Does Evil Within overcomes Resident Evil?

Hello Psychological Thriller Lovers,

You all probably know the famous and, I could say, legendary game franchise—Resident Evil. The game where different viruses and mutations put our world in danger of destruction and the extinction of the human race. One of the best survival horror games of this century, created by the mastermind Shinji Mikami. Without a doubt, these games are brilliant, but what if I told you that in my personal opinion, there's another game that stands on the same level, or even higher, than the original?

Yes, you're right—today, we're talking about The Evil Within. This is a game that changed my attitude toward survival horror and pulled me in with brutal force. Prepare to discover the darkest and most twisted corners of your mind. Let's begin our journey.

A Sad Story of a Sadistic Genius

Many might say that this story is about Detective Sebastian Castellanos, the main protagonist whose shoes we’ll step into. Without question, he plays a vital role, but his connection to another key character—Ruben Victoriano—is what truly shapes the game’s narrative. In reality, this is Ruben’s story, and we are merely witnesses to his tragic and twisted journey.

The story is initially told from the detective's perspective. He, along with his partners—Detective Joseph Oda and Juli Kidman—responds to a police call at the Beacon Mental Hospital. Inside, they find the building filled with corpses, save for one survivor—Doctor Marcelo Jimenez. However, while watching security footage, Sebastian sees a mysterious figure in white, who suddenly appears behind him and injects him with something. And so, the nightmare begins.

The Evil Within - Ruvik's family. 

It doesn’t take long to realize that what’s happening around Sebastian can’t possibly be real. Soon after, he finds himself trapped in the hospital's basement, where a hulking, chainsaw-wielding monster attempts to cut him into pieces. After escaping the hospital, Sebastian briefly reunites with his team and another survivor from the hospital—Leslie Withers. However, the mysterious figure separates them again, leaving Sebastian to fend for himself. As the detective travels through forgotten towns, abandoned hospitals, underground chambers beneath a cursed church, a creepy mansion, and finally Crimson City, you’ll start to question the logic of it all. How does Sebastian move so quickly from one place to another? What links these locations? At first, it seems random, but I soon realized I was wrong.

The Evil Within - Great demonstration of lightnig effects and location decorations.

Throughout his journey, Sebastian confronts grotesque and terrifying creatures. One of the scariest is a six-armed, spider-like woman whose tortured screams haunted my dreams. Initially, the detective tries to rationalize the madness, but as more pieces of the puzzle fall into place, he realizes he’s reliving someone else’s memories and traumas.

Ruben Victoriano – The True Villain

Ruben Victoriano, also known as Ruvik, is the true central character of the story. The game takes place inside a shared consciousness, a nightmarish world created by Ruvik’s mind. All the characters are connected through a machine called STEM, a device invented by a young, brilliant scientist—Ruben—who hailed from a wealthy and influential family. Everything seemed promising for Ruben, until a tragic event altered his life forever. One day, he and his beloved sister, Laura, were trapped in a barn that was set on fire by local farmers who resented the family’s wealth and influence. Laura sacrificed her life to save Ruben. Enraged, their father confined Ruben to the family’s basement.

The Evil Within - Meeting with Laura for the first time was pretty creepy experience.

Though severely burned, Ruben eventually escaped, killed his parents, and staged their deaths to look like an accident. Left with the family fortune, he became obsessed with the idea of reuniting with his sister. Laura didn’t die, not in his mind—she lived on within him, fueling his ambition to create a machine that could unite different consciousnesses, allowing people to exchange feelings directly, without barriers. With this technology, Ruvik planned to relive his memories and create a reality where he could be with his sister once again.

Unfortunately, his experiments were beyond cruel. Dr. Marcelo provided him with human test subjects, but at the same time, Marcelo was secretly working with Mobius, a shadowy organization that aimed to use STEM technology to control the world. Since Ruben was the only one who knew how to operate the machine, Mobius decided to kill him, extracting his brain to serve as the core of the STEM system.

The Evil Within - Safehead was a keeper of Ruben's dirty secrets.

Upon learning this, I felt a mix of emotions—anger, pity, confusion. Even though Ruben’s body was destroyed, his consciousness lived on, allowing him to manipulate the events inside the STEM world. This explains the surreal locations and horrific monsters Sebastian encounters—these are distorted fragments of Ruvik’s memories. The spider-like creature? That was a twisted version of Laura. The ruined city with the Beacon Hospital looming over it? A reflection of Ruvik’s fragmented mind, with the hospital acting as the central point between the STEM world and reality.

What Does Ruvik Truly Want?

