Before I start.... I felt it was relevant to say I never played very far into RE4... in fact I only played a few levels in on the Wii version that came out in 2007... so I had no super high expectations for this game like so many die hard RE4 fans did....
I dont write reviews anymore, and this isnt going to be an actual review... but I just needed to express some love for The Evil Within. I loved this game, thoroughly. All 19.5 hours I played it. It was often tense, grueling, and always challenging... but the game never out stayed it's welcome.
The story is... well, half the time I didnt know what the hell was going on. It was always captivating enough, and the cutscenes were never a bore... but I didnt quite follow the story 100%. I got the gist enough even though I wasnt able to follow it, but frankly the game is so fun I didnt care. The writing is quite horrible, and Sebastion is completely out of touch with everything that is going on around him, but I thought that adds some unintentional charm to the game.
The gameplay is so solid. The pacing is perfect. 19 hours is a long time to play a linear single player game, but the entire time I kept pushing to see what was around the corner. The Evil Within is challenging, and there were multiple times where I wasnt sure I would actually be able to over come what I was up against.... I thought I would have to replay the entire chapter to surpass just one check point.... but I never did. The IGN review said it best... "the game often makes you think the odds are stacked against you when really they are not" - that's the truth.
The graphics are great. The sound is great. The game is challenging, and while I dont think it was often a "scary" experience (doesnt hold a candle to Outlast in that regard) - it was super fun, challenging, and intense.
After it's all said and done... I didnt expect to love The Evil Within as much as I did... but after lots of consideration, I have to say it's probably my game of the year 2014. No other game grabbed me like this one did.
Here's hoping for another violent sequel.