Review of Evil Dead: Regeneration

Decent game, but there's way too many things keeping this game from greatness:

• The combat is clunky. No flow. Combos don't really matter as the best strategy is to constantly strafe and shoot if you want to avoid being hit.
• Also the balance is off. For example, I didn't find the Evil Ash mode especially useful until the final boss. Fun mode, but an inessential mechanic unfortunately.
• And blocking doesn't work well. The response is slow and blocking doesn't block most enemy attacks later in the game.
• Overall combat is repetitive and not satisfying.

• 3D platforming was still lousy in this 6th generation of gaming, and Regeneration is no exception.

• The little helper dude Sam was annoying. I understand that was the point, but intent does not wash a negative experience. And when in possessed mode, his music is very grating.

• The cutscenes and story are whatever, as they don't add anything of great interest to the Evil Dead lore. Even Ash's attitude and one-liners seem tame here, compared to the source material, the films.

I'll take a Suda51 game in this department any day. In fact Suda51 should make an Evil Dead game. THAT would be great. Similar games like DMC or Bayonetta... those are also better experiences than what Regenerations offers. I would recommend many other 3D shoot-melee-combo-y games over this title.

• The game is on the short side, can easily be beaten in under 10 hours. I didn't mind however; I was glad when the game ended. Getting through it ultimately felt like a chore, rather than a fun experience.

• - - The graphics are fine. The sound is fine. I appreciate that this game was made and the devs obviously cared. But Regneration lacks the fine-tuning of a great game. Evil Dead: Regeneration is a product of its time. Kinda cool but lacks depth, and the combat isn't satisfying and varied enough to invite replays.

One playthrough was enough. I'm sure there's gamers replaying this now with their nostalgia goggles on. That's fine. I'm playing this for the first (and only) time in 2020. My only nostalgia is for the Evil Dead films, so I was very unbiased--but hopeful--going into this game.

Glad I played it. Kinda neat. Nothing great or particularly memorable however. After two 3D Evil Dead games, I expected more. But the devs didn't seem to learn enough from those previous attempts. What's sadder is that this is apparently the best game of the three. YIKES.

Underwhelming. And yet, the Evil-Deadness of it all and Bruce Campbell's V.O. elevate Regeneration to slightly better than average. Far from being a bad game, I'm still left with the feeling that this was another missed opportunity to honor the Evil Dead property. Those films deserve a great game, and I'm worried we'll never get one.