interactive on their development page for any of their other work.
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