Ash Williams is locked up in an asylum for the criminally insane as a result of the events that took place in Evil Dead and Evil Dead II. Convinced that the world thinks he is insane, the truth is far more nefarious.

His doctor, Dr. Reinhard, somehow in possession of Professor Raymond Knowby’s journal and the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, plans to use the books to achieve his ascension to power. In the process, he unleashes an army of Deadites on the world and it is Ash’s job to stop the doctor and put the Deadites back where they belong.

The gameplay mostly consists of hack and slash with small conveniently placed puzzles. The player can find different kinds of weapons in levels that find use in different situations. Early on in the game, Ash receives his sidekick Sam who fights along with him in battle. The player can kick Sam into openings to open doors or onto enemies to pop their heads off. The player can also possess Sam to get through small openings; the purpose is to open a door or a switch. At times, Sam is controlled by the computer and destroys adversaries without assistance.

In contrast with previous games, the game automatically gives the player unlimited ammunition for his weapons and unlimited gas to his chainsaw. A new gameplay element is rage mode. When the player kills enough enemies it fills up his rage meter. When the rage meter is filled up to a decent amount it allows Ash to go into “rage mode”. Rage mode transforms Ash into a powerful deadite killing machine. It instantly doubles all of Ash’s weapon damage and makes him lose health slower.