Survival horror fans got a special little treat with the release of The Evil Within, published by Bethesda in 2014. Directed by Resident Evil veteran Shinji Mikami, it told the story of a police detective investigating a murder, who descends into a world of monsters increasingly disconnected from reality. As is its wont, the Epic Games Store is giving away both the first Evil Within game this week and its sequel The Evil Within 2 next week.
The Evil Within got generally strong reviews upon release, praising the cinematic atmosphere and over-the-shoulder action and puzzle gameplay reminiscent of genre staple Resident Evil 4. Some of the more fantastical elements of the story don’t quite hold up, but if you’re looking for a classic survival horror from some of the genre’s most celebrated creators, it’s definitely worth a play-through. The Evil Within 2 from 2017 got a similar response, with technical issues resolved and the story progressing well from the original.
If you’ve taken advantage of Epic’s PC game freebies before, you know how this goes. Open the Epic Games Launcher client on your computer and click the “store” tab (or go to the web version of the store), scroll down a bit, and you’ll see the “Free Games” section. Click The Evil Within, then click “Get” on the game page, and you’ll be able to download and play it whenever you want. The game is associated with your Epic account from then on.
The Evil Within is free until next Thursday, October 26th, with The Evil Within following the week after. You can also grab indie puzzle narrative game Eternal Threads this week and puzzle-platformer Tandem: A Tale of Shadows next week.
