This article originally ran under a different banner/website in August of 2019 and is now being here re-uploaded for purposes of convenience and consolidation. Please enjoy.
HEAR YE!!! HEAR YE!!! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! I, THE VIDEO GAME DOOMSAYER, have a favorite video game genre. While I try to play a wide variety of games, I can’t deny I come back to some favorites. Third-person horror games are definitely games I return to when the terrors of the real world are too much. Dead Space and Resident Evil 2 are some of my favorite games. I even found Resident Evil 4 enjoyable even though I had a lot of complaints about it. With the light release schedule of the summer, I felt the draw to play another one of my favorite third-person horror games that I haven’t talked about: Evil Within 2.
Evil Within 2 picks up where the original left off. You play a broken Sebastian Castellanos, an alcoholic cop, still traumatized by the events from the previous installment. He is immediately informed that his daughter, who he thought died in a fire, is alive and is being used to power STEM. The device used to create the horrible dimension in the previous game. Sebastian is also informed that something has gone wrong and he is the only one capable of venturing in and rescuing his daughter. While this might seem like a complex and confusing story, Evil Within 2, leans into it with some B-movie charm. I’ll admit I prefer games that balance story and gameplay, the story does take a back seat but is vital in setting up a framework for the combat and level design. The true strength of the game.
You enter STEM only to be dropped into a run-down art gallery; after a quick escape, you learn the city inside STEM, Union City is in turmoil as it is falling apart at the seams. Pieces of the city are breaking apart and floating in the air. Utilizing an underground tunnel system, you are able to venture to the different parts of the city. You soon learn each section of the city is a small sandbox with a handful of shops and buildings you can explore. These levels remind me of the small sections of Rapture you explore in Bioshock. You have an objective to keep you on track, but the level is open up for you to explore and find side stories. A perfect example of this is a chilling ghost named Anima, a manifestation of your guilt and fear from the first game. While you explore the abandoned houses of Union, you occasionally run into her and it results in terrifying chases through the levels of the first game. Along with these side adventures, the open-level designs allow for more flexible combat against the game’s main enemy: the Lost.
Besides tearing the city apart, the citizens of Union City are transforming into a skittish zombie known as the Lost. Many players of Evil Within 1, may remember these enemies being frustrating to handle, but with the open levels, the annoyance of fighting the Lost turns into tense skirmishes. With their jittery movements, sneaking up onto them becomes tense as they could turn around at any moment, and alert the pack. While a problem in Evil Within’s tight claustrophobic environments, the open levels in Evil Within 2 allow you more space, making combat the Lost that barrel down on you less punishing. Your mistakes aren’t as punished. Eliminating frustration, allowing experimentation with the various weapons, and leaving only tense fights rivaling fighting necromorphs. I’ll never forget exploring the ruined downtown, looting some corpses, when I was jumped by the boss I beat the previous chapter. I frantically tried to empty all my clips into it, only to be grounded into dust. That boss continued to wander through the downtown area, almost as if their failure in the previous chapter, had caused them to be demoted to wandering monsters. This was an experience I never had on the Ishimura or the Raccoon City Police Department, allowing Evil Within 2 to stand up on its own.
Combating the enemies breaks down to stealth and action; Evil Within 2 balances them quite well. While you are able to sneak around in bushes unseen, the Lost has to be the most twitchy of enemies I have ever encountered. One minute they are hunched over a corpse. A few steps later they may snap up and scan their surroundings. Fortunately, if you get spotted by their sudden twisting around you have an arsenal at your disposal. Your pistols and shotgun have satisfying kicks to them and your crossbow has a variety of different bolts making it a versatile weapon. However, ammo is rare, forcing you to scavenge for crafting material. Yes, Evil Within 2 allows you to use the material you find to craft ammo and weapon upgrades, but I didn’t mind it. Frankly, it forced me to look into the game’s darkest corners. I remember an abandoned train that I knew was riddled with monsters, but I had to go in to get more material to craft into bullets.
The bosses in Evil Within 2 are a mixed bag. Some bosses were very clear on what I needed to do to be successful. The Obscura fight comes to mind. You have a device you need to defend from a boss composed of flesh and a single camera. The Obscura will stop the timer on the device, but shooting it, in the bulb of the camera, will cause the device to start up again. The timer reaches zero and the fight is won. The fairly simple fight that I was able to jump in and complete with no issues. However, some boss fight, I still question whether I did them right. Particularly the Stefano Valentini, a deranged artist, that fight still has me scratching my head. I still question whether my method, which boiled down to smoke bombing him when he blinks on top of me, was even the right approach to this fight. I believe it stems from a lack of communication from the game, particularly on boss fights. The first boss fight versus the Guardian requires you to use these trap lines, to slow the boss. A mechanic I didn’t pick up on until the end of the fight. A small gripe that I believe can be ironed out in the sequel.
The boss fights do not detract from the quality this game brings. The addition of a new game plus mode and first-person mode, meaning the game doesn’t end at the final chapter. While I believe the first-person mode is a great addition, giving it a try made me conclude the game is better designed around the third-person view. I also have been going through the new game plus mode, trying to get all the upgrades and eliminate all the enemies. Even with all the upgrades and most of the weapon upgrades, it is still easier sneaking up on these enemies. I find this kind of unnerving horror more rewarding and fun than turning around to find my path has changed, and while Evil Within 2, does pull that trick, it doesn’t use it as a crutch. By that point, the game has already had me chased by monsters through the atmospheric haunted house, so it has earned that trick. Proving that well-tuned mechanics that create tension beat out games that go for confusion and the attempts to trick your mind. Not to name any names… Layers of Fear 2. So, when the night goes dark and the moon hangs once more. Turn off the lights, and lock your doors. Startup this game, not for the faint of heart. Swallow your fear and hit that start. Let the horror consume you.