Evil Dead: The Game is a faithful adaptation of Sam Raimi’s horror-comedy franchise. Packed with iconic imagery, many original voice actors–Bruce Campbell once again reprises his role as Ash Williams–and more, the game offers fans a nostalgia-filled experience.
This is most evident in how Evil Dead: The Game pulls from both the films and TV show, most notably seen in the cast of survivors. All major characters, such as Evil Dead 2’s Annie Knowby, daughter of Professor Knowby (the archaeologist who first discovered the Necronomicon) and Detective Amanda Fisher from Ash vs. Evil Dead are present and accounted for.
The roster starts out well enough, with players able to choose between 9 survivors (several of whom are different versions of Ash). Four more can be unlocked through play however. Our guide below explains how this is done while also detailing which character is the most useful in a scrap with deadites.
Unlocking Evil Dead’s Survivors
Evil Dead’s extra characters are unlocked by completing its single-player missions. Just hit the missions tab on the main menu and select one of the available options. Note that these missions can be rather challenging due to an absence of any checkpoints. Not only that, but they must be done in order. Meaning that if you get stuck on a particular mission, you won’t be able to move forward and unlock the remaining characters.
Unlockable survivors
Ash Williams (Ash vs Evil Dead)
Ash Williams
Of course, the first person you’ll unlock in Evil Dead: The Game is another Ash. Nabbed by completing the first mission “If You Love Someone, Set Them Free…With a Chainsaw,” this version of Ash is a solid character. His El Jefe passive allows him to reduce incoming damage and fear; as long as his teammates are within range of his aura, they’ll be buffed.
Amanda Fisher (Ash vs Evil Dead)
Amanda Fisher
Next up is Detective Amanda Fisher. She’s unlocked by completing the third mission, “Kill ‘Em All.” As a hunter, she utilizes abilities with a focus on ranged weapons. Amanda’s active skill, for example, allows her to temporarily fire her weapon without using any ammo. Her passive adds damage with consecutive hits; it’s possible to do a ton of damage without using ammo when holding a powerful long ranged weapon.
Pablo Simon Bolivar (Ash vs Evil Dead)
Pablo Simon Bolivar
Pablo is the next unlockable character. To use this survivor, you’ll need to complete the fourth mission, “It’s Not Gonna Let Us Go!” This mission can be rather tough thanks to its length and stealth-based areas. That said, it’s worth doing as Pablo is one of the best survivors in the game–more on that later.
Lord Arthur (Army of Darkness)
Lord Arthur
Last but not least is Lord Arthur. He’s unlocked after you’ve cleared the fifth mission, “Homecoming King.” A born leader, Arthur is all about leading the charge into battle. His abilities help in this regard by boosting the team’s melee damage while reducing fear levels. If that wasn’t enough, Arthur’s melee attacks are boosted further if he’s wielding a sword–which is covered by his passive, which has him starting each match with one.
More missions are planned to arrive in the months ahead, though we’ll need to wait and see if these will include new characters, as well.
Which character is best?
Honestly, it’s hard to say which of Evil Dead’s survivors are the best. All of them are viable in their own ways. Cheryl Williams, for example, is the game’s sole healer with active and passive abilities dedicated to keeping folks alive. One could easily make a solid argument in Cheryl’s favor. That said, we’ve decided to go with Pablo Bolivar.
Both Cheryl and Pablo are great survivors. Pablo’s ability to create amulets–items that grant shields–puts him slightly above Cheryl though. Cheryl’s healing is based on positioning. She can only heal teammates that are near her when she’s drinking Shemp’s Cola and/or when she places her healing zone. If she goes down during a fight, she won’t be able to heal anyone. That’s not the case with Pablo’s amulets.
Anyone can pick up his amulets once dropped. When a player uses his amulet, they’re given a protective shield that lasts until they’re depleted from taking damage. The thing is, they don’t need to be used right away. If you currently have full shields, you can save the amulet for later. If you have full health when Cheryl goes to heal, you won’t get any additional health. And while there are some drawbacks to Pablo’s amulets–they can only be made one at a time after a lengthy cool down–they’ve proven to be more viable in more situations considering that players can hold more than one at a time.
Source: Gamespot
