Evil Dead: The Game is gushing with fan service and plenty of blood
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with members of Boss Team Games and Saber Interactive to go hands-on with the upcoming horror multiplayer title Evil Dead: The Game. As a massive fan of Ash and his Deadite-slaying antics, I’ve been eagerly awaiting its release. After spending a healthy amount playing on Xbox Series X and PC, and posing all my burning Evil Dead questions to the development team, here are my impressions of Evil Dead: The Game and whether or not this gruesome action game will be worth your time.
What is Evil Dead: The Game?
You and your squad of four heroes team up to explore sprawling locations from the series, loot fan-favorite weapons like the “Boomstick” and chainsaw hand, and collect key items in the hopes of sealing the breach between worlds and banishing the Kandarian Demon back to hell. Or, if terrorizing other players is more your speed, you can take the role of the Kandarian Demon and try to viciously kill these heroes before they complete their objectives with an assortment of devastating villains like Evil Ash or Henrietta.
Evil Dead: The Game aims to offer loads of replayability for a wide range of player types.
With 13 playable heroes, three unique Kandarian Demon archetypes, a healthy assortment of weapons and abilities, and a collection of singleplayer side missions, Evil Dead: The Game aims to offer loads of replayability for a wide range of player types. Considering this is a budget-priced title with the standard edition starting at $40, the suite of game modes and content launching with this package seems genuinely impressive.
Why Evil Dead fans should be excited for Evil Dead: The Game
Source: Saber Interactive
Committing to the monumental undertaking of getting licensing rights for Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, and Ash vs Evil Dead allowed the team to combine elements from all these beloved pieces of media in ways we’ve never seen before. Evil Dead: The Game even managed to lock down almost all of the original voice actors, adding a powerful air of authenticity to biting one-liners delivered by Bruce Campbell and the gang. There’s something undeniably hilarious and magical about seeing Arthur from Army of Darkness blasting Deadites with a shotgun while Pablo from Ash vs Evil Dead decapitates demons with a broadsword.
The team even named the game’s upgrade items “Pink F,” inspired by the legendary cocktail “Pink Fuck” in Ash vs Evil Dead.
A remarkable level of care and attention to detail is applied to every character and environment in Evil Dead: The Game. The heroes, villains, and set pieces feel almost ripped directly from their source material. As someone who grew up watching these legendary films, it’s absolutely amazing seeing some of my favorite memories reintroduced in such an effective way. It can be challenging for licensed video games to truly capture the essence of the IP they’re based on, but Evil Dead: The Game is confidently one of the strongest and most respectful adaptations I’ve ever seen.
Why battle royale and MOBA fans should be excited for Evil Dead: The Game
Source: Saber Interactive
In many ways, Evil Dead: The Game is similar to other popular asymmetrical horror multiplayer titles like Friday the 13th and Dead by Daylight. However, as someone who’s played those titles to death, I was far more excited by the other inspirations this upcoming horror game brings to the table. Evil Dead: The Game manages to improve upon the gameplay of its genre predecessors while seamlessly incorporating welcomed mechanics from battle royales like Fortnite and even MOBAs like League of Legends and Smite.
The delicate dance of risk versus reward when looting in Evil Dead: The Game adds a unique dynamic to the core asymmetrical multiplayer formula.
And for players who adore the intense strategy and teamwork of MOBAs, Evil Dead: The Game provides a surprisingly deep gameplay loop. Each of the 13 characters is assigned to one of four classes, and team balance is critical to your success. In addition to character-specific abilities, you can even level up specific stats within a match using Pink F. Understanding how to take advantage of your team’s synergy and which stats are best suited to counter your Kandarian foe remind me of some of my favorite systems in games like Smite. Competitive multiplayer fans will find plenty of juicy mechanics and strategies to sink their teeth into with Evil Dead: The Game.
Why I’m excited about Evil Dead: The Game
Source: Saber Interactive
My impressions and much of my excitement for Evil Dead: The Game are coming from the perspective of a huge Evil Dead fan and frequent player of countless horror titles. That being said, I can’t wait for more folks to get their hands on this outstanding multiplayer experience. As someone who’s sunk dozens of hours into titles like Dead by Daylight, Friday the 13th, and Resident Evil: Resistance, I can confidently say Evil Dead: The Game is the best-feeling asymmetrical horror multiplayer title I’ve ever played. Combine that with an apparent love for the franchise from the development team, and you have yourself a recipe for a damned good action game for you and a few friends.
Evil Dead: The Game is expected to launch on May 13, 2022, for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch.
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