Bethesda Japan has revealed the first story details of The Evil Within, currently in development at Tango Gameworks. The details were released ahead of IGN's so-called "exclusive", which do not purport to be anything more than a regurgitation of the information that Bethesda themselves just released to the Japanese press.
According to Bethesda Japan, The Evil Within, formerly known as Project Zwei, is titled Psychobreak in Japan. It's a survival horror game that's being developed in the latest version of the id Tech 5 engine. A much earlier version of the engine was previously used to power Rage.
The story focuses on one Detective Sebastian and his partner, who arrive at the scene of a crime, both gruesome and mysterious. A powerful force is said to be laying in wait for them, which causes the police officers at the scene to attack and kill one another, until finally turning on Sebastian, who loses consciousness as he comes under attack.
Sebastian awakens in a place where monsters appear to roam about and he has to fight his way through the strange world, while dealing with his madness, in order to uncover the truth of his fate.
Pure survival horror: Directed by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, The Evil Within is described as a "return to pure survival horror." Players must survive on limited resources, experiencing action, horror, and indescribable terror all throughout.
Traps and puzzles: Like the survival horror games of old, puzzles and traps will play a significant role throughout the game. It's possible to die all too easily to traps, so it's up to the player to reconfigure these elements and use them to their advantage against their opponents.
Changing environments: Everything in the game, including the environment, has the capacity to change and distort in real time based on the player's actions.
The game's official website has been launched in both English and Japanese. It is slated for a 2014 release on the Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and next-generation platforms including the PS4.
