I like it, I think it's a really solid game. I don't think it even touches the first one in terms of setting tension. I think what Mikami did with TEW1 is immensely underappreciated when it comes to the horror genre, because the gameplay was a little on the rough site and the story was very hard to follow. But what that also contributed to, next to the constant feeling of helplessness and disorientation due to the theme of the setting, is an incredibly thick feeling of dread and anything possibly happening at any given time.
TEW2, while definitely being more fun to play, due to the hub based gameplay, hands huge portions of the game over to the players control of how to approach, where to go and what to do. This amount of control works counter the unpredictability of STEM and that sucks out most of the slowly creeping up psychological pressure that the first game had implemented like no other horror game I ever played. Which is why I respected it despite its flaws. It wasn't about cool combat or explaining circumstances to the player, it was about rearranging your brain and if you went with it, it was an incredibly draining, hardcore horror experience. TEW2 is in limbo somewhere between trying to recapture this atmosphere and being a modern player driven game and just doesn't work on the same level.
I don't really wanna get into comparing it to other horror games, just gonna say that I appreciate the constant nods to RE and SH in both games.
