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
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