2021 has been a year of delayed releases, and Ash vs Evil Dead television series. While franchise fans are no doubt eager to team up with friends and wield Ash's signature chainsaw, the development team at Saber Interactive have given several reason why the delay will make for - hopefully - an even more groovy final product.
Despite the title, Evil Dead: The Game is actually the fifth game based on the cult film franchise, with previous releases coming out on consoles ranging from the PlayStation 2 to the ZX Spectrum. The releases have mirrored the movies somewhat by presenting games centered around both horror and action, with later titles leaning into the hack-and-slash trends of the day. Saber Interactive's game will be the first release starring Ash Williams since 2005's Evil Dead: Regeneration, although he did also make an appearance at the poker table alongside Brock Sampson from The Venture Brothers and Claptrap in Telltale's Poker Night 2.
As for the newest title, Evil Dead: The Game is taking a bit more time to add all-important polish and expand its play options. Outside of the initial announcement back in December, news has been quiet about Evil Dead, so it's hard to pinpoint exactly what about the game needs the extra work. In general, many games in development over the last 12-18 months have needed more time than expected due to the realities of working from home amid a global pandemic. In an environment where Microsoft pushes Halo Infinite back a year, a months-long delay is pretty understandable.
Evil Dead: The Game Will Add A Single-Player Option
At the very least, it seems like the developers at Saber Interactive are expanding the ways that fans of Evil Dead can experience their creation. The tweet that announced the delay into February also mentioned that the extra time will allow for the implementation of a single-player mode. This may prove to be a key selling point for the game, as the market has seen a flood of four-player co-op games both released and announced since Evil Dead's reveal. If the team can balance the game depending on how many human players are in each session, Evil Dead could serve two audiences and provide more boomstick-related fun to all, though there's as yet no word on what the single-player option will include.
While it's never fun to wait longer for an anticipated release, giving Evil Dead: The Game a few more months will likely be for the better. While it's easy to pine for the days where developers could release a trilogy like Gears of War based on a new IP within a single console cycle, the reality is that using cutting-edge technology demands a lot of time and effort. For big games that hope to reach the top of the charts, it's better to invest that time than release a half-dead pretender and wait for fans and critics to blow it away.
Evil Dead: The Game is set to be released on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One in February 2022
