Fire

The use of Fire is a major gameplay mechanic in The Evil Within and its DLCs, and a downplayed one in the sequel.

Overview

The Evil Within

Due to him being gravely scarred by the barnhouse fire that claimed his sister's life, Ruvik has developed a deathly aversion to flame growing up. This aversion would later on be shared across all of his minions and summons inside STEM space, making fire in The Evil Within a very effective method of disposing of enemies.

Enemies playing dead can be lit up with a match to prevent them from rising, while those prowling the maps usually die instantly or quickly when struck with fire, and certain bosses are only susceptible to being burnt.

The Evil Within 2

Fire returns as a common gameplay mechanic in the sequel, though is no longer of significant importance due to the Core's lack of aversion to it. It is also no longer exclusive to the player alone, as certain enemies now wield fire-based attacks, and fire itself is a prominent motif of a significant boss in the game.

Regardless, fire remains an effective way of disposing of weaker enemies quickly.

Sources of Fire

• Matches
• Oil Drums
• Oil Spills
• Flamethrower
• Torches
• Flaming Debris
• Flame Bolt
• Fully Upgraded Harpoon Bolt
• Broken Cars
• Harbingers
• Molotov Cocktails

Achievements

The Evil Within

Burn Baby Burn 10 - Kill 5 enemies with a torch.

Drop It Like It's hot 10 - Kill 3 living enemies with one drop of a match.

The Evil Within 2

Kick, Shoot, Burn 15 - Killed 2 or more enemies at once using oil on the ground.

I’ll Take You Down Myself 20 - Brought your own equipment to the barbecue this time. (Ch. 14)

Trivia

• The entire concept of burning enemy corpses so that they stay dead for good was likely a nod to a similar mechanic in Shinji Mikami's previous work on the Resident Evil series, particularly the 2002 remake of the first game where slain zombies are liable to turn into more powerful Crimson Heads unless their bodies are burnt.