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The Evil Within 2 |OT| "Something not quite right"

hughesta

Banned
Finished. Really great game, and I really hope we get a third with a story more in the style of the first game. The open world stuff was excellent and I wouldn't mind retaining it, but I liked the propulsive, grotesque, disconcerting style of the first game far more. Still had a blast with it, and will jump back in to finish up the collectibles and blow the fuck out of some Lost.
 

Sanctuary

Member
In comparison, the chainsaw boss is real tough to get away from (without using smoke bolts).

Those are the easiest way to kill
her copies
too (~8s of hassle free shots), but you can run away from her. Having a few stamina upgrades helps though.
 
Chapter
14
just earned the spot of my favorite sequence in a survival horror game.

Brutalizing the Evil Within 1 enemies to conquer your fears was ridiculously cool. Best part of the game easily.
 

tonypark

Member
Just finished it. What an amazing game! I really hope we get a third one! So much potentiel! That last chapter was really well done! Loved it!
 

Rarius

Member
I just now noticed this, Hoffman is wearing a uniform way too big for her, neither her shirt nor pants fit her, she has to roll up her pant legs
 

Astral

Member
The stealth kill from cover skill is kinda OP. You can do it even while detected, so just run, get into cover, and kill them when they run to you. I killed an entire mob like this when I was out of ammo.
 
The stealth kill from cover skill is kinda OP. You can do it even while detected, so just run, get into cover, and kill them when they run to you. I killed an entire mob like this when I was out of ammo.

Think you mean while enemies are investigating, but yeah you can Hotline Miami your way to victory by briefly popping out from a corner and killing enemies who come to search the area.
 

Astral

Member
Think you mean while enemies are investigating, but yeah you can Hotline Miami your way to victory by briefly popping out from a corner and killing enemies who come to search the area.

No I mean even if they’re after your ass you can stealth kill them from cover. It doesn’t matter. I was running around while they were all chasing me. They knew where I was.
 
Since the homie and poor Sonic fan Xtortionist said everything I would've said with THIS POST which stemmed from our discussion about TEW1 vs. TEW2, all I can really add is that I still don't know which game is actually better. The Evil Within 1 is much more memorable IMO, and features a lot more interesting gameplay scripting than most anything that happens in The Evil Within 2. On the other hand, the game is terribly uneven in quality, and the most terrifying thing about TEW are all the technical issues, which almost completely douse the brilliance that occasionally does pops up throughout the campaign (more so in the first half).

The Evil Within 2 is a more consistent campaign with a much better handle on its engine, lighting, and presentation, but it's just not as interesting. Sure the lows are never as low as the worst stuff from the first game, but the highs are nowhere close either. The shift to a more methodical, stealth focused, patrol based, emergent gameplay style has made the tense, forever escalating action sequences from the first game a minority here. With the change to psychological moments acting as the engine to most of the chapters, it's simply less thrilling, and weapon/combat tactics take a back seat to scavenging and crafting management. Basic enemy combat has taken a hit, boss battles have taken a hit, traps are basically nonexistent, and no single sequence- not even the final stretch of chapters which is the high point of the game- matches up to the Chapter 3 to 10 stretch from the first game, ESPECIALLY Chapter 10 in TEW which is the most intense 60-90 minute sequence in either game.

BUT I have a soft spot for these kinds of game so I still enjoyed myself. Like I said, it's a more consistent experience which makes for less headaches (sometimes literally considering the awful console framerate in the first game), but after it was all said and done, I don't have as many moments I'll be able to point to in 3 years and say "THAT is why The Evil Within 2 is worth playing." I enjoyed my 20 hours with it, but it won't stick with me. Truthfully, I just wanted an ultra polished version of the first game. I will never shy away from my love for clever scenario design, exhaustive combat sequences, and propulsive pacing. What we got was definitely more polished (though still not exactly fluid or tight), but at its core a different kind of experience for at least 2/3 of the game. The reliance on hubs, story clarity, and a more grounded, interconnected world structure do bring their own nuances (a better sense of place [not necessarily more atmosphere], a more clear narrative through line, a horror theme park vibe), but I'm not sure if it was worth sacrificing the sense of urgency and onslaught of scenarios found in the first game.
 
What is Mikami working on? Or he's done directing games for good?

