February is going to be an insanely busy month for gamers, with a number of high-end releases slated to arrive. But one game you’ll want to save some time for is Evil Dead: The Game.
You may find yourself asking, “Why’s that?” But anyone who’s anyone that grew up with Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise will slap themselves alongside the head over the possibility of that question even being asked. It’s because it’s truly loyal to the franchise, while packing the kind of horror-based multiplayer action that would make Friday the 13 th: The Game and Dead by Daylight quake in their boots. (Which is ironic, considering DBD has its own little dose of EvilDead goodness with a Bruce Campbell character.)
But what makes the game stand out? Well, we’ve got five factors to consider before it makes its arrival on consoles and PC next month. Buckle up, Dorothy, because you’re going for a ride!
This Development Team Knows Zombie Carnage
A few folks out there may be familiar with the name Saber Interactive already. The developers are behind some of the better titles on (or headed to) the market, like WWE 2K Battlegrounds, Crysis Trilogy Remastered and the just-announced Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, which proved to be one of the Game Awards’ biggest highlights during its broadcast.
But perhaps its most notable release to date is World War Z. Based on the same franchise as the Brad Pitt film of the same name, it’s a totally engaging multiplayer romp, where players have to fend off against fast and furious zombies. And we don’t mean just one or two. We’re talking thousands.
The game showcases Saber’s ability to handle frantic horror-themed multiplayer action – and that means good news for Evil Dead: The Game, despite its different format.
You Can Play Solo
When Evil Dead: The Game was initially announced some time ago, some players were bummed that it would be a multiplayer-only affair. However, Saber Interactive had the game pushed back a few months, in an effort to include a single player mode.
Now, that doesn’t mean it’s going to have an original story along the lines of, say, Evil Dead: Regeneration, sadly. But, it does mean that you can play the game alongside others in a team-based fashion, so you can either go solo against bots or practice up before you take the game online with and against others.
Saber said with the game’s delay that the mode will “give the team some extra time for polish and to ensure this is the ultimate Evil Dead experience you’re all waiting
for!” And it would allow them “to implement a single-player option that will let you enjoy the game when you are without your co-op compadres.”
It may not be the ultimate storytelling experience, but being able to practice on your own before stepping into the big time of online multiplayer is pretty groovy.
Yes, You Can Play As Deadites
Of course, it wouldn’t be a fun multiplayer game if you were stuck playing as the good guys all the time, right? Fortunately, Evil Dead: The Game is set to mix things up beautifully with the option to play as the Deadites.
The main character on the “bad guy” side is none other than the powerful Kandarian Demon, complete with the iconic first-person perspective as we’ve seen in the movies. That means moving around at lightning speed, possessing Deadites and trying to give the “good guys” something to run from. Not to mention the fact that other Deadites will be thrown into the mix, making things rather interesting as you try to give Ash and his friends a run for their money. Being able to control the Kandarian Demon sounds like a dream (nightmare?) come true for fans of the series. And it’s a nice touch that we’re pretty sure Sam Raimi would be proud of, if he’s not already.
Weapons, Weapons, Weapons
Of course, it wouldn’t be an Evil Dead game if there weren’t some crazy-ass weapons to choose from. As expected, the iconic chainsaw and Boomstick shotgun will make their debut here, so Ash can finish off opponents in style. But there’s more to it than that. Other weapons will also be introduced over the course of the game, enabling you and your partners to mow down Deadites like no one’s business. And while the Deadites can’t exactly do the same thing, they’ll have their own abilities, alongside the Kandarian Demon, when it comes to evening the playing field.
We’ll see more of these weapons in action when the game arrives next month. But, yes, there’s a lot of carnage-inducing toys we can’t wait to see in action.
Fan Service Galore
Finally, Saber Interactive are showing incredibly loyalty to the Evil Dead franchise, from the original 80s film that started it all through the Starz series Ash vs. Evil Dead, which lasted for three glorious seasons.
Bruce Campbell will portray the iconic Ash in the game, and likely lend his voice to an “Evil Ash” character as well. (“Sally Forth!”) But there’s an all-star cast joining him, including the returning Dana DeLorenzo as Kelly and Ray Santiago as Pablo.
There’s more, too. Ellen Sandweiss will once again portray Cheryl; and Hal Delrich will once again star as Scotty. They’ll be playable survivors. Betsy Baker (Linda) and Theresa Tilly (Shelly) will return as well, though to what capacity we don’t know.
Other characters are set to be introduced to the game before its release next month. Hopefully we’ll see Marcus Gilbert once again pick up the sword as Lord Arthur (“SWORD BOY!”), as well as a few other surprises. Could Embeth Davidtz as Sheila be far behind? Maybe they can throw Ted Raimi into the mix somewhere as well.
We’ll see how the game fares when it arrives next month. In the meantime, stay frosty…oh, and groovy.
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