The Evil Within 2 Review (Spoiler-free)

Sebastian Castellanos is back, and the only way out is diving right back in. March 2015, game developer Tango Gameworks began crafting the sequel to The Evil Within. Shinji Mikami, the father of survival horror, stepped down as the director which he had done in the first game, and served as an executive producer instead. John Johanas claimed the director's seat this time, and boy does he take the game for a wild ride.

Before we plunge into this as Sebastian would plunge into STEM, I want you to know that I absolutely loved the first game. All right, here we go!

A Change of Evil

This game is far different from its predecessor, and I mean immensely, vastly, almost DNA-bendingly different. The game is semi-open world with set-pieces woven into it that serve as some linear levels. It's a mix of both. Now, the exploring can be great; there's loads to look at, and garages to scavenge, and creepy houses to explore. But it feels a bit shallow. There isn't much depth to it. Like I'd said, it's semi-open world. But it works for this game. The controls are tighter and less clunky. If you loathed the first game's linearity, then you'll already be loving this game. Personally, I think it's good, but not great.


The survival horror aspects are still here: low ammo, scavenging for items and supplies, crafting ammo when low, and finding goodies and weapons to survive the nightmare. It's great but it isn't that difficult. At least not like the first game. Unless you play on Nightmare mode, I suppose. But Evil Within 1 on Survival was way harder than this game's Survival mode. Just saying.

The enemies are great in this game. Great and also stupid. What I mean is, every encounter in this game is frightening and menacingly intense. The zombies will roar and scream horrifically if they spot you and attract others. They'll charge at you as if you're wielding naught but a damned toy hammer. It's exhilarating and nerve-wracking. Oh but if it gets too scary just run around them and they'll act as if you suddenly turned invisible. Seriously, the AI has been dumbed down considerably.

The enemies' peripheral and line of sight have been narrowed and it's a shame that they opted to streamline the game. In fact, most of this game has been watered down from the true survival horror DNA that the first one had. Take that as you may.

DIFFICULTY 

If you're playing it on Survival, it won't be that hard. Sure the beginning can be--seeing as you have to build up Sebastian and acquire all your firepower to manage the terrors within. But once you do, literally, if anything gets too tough, pull out that shotty. Don't get me wrong, there are times in the game that felt brutal but not nearly to the degree of Evil Within 1. Especially boss fights. I really enjoyed the bosses and loved them but they're not that difficult. It usually took me 1-2 tries for all of them. Whereas in the first game, some bosses took me like 10 tries or more.

Difficulty Rating: 6/10

STORY

After the events of Beacon Mental Hospital, Sebastian is now drowning himself at the bottom of a bottle. And that bottle's name is Jack. When given the opportunity to save his once-thought dead daughter, Seb straps himself up and plugs back into STEM, into the quiet, ominous town of Union. The story is mainstream. It's something that you could find if you walked into a big-budgeted blockbuster smash. You know, the Hollywood, big-explosions-and-all type. To be honest, I liked the story and it kept me engaged and wanting to know what would come next. But frankly, it lost its creative and true psychological edge that the first one had. It's still a good story, in my opinion. Just not as unique as the first. Also, the villains are hard to relate to. They're cool but you can't really sympathize with them as you could Ruvik.

Story Rating: 7.5/10

ATMOSPHERE

Despite its short-comings and flaws, this game's atmosphere is pretty great. Almost to the level of Evil Within 1 but not quite there. Aside from a few set-pieced stages that were oozing with atmosphere, other parts fell kinda flat. There are giant pendulums swinging from hallways, curtains that slither and reel themselves in, macabre and ominous museums. There's a sense of dread and ghastly horror imbued into the game's scenery and it makes the hairs on your neck stand up at times. Presentable and haunting ambiance but not quite as powerful or effective as its predecessor.

Atmosphere Rating: 8/10

GAMEPLAY

Stealth is actually a great tool in this game. It works well especially when paired with the new ability tree they've given us, where your character now has unique traits and skills to purchase. It's very RPG-like and that's a plus. The game is smooth, the controls are tight and feel good. Shooting an enemy once again feels satisfying and extra crunchy when you nail that head-shot. Crafting is great (you have a whole variety of items to craft certain ammo and supplies now). Combat is brutal and somewhat challenging (especially with the pistol). And the weapons you acquire are fantastic and surely give you an edge against the terrifying hordes of gut-munchers. What I love about the gameplay is how smooth and refined it is. Also, the game runs extremely well, even on console with very minimal frame drops. Honestly, it's beautifully crafted.