I will be VERY sad if the answer is the latter.

The Evil Within was great, tho I would like to know how satisfied he was with how that game turned out.

But one thing for sure is that i vastly prefer TEW1's way of storytelling,i'm one of the vocal minority who didn't find the story convoluted,boring or non-existent.
Initially i wasn't against the idea of making the story more "in your face" but i think they overdid it,wayy too much exposition.
The game has zero mystery in it and that's essential for me,horror games need to be a little mysterious and sometimes even confusing to keep you intrigued,to keep you going and find out the answers.

THIS so much.

If you think about it, almost every great horror game has some mystery to it. SH1, SH2, SH3, REmake, RE2, RE4, RE7, TEW...even Dead Space....hell even Bloodborne!

It's what keeps the player intrigued about the world, without mystery everything would be just mundane, this is why all the files in TEW2 were so fucking boring to read, there's just too little mystery, everything is so clear from the get go. I am a BIG lore guy, I read everything I could possibly read in Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Bloodborne, It adds a lot to the experience. But in TEW2 I pretty much just skim through every file I found, they are just not interesting at all, boring I would say.

Even now when I'm still playing through the game, I had already lost interest in the lore or the universe, I lost interest in the story too.

Literally the only reason that I'm still playing TEW2 is because I want to shoot more monsters with my new upgraded gun, if you think about it that's pretty sad for a survival horror game, especially an Evil Within game.
 

simtmb

Member
Finished this last night, on Nightmare difficulty, which was quite challenging early game, but lessened with progression mostly due to upgrades and my approach to the open areas.

Wonderful game, contrary to many other opinions, i felt it to be superbly paced, the open levels were well crafted, and the sections that followed were quite varied. Quite a lengthy game and not once did I just want to get it over and done with.

Chapter 14 sealed it as my personal GOTY, and it's been awhile since i felt a game had such a satisfying conclusion.

I can only hope that we see another entry to this series.
 

Rarius

Member
I'm kinda baffled this game has (Weapon spoilers)
What is essentially the super-shotgun from Doom in a game where you'll never really have ammo for it
 
Just finished it, fantastic ending. Everything from Chapter 10 and onward was phenomenal but it took a while to get going for me. A definite improvement over the first in nearly every technical aspect though it has sparked my interest in going back and giving the first game another playthrough. Chapter 14 is one of the best levels in survival horror for me, right up there with RE4’s opening. Definitely one of my favorites of the year, maybe even of the last few.

8/10 all things considered but it was a real blast once it picked up around halfway through. Hopefully this isn’t the end for the series. Forget DLC, I want a sequel. I wouldn’t mind keeping John Johanas on as director either.

Definitely recommend and for full price - 15 hours for a playthrough with minimal exploration and side content completed, all on regular difficulty. Well worth the price of admission.
 

Sanctuary

Member
I'm kinda baffled this game has (Weapon spoilers)
What is essentially the super-shotgun from Doom in a game where you'll never really have ammo for it

Are you just talking about the
Sawed-Off Double-Barrel you get around chapter 12 - 13?
. If so, there's plenty of ammo for it. It's just extremely situational to use.
 

DocSeuss

Member
15 hours, 28 minutes.

Kind of sour on the ending. I LOVED the Silent Hill-like aspects of the open world stuff, and it was a bummer there was so little of it. 3 and 7 were the highlights. That first half is a 9/10, and the back half ranges in quality from good stuff
stefano and myra fights, exploring the church dungeons until you meet Theodore
, as the entire focus kinda melts down. It's like they ran out of things to do in Chapter 8 and put a bunch of ideas together that aren't exactly coherent.

Still, it's one of the best games this year, and tops its predecessors admirably. Chapters 15 and 16 are awful tho.

Definitely more good than bad.
 

Arklite

Member
I sure as hell wasn't expecting this game to practically fall apart in the last couple chapters, and what a
cop out vanilla ending
. Shame, as the rest of the game was solid.

Played on nightmare and judging by what others have said, this is really the best mode to play in and brings out the most tension.
 

Astral

Member
It’s funny how you’ve got some people saying the second half is better than the first and some saying the opposite. As divisive as the first game I see. As much as I enjoyed chapter 3, I felt kinda done with the town after that. I just finished chapter 6 now and I hear 7 is another big open area. I’m kinda dreading it.
 

