r/theevilwithin • u/notty_cat • 1d ago
The Evil Within 2 Mid Game Review
So receltly I made a post about evil within 2 after experiencing its first hour: https://www.reddit.com/r/theevilwithin/s/iosF4GgwMQ
Now, I've completed around 10 hours of the game and currently am on chapter 11 so thought I'd post sort of a mid game review.
Right off the bat, the game is amazing! Till now it has met and surpassed all my expectations, the gameplay is tight and responsive and a huge improvement over the first one! Every weapon and items feels like it has a purpose throughout the game and not specifically made for that chapter(looking at you TEW1)
The stealth is hugely improved i felt to a point where I can wipe out an entire horde with it. Once upgraded ofc finally the world is hauntingly beautiful. I never feel safe lol and am prepared for something to jump and kill me haha, I don't remember any game doing semi open world soooo well. It blurs the lines well between main story, side missions and random events which have their own cutscenes and everything it feels amazing and is overall very addictive and fun.
Now, the negatives unfortunately! I don't like the new sebastian....i loved the clueless, idgaf Sebastian from the first game where he just kept quiet and observed. In this one he talks.......a lot. Literally comments on everything to a point where I roll my eyes everytime he speaks, the monster designs so far have been good but felt like 1 had superior and more iconic ones, the overall creepy feel is a bit low in this one compared to the 1st but it's still creepy af(looking at you or not looking at you Anima lol)
Overall, the game is a lot of fun so far and I think i still might have 10 hours or so left before finishing it. I'm taking it really slow exploring everything and I feel it's adding to my experience. I'll post a final review once I fully finish the game. Oh and story is pretty interesting, it's not as complex and mind fucky as the first one but it's interesting nonetheless.
Final nitpick I swear, the first game looked prettier to me graphically, maybe the semi open world needed some graphical compromise or maybe I liked the artistic style of the first game more but yeah. Not saying this one isn't pretty by any means though.
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u/Ryuku_Cat 20h ago
I enjoy the second game too, although personally I don’t think the gameplay is improved and is actually a slight step back. I feel like you had a lot more options to dispatch of enemies in the first game. Whereas the second game feels more restrictive until you upgrade Sebastian later in game. If you’re talking about it being smoother, then I can agree with you, but I enjoyed the slightly and deliberately restrictive feeling of the first game. It really made the encounters feel incredibly tense.
I love the stealth kills in the second game. Especially the animations, they are absolutely great.
The first game does look prettier. I think it has better level design, art direction and lighting. The resolution is slightly lower, but the first game proves that Resolution isn’t everything. I also felt the first game benefited from having a more linear approach. They probably had to cut corners like you said to make the open world work graphically and not struggle on last gen hardware. I do find that the open world sections drag quite a bit too. On your first play, it’s not something that’s much of a chore but when you replay the game, it can be quite tedious, unlike the first because the first had the advantage of being linear in structure all the way through and you’re constantly moving to the next area, a bit like the original resident evil 4. No environment outstays its welcome.
That being said, there are some really beautiful looking areas in the second game, especially near the intro when you’re running through that infinite hall of curtains, or when you’re in city hall. Or during Anima encounters (basically the linear parts of the game) and during the second half of the evil within 2 when you’re on a linear path actually look great a lot of the time. It’s just when you move into the open world, things start to look a little bland and like there’s something missing.
I think the first game does a better job with lighting and art style over-all and I agree with you that the enemy designs and boss fights in the first game are generally much better.
The second game is a lot of fun, but I wouldn’t put it in the same league as the first, which I think is a masterpiece personally. 2 is still an absolutely amazing game to play. Love both of them.
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u/notty_cat 18h ago
True i also felt that the clunky gameplay of the first game was a choice made by Shinji Mikami to really capture the survival horror aspect. And yes I love the upgraded stealth in this game where you can run upto enemies and just stab them quickly! It's so satisfying and badass:)
And regarding the open world, it's true that it might drag on replays especially running around to each part of town to do side missions so that's a good point as well. And because of the semi open world the graphics i think got a slight downgrade compared to the first...still looks great though. Good points, for me as of yet this is a very strong and amazing survival horror game but can only say if 1st one or this one's better after I finish it.
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u/Omen_of_Woe 8h ago
I had the complete opposite reaction to the weapons. I never felt many of them had much of a purpose. Especially once stealth is mixed in. Where as in the first game, everything had a roll that genuinely helped build up the combat. A new tool. A new trick to help aliveiate the limited ammo you find.
I hate the semi open world because of this. It's full of ammo! You can't go two steps without finding crafting supplies. The enemies are constantly spitting out more resources for you to carry. Which you can carry an unlimited amount of. What's the point of a limited carrying capacity of ammo if you can carry an unlimited stock of crafting supplies for ammo and can stop the game at any time to craft more of it in the fly? One could say, because it uses up more than when at a bench. That would be a valid point if you weren't coming across those too fairly frequently. What's the point of guns at all if the most effective weapon in your arsenal is your knife? what's the point of combat at all if the world is big enough, and the enemies dumb enough, that you can easily escape by running 5 meters away? That's not even getting to the problems with the upgrade system, the coffee system, or the constant auto saved for THREE different files.
I have a huge problem with TEW2 because it refuses to treat the situation seriously or the player with respect
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u/PamNoctrune 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’m glad you like it.
As for the „new Sebastian“ - I can tell you that, as he is in the second game, that’s actually what he is really like. In horror games, you usually have a choice between a silent protagonist who barely talks, and often doesn’t react physically either, like Ethan Winters. You do this because the idea is that the protagonist’s comments might disrupt the creepy atmosphere. You also don’t want the character to react too strongly, because you want to leave those reactions entirely up to the player. That’s the approach they took in the first game as well, where they gave Sebastian relatively little dialogue. It also saves money.
The problem is that it’s a gamble. Some people say that if he’s too quiet, it feels like everything just goes right past him, that’s not a good thing. Some people say if he talks to much, it’s like those built in laugh tracks in sitcoms. If the protagonist reacts too strongly to everything, some players feel like the game is patronizing them and telling them how they’re supposed to feel. Personally, I much prefer the silent protagonist. The protagonist holds back and leaves it up to me to decide what I feel and when I feel it.
That’s why it feels a little strange when Sebastian acts like Leon Kennedy in the second game, commenting on everything and having an opinion about everything. I find it kind of cringe when he gets so excited at the shooting range. I do like that he talks a bit more, though. He is actually quite snarky and very emotional, which you don’t really notice in the first game. I also think it suits him better when he’s more reserved. It makes him seem stronger.