Ruvik’s goal is simple: he wants to escape. But how can he? He has no body. He’s more dead than alive. Yet, Ruvik has a plan. His target: Leslie Withers. Leslie is the only person whose mind can be fully synchronized with Ruvik’s. In short, Ruben’s plan is to connect Leslie to STEM, then overwrite Leslie’s identity and take over his body.

The Evil Within - STEM machine. 

In the end, despite overcoming all the obstacles and seemingly defeating Ruvik, Sebastian awakens in the real Beacon Hospital. As he walks out, he catches a glimpse of Leslie among the police officers, implying that Ruvik’s plan to escape his mental prison was successful.

A Fascinating Villain

I loved how the creators saved such a fascinating character like Ruben for potential future stories. Seeing how he managed to manipulate the situation and break free was both unsettling and thrilling.

The Evil Within is a brilliant psychological thriller, full of tension, mystery, and horror. It pushes you to question what’s real and what’s a nightmare, and leaves a lasting impression long after you’ve put down the controller.

The Story of Sebastian Castellanos

While The Evil Within centers around Ruben Victoriano (Ruvik), the game also reveals the personal tragedy of our protagonist, Sebastian Castellanos. Throughout the game, Sebastian occasionally finds himself in a safe zone, which appears to be a secluded world created by his own consciousness inside Ruvik's mind. Over time, we witness this place deteriorating, indicating Ruvik’s growing influence. Through diary entries and various clues, we learn more about Sebastian's life—his wife Myra, who was also a detective, and their daughter, Lilly.

Sebastian was a happy man until a tragic house fire claimed the life of his daughter. Not long after, Myra left him, determined to uncover the truth behind the incident. One surprising moment in the game is when Myra briefly appears in the room with the real STEM machine, revealing her connection to Mobius, the shadowy organization involved in the experiment. Juli Kidman, who was also working for Mobius, helps stage Sebastian’s death, making it appear that he perished alongside the other participants in the experiment.

The Evil Within - Ruvik invade Sebastian's safe place. 

After losing both his daughter and wife, Sebastian becomes obsessed with finding out the truth himself. The emotional toll leads to a downward spiral—he struggles with alcoholism, and his methods as a detective grow harsher and more ruthless. His obsession to find those responsible for destroying his life consumes him. Through glimpses into his personal "safe dimension," which resembles an ordinary hospital ward, we learn more about his inner torment.

Whenever Sebastian uses a mirror to enter this safe zone, he finds himself in his own ward. However, he’s not entirely alone—there’s a mysterious nurse who is always there, offering advice or asking questions, often unexpectedly appearing behind him. In one room, there's a shelf with newspapers that detail various events in Crimson City, such as murders, disappearances, and strange occurrences. On the other wall is a board filled with missing person posters. These posters usually appear when we discover that someone has died or when we uncover a connection between that person and Ruvik. Most of these missing individuals were killed by Ruvik in the real world before he was linked to STEM.

The Evil Within - Detectives arrive to a Beacon Hospital.

Piece by piece, Sebastian begins to understand that everything he’s experiencing is within Ruvik’s mind. Every location, every monster, is a distorted reflection of Ruvik's memories or dark thoughts.

The developers use a unique storytelling technique by placing Sebastian as the focus, even though he is ultimately a secondary character in this world. Ruvik’s story remains hidden in the background, gradually revealed to us as we uncover clues and details, creating a complex and captivating narrative that keeps players intrigued until the very end. This method of unfolding the story was both captivating and unexpected for me.

Gameplay of The Evil Within

As the brainchild of Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, The Evil Within shares many similarities with that iconic franchise. The game utilizes a third-person perspective, with players navigating through various locations, fighting for survival, managing resources like ammo, healing items, and green gel, and discovering hidden secrets. Effective resource management is crucial—poor decisions will lead to a more difficult experience. However, I found ways to gather plenty of ammo and green gel, allowing me to make Sebastian a formidable force. One important gameplay element is collecting keys hidden throughout the world, which unlock safes in your safe room, providing extra ammo and gel.

Green Gel

Green gel plays a vital role in upgrading your character. It can be thought of as a kind of brain fluid, found in jars, dropped by defeated enemies, or hidden within safes in your safe zone. In the game, Sebastian upgrades his abilities by sitting in a creepy, nail-filled chair resembling a torture device. Here, you can improve attributes like health, sprint time, weapon damage, ammo capacity, and the number of items you can carry. It’s especially frustrating when you can’t pick up items due to inventory limitations, so upgrading this is crucial.

The Evil Within - Mysterious machine was found in closed medical quarters used green gel to make detective feel better.

