The Evil Within: The Executioner is the third and final DLC released for the game. It takes place sometime after the events of the original campaign and is a grand departure from anything we’ve experienced in the past. You see, this up we take up the mantle of the iconic Keeper and once again explore the Victoriano mansion in search of our daughter. There are spoilers to be had here so playing through the original campaign beforehand is recommended. The most apparent change from the get-go is that we now view the world from first person and no longer rely on guns but on our enormous hammer to obliterate those that stand in our way.
We are much taller this time around and the enemies that once appeared threatening now appear as mere prey to bash away at. Whenever we damage a foe enough, we can either chose to instantly kill them in a flashy animation, or we can lift and toss them onto hazards such as spinning blades. Some objects can be picked up too, though this DLC is rather picky with what those can be, making that feature pretty unreliable in the heat of battle. You can perform a dash attack and a small combo of strikes with your hammer. Nothing fancy though it is functional and is also surprisingly focused on dodging attacks instead of taking them head-on. We can sidestep, jump back and sprint forward as long as we desire which is rather funny considering how terrible our previous character’s movement was compared to the lumbering monstrosity that we now control.
The attacks are basic, and most of the variation comes in the form of the arsenal of weapons we can use once we purchase them, be they rocket launchers, chainsaws or traps. There are a ton of things you can get your hands on to terrorize your opponents though the only weapon that doesn’t eventually break is your trusty hammer. Its a ton of fun to run into a group of enemies and slaughter the lot as coins pop out of them which in turn allows you to buy more stuff to kill them with. You can upgrade your overall health, damage resistance and movement speed to become a force to be reckoned with. As previously stated, all of your weapons will break down, and traps do not come free, these must all be purchased again for quite a pretty penny. Unfortunately, everything is a tad too expensive forcing us to be rather liberal with our killing creativity and does make it feel like a grind.
Enemies found throughout the mansion are not unlimited. However, there are portals we can enter freely where we will find ourselves in a combat arena where we only get paid if we survive. The money we will earn here is not all that much, and if we use our gear, it can be rather easy to end up losing money or just about breaking even, making it a waste of time unless we stick with just the hammer. I’m not a fan of how the currency and upgrade shop are handled, it seems to unnecessarily limit your fun. Your entire goal will not pull you in by any means either, we know nothing about the dude’s daughter and have no emotional connection as to rescue her. The real star of the show is when you are facing against equally dangerous monsters and are slowly slicing at each other like a Godzilla movie from hell.
The movement and slow attack wind ups really makes it feel like two titans battling it out. At times you can simply stand there and mash the attack button until one of you dies, or you can play it more smartly, making full use of your gear and bringing an RPG to a knife fight. Sidestepping a bosses deadly attacks feel particularly satisfying as you stylishly lay the smack down on it. Every encounter with a boss has grunts that will spawn in so your sole focus cannot be entirely on bringing him down least they chip away at your health. Dodging and luring your fellow giant abomination is a handy thing to master as its attacks can also damage its own allies. Seeing the limbs of the pesky grunts fly off for trying to interfere in a monstrous brawl between two otherworldly forces is immensely awesome to behold.
Sadly not all bosses are fun to fight, and others feel plain dumb like the one against a human enemy. Fighting a boss that spams his RPG is also not all that interesting compared to engaging another melee based foe. At the very least we do get to rip their weapons from their cold, dead hands and are then able to buy them in the store for your own use. All of the bosses and the environments are from the original game, so you’ll encounter few surprises there though the massive change in gameplay makes them feel fresh once more. The mansion itself serves as a hub-world of sorts that transports us to the lair of the bosses we must slay in order to rescue our daughter, and they do delve into the background of the world, such as the STEM without Ruben.
If we become wounded, the only way to patch ourselves back up is to find a med-kit laying around. An enemy may drop one once defeated if we’re lucky though taking avoidable damage is still ill-advised. After we destroy the main villain, a new game plus mode is unlocked as well as a nifty new sword and a new boss to hunt. For three bucks you are getting quite a fair bit of content. With this being the last piece of DLC for The Evil Within I must say that I am quite pleased with how they handled it. They didn’t just go the easiest route and offered more of the same, they innovated each into new, fresh experiences. While you spent the last DLC hiding in the shadows, this allows you to tower above your foes and make them your prey. The Executioner is a bloody good time, and an interesting send-off for The Evil Within.
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