Gameplay Rating: 8.5/10

The Pros:

• Engaging yet sometimes cheesy story
• Thrilling gameplay
• Haunting atmosphere
• A whole slew of weapons
• Terrifying enemies
• Smooth performance
• Good enemy desgins
• Awesome sound design and soundtrack (seriously, it's amazing! Big points)
• Very fun to play with a good level-up system, crafting, and stealth
• Side missions can be rewarding as well refreshing to explore

The Cons:

• Watered down enemy AI
• Slightly lowered difficulty overall
• Psychological aspect of the game isn't as great as the first
• Boss fights can be a tad too easy
• Some bosses later on appear as regular enemies which dampens their presence and uniqueness 
• Some side characters are bland and goofy
• This game seems to crash at least once per playthrough. This happened to me the first time playing and on my NG+ file it did it again as well. I've also seen this happen to streamers using high-end PCs. Tango Gameworks need to patch this!

FURTHER ANALYSIS

It seems fans of the old Evil Within might not like this game as much, and people who didn't enjoy the first game will end up really liking this one. Then of course there's everything in between. It's somewhat conflicting but as a huge fan of the first game, I do love this game. 

Overall, I enjoyed the game and had fun playing through it. My 15-hour adventure in The Evil Within 2 was exciting, quite terrifying, and absolutely exhilarating despite some of its flaws. It's not better than the first game as a true, bite down and grit your teeth survival horror, but it's still a good survival horror game. Not to mention, there's no deluxe edition or stupid micro-transaction in the game. No dlc has been announced either nor a season pass. You get what you pay for; the full game. I won't lie it is a bit disappointing how the game couldn't capture and expand upon the greatness and essence of the first game.

Overall Game Rating...8.5/10 

My Thoughts on The Evil Within 2 So Far

All right, so this is a huge miracle that I'm super grateful for. First of all, I absolutely loved the first game. It did piss me off as I wasn't good at it and I died a lot on my first play-through, but once I beat it, I fell in love with the game. I learned a lot of strategies and have beat it more than 15 times, I'm certain. So the fact that we're getting a sequel is amazing, and truly, a wish come-true.

During E3 of 2016, while watching Bethesda's press conference--I was beginning to think they wouldn't even show the game. Maybe it wasn't even in production or whatever. I was watching it with my friends and I was highly anticipating, above all else, a reveal trailer or announcement of some sort. And holy shit, near the end of the conference, the trailer dropped.

As soon as I saw a long dark corridor with a shadowy, sinister woman standing on one end, and a man slowly backing up in a haze of what seemed like mist, I had known. Holy fucking tits, it was real! It was a CG trailer and it was a work of stunning and eldritch art. I love the tone that they set and the imagery, as well as the psychedelic aspect of it. Their rendition of "Ordinary World" by Duran Duran was also pretty damn great. It was all fantastic and I was super-hyped. But let me tell you the greatest part of it all: they actually showed gameplay. This shouldn't come as a surprise though; the game has been in development since March of 2015.

Tense and nerve-wracking music began to play and there it was: the awesome gameplay at the end of the trailer, followed by a release date: October 13, 2017. It couldn't be any better.

From what I've seen according to Bethesda's recent trailers: the game looks polished, refined, and even better than the first. The controls don't seem clunky or tight, they seem a bit more fluid and smooth this time around. The graphics--good Lord--have been enhanced heavily and they appeared to have ditched the whole "grainy" effect the first game had. Also, the frame-rate was exceptionally improved, which was sort of problem the first one had.

Let me say, this is how you do a sequel. Undoubtedly and irrefutably, this is how you make a damn sequel. You take the aspects that made the first game great and you expand upon and flesh out the mechanics, gameplay, story, and art design. 