Voliko

Member
I just got to ch10. I like the game but it doesn't live up to the first for me. Chapter 3 was great but it has been going downhill. The Marrow is a really boring location and there haven't been many memorable scenarios. It felt like most sections in TEW1 were carefully crafted with some kind of new hook to keep things interesting (like most Mikami games). In this one there seems to be just a lot of enemies roaming around. Also stealth is still too good. The enemies shouldn't stop chasing you and walk back after you run away far enough imo.

It’s funny how you’ve got some people saying the second half is better than the first and some saying the opposite. As divisive as the first game I see. As much as I enjoyed chapter 3, I felt kinda done with the town after that. I just finished chapter 6 now and I hear 7 is another big open area. I’m kinda dreading it.
It's no where near as big as the ch3 area
 

Arklite

Member
Basic enemy combat has taken a hit, boss battles have taken a hit, traps are basically nonexistent, and no single sequence- not even the final stretch of chapters which is the high point of the game- matches up to the Chapter 3 to 10 stretch from the first game, ESPECIALLY Chapter 10 in TEW which is the most intense 60-90 minute sequence in either game.

What parts of the basic combat did you feel were lacking besides traps? It's been a while since I played the original but I felt TEW2's enemies are brutal, forcing much the same care in approach, if not more given their speed and resilience.

Also, do you mean the finale when you say "the final stretch of chapters" being a high point? I think the last three chapters are probably the absolute least like TEW at all, and rather jarring.
 

Arklite

Member
Hows the silenced pistol? Better or worse than the laser sight?

It's described as less powerful. Really no reason to use it outside of baiting enemies.

Speaking of handguns, Seb's
revolver
has some fancy gun spinning reload that I didn't notice till the very end.
 
It's described as less powerful. Really no reason to use it outside of baiting enemies.

Thanks, the game doesn't show stats so I can't be sure lol.

Speaking of handguns, Seb's
revolver
has some fancy gun spinning reload that I didn't notice till the very end.

I might as well ask about this.

I understand you'll need to do a certain side quest to unlock it, problem is I missed the ones in the first open zone, am I screwed?
 

O.DOGG

Member
I might as well ask about this.

I understand you'll need to do a certain side quest to unlock it, problem is I missed the ones in the first open zone, am I screwed?

Well, there's New Game Plus :)

Seriously though, I read that you have to do all sequences to get the final one which gives you the weapon when you finish it.
 

Arklite

Member
I might as well ask about this.

I understand you'll need to do a certain side quest to unlock it, problem is I missed the ones in the first open zone, am I screwed?

You might look up a guide as I'm not sure how I got it. I do remember it involving one of Seb's surreal/nightmare sequences but those are strewn about the game.
 
I love how Sebastian just straight up spoil the ghost lady mirror puzzle in Chapter 6.

''Something was up with that mirror, I should check in out.''

Way to ruin your own puzzle, John. I guess players are all idiots in your eyes, and you are too afraid to let people use their own brain for a second.
 
Well, there's New Game Plus :)

Seriously though, I read that you have to do all sequences to get the final one which gives you the weapon when you finish it.

You might look up a guide as I'm not sure how I got it. I do remember it involving one of Seb's surreal/nightmare sequences but those are strewn about the game.

Well I did read the guide and it says the first two are in the first zone, I did the third one already but now I'm wondering if I should backtrack ALL the way back to the starting area before I proceed any further in chapter 6-7.
 

Riposte

Member
I love how Sebastian just straight up spoil the ghost lady mirror puzzle in Chapter 6.

''Something was up with that mirror, I should check in out.''

Way to ruin your own puzzle, John. I guess players are all idiots in your eyes, and you are too afraid to let people use their own brain for a second.

Speaking of spoon-feeding. I get the feeling the game was supposed to rely on the radio thing way more, but it's pretty pointless to whip out 99% of the time because of waypoints and the map.
 
Speaking of spoon-feeding. I get the feeling the game was supposed to rely on the radio thing way more, but it's pretty pointless to whip out 99% of the time because of waypoints and the map.

Actually.....yeah, you are right about that, no wonder that mechanic felt so weird to me.

I wish other horror game (without openworld map or waypoint) utilize this concept more tho, it's a cool idea and I honest think it's gonna work very well in games like RE7.
 

