The Evil Within – First Encounter with The Keeper
Despite being a flawed and disjointed experience, The Evil Within was the perfect love letter to Shinji Mikami’s prolific career in the survival horror genre. It’s almost difficult to choose the creepiest monstrosity from the game since so many encounters left you shaking in fear, but one guy clearly stands safe and shoulders above the competition: the Keeper.
This safe-headed behemoth made his first appearance late in the game, stepping into the spotlight for a fearsome battle that leads you through a dark labrynth slowly filling up with poison gas. It’s up to you to turn off the gas while avoiding the Keeper, who can’t technically be killed. Once one body is destroyed, another safe begins vibrating before sprouting another body.
Undeniably tense and definitely terrifying, this claustrophobic encounter is made even more memorable by the mannerisms the Keeper inhabits. It’s already scary enough having a literal giant with a safe for a head chase you through a dark maze, but hearing him beat his hammer against his head as he searches for you will leave you unsettled throughout the entire battle.
Even though another meeting with a long-haired spider girl left my chair wet with fear piss, it’s the introduction of the Keeper that stuck in my mind the longest after The Evil Within was over.
Published: Jan 3, 2015 01:05 pm