Bethesda will launch The Evil Within's first story DLC in early 2015.

Titled The Assignment, the add-on will be the first entry in a two-part campaign expansion focused on Juli Kidman, the partner of the main game's protagonist, detective Sebastian Castellanos.

Zoom

It will be available standalone or can be pre-purchased at a discounted rate as part of the £14.99/$19.99 The Evil Within season pass, which will also include part two of the story DLC, The Consequence, and a series of mission-based maps featuring The Keeper.

Tango Gameworks' John Johanas said in a Bethesda Blog Q&A; that the story DLC is partly inspired by the fifth and ninth chapters of the main game.

"Chapter 9 had you uncover past stories by solving puzzles and exploring and there is a lot of that in the DLC. Overall, Juli's adventure is rather story driven - Juli tends to 'discover' these things by her actions and by solving puzzles.

"But at the same time, the atmosphere and progression is similar to Chapter 5, where you were trapped in a very oppressive area and the 'horror' element was at its strongest.

"However," Johanas added, "I would say there's quite a bit of variation in her encounters so I wouldn't want anyone to think 'Oh, it's just another Chapter XX.' Even the 'horror' element has a different feel. Juli's experiences are much more dark, lonely, and claustrophobic."

CVG's The Evil Within review labelled it "the game Resident Evil 5 should have been".