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The Evil Within

PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 • 2014

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Quick resume

Developed by Shinji Mikami -- creator of the seminal Resident Evil series -- and the talented team at Tango Gameworks, The Evil Within embodies the meaning of pure survival horror. Highly-crafted environments, horrifying anxiety, and an intricate story are combined to create an immersive world that will bring you to the height of tension.

Global score

85/100

Genres

Action, Adventure, Shooter, Puzzle

Similar games

    Pros

    • Strong horror atmosphere
    • Challenging survival gameplay
    • Engaging and complex story
    • Varied and atmospheric environments
    • Meaningful progression and upgrades

    Cons

    • Technical bugs and optimization issues
    • Clunky controls and camera
    • Some difficulty spikes frustrating
    • Story can be confusing without dlc
    • Lack of official localization

    Motivations

    • Autonomy

      Game with the same Autonomy vibe

      3

      "Players can choose from multiple classes with distinct playstyles and customize their characters and weapons, allowing personal control over gameplay decisions."

      Capsule for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

      "Players can choose different combat styles, stealth or direct combat, and upgrade character and weapons with collected resources, allowing personal playstyle decisions."

    • Competence

      Game with the same Competence vibe

      4

      "Game involves skillful aiming, dodging, and strategic use of abilities with challenging enemy patterns and bosses."

      Capsule for Halls of Torment: Prelude Halls of Torment: Prelude

      "The game demands skillful resource management, precise aiming, and strategic use of stealth and traps, with challenging enemies and bosses providing tests of player ability."

    • Competition

      Game with the same Competition vibe

      -5

      "The game is single-player focused with no competitive elements or leaderboards; players engage at their own pace without comparison to others."

      Capsule for Yomawari: Midnight Shadows Yomawari: Midnight Shadows

      "The game is single-player focused with no competitive or leaderboard elements; players engage at their own pace without comparison to others."

    • Continuation

      Game with the same Continuation vibe

      3

      "Players engage in repeated playthroughs (NG+), grinding, and exploring to improve gear and skills, showing attachment and habitual play."

      Capsule for The Surge The Surge

      "Multiple playthroughs encouraged by NG+ mode, DLC expansions, and collectible upgrades foster habitual and repeated engagement."

    • Cooperation

      Game with the same Cooperation vibe

      -5

      "Entirely single-player experience with no cooperative gameplay or multiplayer elements."

      Capsule for The Samaritan Paradox The Samaritan Paradox

      "Entirely single-player experience with no cooperative gameplay or multiplayer elements."

    • Creativity

      Game with the same Creativity vibe

      3

      "Players can creatively approach combat and exploration using various weapons, stealth, environmental tactics, and crafting."

      Capsule for Far Cry 3 Far Cry 3

      "Players creatively use environment, traps, and various weapons with upgrade paths to approach combat and exploration in multiple ways."

    • Domination

      Game with the same Domination vibe

      -5

      "No social dominance or power over others; interactions are limited to single-player challenges."

      Capsule for DreadOut: Keepers of The Dark DreadOut: Keepers of The Dark

      "No social dominance or power over others; interactions are limited to single-player challenges."

    • Escapism

      Game with the same Escapism vibe

      4

      "Strong immersion in a dark, surreal world offering escape from reality through psychological horror and story."

      Capsule for The Cat Lady The Cat Lady

      "Strong immersion in a dark, surreal horror world provides psychological escape from reality and intense emotional engagement."

    • Expectation

      Game with the same Expectation vibe

      -4

      "Players engage voluntarily driven by curiosity and intrinsic interest in survival horror experience."

      Capsule for Darkwood Darkwood

      "Players engage voluntarily driven by intrinsic interest in survival horror and exploration rather than obligation or external pressure."

    • Experimenting

      Game with the same Experimenting vibe

      3

      "Game encourages trying different tactics, weapon upgrades, and stealth or action playstyles."

      Capsule for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction™ Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction™

      "Encourages trying different tactics, stealth versus combat, and experimenting with weapon upgrades and resource usage."

    • Exploration

      Game with the same Exploration vibe

      3

      "Exploration of varied and richly designed environments with hidden items and collectibles."

      Capsule for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition

      "Exploration of varied and atmospheric environments with hidden collectibles and secrets is rewarded and encouraged."

    • Expression

      Game with the same Expression vibe

      1

      "Limited character customization beyond upgrades; no avatar personalization or cosmetic modifications."

      Capsule for Hard Reset Redux Hard Reset Redux

      "Limited character customization mainly through upgrades; no avatar personalization or cosmetic modifications."

    • Fantasy

      Game with the same Fantasy vibe

      4

      "Strong surreal and psychological horror elements with dreamlike, imaginative fiction and symbolic storytelling."

      Capsule for Decarnation Decarnation

      "Strongly rooted in surreal, psychological horror fiction with nightmarish creatures and distorted realities."

    • Fellowship

      Game with the same Fellowship vibe

      -5

      "Single-player experience with minimal social interaction or community involvement."

