ASH IS BACK! Evil Dead: The Game

 I ain't that good

There was a moment during the Video Game Awards where the virtual room I was watching with got quiet, it was one of those scenes of contemplation as the entire group tried to decide if the trailer they were watching was something new or something that they should know. Thus I felt special, if also lonely, to note that I could tell what it was straight away. (At least for the most part) I immediately recognised that voice, those intonations, the words he was speaking; even just the mention of staying at a cabin with his friends was sufficient to spell it out for me. Because at long last this was it, the thing that we had all been waiting for, what it was all about, after almost years of pouring cold water on us and telling us how very wrong that we are, Ash, or Bruce Campbell, from Evil Dead is making his way to the gore-ridden world of Mortal Kombat where he belo- what do you mean this is a standalone video game? Are you serious? We've been thrown for a loop again!?

For the love of- WHY? Someone literally has to sit down and explain this to me because I am losing my freakin' sanity here; why in all the fresh hells of this Earth has Ash not already joined the pantheon of carnage that is Mortal Kombat? He's perfectly suited for it, being a character from a Horror franchise that, as the movies went on, became increasingly renowned for it's slapstick and gory effects; he's not someone who threats about the image of his character cutting into people; (he has a literal chainsaw for an arm) and he's a damn cool movie hero that would fit right at home with all the other 80's icons that have made it into this generation's Mortal Kombat. Just look at Robocop, Spawn, Terminator, Rambo and Joker. Joker isn't even particularly violent in most depictions, he's only there because he was in Injustice! What's more, wasn't there a sort of "Red handed, gotcha" moment when we literally saw 'Evil Dead' listed as a licenced franchise in the credits of some post? Was that all lies? Someone tell me what the hell is going on here!

And to be clear, how invested I am in this makes absolutely no sense when you consider that I am generally terrible at fighting video games and have never owned a Mortal Kombat. That's true. I've played a great many, and if I were to start getting into the franchise I would absolutely start at 9 and then work my way forward, as I know it's where the story pretty much starts again, but I haven't bitten that bullet yet and honestly am unsure if and when I ever will. Yet regardless I find myself swallowed by the anticipation of Ash showing up in Mortal Kombat simply for the principal of the thing. It's come down to pride, that's how messed up the situation is. We know he's destined for the franchise, we can feel it in our very bones and the longer they deny us the more maddening it becomes. The more Bruce Campbell seems perplexed by our very assumptions the more I begin to question reality around me and descend into an existential slip stream of insanity, torn between misguided, lied to and wrong. And finally, I would love to have been lied to, because darn if I can't help but love it when a game developer tells one of the good lies. The "People are asking but I don't want to give it away so I'm going to directly shut this down" kind of lie. I'm watching you Ed Boon; come on, lie to me.

Hmm? I'm getting severely off track? Oh right, there's an actual game here isn't there... and It's based off of Evil Dead, no less. Well ain't that a twist of the screw? Evil Dead: The Game (not be confused with the 'Evil Dead' game, 'Regeneration', from 2005) appears to be a co-op action adventure title with arcade-like vibes to it, and doesn't that just fit the Evil Dead license? I mean, not too long ago the Evil Dead name was revived for 'Ash V The Evil Dead', and the show had this wonderfully tongue-in-cheek behaviour to it that I find embraces fun casual viewing. Thus is makes since that the game in turn would promote fun casual play. Now to be sure, this isn't exactly an adaptation of the show, in fact I only spotted one character from that show and Ash looks markedly younger, but I think the renewed interest that the show bought to the franchise is what allowed for this in the first place.

As for the actual gameplay, we haven't seen a great amount from the teaser provided apart from the fact that we will be privy to Ash's signature weapons; the boomstick and the chainsaw arm, of course. This will definitely be advantageous given that the enemy Deadites typically can survive a lot more punishment than your typical zombie, at least if the lore of the series is taken into account. But apart from that, it does seem like this is a simple zombie survival game with an Evil Dead skin slapped over it, I can't lie. Almost like the Treyarch COD zombie maps were all cut from their base games and stuck in their own package, (Which I would honestly be down for, if they did) only without their masterclass level design and weapon variety. All that being said, there's nothing explicitly terrible about the trailer to complain about.

The concept seems rather generic and the graphical design certainly isn't anything to write home about, but honestly, I get the sense that the biggest draw that this game currently holds is it's potential. Even though I know enough about hype to know that's not the bedrock you want to launch your title from. (It tends to invite disaster) But while we're in this unique moment of uniformed reflection, perhaps I might throw some hopeful suggestions into the aether? For one, I noticed that the team decided to tease the laughing Dear head from Evil Dead 2, and that has me thinking that maybe imamate objects might attack the player as the demons grab hold of them, or maybe even the players themselves might get possessed, as what happened in that same scene. And seeing that they're taking from the show, perhaps the, almost diablo-esque, demon designs from that show could wind their way into the game, I know I was thinking "boss fight potential" when I first saw them on screen. (Although that might just be further evidence of my gaming infected mind.)

I had a third suggestion, but by the good graces of osmosis it appears that they are already heading that way. Something that wasn't teased in the trailer, for some unexplainable reason, is the ability to actually take control of the Deadites and essentially play as the demons, allowing for PVP scenarios of zombie sieging. The idea has shades of Dying Light's invasion mechanic, only I'm hoping this one doesn't find itself being locked behind some preorder incentive. There's always a special allure to playing the villain, especially when paired against real players, although I doubt they'll be the level of duelling present in asymmetrical multiplayer games like Evolve, Resident Evil Resistance or Friday 13th. They'll be, at best, a casual back and forth with the excitement really culminating from throwing yourself on player's swords repeatedly. Maybe the less pressure-driven environment will actually be helpful for establishing a recurrent playerbase. (Or maybe the exact opposite of that will happen.)

Typically Video Game's based on properties outside of themselves are doomed for a cliff from the outset, but I have an unexplained optimism for Evil Dead. Maybe that's because I recognise the cult following behind these games and respect that fanbases dedication to these weird movies, they'll undoubtedly show up in droves to support this for it's name alone. Although I'd be remiss for saying that, as it looks now, there's nothing to really get too excited for, least we run the risk of propping up another game for it's name rather than it's ability. (Which never ends well) I'll certainly be keeping an ear out, however, because you never know what might be the next title to crawl out of the woodworks and utterly surprise you. (See! There's that accursed optimism again! I really should do something about that...)