The Evil Within is a criminally underrated and awesome stealth action-horror game that deserves way more love than it got. It's by no means a perfect game as some questionable design decisions and frustratingly tough sections can hamper what is a really fantastic and intense experience that's full of intense, challenging fights as well terrifying stealth and chase segments. It's a game I've found action-packed and terrifying on both an atmospheric and mechanical level. Word of warning; yes Shinji Mikami worked on this and Resident Evil 4 is amazing but don't bother trying to play this game like that because it's a VERY different game - no roundhouse kicks and uppercuts here. This is a Steam review so bullet points for days:

Pros:
*Awesome psychological story - mysterious, weird and creepy, not everything is told, you'll have to piece a good bit of it yourself.
*Fantastic gameplay - from fighting hordes of monstrosities with meaty gunplay to sneaking around insta-kill bosses looking to find the perfect strike to frightening, heart-pounding chase scenes against a handful of unkillable horrors.
*Well-rounded mechanics - Whether you prefer stealth, combat or being a coward, the game design around all aspects is nicely balanced, making all play styles possible (I like my shooty bang bang approach).
*Very challenging - from waves of powerful monsters to difficult stealth (the stealth really is that hard, I've never cleared a single section with pure stealth in both of my playthroughs - it's fun trying though), this game never pulls a single punch.
*Looks beautiful - this runs on idTech 5, the same engine as RAGE and that looked like arse; need I say more?
*Disgustingly beautiful art style - I love grotesque and macabre monsters and locations in my horror games a lot.
*Item management - you may have guns and other doohickeys but ammo and health items are severely limited, you're always running out of ammo which forces players to adapt to the situation via stealth, running away or hiding.
*Good level variety - It's not always from A to B, sometimes you'll have to survive waves of enemies or explore an area to solve puzzles or you'll be forced through a tough scenario against an enemy that cannot die; it's not afraid to throw player into new scenarios around the core gameplay and that makes each chapter distinct from each other. Chapter 9 even comes with a call back to Resident Evil 1 with its own miniature Spencer Mansion with a great deal to explore.
*Awesome soundtrack and sound design - very reminiscent of Silent Hill 1, tons of creepy industrial banging, horrific moans, lovely weapon sounds and all that jazz. You'll be surprised how much the music can do for those chase scenes.
*Great length - I'm not one of those gamers who believe every game has to be a whole saga but 15-20 hours on your first run is pretty great and necessary for fleshing out the world and characters, it took me about 16 on my first run and 13 on my second and I prefer a combat approach; it will definitely take much longer if you focus on stealth, fleeing and hiding.
*Highly replayable - new game+ is arguably better than the first run now that you have the necessary upgrades where you can just enjoy yourself the second time through. You will also unlock new weapons and difficulty modes.
*Fair price point - £15/$20 for this hidden gem is a steal and definitely worth the asking price, the DLC is very cheap too and I have heard it's good stuff.

Cons:
*Frustrating to begin with - with a mimumum damage output, flimsy health bar, tiny ammo pool, pathetic melee and the sprinting ability of a 100 year old disabled granny; starting out without the upgrades can be VERY rough indeed.
*Unavoidable grab attacks - a lot of enemies have grab attacks and they are completely unavoidable when you're right up in their face (it's very easy otherwise) as the attack frames are way to unforgiving and you are unable to break free from the Haunted that carry weapons, forcing you to suffer massive damage.
*One-hit kills - when done right with the proper amount of wind up and plenty of opportunity to dodge, they can make certain enemies and situations terrifying and they are for the most part; however there are parts of the game where they're way too hard to avoid.
*♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ crossbow arseholes are massive ♥♥♥♥♥ - probably the worst enemy design I've seen in a game for a very long time, certain Haunted can be tough with hard-to-deal with weaponry and armour but none of them beat the crossbow guys who can shoot sticky explosive bolts into you with terrifying accuracy and rate of fire and will effectively try to stun-lock you until you're dead. Utterly atrocious - thankfully you'll encounter roughly six or so in the entire game.
*Is this game Haunted? - There's a good number of fun and interesting such as The Keeper, AlterEgo, the invisible dudes and one particularly famous monster that all sadly gets hardly any game time at all as there's way too much of a focus on the common Haunted enemies, they're fun but it's like how Lost Planet 2 focused on dudes with guns rather than the awesome Akrid.
*Tricks And Traps - this game is FULL of traps and unlike Resident Evil 4, Tango Gameworks made them fiendishly difficult to see this time around - from explosive trip mines in a dark village at night to bear traps completely hidden in murky water full of poo. It gets really mean sometimes.
*Horror is subjective - different things scare us and The Evil Within is probably not going to scratch that itch if you're looking for a true horror game to scare the daylights out of you; it's called action horror for a reason.
*Performance - while the game runs at 60fps the vast majority of the time for me, there are points where it very rarely drops or suffers from microstutter; my rig is pretty beastly so expect plenty of hiccups on weaker hardware.

I totally recommend The Evil Within wholeheartedly - just know that it might be a rough ride on your first time through and you'll probably have even more fun in new game+. To me it nails the action and the horror the vast majority of the time and backed up with an engaging, crazy story makes it all the more entertaining and is definitely a go to for me whenever I feel up for a good ol' action horror. If you're into the more recent Resident Evil games including 4, Dead Space, Cold Fear and any other game in the action horror genre then The Evil Within is absolutely worth playing.