      Capsule for The Last of Us™ Part I The Last of Us™ Part I

      "Single-player experience with minimal social interaction or community involvement."

    • Growth

      Game with the same Growth vibe

      4

      "Players develop skills and knowledge through learning enemy patterns and upgrading character abilities."

      Capsule for DarkMaus DarkMaus

      "Players develop skills and abilities through upgrade systems, learning enemy patterns and strategies."

    • Health

      Game with the same Health vibe

      -5

      "Sedentary gameplay with no physical activity or rehabilitation elements."

      Capsule for Dolls Nest Dolls Nest

      "Sedentary gameplay with no physical activity or health-related rehabilitation elements."

    • Idle

      Game with the same Idle vibe

      -3

      "Requires focused attention and continuous engagement due to tense and fast-paced gameplay."

      Capsule for Granny 3 Granny 3

      "Requires focused attention and continuous engagement due to challenging gameplay and tense atmosphere."

    • Intimacy

      Game with the same Intimacy vibe

      -5

      "No close social relationships or emotional sharing; solitary gameplay experience."

      Capsule for Monstrum Monstrum

      "No close social relationships or emotional sharing; solitary gameplay experience."

    • Leadership

      Game with the same Leadership vibe

      -5

      "No leadership or group management elements; player acts independently."

      Capsule for Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping

      "No leadership or group management elements; player acts independently."

    • Progression

      Game with the same Progression vibe

      4

      "Strong progression through acquiring items, mutators, and character upgrades."

      Capsule for Urtuk: The Desolation Urtuk: The Desolation

      "Strong progression through collecting green gel to upgrade character stats, weapons, and inventory capacity."

    • Relaxation

      Game with the same Relaxation vibe

      -3

      "Sustained tension and stress from hostile environment and survival challenges dominate the experience."

      Capsule for The Forest The Forest

      "Sustained tension and stress due to resource scarcity, difficult enemies, and horror atmosphere."

    • Sensation

      Game with the same Sensation vibe

      3

      "Engaging audiovisuals, gore effects, and atmospheric sound design provide sensory stimulation."

      Capsule for Dead Reset Dead Reset

      "Engaging sensory experience with detailed graphics, sound design, gore effects, and atmospheric music."

    • Status

      Game with the same Status vibe

      -5

      "No social recognition or status systems; achievements are personal and not publicly ranked."

      Capsule for Bad North: Jotunn Edition Bad North: Jotunn Edition

      "No social recognition or status systems; achievements are personal and not publicly ranked."

    • Story

      Game with the same Story vibe

      4

      "Narrative immersion with ongoing plot, character development, and lore integrated into gameplay."

      Capsule for Scrutinized Scrutinized

      "Narrative immersion with a complex, fragmented story that unfolds through gameplay, collectibles, and DLC expansions."

    • Strategy

      Game with the same Strategy vibe

      4

      "Requires planning, tactical combat, puzzle solving, and resource management."

      Capsule for Legend of Grimrock Legend of Grimrock

      "Requires planning and problem solving in combat, resource management, stealth, and puzzle solving."

    • Thrill

      Game with the same Thrill vibe

      4

      "High tension and suspense from difficult encounters, risk of death, and unpredictable enemy behavior."

      Capsule for Zorbus Zorbus

      "High suspense and thrill from tense encounters, limited resources, and unpredictable enemy behavior."

    • Value

      Game with the same Value vibe

      4

      "Offers extensive content, free DLC, and replayability for a reasonable price."

      Capsule for 暖雪 Warm Snow 暖雪 Warm Snow

      "Offers substantial content with main game plus DLCs, replayability through NG+, and long playtime for price."

    • Violence

      Game with the same Violence vibe

      5

      "Enjoyment of combat and gore with brutal enemy kills, blood splatter, and environmental hazards."

      Capsule for They Bleed Pixels They Bleed Pixels

      "Enjoyment of combat and graphic gore, including brutal enemy kills, blood effects, and violent boss fights."

    • Survival

      Game with the same Survival vibe

      5

      "Core gameplay revolves around survival, avoiding death, managing resources, and overcoming threats."

      Capsule for Kenshi Kenshi

      "Core gameplay revolves around survival against threats, managing scarce resources, and overcoming deadly enemies."

    Analysis

    A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Relaxation, Survival, Violence, Fellowship. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Violence. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Competition, Status.

    How to use the graph
    Similar games map

    Each dot is a game. They are arranged from the same motivation profile as in the “Motivations” section below. Closer dots usually mean more similar reasons to play (exploration, competition, relaxation, etc.)—not that one game is “better” than another.

    • Larger dot with a light outline: the game you are viewing.
    • Colour: groups of games with comparable motivation patterns (statistical clusters).
    • Hover a dot to see the game name; click to open its page.
    • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom out and see more games.

    Why don’t the axes read like a score? This view uses t-SNE: it only keeps who is close to whom. The scales are not “good to bad” or hours played—they separate groups on the map. Read distance between dots, not the axis numbers.

    Where to buy

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    Last update: 30/04/2026