Is Evil Dead: The Game Worth Playing? (REVIEW)

The Evil Dead Series is one of the most celebrated horror series ever created, even if they’re pretty campy. Hell, Ash Williams having a chainsaw hand that he uses to fight against the forces of Evil is pretty gnarly, to the point where it’s a bit weird that we haven’t seen a proper game for the series yet. Thankfully though, this mistake is rectified with the release of Evil Dead: The Game.

What Is The Evil Dead: The Game?

Evil Dead: The Game is a 3rd-person survival horror game that takes inspiration from the critically acclaimed Evil Dead franchise. Saber Interactive both created and published the game and has co-op gameplay and PvE, and asymmetrical PvP combat. In addition to this, there’s some pretty good star power on it as well, with returning faces like Bruce Campbell and Dana DeLorenzo taking their previous roles as Ash Williams and Kelly Maxwell. It’s pretty nice to see them on the Evil Dead game overall, but we’ll talk about that later.

Evil Dead: The Game’s release date was on May 13, 2022. As for the Evil Dead: The Game’s platforms, it is playable on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via the Epic Games Store. There’s going to be a Nintendo Switch version though the release date for the Nintendo Switch version is still unknown.

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Evil Dead: The Game Review

Gameplay

If you’re familiar with Dead by Daylight then you’ll definitely have a pretty good idea on the gameplay of Evil Dead: The Game. Mostly. This is more on the fact that Evil Dead: The Game is an asymmetrical multiplayer game with the survivors getting the ability to fight back against the demons. However, the demons can also summon lesser demons to harry and damage the survivors.

All in all, it’s a more complicated version of Dead by Daylight and there are a few things that need to be taken into account. However, let’s talk more about the general gameplay for a bit, specifically, what you do outside of a match.

The moment the player starts the Evil Dead: The Game for the first time, they’ll get 1 skill point automatically for each character. The skills that each character has, both survivor and demon are pretty unique and can give players great buffs. This makes it a good idea to spend any skill points immediately to get an immediate edge.

The next thing to take into account is the fact that players need to finish a match to gain EXP and rewards. Those guys who are poor sports and leave before the match finishes will immediately forfeit all rewards that they’re liable to gain. Thus, finishing matches is a good idea to get EXP and level up, and thus, get skill points to level skills.

Controls

Controls on The Evil Dead: The Game tends to be a bit on the finicky side of things, but it’s pretty manageable. The finicky parts of the controls are mostly due to a bit of jank on some of the terrain. The survivors have the short end of the stick for this one, as the Kandarian Demons can usually fly over any terrain issues. In addition to this, the lack of a lock-on system can be frustrating, and even downright debilitating or run-ending. After all, if you can’t lock on a particular enemy to cut its head off, you’ll be left vulnerable to a counterattack, or worse, possession. Other than that, Evil Dead: The Game is pretty good and can be played on both keyboard and controller for PC.

Both Survivors and Demons have different control layouts fitting for their unique abilities. For example, Survivors can communicate by holding down the L1 key on PlayStation and the LB key on Xbox. However, the Kandarian Demon uses the same keys to possess and unpossess survivors and other things like cars. It’s highly recommended to go through the game’s tutorial for both Survivor and Kandarian Demon to know how to play the game properly. Once that’s done, you’re pretty much good to go.

Combat

Combat on Evil Dead: The Game is dictated by what your role is. If you’re a Survivor, you can do some vicious melee attacks in addition to some ranged methods of dealing damage. The main objective of the Survivors is to survive and seal off the portal. To do this, they need to work together in a kind, sort of, squad-based combat, running around as a team and looking for weaponry and materials to further your team’s goal of defeating evil. Each of the characters in Evil Dead: The Game has their unique abilities and weaponry to feel distinct, and players will need everything they have to win.

