The Doppelganger is a powerful variant of the Haunted that appears in The Evil Within.
Description[]
The Doppelganger is a quasi-elite variant of the Haunted with notably stronger synchronisation with Ruvik than their standard rank-and-file brethren, allowing him to project himself better into their physical bodies, granting them more powerful attacks and heightened intelligence, while also making them slightly more durable. This has the side effect of transforming them into visual clones of Ruvik himself, though their apparel resembles that of hospital orderlies than the tattered outfit worn by their creator.
Despite this, as the synchronization is not perfect, the Doppelgangers lack faces, and still retain some of the more erratic behavior of their lesser counterparts.
Plot[]
The Evil Within[]
The Doppelganger is first encountered during Chapter 11: Reunion, shortly after Sebastian Castellanos' first run-in with the Shigyo. The first Doppelganger is spawned from a Haunted corpse by Ruvik in an attempt to block the detective's way forward, which he must kill in order to progress.
The Consequence[]
A lone Doppelganger is encountered by Juli Kidman near the end of The Consequence as she treks through the basement of Beacon Mental Hospital, spawning out of the closet with the ladder leading up to the boiler room in the main campaign.
Gameplay[]
Generally, the Doppelganger behaves much more coordinated compared to the lesser Haunted, and will tend to calmly stride towards the player instead of running madly, though some will break into a frenzied dash upon getting close enough to Sebastian. They wield no physical weapons and can only attack Sebastian directly with their weak fists, though to compensate they are capable of launching a ripple of clawed hands similar to those of Laura at the player, which will kill them instantly if it connects. The ripples can travel short distances from the Doppelganger before vanishing, making them easier to dodge at range, though given the creature's propensity for blending in with mobs of lesser Haunted, they can be dangerous if the player is not careful. Being hit by certain enemy moves that trigger a short animation do provide immunity to the ripples, however, and killing a Doppelganger instantly stops its attack.
Being essentially an upgraded Haunted, the Doppelgangers can be killed instantly with fire regardless of health. It's worth noting that Sneak Kills are only possible at Survival difficulty and below; testing seems to indicate that they are resilient to such kills in Nightmare mode and above, turning around and noticing Sebastian at the last second.
Notes[]
- Playing the game on Nightmare or AKUMU difficulty causes the Doppelganger to spawn much earlier than usual, with the first encounter being Chapter 3: Claws of the Horde. Despite this, the creature receives no cinematic indicative of its presence until the proper encounter in Chapter 11.
Death Animations[]
- If Sebastian or Juli touch the Doppelganger's claw ripples, the hands will seize them briefly as they struggle in vain, before pulling them under to eviscerate them and releasing the dismembered parts back onto the ground.
Trivia[]
- According to The Art of The Evil Within, the Doppelganger was originally named Mr. Unknown. As of the final retail version, however, they have no real name of their own and are instead regarded as uncommon Haunted.
Gallery[]
Promotional and Concept Art[]
Screenshots[]
