Evaluation: Part Two of The Evil Within

Even though The Evil Within was often somewhat uneven, it was a pleasant throwback to the Resident Evil titles from the second generation. Though its poor resuscitation of a genre that had been replaced by an abundance of even worse third-person action games, its impressive visual trickery and art design showed genuine potential that may have been enhanced in a decent sequel.

Not only is the tempo and story of The Evil Within 2 drastically altered, but the whole structure is also changed

It's possible that The Evil Within 2 is a more mixed bag than its predecessor. While Tango Gameworks' return to the series sees not only a drastic change in pacing and narrative, but also a complete shift in structure, this is much to the detriment of the experience. Still, it takes some of the original's strong points and improves upon them tenfold, such as the aforementioned art direction.

In this sequel to the first game, protagonist Sebastian Castellanos is called upon to return to STEM in order to find his daughter Lily, whom he had long since assumed to be dead. Following a brief but very inventive preface, The Evil Within 2 rapidly drops you into the town of Union, a charming little hamlet that has been horrifyingly altered by the terrifying STEM.

Discovering Union in all of its ominous, photorealistic splendor might initially seem like a terrifying stroll through the park at midnight, but after a few hours the walls begin to show and skulking around its deserted streets turns into an entirely boring experience akin to watching your younger cousin's high school golf tournament.

In Union, there are many things to do. You could choose to divert from the main plot by scavenging items, locating optional flashback locations, finding the few citizens in need of assistance, finishing the few (I mean few) helpful side missions, and so on, but The Evil Within 2's side content doesn't feel like side content at all.

The most enjoyable parts of The Evil Within 2 are when it's most linear and not in the open world.

Not long after you join Union, you'll get your first official side task. Following one of many tragic events, you stumble across a Mobius soldier called O'Neal, who informs you that two runaways are aware of a small weapons stash located somewhere in town. The task takes you over the whole initial map of the open world; you'll pass by a lot of buildings, outdoor landmarks, and even a small system of tunnels before you reach the fabled stash and learn how to use the shotgun, which is a necessary weapon in any survival horror game.

This is when The Evil Within 2 really began to lose me; rather than feeling like optional content, it seemed like stuff that had been shaved off and hidden behind various triggers in order to check off the side content checklist required for an open world game. Even while none of these missions are quite as detailed as a major game level, they all seem like they might have been improved with more time and funding. This side material is neither enough developed to belong in the main campaign nor sufficiently large to be optional.

Fortunately, The Evil Within 2 manages to maintain a fair amount of concentration over the bulk of its primary campaign, despite the disarray of its side content. Although the level design and variation of the first game seemed more substantial, its sequel mostly puts more of an emphasis on the cinematic experience than gameplay.

Strangely, the most enjoyable parts of The Evil Within 2 are when it is most linear, removed from the vast world and all of the busywork that goes along with it. The game's middle section, in contrast to its beginning and ending, depends much too much on entangling you and making you jog around Union's desolate streets like you're on a date. By far the poorest part of the game is this part, where you are forced into an unending cycle of resource collecting and waste, but if you stick to the main campaign, you will always feel like you are making progress that is steady, fulfilling, and enjoyable.

The first third of The Evil Within 2 and the latter third of the game seem very much like a sequel. This time around, there has been a lot more innovation poured into the series' already amazing graphical design, and even while it never manages to be as frightening as the original, its straight corridors are covered with mystery and originality. While certain areas and monsters from the first game may sometimes resurface, the new monster designs—particularly the last boss—are among the most visceral, twisted, and vicarious creatures to date.

Despite how tedious it may seem at times, the game never deviates from good quality; nothing on here is really awful. But after finishing the game and seeing all that The Evil Within 2 has to offer in its latter third, I can't help but think that this sequel was rushed.

The most interesting tale isn't Sebastian's attempt to reconcile with his daughter and end STEM permanently. The Evil Within 2's storyline has its high points and obviously its low one, but at times it comes off as forced, particularly in regards to some of the connections Sebastian has with the Mobius members he meets.

Like its predecessor, The Evil Within 2 is a mixed bag.

While several of these personalities seem intriguing at first, they are ultimately underutilized. Throughout the ten-hour campaign of the game, only two characters—the psychotic photographer Stefano and the egotistical Father Theodore—show genuine potential. However, like many Resident Evil antagonists, they are never given enough time to really flourish. None of these bad guys couldn't be the main enemy in their own game, after all.

In the end, The Evil Within 2 is an up-and-down game all the time. While its story and open-world areas are exceedingly unexceptional and provide very little in terms of material, its visual direction, characters, and combat are among the greatest that a Resi-style survival horror game has ever delivered. It doesn't maintain its momentum throughout, while having some fantastic moments, especially in its outstanding latter third.

The Conclusion

Like its predecessor, The Evil Within 2 is a mixed bag. Tango Gameworks has tried to provide too little and compress too much into a game that had the potential to be truly fantastic. It performs best when it adheres to the original blueprint; clearly, a lot more work has gone into the linear campaign, which delivers considerably more refinement and depth than the open world. Nevertheless, The Evil Within 2 is a great option if you're still looking for a survival horror game in the Resi style with some of the greatest visual direction available.