The Kandarian Demon, on the other hand, can do a lot of things to harry and defeat the various Survivors. At least, when he gets to peak strength. To do this, the Kandarian Demons must use various demonic summons, traps, and possessions to scare or even separate the Survivors. When done correctly, the Kandarian Demon will grow stronger as it gathers more Fear. Once it reaches a threshold, good luck killing the Demon or finishing the run. The Survivors will need to bring their very best to survive the encounter and win.

Characters

Once the player’s done the tutorial and knows how to control both the Survivors and Kandarian Demons both, it’s time to pick a character of choice. The Survivors are divided into 4 classes, the Hunters, Leaders, Supports, and Warriors. Meanwhile, the Deadites are divided into the Necromancers, Warlords, and Puppeteers classes. Ash Williams has 5 iterations of himself in this game, 4 Survivor versions, and a Deadite version. Either way, it’s all in good fun. For us, not for the Survivors.

Survivors And Their Classes

Hunters

Amanda Fisher: Michigan State Police detective and main character of the Ash vs. Evil Dead first season. She is s more powerful with a pistol as it gives her increased attack speed and more damage. Consecutive hits with ranged weaponry increase the damage that she deals with enemy Deadites. Lastly, she can fire ranged weapons without eating through ammo as her special ability.
Kelly Maxwell: ValueStop employee turned demon killer. Once possessed by Eligos but thanks to the sacrifice of Pablo’s uncle, was turned back into a human. Can inflict bleed from any ranged attacks after dodging, and grows more dangerous the longer she’s in a melee.
Ed Getley: Annie Knowby’s boyfriend and one of the finders of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis and the Kandarian Dagger. Excels in fighting with range weaponry and can easily disarm demonic traps through the use of a special flashlight. Passively gives his teammates a better chance of finding higher-quality weaponry.
Ash Williams (Evil Dead 2): Ash Williams as himself on Evil Dead 2, more scarred, angrier at Deadites, and with a shotgun. Hunter Ash starts with his trusty boomstick, and he uses it way better compared to other Survivors. In addition, his passive allows him to sense supply crates even through walls and can expel the Kandarian Demon from allies or other Deadites.

Support

Cheryl Williams: Ash Williams’ younger sister was shown in the original Evil Dead movie. A Support character that reduces Fear levels and restores HP to Survivors near her by drinking Shemp’s Cola. Also has a unique skill that creates a healing zone to restore HP to nearby survivors.
Ash Williams (Evil Dead): Ash Williams as himself during the events of the first Evil Dead. No chainsaw for one of his hands yet here. As a support character, he can reduce the Fear levels of nearby survivors, and heavy attacks on Demons can heal some HP to nearby allies.
Pablo Simon Bolivar: Another Valuestop Employee turned demon killer like his girlfriend Kelly Maxwell. Was once corrupted by the Necronomicon but turned back into a human by becoming a Brujo. When a match starts, he gets an amulet for free. In addition to this, he’s invisible to the Kandarian Demon and can make more amulets with his special skill.

Leaders

Annie Knowby: Professor Knowby’s daughter and fellow archeologist who found the missing pages of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. This… didn’t end well for her. In Evil Dead: The Game, she uses this knowledge to detect the various items needed to close the Kandarian portals. In addition to this, she also increases the ranged damage fellow Survivors deal to their enemies near her.
Lord Arthur: No, this isn’t KING Arthur, this is LORD Arthur, the Lord Protector of Castle Kandar. He makes an appearance on Army of Darkness and is pretty badass all told when fighting against the forces of Evil. Anyhow, he’s a powerful Leader character that increases the melee damage of other Survivors near him. In addition, if he goes into full rage mode he increases resistance to Fear and damage output of any Survivors near him.
Ash Williams (Ash vs. Evil Dead): Ash Williams with his signature chainsaw hand after his normal hand was cut off after a fit of madness. Not that it slowed him down much. Any survivors near Ash Williams benefit from increased Fear resistance and increased damage output. In addition, if Ash does his finishers or dismembers an enemy, this aura effect is enhanced.

