Playing Evil Dead: The Game filled me with various emotions that I didn't anticipate from a co-op survival horror game. Much like Dead by Daylight, you and other players must work together to survive the onslaught of a powerful villain controlled by a solo player. But instead of feeling tense and unnerved during a long session with Evil Dead: The Game, I found myself laughing as my crew got picked off one by one by the Deadite mastermind.

In one of my early matches, the opposing player drove a possessed car to scatter my team, and then used a jump scare tactic to catch us off-guard. They then topped it all off by possessing a fellow survivor to take us apart as a swarm of skeletons ran through us. It was a hilariously chaotic, gruesome end, and I couldn't stop laughing at how quickly it all happened.

In many ways, this aspect is why Evil Dead: The Game is the most faithful video game adaptation of Sam Raimi's classic cult horror franchise. It's a particularly infamous series that balances slapstick humor with over-the-top gore, making audiences wince at the gratuitous violence while simultaneously chuckling at its ever-escalating absurdity.

Taking on the role of the survivors gets me settled into that classic (and compelling) survival horror gameplay mode, which feels more potent in a game that can quickly turn south when you face a clever opponent. I really appreciate the amount of options you have when playing as the survivors. In one game, I chose a more melee-focused approach for survival, first picking up a hatchet and then my trusty chainsaw. But when things got more intense, I ended up opting for rifles and my favorite double-barrelled shotgun. Getting to use these tools against the evil Deadites captured the slapstick and grotesque horror of the films, and it's satisfying to see the action play out.

But the most exciting time I had when playing the game was taking on the role of a supernatural entity inhabiting a forest, which allowed me to be a real menace to other players. Though jump scares tend to get a bad rap online, in Evil Dead: The Game, they're a valuable skill to use in-game to rattle your opponents. Because of this, they're a cornerstone of my strategy when playing as the game's villain. My favorite team kill went as follows: I trapped survivors in a remote cabin, unleashed a swarm of undead, and possessed the one team member who picked up the shotgun. At that moment, I inadvertently recreated the events of the Evil Dead movie—except the bad guys won this time.

What sets Saber Interactive's Evil Dead: The Game apart from other asymmetrical horror games such as Dead by Daylight or Back 4 Blood is its unique balance of horror and comedy, which is really difficult to capture in a video game. Regardless of which side you're on, Evil Dead: The Game is a fun and incredibly thrilling romp with a group of friends—especially those who know how to ratchet up the pressure on unsuspecting players trying to survive the night.