Judging by the game's monsters and enemies, it looks insanely good. The atmosphere is dreadful and grim. There's a supernatural tone of ominous insidiousness that is imbued into the game, that the first game did so well. The movements are better. The enemy designs are better, and the mechanics have been improved upon. An example would be: Sebastian now has a skill-tree type of upgrade system that has unique abilities with each skill. Another cool change is: the game seems to be a tad more open-world. Not to the sprawling degree of Skyrim, but enough for players to explore and deviate from the main path to add more diversity to the game. As long as it doesn't end up being too "open-ended" I'm totally fine with this. Along with that, we can now craft ammo for guns we want to use more than others, and we can make healing syringes from herbs (Insert Resident Evil references here). They basically took the trap part mechanic and fleshed it out. And I believe there are mini side-quests in the game as well.

The Evil Within 2's story is set back in the mind-bending world of Stem, but this time, Sebastian dives back into the horror to find and save his daughter, Lily. She is the core of the Stem system that Mobius has created, and the world they are in is called Union. The story is more personal this time around. It allows for better character development and it lets the player connect with Sebastian and relate to him. I like this change. And if done well, we might get awesome development for Sebastian, which would definitely round out his character. 

All in all, I absolutely love what I've seen. The game looks scary as hell, and fun to play. I hope they keep the balance between action and horror to retain that true survival horror aspect. Other than that, Tango Gameworks seems to be on the right tracks. By the way, this game is being directed by John Johanas (who directed the Kidman dlcs for the first game), and Shinji Mikami is the executive producer.

Can't wait for this to drop on Friday the 13th this year!

Bloodborne Review (Including DLC) (Spoiler-free)

Ah, Bloodborne, From Software's most creative and hauntingly beautiful universe. In this review, we shall take a dive into the creepy, the unknown, and the eldritch that is Bloodborne.

INTRO:

Holy mother of God, I love this game! Bloodborne is like a nightmare that you wander into and never want to leave, as crazy as that sounds. From Software began development on Bloodborne back in 2012 under the name Project Beast. Hidetaka Miyazki, From Software President, wanted to create a new IP (intellectual property) instead of making another souls game at the time, and actually, PlayStation wanted an exclusive, new IP for the system and asked him to make one. With his inspiration stemming from H.P. Lovecraft and Dracula and even architectural designs of Romania and the Czech Republic: Bloodborne was...born. All right, enough jokes. Let's get into this.

GAMEPLAY:

Fast-paced, brutal, and ever-so aggressive: the combat system of Bloodborne is quick, sharp, and precise! Don't expect to be defensive or to turtle your way through tough enemies or unrelenting bosses. In this game, fast, fast, fast, is all that flies. There's a mechanic in the game where you can restore whatever portion of health was just lost so long as you attack an enemy with haste. This encourages lightning-speed combat. And if you're wondering about not taking damage--well--you simply have to dodge, or rather, skirt around your enemies. 

    If you lock on to an enemy, you dart around them, but when you're unlocked your character will roll. A lot of the mechanics in the game are akin to a Dark Souls game, but that doesn't mean the game feels familiar at all. To be quite frank, the game feels fast, responsive, and fresh. There are boss fights where you'll constantly be bolting around their attacks while dishing out your own. For a final touch on the awesome gameplay that Bloodborne sports, once you get into the fast-paced tempo, you'll never let the rhythm die down. Category Rating:  9/10

ENVIRONMENT: 

 Gothic, Victorian-style architecture. Castle-like structures, towers, and chapels. Haunting, bricked streets, trees with sinister limbs trying to reach out and grab you. Dark corridors and a beautifully haunting and foreboding atmosphere. Bloodborne's environments, setting, and atmosphere are where it shines the absolute most. The levels are interconnected much like the case was in Dark Souls I, and the level-design is memorable, creative, and masterful. 

   The game's stunning areas are so well-designed and aesthetically pleasing that they're seriously top-notch, and some of the best in video-games I've ever seen. Not to mention, the levels and amount of scenery are beyond detailed and consistent through and through. One might not like Bloodborne, but you have to admit: the game's world and levels are tough to beat.  Category Rating: You kidding? 10/10   

BOSSES:    

This game harbors many bosses. Some are great and then some, to be honest with you--and I'm looking at this objectively--are not so great. There are amazing, intense, heart-pounding boss fights with phenomenal, live-orchestrated-recorded music, and then some fights are just simply decent at best. Don't get me wrong, the bosses that are good are so good that it takes your mind off the less great ones. Overall, the boss fights are awesome and coupled with the epic music makes it even better.

