Evil Dead: The Game Review

Here is our review of the grooviest gore-fest of the year, Evil Dead: The Game.

When Evil Dead first premiered, it blew everyone away with the way that it combined humor, horror, and gore. More than forty years later, the iconic series is still alive and stronger than ever with Evil Dead: The Game, a survival horror multiplayer experience from Saber Interactive.

And thankfully, it’s groovy and gory. Evil Dead: The Game isn’t Saber Interactive’s first brush with the horror genre or movies, for that matter. They recently took World War Z’s famous book and film and created an immersive cooperative shooter with endless replayability.

With Evil Dead: The Game, they’ve created a game that fans of the franchise and those new to the series can enjoy.

It’s intense, it’s gory, and it captures the spirit of Evil Dead perfectly.

Evil Dead: The Game is a four vs. one survival horror game where a group of Survivors must do their best to acquire the Necronomicon and the Kandarian Dagger to defeat the Dark Ones. All this while a Kandarian Demon does everything in their power to stop them.

Saber Interactive

It’s intense and gory, and it perfectly captures the spirit of Evil Dead. When playing as the Survivor, you will need to explore the map and gather supplies to ensure you can ward off the Kandarian Demon and Deadites headed your way. There were times when I accidentally got separated from my team, and it seemed like the intensity of everything went up by ten.

Evil Dead’s atmospheric horror really shines when the only thing you can hear is the creaking of the wood floors and the growling of a demon you can’t see. It can be easy to forget about when you have three others with you, but if you stop to take everything around you in then, it might send shivers up your spine. And this doesn’t include the different traps the Kandarian Demon can place around the map.

Evil Dead: The Game does an amazing job of making you feel safe when you really never are.

You’ll hear a few screams from your teammates every match. The first time I opened a supply chest with tiny Ash Williams, I almost jumped out of my seat. Evil Dead does a fantastic job of making you feel safe when you really never are.

Saber Interactive

But it’s not all horror. Survivors have plenty at their disposal to fight back. There are weapons scattered around the map and plenty of finishers to use on the Deadites. And these finishers can be gory. The first time I picked up a shovel, I was in awe at how the character smashes it into the Deadite and beheads it. Truly a sight to see.

Each match has essentially four phases. First, you need to recover three pieces of the map. Then you’ll need to find the Necronomicon and Kandarian Dagger. After you have all these items, you must defeat the Dark Ones. Once they’ve gone down, you need to defend the Book of the Dead for two minutes to ensure it closes.

Both the Survivors and Kandarian Demons have a set of abilities they can upgrade throughout the match. These abilities can help the Survivors tremendously, but they can also make the Kandarian Demon practically unstoppable, especially if you’re playing against the Puppeteer.

This is a strategic game where every move matters until the very end.

Playing as the Kandarian Demon is rewarding and genuinely makes you feel in control of the map and your surroundings. Possessing the Survivors, their car, and even your Deadites allows you to mess with the Survivors in many ways. This is one of the aspects where Evil Dead: The Game excels over other survival horror multiplayer games like Dead By Daylight.

Their unique approach to the Kandarian Demon presents players with interesting mechanics that are fun to explore. Hitting Survivors with a tree only to possess one and have them run off by themselves always puts a smile on my face.

Saber Interactive

There was never a match where I felt that I got cheated out of a win because I was one player against four. It truly depends on how well you know your Kandarian Demon’s abilities and how you distribute your levels.

Evil Dead: The Game is a game where every move matters until the very end. Either the Kandarian Demon or Survivors can have the upper hand or completely change the match around at any point in the match.

Every character brings its own flair to Evil Dead: The Game.

There are a total of 13 Survivors and 3 Kandarian Demons. Each of them has its own expansive skill tree and unique abilities. Each of them is viable in its own way, and it truly adds to an already highly replayable game. Playing with friends is a massive plus and allows you to coordinate different teams and strategies. My team found itself using Ash Williams (Ash vs. Evil Dead), Lord Arthur, Cheryl Williams, and Ash Williams (Evil Dead 2) to quickly find our objectives, stay healed, and take down any Deadites.

Saber Interactive

But there are plenty of combinations and exploring them is part of the fun. Every character brings its own flair to Evil Dead: The Game. Although, it does seem to take a bit to level up a specific character. Evil Dead: The Game could use some sort of challenges to help players level up their characters more quickly and to give us an extra few objectives to work towards.

But this also poses a question about how powerful each of these characters and Kandarian Demons will be once fully leveled. It will be interesting to see down the road how this will affect the community.

This is survival horror at its best.

In the meantime, Evil Dead: The Game also has a variety of missions that draw inspiration from actual moments in the history of Evil Dead. Players can play through iconic moments in these five different movies, ranging from Evil Dead 2 to Ash vs. Evil Dead. It’s a lot of fun, but those thinking these are quick playthroughs may be surprised. These missions punish players that don’t come prepared and with a strategy. I recommend getting familiar with the game before attempting this mission, or you will end up frustrated.

Saber Interactive

Overall, Evil Dead: The Game is survival horror multiplayer at its best. Being a Survivor and Kandarian Demon is equally fun and rewarding. The Survivors are all well balanced, and it’s a treat to try them all. The Kandarian Demons are also a lot of fun, but it does feel like Eligos is a step above the other two in terms of power. Despite that, Evil Dead: The Game really shines, and I’m sure it will be a staple to many gaming libraries for quite some time. Especially since Saber Interactive has four DLC packs planned. We might even see some sort of collaboration with the upcoming movie Evil Dead Rise.