A Look Back At: The Evil Dead History in Video Games

By: Chris Lacks

Chris takes us through the long history of Evil Dead and Video Games

Klaatu, Varada, (cough, necjdbfjksb Cough) Well shit I guess the dead will rise by the Necronomicon since I messed up the 3 words. I might as well take a look back at the history of Evil Dead video games while awaiting Ash to come rescue me from the Deadites.

Whoever had the idea to turn a film about a tree raping, soul sucking, blood drenched evil getting its ass kicked by shotgun wielding, Deadite blasting, charismatic asshole is a pure genius and I love you for that.

In 1984 Commodore 64 became the first company to realize the profit from the Evil Dead films and release a video game titled simply The Evil Dead.

​In this game, players would control the character of “Ash” as he moves around the cabin killing monsters and closing windows and doors to keep other monsters from getting in. He could use various weapons such as shovels, shotguns, and axes. The main goal of the game is to recover the “Book of the Dead” and destroy it. 

If you’re into a more difficult game, and by difficult I mean Really Fucking Hard, then you might want to check out Evil Dead: Hail to the King on Playstation 1. Developed by THQ and released on the original Playstation in late 2000, Ash would finally return in game form 16 years later.

The game takes play 8 years after Army of Darkness and follows Ash as he is brought back to the original cabin. Once at the cabin Ash’s evil hand appears and replays professors Knowby’s Necronomicon incantation and releases the evil once again.

The one thing about this game is that its controls are similar to the Resident Evil games and moving the character around can be Extremely Fucking Hard So unless you are used to those controls the game is pretty impossible to play. It’s at least fun to try out and play for a few minutes.
If you’re interested in seeing what the game looks like before playing check out this promotional trailer released by THQ
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZzQvzcbATs)

If you had had enough of the bullshit gameplay of Hail to the King then look no further than The Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick.

​Released in 2003 on Playstation 2 This game takes place 3 years after Hail to the King but this time the game play has changed and this one is a fucking blast to play.
In this game a local journalist is out to expose the truth of the Necronomicon and reads the incantation aloud on national television unleashing the evil onto the entire town. Deadites are now turning all townsfolk into more Deadites. It’s up to Ash to stop this evil once again.

There are various stages and areas to play through with lots of tasks and Deadites to kill. It’s a very fun and addicting game and I advise anyone reading this to go play it now or at least watch all the cutscenes of the game on youtube as it’s very respectful to the film series and feels like it could have been its own movie.
Check out the trailer to the game down below
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h62YJUQWanY)


And just for added bonus for you guys check out this making of bonus feature that can be found in the game
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHpG7yrN8hc)

Just a few years later in 2005 THQ is back at it again with Evil Dead: Regeneration
This game ignores previous games and plays off the events of the film series The Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 but now Ash is locked away in an insane asylum as no one believes his stories. His doctor however has the book of the dead and is planning to destroy the world with its evil once again it’s up to Ash to figure out how to stop the soul sucking Deadites.

The one unique aspect of this game is the addition of Sam. Ash teams up with a diminutive victim, a half-dead man named Sam (voiced by Ted Raimi) who can return from any death (as he is half-Deadite, but isn't affected by the evil). His condition grants him many mystical skills. The game allows you to control both characters for different tasks throughout the game. I remember liking Sam but his wise cracking jokes and voice got old after a while.
Check out the trailer for the game below
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvhy7BSKZmU)

​If console gaming isn’t your thing then you may want to check out Army of Darkness: Defense. An ios game made in 2011 for mobile devices
It’s a tower defense game that requires players to defend an area from oncoming waves of attacking Deadite enemies.

​Another ios game made in 2011 was called Evil Dead: Endless Nightmare A first person running game like Temple Run but this game lets you kill some Deadites. Download it now and enjoy the bloody good fun.

​

The video game version of Ash has taken a break for the time being however Ash is featured in the fan made fighting game Terrordrome You can read more about it in my previous article
(http://www.22shotsofmoodzandhorror.com/home/a-look-back-at-freddy-kruegers-history-in-games)

​If you haven’t got your fix yet in then get ready to pop a raging Bo…board game. That’s right an independent company raised money in 2016 to successfully make an Evil Dead 2 Board game. So roll the dice and test your fate 

​So before you saw your hand off and kill all your friends sit down and play with your boomstick my mean joystick. And don’t forget to give me some sugar baby.