Lookin’ for some spooky games to play on PC for the Halloween season without having to spend any money? Well good news: survival horror titles The Evil Within and The Evil Within 2 are yours for the taking on the Epic Games Store. The original is currently free, while the sequel will be available for costless download next week.
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Originally released in 2014, The Evil Within was directed by Resident Evil veteran Shinji Mikami, who worked on gory delights such as the first three Resident Evil games, fan-favorite Dino Crisis, Resident Evil 4, Devil May Cry, non-horror game Vanquish (which I recently played through and remains awesome), and most recently had worked on Ghostwire: Tokyo and Hi-Fi Rush.
In Kotaku’s review of Mikami’s 2014 return to horror, we said:
It’s a burly example of horror game maximalism, one that tries to take all the ways you can make a game scary and boil them over into a blood-red gumbo. Hallucinations on top of hallucinations, weird phenomena, tucked-away hamlets filled with homicidal residents, helpless, child-like weirdos… if it’s something that scared someone in a movie, TV or video game once, The Evil Within tries to cram it in there.
The Evil Within 2, on which Mikami served as Executive Producer, was directed by John Johans (creator of Hi-Fi Rush). In Kotaku’s review of The Evil Within 2, we said:
Rather than shy away from its B-movie foundation, however, Evil Within 2 revels in it. Screenplay writer Trent Haaga–whose resume includes films like Bonnie & Clyde vs. Dracula and Splatter Disco–knows his way around the genre and imbues the story with an air of familiar absurdity. The game is over-the-top and melodramatic, but ultimately it’s a touching take on guilt, sacrifice, and redemption.
The first Evil Within will run for free on the Epic Games Store from October 19 to 26. The Evil Within 2 will be available for free download from October 26 to November 2, 2023.