The Evil Within is a criminally underrated and awesome stealth action-horror game that deserves way more love than it got. It's by no means a perfect game as some questionable design decisions and frustratingly tough sections can hamper what is a really fantastic and intense experience that's full of intense, challenging fights as well terrifying stealth and chase segments. It's a game I've found action-packed and terrifying on both an atmospheric and mechanical level. Word of warning; yes Shinji Mikami worked on this and Resident Evil 4 is amazing but don't bother trying to play this game like that because it's a VERY different game - no roundhouse kicks and uppercuts here. This is a Steam review so bullet points for days: Pros: *Awesome psychological story - mysterious, weird and creepy, not everything is told, you'll have to piece a good bit of it yourself. *Fantastic gameplay - from fighting hordes of monstrosities with meaty gunplay to sneaking around insta-kill bosses looking to find the perfect strike to frightening, heart-pounding chase scenes against a handful of unkillable horrors. *Well-rounded mechanics - Whether you prefer stealth, combat or being a coward, the game design around all aspects is nicely balanced, making all play styles possible (I like my shooty bang bang approach). *Very challenging - from waves of powerful monsters to difficult stealth (the stealth really is that hard, I've never cleared a single section with pure stealth in both of my playthroughs - it's fun trying though), this game never pulls a single punch. *Looks beautiful - this runs on idTech 5, the same engine as RAGE and that looked like arse; need I say more? *Disgustingly beautiful art style - I love grotesque and macabre monsters and locations in my horror games a lot. *Item management - you may have guns and other doohickeys but ammo and health items are severely limited, you're always running out of ammo which forces players to adapt to the situation via stealth, running away or hiding. *Good level variety - It's not always from A to B, sometimes you'll have to survive waves of enemies or explore an area to solve puzzles or you'll be forced through a tough scenario against an enemy that cannot die; it's not afraid to throw player into new scenarios around the core gameplay and that makes each chapter distinct from each other. Chapter 9 even comes with a call back to Resident Evil 1 with its own miniature Spencer Mansion with a great deal to explore. *Awesome soundtrack and sound design - very reminiscent of Silent Hill 1, tons of creepy industrial banging, horrific moans, lovely weapon sounds and all that jazz. You'll be surprised how much the music can do for those chase scenes. *Great length - I'm not one of those gamers who believe every game has to be a whole saga but 15-20 hours on your first run is pretty great and necessary for fleshing out the world and characters, it took me about 16 on my first run and 13 on my second and I prefer a combat approach; it will definitely take much longer if you focus on stealth, fleeing and hiding. *Highly replayable - new game+ is arguably better than the first run now that you have the necessary upgrades where you can just enjoy yourself the second time through. You will also unlock new weapons and difficulty modes. *Fair price point - £15/$20 for this hidden gem is a steal and definitely worth the asking price, the DLC is very cheap too and I have heard it's good stuff. Cons: *Frustrating to begin with - with a mimumum damage output, flimsy health bar, tiny ammo pool, pathetic melee and the sprinting ability of a 100 year old disabled granny; starting out without the upgrades can be VERY rough indeed. *Unavoidable grab attacks - a lot of enemies have grab attacks and they are completely unavoidable when you're right up in their face (it's very easy otherwise) as the attack frames are way to unforgiving and you are unable to break free from the Haunted that carry weapons, forcing you to suffer massive damage. *One-hit kills - when done right with the proper amount of wind up and plenty of opportunity to dodge, they can make certain enemies and situations terrifying and they are for the most part; however there are parts of the game where they're way too hard to avoid. *Fucking crossbow arseholes are massive dicks - probably the worst enemy design I've seen in a game for a very long time, certain Haunted can be tough with hard-to-deal with weaponry and armour but none of them beat the crossbow guys who can shoot sticky explosive bolts into you with terrifying accuracy and rate of fire and will effectively try to stun-lock you until you're dead. Utterly atrocious - thankfully you'll encounter roughly six or so in the entire game. *Is this game Haunted? - There's a good number of fun and interesting such as The Keeper, AlterEgo, the invisible dudes and one particularly famous monster that all sadly gets hardly any game time at all as there's way too much of a focus on the common Haunted enemies, they're fun but it's like how Lost Planet 2 focused on dudes with guns rather than the awesome Akrid. *Tricks And Traps - this game is FULL of traps and unlike Resident Evil 4, Tango Gameworks made them fiendishly difficult to see this time around - from explosive trip mines in a dark village at night to bear traps completely hidden in murky water full of poo. It gets really mean sometimes. *Horror is subjective - different things scare us and The Evil Within is probably not going to scratch that itch if you're looking for a true horror game to scare the daylights out of you; it's called action horror for a reason. *Performance - while the game runs at 60fps the vast majority of the time for me, there are points where it very rarely drops or suffers from microstutter; my rig is pretty beastly so expect plenty of hiccups on weaker hardware. I totally recommend The Evil Within wholeheartedly - just know that it might be a rough ride on your first time through and you'll probably have even more fun in new game+. To me it nails the action and the horror the vast majority of the time and backed up with an engaging, crazy story makes it all the more entertaining and is definitely a go to for me whenever I feel up for a good ol' action horror. If you're into the more recent Resident Evil games including 4, Dead Space, Cold Fear and any other game in the action horror genre then The Evil Within is absolutely worth playing.