Warriors

Scotty: Ash’s best friend makes an appearance on Evil Dead: The Game and he comes with his trusty lumberjack axe. A destructive melee specialist that can decimate Deadites with heavy splash damage, and a hefty reduction to his Fear with every kill. His unique skill allows him to do a powerful AoE blast that damages enemies.
Ash Williams (Army of Darkness): This is Ash Williams after a jaunt of time travel on Army of Darkness, and he’s pretty badass all told. He’s very resilient, incredibly strong, and can heal himself when doing heavy attacks. In addition, he has a shield that explodes and deals damage to enemies when it’s destroyed.
Henry the Red: The Lord of the Northlands and Duke of Shade makes an appearance on Evil Dead: The Game. Henry the Red is an absolute juggernaut who makes it his goal to be in the front and be an annoyance to the Deadites. His HP and Shield are bigger compared to other Survivors and his active ability makes him invulnerable to damage temporarily. He also has a rebound effect, as any enemies that attack him will be damaged in turn.

Demons and Their Classes

Now that we’ve talked about the Survivors, let’s talk about the various Demons. When playing as the Demons, the player has 3 classes to choose from. These are the Puppeteer, the Warlord, and the Necromancer. Each class has 3 variants, the Basic, the Elite, and the Boss.

Puppeteers

Deadite Berserker (Basic): The basic unit of the Puppeteer class is a genuine threat in the early game. It’s fast and can explode at will, damaging the Survivors. In addition to this, they can use their own decapitated heads as a ranged explosive attack. This demon’s main weaknesses are its low HP and ass defense.
Demi Eligos (Elite): Next is Demi Eligos, the Elite unit of the Puppeteer class. They’re very resistant to ranged attacks and Survivors need to deplete their balance bar to inflict knockback. They can also clone into weaker versions of themselves as well as fire a telekinetic blast.
Eligos (Boss): The Boss unit of the Puppeteer class is an absolute nightmare to face for the unprepared. Not only can he use his telekinetic power to deal damage, but he can stun them temporarily as well. If he’s not attacking Survivors and is just moving, he can turn invisible and he cannot be knocked back. He can be stunned when his balance bar is depleted fully though. His ultimate ability is Psycho Squeeze, where he telekinetically immobilizes and damages a Survivor.

Warlords

Deadite (Basic): The basic Deadite isn’t usually a massive threat by themselves. However, they’re usually in various groups and can surround Survivors pretty easily. In addition to this, they can actually dodge attacks, can rip off their own arms to use as a weapon, and can sometimes spawn with an axe.
Deadite Elite (Elite): Pretty much a more powerful version of the Basic Deadite. They’re more resistant to HP and Balance damage but move slower. However, they can deal with multiple survivors at once. Last but not the least, their blood splatter blinds Survivors near them when they’re hit by a melee attack.
Henrietta (Boss): The beloved wife of Professor Knowby ain’t that loving anymore as she’s the boss of the Warlord class. Her strength is incredible, she’s tough and has a huge HP pool, leaves a trail of toxic fumes, and can… hug a Survivor, squeezing their head until they die. Pretty gruesome.

Necromancers

Skeletons (Basic): If you’ve ever played any game with a skeleton warrior, then you’ve pretty much seen them all. In Evil Dead: The Game though, these guys are pretty tough. They have shields that they can use to block Survivor attacks and can unleash a loud War Cry that damages survivors around them and inflict knockback. Do note though that they can lose their shields when their Balance bar’s gone.
Elite Skeletons (Elite): A tougher version of the basic skeleton, and has the same perks and abilities that they have, with one exception. Elite Skeletons spawn with a trident that they can use to smash Survivors as well as the Trident Toss ability which replaces War Cry. It does exactly what it says on the tin and deals a hefty amount of damage when it hits a Survivor.
Evil Ash (Boss): Last but not the least is Evil Ash, his evil twin, literally, and commander of the Army of Darkness. Evil Ash goes into the fray with his sword and can resurrect dead skeletons. He’s invulnerable to knockback but can be stunned when his balance bar is depleted. His ultimate ability is Infernal Invigoration, which makes him choke a Survivor and deals damage while also healing him.

