We’ve gotten plenty of games based on famous horror movies in recent years; in fact, we’ve already gotten an Evil Dead game not too long ago. But usually those games end up being not much more than Dead by Daylight (2016) clones. RetroRealms: Ash vs. Evil Dead is very different there. It’s an old-school 2D 16-bit platformer from developers Wayforward Technologies and publishers Boss Team Games set in the world of the Evil Dead franchise that has released alongside another very similar game set in the Halloween franchise.
RetroRealms: Ash vs. Evil Dead tells its own original story, though as with most 2D platformers like it, you shouldn’t be expecting too much here. Ash is woken up in the middle of the night by the Overlord of the Nightmare Realm, who steals the Necronomicon from him to create an army that can take over the world. It’s a reason for Ash to jump, run, and fight through level after level, and that’s good enough. The most interesting part of it is the Overlord, who also appears in the Halloween game, and I almost wonder if there’s some plans for an eventual overarching narrative in the future. But I might simply be reading too much into this.
Another part is the Nightmare Realm, which is a core mechanic of RetroRealms: Ash vs. Evil Dead. With the click of a button, you can swap from the real world into the Nightmare Realm and back. Doing so will unlock new pathways and block others, while also throwing different, often stronger, enemies at you. It’s a cute little mechanic that a 2D platformer could do some very interesting things with, though in the case of RetroRealms: Ash vs. Evil Dead, it’s not really a mechanic that’s made use of to the fullest potential. Mostly it’s just used to open up a wall here and there to reach a collectible.
This doesn’t bother me too much though, since the platforming fundamentals are all here and executed rather well. It definitely has that oldschool platformer vibe with level design that can lead to moments of frustration, but the platforming itself feels good, and the combat feels even better, so it’s never too much of an issue. Just make sure to buy some extra health (there’s a store between levels where you can buy upgrades) and you will have a fun time.
The best part about RetroRealms: Ash vs. Evil Dead is how well it manages to capture the spirit of the Evil Dead franchise. First of all, the game looks beautiful with its stunning 16-bit pixel art. They’ve managed to recreate the atmosphere of the movies so well while making use of an entirely different aesthetic. But the misty forests with the moon shining its pale light down from the sky are still here in all their glory. I mean, it looks really damn good.
But it’s not just that; weirdly, this kind of game actually works pretty well as a translation of the Evil Dead franchise from movie to video game. Ash fighting his way through deadites with his chainsaw arm, the gonzo silliness that exists within the movies that is still very much present here, even small things like the animation at the end of every level in which Ash jumps into his car and runs over some deadites that is different every time. It just oozes with the same kind of charm those original movies did.
There are other playable characters than just Ash, but it does feel like he’s clearly the character that this game was designed for. But if you own the DLC, you can play Kelly Maxwell too. And if you also own the Halloween game, you can even play Michael Myers and Laurie Strode in the Evil Dead game. But at the end of the day all it does is change the way your character plays ever so slightly, and to be honest, I don’t really think it’s worth it for a whole other playthrough.
RetroRealms: Ash vs. Evil Dead has some problems here and there but is above everything else a fun 2D platformer that works surprisingly well as an adaptation of its source material. If this is what these games can look like, I’d love to see more of them. Maybe Nightmare on Elm Street next?
Nairon reviewed the RetroRealms: Ash vs. Evil Dead on PC with a review copy.
