Evil Dead is one of the most beloved and ridiculous horror movie franchises of all time, and now it is finally being given the video game adaptation it deserves. Evil Dead: The Game brings together characters from across the Evil Dead universe, and demons from across it too. As Ash and, um, the rest, you must fight against deadites and demons in order to seal the breach between this world and the next. 

This can be a great time with friends, but the learning curve is steep, and unfortunately, the tutorial isn’t going to prepare you for how difficult things can become, especially if your team isn’t so good. But read through the tips in this guide and you’ll quickly understand how to survive, fight, and win in Evil Dead: The Game.

Make sure to also check our lists of best multiplayer games and best survival horror games.

Play the tutorial

Sounds obvious, but Evil Dead: The Game isn’t as simple as you might hope. You’re playing on a team of four survivors, or if you’re choosing the other role, you’ll be playing as a sole demon. As a Survivor, you need to acquire map pieces in order to acquire the ancient, cursed objects and seal the breach between worlds. Of course, that’s all far easier said than done, and you’ll need to play through the tutorial so you know what you’re getting into before you start playing online. 

Play Missions or against AI

You can play the tutorial, but that certainly doesn’t mean you’re going to have a good understanding of the game straight away. There are a lot of moving parts, and Evil Dead: The Game is surprisingly action-heavy. Unlike other asymmetrical multiplayer games such as Dead By Daylight, you’ll be fighting off a lot of NPC creatures here, most of them summoned by the demon you’re fighting against. The learning curve is steeper than you might expect, but luckily you can play against and with AI, and there is a selection of single-player missions that you can use to immerse yourself into the action slowly. 

Scavenge everything

Your resources are limited and incredibly precious. Ammo is limited, health items are limited, even your torch battery is limited. Aside from turning up the gamma settings, there’s not much you can do to help your supplies other than scavenging in every single building you come across. Shemp’s Cola is incredibly valuable, and amulets to boost your stats aren’t to be ignored either. 

Dodge and sprint

You have a very, very limited pool of stamina. You’ll be able to execute two quick dodges in succession before it runs out. That’s not a lot, and as such you have to be cautious when going into combat. Sprinting should only be used to make space when trying to reload, and you’ll need to dodge back after almost every melee attack you perform, especially against the tougher enemies with more health. 

Relentless reload

Reloading isn’t a quick process, and because of the speed of your character and the enemies in this game, you probably won’t have too many chances to reload mid-fight. As mentioned above, you can absolutely sprint away to find time to reload, but that’s still a big risk, especially in more confined areas. So instead, you need to make sure you’ve reloaded after every encounter and every shot fired if it’s safe to do so. Better to have a full clip than nothing when you need it most. 

Check the map

The map will, of course, give you a lot of instructions, and that’s good because the environments in this game are larger than you might expect, and will see you run through at least an acre of darkness each. In the main multiplayer mode, the map will highlight the location of the first item you need to find, and then you can find more clues from there, eventually leading to sealing the breach. Of course, the demon will do everything it can to stop you. 

Fight fear with fire

As a Survivor, you’re constantly battling your Fear. If your Fear gets too high – indicated by a bar below your character’s health – you can potentially be possessed by the demon. That’s very bad, in case it wasn’t obvious. The demon can raise your health by inflicting damage, just by setting traps, or possessing a tree to scare you as you walk past. This probably won’t scare you, the player, but your character will definitely receive a fright. Who knew trees were so threatening? Make sure to stay in well-lit areas or light fires to reduce your Fear.

Teams and gangs

As mentioned earlier, Evil Dead: The Game is action-heavy, and you’ll regularly be facing off against more than one foe, often with one coming from behind you, out of sight. You need to keep your wits about you and dodge regularly in order to get away from them. Of course, fighting against a horde of monsters is way easier with friends. As long as you have a skilled team, sticking close to them will give you a better chance of staying alive. Of course, splitting up also forces the demon to split its focus… 

Written by Dave Aubrey on behalf of GLHF.