 Category Rating: 8.75/10 

DIFFICULTY:

Some may find Bloodborne to be even harder than Dark Souls I. This can be true, it just depends on the person playing. Veterans, who are used to From Software's formula may find the game not as challenging, whereas new-comers to the game will surely be punished brutally. This game is not so forgiving. In Dark Souls, when you die by a boss or an enemy you lose your souls and have to retrieve them, and if you don't and you die again, your hard-earned "experience points" are lost forever. The same goes for Bloodborne, only the souls this time are called blood echoes.

   In Dark Souls you have a limited number of estus (healing juice) that will not deplete forever. You just have to backtrack to the starting bonfire to replenish them. In Bloodborne, your healing juices are called blood vials, and they are finite. Should you face a boss and die a numerous amount of times, then your blood vials will deplete. And if you waste them all, you'll have to go and farm for more. This encourages not only the development of "skill" but it also breeds a sense of punishment and frustration. 

   Bloodborne forces you to, as they say in the gaming realm, "git gud". You're not gonna breeze through this game solely on button-mashing nor luck. Come prepared, face the ritual of trial-and-error, and overcome your fears.    Category Rating: 8/10 

DLC:

The Old Hunters, the DLC for Bloodborne, is a two-in-one add-on to the main game. It features 5 bosses, 1 of which is optional, new locations, and tough challenges. Let me preface this by saying, the DLC is amazing! It fixes two issues with the game: length and the number of weapons. I don't want to spoil the DLC for you, but just know, it is extremely punishing and difficult. It's harder than anything found in the base game, and in fact, the leap of difficulty in the DLC from the base game is ridiculous. So come with a high-leveled character wielding a +10 weapon and expect phenomenal battles and  an unforgettable soundtrack. Also, just letting you know now, the Old Hunters houses probably the hardest boss I've ever faced in a video-game.  DLC Rating: 9/10 (A must buy)

THE NEGATIVES:

• Lack of weapons or build variety despite it being an RPG (Though, that's not to say some of the weapons aren't downright wicked and awesome)
• The game really doesn't feel like an RPG, more of a hack-and-slash with interesting play-styles
• Length: without the DLC, the game feels considerably short. Seriously, the DLC is a must purchase
• Some bad and rather disappointing bosses. Much more could've been done
• Chalice dungeons require much material-farming and are a pain to complete (not actually because of difficulty, it's just such a long boring grind to complete everything). Sorry, I just do not like the chalice dungeons. I like to pretend they don't exist. Also, they're very repetitive 
• Having to farm for blood vials
• Minor frame-rate drops
• Having to use the lamps to return to the central hub so then you can actually warp to another lamp rather than jumping from lamp-to-lamp freely. It's somewhat a waste of time

THE POSITIVES:

• Phenomenal level designs; areas that loop back in on themselves.
• Minimal use of lamp posts (save points or "bonfires"), which encourages exploration
• An epic, unforgettable, atmospheric, and masterful soundtrack
• Beautiful graphics and detail
• Amazing atmosphere; really pulls you in
• Unique and memorable story and lore
• Interesting enemy designs
• Fast-paced, fun and brutal combat
• Great dodging system
• Weapons in the game have a lot of character, making every single weapon unique and giving them all their own personality
• Extremely challenging and satisfying to beat
• Fun gameplay and has high replay value

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Bloodborne is a fantastic and eerily wonderful experience with great lore and a memorable story. What I love about the story of the game is: it begins with traditional monster horror and transitions into something more cosmic and eldritch. The game is fun and satisfying, despite some of the bland and dull bosses, the short length, the lack of build and weapon variety, and the stupid chalice dungeons. The game is truly unique and stands high above many others for what it is and what it does. Surely, Bloodborne is one of my favorite games of all-time, and without the DLC I give it an 8/10. However, with the DLC, it's a 9.5/10. If you're deciding whether to buy it or not and you own a PS4, I'll tell you this: it's the best exclusive I've ever played. Thanks, From Software!

Dark Souls 3 Review (Spoiler Free)

The final, scorching installment in the Dark Souls series: Dark Souls III. It all ends...with the ashes. Hidetaka Miyazaki and developer company From Software are back once more to present the epic and closing iteration that we all have come to love since 2011.

