Gaming News December 29, 2023, 8:00 pm
The Devil Inside was a survival horror game that tried to turn the fight for survival in a place overrun by the living dead into a television show. Let’s remember what this unusual wedding looked like.
Photo Source: GameSquad / TalonSoft
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In 2000, the Resident Evil series became a fixture in the video game industry and has already gone down in history. It’s no surprise that other developers have tried to follow Capcom’s lead, but the results have been… different. The Devil Inside, a game produced by the GameSquad studio and released in 2000, had an unusual idea: it tried to combine a plot and mechanics straight from a survival horror game with the aesthetics of… a crazy reality show.
Is it Chris? Is that Leon? NO! It’s Dave (or Deva)!
The main character of The Devil Inside was Dave Cooper, a former policeman. We met the protagonist when he entered the gates of a dark estate, where paranormal phenomena occurred, including a zombie invasion and other frightening events. Does this sound like the plot of a normal survival horror game? So what do you think of the fact that Dave’s “investigation” was broadcast live on TV and was disguised as a flashy spectacle, hosted by… Jack the Ripper himself (or at least his namesake)?
It didn’t end there, because Dave wasn’t doomed to go through it alone. His actions were constantly observed by cameramen who occupied safe places on helicopters … but not only. One of them bravely followed the hero and was not afraid of the nightmares he met face to face. Now that’s what I call dedication to work! Furthermore, Dave had his own alter ego, in which he could transform himself in designated places. She was a succubus named Deva, gifted with useful and supernatural abilities.
Almost like Resident Evil. Source: FirstPlays HD / YouTube
The show must go on!
At first glance, The Devil Inside did not differ in terms of mechanics from what we are used to from other survival horror games, especially the Resident Evil series. Watching the action from a third-person perspective, we explored the courtyard of the villa and its interior, solved environmental puzzles (consisting mainly of finding keys that opened passages to subsequent locations) and eliminated opponents.
While Dave primarily used a gun and buzzsaw on the battlefield, Deva used magic. Like the heroes of the Resident Evil series, the protagonists could not move while aiming; Furthermore, like his colleagues operating under the Capcom banner, Dave had to search every corner for ammunition.
The fact that our actions were broadcast live, as well as the fact that the presence of the cameras was palpable, allowed the creators to use some interesting techniques. The game allowed us not only to watch the action from different perspectives (we could even switch to the camera view of the operator running behind us), but also to fix small windows with other shots on the screen.
Furthermore, the most spectacular actions were rewarded with thunderous applause from the audience; the game also allowed us to activate bullet time to take a closer look at the spectacular execution. Furthermore, our actions were commented on by both the host of the program, Jack the Ripper, and Dave himself, who did their best to amuse the audience (which often led to them throwing biscuits). Only Deva sat silently and, as befits an infernal creature, did not speak a language understandable to the average player (his statements included Latin).
This is what Leon S. Kennedy’s adventure might have looked like if someone had come up with the idea of broadcasting it on television in 2000. Source: FirstPlays HD / YouTube
There wasn’t a hit, but it was still… nice
Unfortunately The Devil Inside was not a production without flaws. After all, the title in question had several. Let’s start from the fact that the plot, however ferocious, was not of the highest quality (despite being written by Hubert Chardot, the screenwriter of the cult Alone in the Dark). A much bigger problem with the game was control and, more importantly, aiming. Dave was using a laser sight, which tended to get lost on the screen, which was very frustrating.
Additionally, saving the game relied on two types of save points: some were reusable, others disappeared after the first use. Since there were not many save points and they were placed rather carelessly, death here could be extremely painful.
While this product had nothing to boast of in terms of graphics quality, it made up for it with its sound. In addition to the soundtrack, the Polish-language version and, above all, the performance of Jerzy Kryszak, whose “the show must go on!” I can hear it clearly even today, 22 years after playing this production.
How to play The Devil Inside?
At the time these words are written, The Devil Inside is not available on the GOG.com platform, much less on Steam. However, for the boxed edition of this production you have to pay a little: prices for used copies start from PLN 99.
2023-12-29 19:00:00
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