Based on the acclaimed horror franchise “Evil Dead,” four players fight against the forces of evil held within the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. Gear up and collect corrupt artifacts to seal away the darkness as you work together to battle a fifth player who controls the overwhelming demonic presence. “Evil Dead: The Game” allows players to team up against the horde, or take control of the deadites, and plunge Ash and his friends into evil in this asymmetrical multiplayer horror.
Whether you’re driving back the dead or pulling the strings of evil, the 4-versus-1 multiplayer experience has never been more compelling than it is in this faithful and fun homage to the “Evil Dead” franchise.
There are two different teams to play as in “Evil Dead: The Game,” meaning players can either take control of the Kandarian Demon and its armies or join friends in co-op as the forces of good as Ash Williams and his allies. Each team has its own roster of characters from the entire franchise of “Evil Dead,” with 13 survivors and three demonic armies to choose from.
These both have very different play styles, which is to be expected for those already familiar with asymmetrical multiplayer experiences. The survivors are split into four categories: leader, warrior, hunter and support. Each character has their own unique ability to bring to the fight, alongside a passive bonus such as higher health or more efficient healing depending on which category they belong to. Each character and demon also had a skill tree for me to explore, which allowed me to build their strengths to my choosing.
Each match takes place within one of two expansive maps, with the objectives and loot being placed in randomized locations. The scale of these areas are huge, and survivors have access to vehicles to help them traverse long distances and explore. I was happy to discover not only how large the map was, but how intricate the locations within it were. Pulling locations from the films like the Knowby cabin or places from the television adaptation such as El Brujo’s hut make these maps feel like a perfect merger of everything “Evil Dead.”
On the survivor side of the match, their objectives involve preparing a ritual to banish the demon and finding weapons to defend themselves. There are four stages that they must complete to win, with the match progressing as follows: collecting map fragments, locating the kandarian dagger and lost pages of the necronomicon, defeating the dark ones and protecting the necronomicon as the ritual concludes.
Melee is the bread and butter of combat, and each swing, slash or stab is crisp and impactful. There’s also plenty of stylish finishers that change with what weapon you’re using that are exciting to execute. Firearms, while strong in their own regard, are more scarce and require a skillful hand to ensure a healthy ammo supply.
I think the biggest struggle of playing survivor is coordinating with your teammates and learning where to look for items. Sometimes people will split up and do their own thing rather than sticking together to complete objectives, which can make it much harder to fight back against the presence of the demon. I think with some time though, people will begin to learn how to work together and how to find healing items and ammo in more plentiful supplies.
As for the demon player, the objectives are mostly just the flip side of the survivors. Prevent them from completing their task through any means necessary and ensuring their demise. This role isn’t so much a big boss as they are a mastermind, controlling the flow of the match through their presence. Most of the time, you’ll be flying around the map as a ghost, collecting infernal energy which can be used to spawn demons, possess objects, lay traps and so on. As the match progresses, the demon also grows more powerful and has their own skills to upgrade in similar fashion to the survivors. Demon players can take control of their own units, but may possess survivors as well, turning their friends against each other.
This role can be a bit overwhelming to new players and will undoubtedly take longer to master as you are fighting against four players rather than just one. However, there is so much fun to be had here once you get the hang of things as you become a master of terror. I personally had the most fun playing the Necromancer class of demon, which features Evil Ash and his army of skeleton deadites. Who wouldn’t enjoy the ability to summon a skeleton playing a flute that buffs surrounding demons, which is drawn directly from the film “The Evil Dead 3: Army Of Darkness.”
Outside of the multiplayer content, there are actually some single player modes as well. The most prominent being the missions section, which are small scenarios that draw inspiration from the shows and movies. While not a traditional “story mode,” these do provide some content for those looking for a narrative experience. These missions mostly serve as challenges that also unlock new characters and cosmetics that can be used within the multiplayer. This is a great incentive to check out the mode, with more missions being added on later down the road of development. These aren’t something that will be cleared with ease though, and actually provide ample amounts of difficulty. On some missions, I had to repeat multiple times before I was able to triumph against evil, but it only made it that much more satisfying when I did.
Beyond the missions mode, players also have the option of playing the multiplayer experience completely solo if they wish. This means that if you want to just play with AI teammates and opponents, you are free to do so. Or if you prefer, you can team up with other survivors against an AI demon, or create a session just for friends in a private match.
I really like the ability to play your own way, and even though I spent most of my time playing against other people, I appreciated being able to check out new characters or strategies in a less tense environment against the AI. One thing to keep in mind however is that the game does still require an internet connection at all times, so playing solo offline is not currently an option.
Fans of the “Evil Dead” franchise will find so much to love in this game, with faithful locations and authentic voice acting from the beloved Bruce Campbell as Ashley Williams. Even if you aren’t super familiar with the material, the game still functions well enough to warrant checking it out beyond already loving the horror films and shows. Film tie-in games have a history of being half baked cash grabs, and I’m happy to see that “Evil Dead: The Game” blew up that stereotype in favor of setting a new standard for the future.