GAMEPLAY:

Dark Souls III's game-play mechanics are the same as the first game and the second, it's just faster and a tad more fluid this time around. There are many weapons you can choose from that you might feel overwhelmed, but don't fret, you'll surely find a sword or battle-axe, or katana that will suit your soul-slaying needs. 

   The controls are the same as ever and playing the game feels fun and responsive. It helps that the game doesn't have many frame-rate issues as the case was with Dark Souls I on consoles. Early on in the game, you'll find that you have access to quite the number of armor sets (the starting Knight class armor set is actually well-worth keeping as it has great attributes and defenses). 

   Also, I can't mention the weapons without mentioning the weapon skills or weapon arts. Performing weapon skills costs FP (Focus Points) or Mana, and doing so will result in a sort of special or ultimate attack. This is an awesome addition to the gameplay and adds a nice flare to the combat system. Don't worry, there are also a ton of weapons that deal with magic or spellcaster builds. You can get pretty creative if you really want. But you know, the best part is: no matter what class you choose, it doesn't truly matter. 

   The class you select does not act as a tether that constrains you, you are free to do as you please. You can be a knight and cast spells. You can be a nimble thief and wield a gargantuan great sword. Category Rating: 9/10

LEVEL-DESIGN:

The level designs are great. You have interconnected level-design and most of the stages loop in on themselves. The game features many beautiful vistas and locations that are both wonderfully grim and eerily beautiful. What else would expect in the decaying world of Dark Souls? I feel that only a few levels could've had more done to them. Other than that, the levels are memorable and fun to play through. Category Rating: 8/10

DIFFICULTY: 

Out of all the Souls games, DSIII is pretty forgiving but that doesn't mean it's not challenging. Enemies hit hard, and most of them will carry out delayed attacks in an attempt to trick your senses of dodging. Dodging is useful, and so is using a shield. I like to utilize both play-styles, resulting in the perfect blend of agile quickness and strong defense. Bosses can be brutal, and that is particularly true about some of the optional and late-game bosses. Overall, the game is challenging, but what's more is: it is definitely surmountable. Plus, boss fights harbor amazing orchestral and operatic soundtracks and scores that are pretty damn cool. This game has some of the best boss fights in the series.

  Also, when you beat the game, you can choose to do a new game+ which bumps up the game's difficulty. It will continue to rise with each new game+ all the way up to new game+ 7. Category Rating: 7.5/10

STORY: 

You are the Unkindled Ash, seeking the Lords of Cinder in a quest to bring them back to the thrones they long left. The world is dying, fading like an ember, and it is up to you to decide the fate of the world. The game has a lot of references and certainly homages to the previous entries in the series. It has lore connections to the first game, so if you've played and beaten Dark Souls I you'll surely enjoy Dark Souls III much more. To fully understand the story of the game, you have to play the first. Which isn't the greatest when you consider there will be many new-comers to Dark Souls III.

    The multiplayer system revolves around invading other real players worlds and trying to kill them or PVP (player vs player). There is also co-op play if you so choose to play with a friend or even a group of friends.

THE NEGATIVES:

• Some bland levels 
• Way too many references to previous games to the point where the game feels like "fan-service" for the veteran players of the series
• The game feels as though it doesn't truly have its own identity; it lacks a lot of original flair that--say--Bloodborne definitely has and Demon's Souls, too. That's not to say it doesn't have personality, because it certainly does. It's just not as strong as Bloodborne or Demon's Souls. 

THE POSITIVES:

• Awesome boss fights (some of the best in the series)
• An epic soundtrack
• Good frame-rate, not too many noticeable drops (even on consoles)
• An abundance of items, weapons, and armor sets
• Extremely fun gameplay (best positive trait about the game)
• The levels were enjoyable and fun to play through
• High replay value
• Beautiful graphics  

THE FINAL VERDICT:

This is the final Dark Souls game and to be completely honest with you--despite some of its flaws--It feels right as the send-off for the series. Dark Souls III is well-worth its price and is a game with excellent combat and thoroughly fun boss fights. That's what makes DSIII great. It's simply a fun ride to enjoy. But seriously, all of the references and throw-backs somewhat hurt the game when it comes to originality. Other than that, despite absolutely loving Dark Souls I and Bloodborne, Dark Souls III is my favorite Souls game.

Final Game Rating: 9/10.

Many thanks to Hidetaka Miyazaki and the wonderful team at From Software. Much love.