The Evil Within: The Executioner DLC Let You Play As A Monster

The Evil Within’s final DLC The Executioner let players slip into the shoes of the monstrous Keeper. Shinji Mikami directed the original Resident Evil back in 1996, which helped popularise the survival horror video game genre. Mikami would go on to direct and produce titles like Dino Crisis, cult-favorite Vanquish and Resident Evil 4. Following his departure, the Resident Evil series would become increasingly focused on action and gunplay to the disappointment of some longtime fans.

That’s why it was a big deal when Shinji Mikami’s The Evil Within was announced. This title promised a return to old-school survival horror mechanics, included limited ammo, puzzle-solving and making players feel underpowered. The final game received something of a mixed response because while it was undeniably fun, some of its mechanics and design choices led to needless frustration. The Evil Within 2 from 2017 received a more positive reception, refining what worked and making for a more enjoyable ride.

The Evil Within’s story involves a detective named Sebastian (Anson Mount, Star Trek: Discovery) sucked into STEM, which is a virtual world created by the shared consciousness of those plugged into it. Like any good survival horror title, the game is loaded with an assortment of nightmarish creatures, such as the spider-like Laura and the freakish Trauma. Probably the most memorable creature Sebastian faces is The Keeper, which has a safe for a head and wields a large meat tenderizing hammer.

The Keeper bears an uncanny resemblance to Silent Hill 2’s Pyramid Head too, another monster with an uncomfortable metal object encasing its head and wielding a massive knife. The Evil Within’s DLC episodes like The Assignment were well-received, but the final DLC The Executioner let players stomp around as The Keeper. The Executioner sees a character named Pedro entering STEM to save his trapped daughter, choosing The Keeper as his avatar. Needless to say, this changes up the gameplay quite a bit, with the game taking place from a first-person perspective.

The Keeper wields his trademark hammer from The Evil Within but other weapons like chainsaws are available. The Executioner isn’t particularly scary since players are taking control of an overpowered behemoth, but it is a lot of fun stomping – something literally – through the game’s other creatures. All in all, it should only take players an hour or two, but The Executioner is a short, bloody blast. The Assignment is probably the best of The Evil Within’s DLC, however, and players are unlikely to return to The Executioner following completion.

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Padraig Cotter
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It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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