Earlier this month, Microsoft introduced the closure of 4 of its studios: Arkane Austin, Alpha Canine Video games, Roundhouse Video games, and Tango Gameworks. All could be shutting down, and all their future tasks placed on ice.
The latter, based by survival horror mastermind Shinji Mikami, had most lately launched the motion rhythm sport Hello-Fi Rush, and earlier than that, The Evil Inside and its sequel, The Evil Inside 2. There had been rumors of a 3rd sport within the sequence, however now that it appears these plans received’t ever come to fruition.
And that’s a disgrace as a result of The Evil Inside was a massively slept-on sequence. A 3rd sport may’ve lastly made it to that good horror peak that the earlier two had been so near reaching. Right here’s why The Evil Inside deserved a 3rd sport.
Underrated or a Resident Evil Rip-Off?
I’d be mendacity if I mentioned The Evil Inside set the gaming world alight at launch. The primary sport didn’t precisely break new floor when it was launched again in 2014. On the floor, it was only a generic rendition of the Resident Evil 4 survival horror components: taut, over-the-shoulder taking pictures, a give attention to ammo conservation, and hordes of zombified baddies consistently making an attempt to detach your hand with rusty farming tools. Even Sebastian Castellanos, the trenchcoat-wearing, chain-smoking protagonist, is a strolling cliché who at all times appears to have the identical bored, monotone response to no matter grotesque monstrosity is intent on consuming his innards. But, not like Resident Evil 4’s Leon S. Kennedy, Sebastian lacks a way of tacky, B-movie irony.
The place the sport got here into its personal was with its setting: the nightmarish unconscious of a serial killer. Assume Inception if it was a horror film, or Tarsem Singh’s The Cell however good. Utilizing a dreamlike setting, The Evil Inside was in a position to break the principles of degree design. Nothing is sensible, and the world round Sebastian is consistently morphing and altering. One second he’s in an deserted insane asylum, the following, a haunted Nineteenth-century mansion. Lots of the aesthetic was clearly influenced by Silent Hill’s rusty Otherworld, and whereas it by no means reaches the thematic heights of that sequence, it’s nonetheless a terrifying sport to discover.
Issues improved so much when The Evil Inside 2 was launched in 2017. Sebastian now had extra of an outlined persona, taking part in the a part of the vengeful father in search of his misplaced daughter. It wasn’t precisely The Final of Us, but it surely did so much to make gamers interact extra with their protagonist. The core gameplay was tightened up, bettering stealth and including a rudimentary crafting system. As an alternative of delving into the thoughts of a disturbed killer, you explored a semi-open-world American city whose inhabitants had no concept they had been collaborating in a dream simulation.
The sport was nonetheless principally a linear expertise, although there have been now facet missions to finish and extra alternatives for exploration. It wasn’t good; the writing nonetheless felt flat and a lot of the characters had been paper-thin, but it surely was the closest that Tango Gameworks got here to horror perfection.
What May’ve Been
It’s virtually sure that Tango Gameworks was engaged on The Evil Inside 3 earlier than Microsoft determined to drag the plug. After all, this has by no means been confirmed – and we’d by no means know – however there have been some hints {that a} third entry was someplace within the pipeline.
Essentially the most concrete indication we’ve had was in Tango Gameworks’ final sport, Hello-Fi Rush, the place an easter-egg teases “sequel to in style survival horror franchise introduced.” That is virtually definitely a reference to The Evil Inside. And on prime of that, Sebastian and his associate Joseph Oda cameo as robots within the sport – truthful, this isn’t a tease for a sequel, however at the very least we all know the builders hadn’t forgotten in regards to the franchise.
In a mysterious put up on Fb earlier within the 12 months, Shinji Mikami cryptically mentioned, “Possibly we’ll be again.” We nonetheless don’t if Mikami had plans to return to The Evil Inside, however this remark means that he was maybe open to returning to the franchise.
Third Time’s the Attraction?
With The Evil Inside 2, it felt as if Tango Gameworks was 90% of the way in which there when it got here to the core survival horror expertise. Given one other shot at it, they in all probability would’ve come near perfecting the components.
Nonetheless, a couple of issues would should be improved. Firstly, the characters and the plot may do with refining. Sebastian is the cool, gruff detective archetype, however apart from eager to rescue his daughter that’s as deep as he will get. The supporting solid is with an identical curse, principally simply taking part in the acquainted tropes that we’ve all seen earlier than. Essentially the most attention-grabbing characters had been the antagonists akin to Ravik and Stefano Valentini.
There are a number of unfastened plot threads from The Evil Inside 2 that would do with tying up, however I received’t point out them right here attributable to spoilers. Teally, the entire narrative may do with a revamp. There are some genuinely attention-grabbing ideas, particularly the entire concept of STEM permitting a number of minds and subconsciouses to be related. And MORBIUS, the shadowy company pulling the strings within the background: their motives might be fleshed out and improved upon as a result of in the mean time they’re simply the standard evil group hellbent on world domination.
A HORRORible Scenario
The unhappy reality is that it isn’t simple being a horror sport – simply take a look at Treatment Leisure’s Alan Wake 2. It obtained acclaim from followers and critics alike and proved that video games may be huge and visually gorgeous, but additionally unusual and esoteric, bridging the hole between triple-A goliaths and quirky indie titles. And what’s the reward for this? Effectively, regardless of being Treatment’s fastest-selling sport, Alan Wake 2 has reportedly nonetheless not made a revenue for the Finnish developer.
The identical may be mentioned for EA Motive’s Lifeless Area remake. The sport was a essential darling, once more impressing each followers and journalists, but EA reportedly canceled an unannounced remake of Lifeless Area 2 – arguably one of the best sport within the sequence – due to “lacklustre” gross sales of the remake.
The unhappy actuality is that video games are getting way more costly to make and horror video games simply aren’t worthwhile, particularly when in comparison with titans akin to EA Sports activities FC or Name of Obligation. Except you’re Resident Evil, a high-budget horror sport like The Evil Inside simply doesn’t appear to face an opportunity within the present local weather.
It’s a special story for indie titles. The wonderful sci-fi horror of Signalis and the claustrophobic Iron Lung present that lower-budget horror is the place it’s at. Video games like these show {that a} huge funds and fancy graphics aren’t wanted to make a basic. On this planet of indie video games, extra dangers are allowed to be taken, and risk-taking is what horror video games have to succeed. Nevertheless, being dangerous doesn’t at all times equal being worthwhile. When it comes all the way down to it, that’s all that issues to publishers.
Whereas the shelving of The Evil Inside sequence is a setback for followers, it underscores a bigger concern inside the gaming trade: the precarious steadiness between creativity and business viability. I hope this isn’t an indication of issues to return. Whereas cornerstone franchises like Resident Evil and Silent Hill are having fun with revivals and remakes, unique survival horror IPs like The Evil Inside appear to be struggling to discover a place available in the market. In the end, if nobody is shopping for them, nobody goes to fund them.
In case you’re within the temper for extra horror, verify our checklist of 10 horror video games releasing in 2024.