The Evil Within: people have become harder to scare, says Mikami

The Evil Within creator and Resident Evil 4 mastermind Shinji Mikami has conceded that gamers are becoming harder to scare, but remains hopeful that you'll all be reaching for the bog roll once you sit down to play it. He didn't really say that, by the way.

Speaking with Edge, Mikami said, “Not much has changed when it comes to instilling terror in the player. But people have got used to the tropes of horror and they know what’s coming next, so in that sense it is harder to make them afraid.”

As Phil mentioned in his Evil Within preview, Mikami's team wrenches control away from you often, but to good effect. It makes you feel powerless, and given that you're constantly under threat of being under-equipped and poorly-armed, you're going to feel like a toddler doing 12 rounds against a heavyweight boxer.

The Evil Within is out in 2014, and Mikami explained how it felt to nudge closer to launch. “It’s still difficult to manage a team, but things are coming together now that the game is in a playable state," he confirmed. "So, compared with a couple of years ago, it’s easier.

“Making games is always like a rollercoaster: really fun times, but also really busy times. When you ride a rollercoaster, the uphill part is scary and fraught and lasts for a long time, and the downhill part – the fun, exhilarating part – is over in a flash.”

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