Fighting for Survival

In Ruvik’s twisted mind, survival is a constant challenge. Players encounter everything from zombie-like humans to grotesque mutants and terrifying bosses. Unlike Resident Evil, where the enemies are often the result of viruses or genetic mutations, the enemies in The Evil Within are humans manipulated by Ruvik’s mind, stripped of their identity and enslaved to his will. Many of these creatures are adorned with medieval restraints or entangled in barbed wire, symbolizing Ruben’s influence. At times, you’ll face monsters that are burned or disfigured, reflecting the darkest recesses of Ruvik’s subconscious.

The Evil Within - Beast created from consumed consciousness of Ruvik victims.

The bosses in The Evil Within are as memorable as those in Resident Evil. Standout bosses include the Sadist, a towering 2.5-meter figure wielding a chainsaw; Laura, Ruvik’s sister, who appears as a terrifying spider-like woman with a fear of fire; and the Cemetery Watchdog, a two-headed beast mutated from medical experiments. Some of the most disturbing bosses are creations of Ruvik’s subconscious, like a grotesque creature made of countless human bodies, which haunts one of the game's later areas.

Fighting regular enemies is engaging and allows for creativity. You can approach enemies with stealth, engage in direct gunfights, or use the environment to your advantage, killing them with traps or hazards. However, boss fights are more scripted and less open to player creativity. While some bosses can be defeated with standard weapons, doing so often consumes all your ammunition. For instance, Laura must be burned using torches, barrels, or other fire-based methods, while a beast in the underground parking lot requires strategic sniping to take down. This reliance on scripts can make certain fights feel tedious, particularly when bosses can one-shot you.

Arsenal

The game provides a variety of weapons for players to use, each with its own strengths:

• Colt (Handgun): Your first weapon, simple but effective. Headshots are crucial, and upgrading its critical hit chance should be a priority.
• Shotgun: A staple weapon, though I found it somewhat boring. It benefits from upgrades to damage and critical hit chance.
• Sniper Rifle: A powerful, long-range weapon ideal for bosses or tough enemies. Focus on upgrading damage and critical hits.
• Magnum: A revolver with immense stopping power but limited ammo. Save it for bosses or tougher enemies and prioritize damage upgrades.
• Agony Crossbow: A versatile weapon that can fire a variety of bolts: electric, flash, fire, explosive, cryo, and regular. Electric, flash, and cryo bolts are great for crowd control, while explosive bolts should be maxed out for maximum effectiveness. The regular bolt, though expensive to upgrade, becomes one of the most powerful weapons in the game once fully enhanced.

The Evil Within - Weapons wheel. 

Character Improvements

Collecting green gel allows you to upgrade Sebastian's abilities, making him stronger and more durable. Here are my recommendations for upgrades:

• Stamina: This should be your first priority. The base sprint time is a mere 4 seconds, which is far too short for most encounters. Try to max this out early on.
• Health Points: Useful, but not as critical if you’re good at dodging enemy attacks.
• Healing with Syringes: A minor upgrade, but useful if you have extra points.
• Melee Combat: Completely useless—don’t waste gel here.
• Ammo Capacity: Important for all weapons. If you’re diligent about exploring and finding secrets, you’ll need the extra space to carry your supplies.

The Evil Within - Leveling up menu and possible upgrades.

Properly managing your resources and upgrading wisely will make your journey through Ruvik's twisted mind much more bearable—and survivable.

Is The Evil Within Number One in Mikami’s Games?

After some reflection, I wouldn’t call The Evil Within Mikami’s best game, but it definitely ranks among his finest. The game delivers a gripping story filled with drama, intrigue, secrets, and unexpected twists. Each level is crafted with meticulous attention to detail, avoiding repetition or the feeling of being copy-pasted. Every location—from the eerie village to the abandoned underground chambers and the Victoriano family mansion—offers a unique environment that keeps the experience fresh and engaging. The story is well-constructed, with a brilliant, open-ended conclusion. What more could you ask for?

Combat in The Evil Within often encourages improvisation, allowing players to approach fights in a variety of ways. This makes encounters dynamic and sometimes extremely dangerous. However, the boss fights can be a bit of a letdown. Most are heavily scripted, and once you understand the mechanics, they become more predictable and less challenging.

The Evil Within - Ruvik, Laura and sunflowers. Sad story of true love. 

Considering the game was released in 2014, it doesn’t boast modern graphics, but it still holds up well. The Evil Within has a unique visual style, with excellent use of shadows, lighting, particle effects, and realistic blood and damage physics for both the monsters and the main character. Visually, the game still looks impressive, and you wouldn’t easily guess it’s nearly a decade old.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this masterpiece to any fan of survival horror and psychological thrillers. It will challenge you, unsettle you, and, in some ways, reveal the darker side of your imagination. That’s all for today—thank you for your time, and I’ll see you next time!