Graphics

Graphics-wise, Evil Dead: The Game is a marked improvement from other games like it. It looks better, and the various characters all look great and similar enough to their movie counterparts. The atmosphere alone is straight killer, and the horror of the Kandarian Demons and Deadites is emphasized in their art style.

Story

Story-wise, Evil Dead: The Game is pretty typical and takes its cues from the movies. However, if the player wants legitimate story-mode content, then they probably shouldn’t look on the multiplayer mode. Instead, they should look at the game’s Single Player mode, the Missions List.

Single Player

Evil Dead: The Game has a single-player mode that’s kind of, sort of, a campaign that puts players on different Evil Dead maps. One thing to take note of is that some characters can only be unlocked by completing various single-player missions, so it’s a good idea to play them. The Mission List, as it’s called, allows players to relive some of Ash William’s most famous moments, and each has their own unique missions. Overall, if you’re looking for a bit of a break from multiplayer, the Mission List is there to keep you company.

Games Similar To Evil Dead: The Game

Now that we’ve talked about Evil Dead: The Game, let’s talk about other games like it. We’ll start with Dead by Daylight, followed by Aliens: Fireteam Elite. And lastly, Predator: Hunting Grounds.

Dead by Daylight

First off on this list is Dead by Daylight, which makes sense since it’s also an asymmetrical multiplayer horror game like Evil Dead: The Game. The main difference here is that the Survivor team can’t attack or even fight back against the game’s myriad of killers. Their only option is to run and hide, which adds an extra sliver of terror into the mix.

Unlike in Evil Dead: The Game, the survivor’s goal is to try and escape. They can do this by powering up 5 generators scattered on a pretty small map. Once this is done, they need to go to either of the 2 exit gates and open them. Once they all get out, they win. In addition to this, a single player can escape if they manage to find a key on a chest and an exit chute. However, they’re pretty rare, and the exit chutes are usually pretty far from the keys.

It also doesn’t help the Survivors that the killer can and will go around and try to kill them all. Each of Dead by Daylight’s myriad of killers has their own unique abilities that they can use to kill the various survivors. These range from teleporting via TV static, to even sensing where the Survivors are hiding. All in all, Dead by Daylight is a game of cat and mouse, with the mouse constantly trying to hide from the incredibly dangerous cat.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite

2nd on this list is Aliens: Fireteam Elite which isn’t an asymmetrical multiplayer game but is instead a 3rd-person shooter. The main thing in this game is 3 players fighting off and killing swarms of Xenomorphs while accomplishing various missions on its 4 Story Campaigns. Pretty gnarly stuff and very cathartic to see the various Xenomorphs die if we’re being honest.

Predator: Hunting Grounds

Last but not least is Predator: Hunting Grounds. If you’re being observant, you’ll probably notice a bit of a trend here in that 2 of the 3 games we’ve recommended are asymmetrical multiplayer games. However, this is mostly because both games are very similar, with a bit of a twist in them. In the case of Predator: Hunting Grounds, 4 players play as a Special Operations team by the name of Fireteam Voodoo. Their job? To go through difficult jungle terrain and accomplish several missions while fighting off enemies.

Sad for them though, they’re being hunted by the Predator, played by the 5th player whose job is to hunt down and kill off the Fireteam. The Predator is fast, can turn invisible, and has a variety of weapons that they can use to kill off the Fireteam if they’re not careful. All in all, pretty similar to Evil Dead: The Game, but based on a different series.

Try Out Evil Dead: The Game Today

All in all, Evil Dead: The Game is a great asymmetrical Horror Game that pays homage to the series it takes inspiration from. There are a lot of cool references to the movies in addition to being an overall fun game to play. There are a few janky things here and there like vaulting over terrain and not being able to jump over small pebbles in some areas. But other than that, the game is great and can be played with either friends or with random strangers. Just make sure you all know your roles in the fight though.