Parents' Guide to

The Evil Within

By Marc Saltzman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Extremely gory and scary adventure challenges mature gamers.

The Evil Within Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

age 16+

Based on 15 parent reviews

age 18+

This game is absolute nightmare fuel and is only suitable for adults.

The Evil Within is an incredibly tense "survival horror" game with an emphasis on gore and gratuitous violence. The game is terrifying - often in a stressful way - and there's no way young kids should play it. There is a story, but it's bewildering and involves sadism and mental cruelty, with references to psychosis, suicide, self-harm, murder, arson and the deaths of children. The monsters and the environments are nightmarish. The very first enemy you encounter is a grunting, bellowing nutcase with a chainsaw called The Sadist. The most infamous boss is a spider-like woman who bursts screaming from the floor and pursues you throughout several levels. The weakest enemies are insane former humans with blades and barbed wire in their flesh. All death sequences, yours and the enemy's, are graphic. The Evil Within is one for mature players with robust mental health who can tolerate extremely stressful situations, enjoy very high difficulty levels and aren't put off by excessive violence.

This title has:

Too much violence
age 14+

Very Gory

This game is obviously gory, but is displayed in an animated style. It is not as extreme as some games. but could scare a lot of people. The game is amazing overall and if you aren't scared, then just be aware of the mindless violence.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (15 ):
Kids say (17 ):

Despite a few random issues -- some long load times, a lead character with no personality whatsoever, and lip-syncing that doesn't match and breaks the suspension of disbelief (probably because the game was ported from the Japanese version, called Psycho Break) -- The Evil Within is a chilling, thrilling adventure. Fans of survival horror will appreciate this game's challenging scenarios, such as being chased by someone who wants to trap you in a cage, hiding in a locker as someone tears apart a room with a chainsaw, or sneaking past a butcher chopping up body parts. Ammo for your weapons is scarce, which adds to the tension. The high-resolution graphics, smart lighting techniques, and creepy atmosphere nicely add to the fright, even if many of the levels are linear in design.

Though it's not perfect, those who love survival horror games will be happy to know that The Evil Within was worth the wait; the genre is alive and well in this gory offering from Mikami-san. It's definitely something for mature gamers to play with the lights off and speakers cranked. But it's unquestionably not for kids.

Game Details

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