I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for horror games. I think most media that has touched me in a more “emotional” manner has – albeit not exclusively – been horror games. I also harbor some sense of nostalgia towards the genre, having grown up watching my older brother play classics like Silent Hill, Resident Evil or Haunting Grounds.
So I admit my bias.
The Evil Within 2 isn’t a classic though. It’s heavily inspired by the “old school kings” in the genre, but through a more modern lens. I remember playing the first one and feeling a bit conflicted in my opinions on it, but I’ll write about that in another post. I put off the sequel, thinking that I’d feel as lukewarm towards it as I did the prequel, but to my surprise I was actually enjoying myself quite a lot.
The Evil Within 1 wasn’t a “bad” game, and I still genuinely recommend it even with its flaws, but the sequel is by far a better game in almost every sense.
You play as Sebastian, who’s lost his daughter and wife, and is now tangled in a corporate conspiracy. Drenched in trauma from the first game, Sebastian has now learnt that his daughter may yet still be alive and sets out to rescue her. But by doing so, he needs to play along with “Mr Evil Corporation” – for the time being. The game plays very similarly to Resident Evil 4. There’s a lot of item management, and the gunplay can feel ruthless at times. Whilst the first game was way more linear, the sequel is instead structured into four “semi open world” zones, with some linear sections in between. The game, just like the first one, absolutely nails the atmosphere. The developers managed to do a great job in terms of level and enemy design, and although there are a lot of action sequences in this game, the parts that were slower and “horror focused” genuinely made me feel a bit uneasy. The story is over the top, but charming and interesting, and I was always curious to see what was going to happen next.
In short? – Smooth gameplay, fun combat and exciting enemy design and story.
Having said that, there were some sections that I felt dragged on a bit and certain story decisions didn’t make any sense at all. The last open zone is a reskin of an older one, although with fire this time. There’s also not that much in terms of enemy variety. Items management was intense at first, but almost got “too easy” once you started reaching the endgame, and there are sections in the story where you’ll scratch your head and think “what?”. Notably when you find the “not so secret hideout” and when Sebastian decides to LIFT A TREE INSTEAD OF GOING UNDER IT!
They are very generic and minor “flaws”, and I’d have to be a huge baby to be upset and drop the game for them. Obviously, no game is perfect and media will always interact differently to different people, but I really liked this one.
Also, it’s not often we get to play as the “angry dad”, so +1 for that. 8/10!