Evil Dead: The Game Review

"Groovy."

Multiplayer

May 19, 2022 at 4:31pm
By Jason Stettner

This is honestly one of the most surprisingly fun games I’ve enjoyed in recent memory. I had mid tier expectations going in on this one and have absolutely loved playing it. This is an asymmetrical multiplayer game based on the Evil Dead movies and the Ash vs the Evil Dead show.

I’m personally quite a fan of both elements of this overall franchise and I believe in general this game will be a delight for fans of the property. Outside of being a fan of the franchise, I think you can jump in fresh and want to go watch the other films and show afterwards which is exciting.

So the game has a few elements to it. The core is the competitive multiplayer aspect with its online design, but this can also be enjoyed offline. Firstly, there are six solo campaign missions to work through. I didn’t really care much for these as they can be strangely difficult and just add a slight narrative structuring to the world going over events from movies and what not.

I wouldn’t really bother unless you want to unlock a secret. The other offline mode is playing the regular multiplayer experience but with bots. So, no matter when you jump into this game down the road you’ll always be able to enjoy. That being said, the online multiplayer which pits four players against one demonic presence is the way to go.

Gameplay

The goal of the game is always the same. You want to move around the world gathering three pieces of a map. From there you need to capture the Necronomicon Pages and the Kandarian Dagger. The final state is to then banish some more mystical foes and finally defend the Necronomicon from the horde. It might sound as though it would become repetitive, but I promise that is not the case. It feels truly distinct as the map is constantly different.

You’ll face off in differing weather conditions such as snow, or rain or just a creepy night. The time of day is also adjusting and the map itself shifts with unique set pieces each time. The map is rather massive with the option to traverse on foot or to use vehicles. There’s a surprising amount of depth here and it’s such a delight to play with every match feeling unique.

As mentioned, there are two sides to this. The first being the survivors which I’ve essentially outlined and then the demon. The demon side has you moving around like the presence from the series, you need to collect red orbs, level abilities and then unleash upon the survivors. It’s really neat as you can mess with them such as booby trapping boxes or swatting people with trees. Even the odd possession here or there comes into play as well.

Going back to the survivor side of things you gather supplies on the map. This includes amulets for a shield or weapons like a boomstick. There are rarity variations so you’ll find better tools along the way. I found that using melee was often the most direct way to combat the monstrous deadites that come your way and the game has these awesome, gnarly executions to unleash. So there’s lots to collect each time, and many characters from the series. Many variations of Ash, but also Kelly and Pablo too!

These characters have their own skill trees, as do the demons of which there are three types. So that’s more variation, your enemies could be skeletons one game or regular deadites the next one. It’s always different and a unique challenge where either side could win at any given time. When it comes to the visuals I was just stunned by the quality here. They beautifully capture the world of the Evil Dead while also making a visually stunning game.

It runs at a dynamic 4k resolution at 60fps on Xbox Series X with it just being smooth. There are no performance issues that I came across and I didn’t find any bugs that impacted my experience which was a delight. The game really does look visually spectacular, I was genuinely not expecting such a visual treat for this one. One aspect that I do think could have been worked on was having lobbies for your group. When you matchmake with a squad you have to re-invite them after every match.

The Conclusion

Evil Dead: The Game greatly exceeded my expectations being an absolutely gory delight that perfectly captures the franchise and provides a challengingly fun time. It really was just great, the executions are ultra gory and wild to see in action.

It was so great to see my favorite characters be present within this release and I’m somewhat hoping we get to see Ash’s daughter from the show down the road as that would be cool. If you’ve never watched anything from this series I suggest doing so, but I also feel that the game can be enjoyed without needing to know any of the source material. For fans, you’re just going to love how this skillfully captures the world perfectly.

It’s a great time, an absolute blast and you’ll have a good time with pals or alone taking on the deadites. Or, well you might be playing as that side which also brings its own strategic elements. This is definitely one of the more surprising gaming experiences that I’ve had in recent years and went far beyond my expectations. A horrifyingly fun multiplayer time, just a great game.

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Evil Dead: The Game Review on Xbox Series X
Review Code Provided by Sandbox Strat

Rating Overall: 8.6