Arklite

Member
Speaking of spoon-feeding. I get the feeling the game was supposed to rely on the radio thing way more, but it's pretty pointless to whip out 99% of the time because of waypoints and the map.

This is why I turned all of that shit off later and wished I'd done it immediately. You can even read the distances from the device when it's on Sebastian's waist so I definitely agree it was meant to play more of key role. The map and its functions should've been really bare letting you rely on navigating specific points by radio.
 
What parts of the basic combat did you feel were lacking besides traps? It's been a while since I played the original but I felt TEW2's enemies are brutal, forcing much the same care in approach, if not more given their speed and resilience.

Also, do you mean the finale when you say "the final stretch of chapters" being a high point? I think the last three chapters are probably the absolute least like TEW at all, and rather jarring.

I was specifically referencing encounter design in that post. It's not necessarily the direct interplay between player and AI that's worse, but the way they're used in combat. Major combat sections in TEW were very specifically designed to play out with a certain intensity and flair, whether through sheer numbers, or location gimmicks, or restrictions on the player, or traps, or sudden mini-bosses, or whatever. Most of the encounters in TEW2 are stealth rooms/zones, or "dead" body jump scares that don't really escalate the way they did in the last game. So while enemies are still dangerous, even more so in TEW2, they're not really used in memorable ways. Plus I'm still not sure if making the enemies even more hitchy and aggressive without also tightening up the way Sebastian handles was a good move (on the contrary, he has more animation priority than before). Aiming on console feels just as awkward as it did in the first game.

And when I say "final stretch of chapters" I mean the combat and momentum in the final 3rd of the game. I'm not talking about the unearned dramatic aspirations.
 

Sanctuary

Member
Either this single enemy type has higher health on Nightmare, I miscounted the stabs on Survival, it has randomized health or the location you stab it (front slash vs stem stab) matters. On Survival I swear it only took three stealth attacks to kill the
O'Neal clones
. Killed three more of them recently and two took four stealth attacks, and one took five.
O'Neal himself took five as well.
 

Arklite

Member
I was specifically referencing encounter design in that post. It's not necessarily the direct interplay between player and AI that's worse, but the way they're used in combat. Major combat sections in TEW were very specifically designed to play out with a certain intensity and flair, whether through sheer numbers, or location gimmicks, or restrictions on the player, or traps, or sudden mini-bosses, or whatever.

Ok, thanks for clarifying. Certainly agree the original had more creative and hand crafted encounters, aided by imaginative and thoughtful levels. I'm impressed TEW2 manages high tension and ammo scarcity as well even though it lacks the original's tailored design.
 
Okay I've getting nervous, I read that you can't backtrack to earlier zones? But the people asking are in chapter 13 so maybe there is a point of no return.

I'm currently in chapter 6 so I hope it's not too late to go back to the first zone.
 
Chapter 4, 5, and working on 6. Hot damn this game. Something always exciting happening or new. New story beats too! I need some coffee stat!
 

UrbanRats

Member
Speaking of spoon-feeding. I get the feeling the game was supposed to rely on the radio thing way more, but it's pretty pointless to whip out 99% of the time because of waypoints and the map.

This is why I turned all of that shit off later and wished I'd done it immediately. You can even read the distances from the device when it's on Sebastian's waist so I definitely agree it was meant to play more of key role. The map and its functions should've been really bare letting you rely on navigating specific points by radio.

Oh, i actually always used the radio for all that shit (just cause it's faster).
 

kromeo

Member
Chapter 5 was really good, I like locations like that a lot more than the open town in 3

Only dies once on the buzz saw boss, and that was only because I accidentally climed onto a box. My old friends the fire bolts seem pretty good again
 

sphinx

the piano man
Question regarding trophies,

I am playing on survival, the middle difficulty.

does anybody know if I can play classic mode on a NG+??

or is that unlocked only after playing on "nightmare" difficulty?

I am trying to figure out if I will have to play through the game 2 or 3 times, if I were to go for the difficulty-related trophies.
 

Arklite

Member
There's no way High Stakes Sykes didn't know
about the 25% success rate
, yet he acts so confidently. I'm not sure I'd be that ballsy considering the chill set up he's got going.
 
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