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The Evil Within 2 is the best survival horror game since Silent Hill 2

BadWolf

Member
EDIT: What I mean is that this game is the best in the genre compared to the games that came after SH2. SH2 is still king.

Just finished it and I'm completely floored, Mikami and Tango nailed it.

The story is great
The setting is great
The combat is great
The stealth is great
The pacing is great

Have little to no serious complaints, just a fantastic overall package.

The balance between action and survival horror is just right. The combat is more competent than RE4 and an evolution of that system but in a way that is more logical for the genre, rather then going all out action like RE6. It favors timing and strategy more, often making you feel like a hunter with the traps you can set and bait into etc. Oh and it has one of the most satisfying use of critical shots in any shooter.

I was a little worried when they talked about both stealth and action being viable since stealth is so easy to screw up but I'm happy to say that they nailed even this part of it. With the first game it felt like they took inspiration from Siren for the stealth, in this game it feels like they looked at MGSV. It feels tight and works right. And the stealth mechanic even applies to the bosses. A lot of the boss areas are set up specifically to let you do this and screw with bosses via traps etc.

They also struck a great balance between how much action and 'down time' there is. This I think was inspired by Silent Hill 2 where your own mind just builds a threat because of what you see and your expectations instead of due to actual enemies.

Another great thing they picked up from MGSV is giving the ability to climb objects that are higher than the waist. That's right, Sebastian can climb over fences his height and can even climb on top of cars. I was running from a boss and my first reaction was to think of ways to run around stuff but then I remembered this and ran straight into a head high fence and jumped right over. Felt so damn good to do something like this freely in a survival horror game.

The open world also feels inspired by MGSV with it being geared specifically to compliment the combat and the main game instead of being a collectathon with a lot of useless stuff.

Oh and another quick combat improvement, you can reload and heal while sprinting (yeah sprinting, not just running). Found this out in the middle of a boss fight and had a O_O face.

The story was also better than I expected, it's told in a more straight forward way than the first game and is much better for it. Really liked it and the cast SPOILER:
Though I was really bummed that certain characters actually died, I really liked them :/

So yeah, really hope a lot of people play this game and see how you can have both great survival horror and excellent deep combat at the same time and also have a great campaign and pacing throughout. In this regard I think Tango completely owned Capcom.
 

KainXVIII

Member
Nope

tumblr_m1cswzwBC51r7un3co1_500.gif
 

rtcn63

Member
Refers to Silent Hill 2

Says the story of TEW2 is great

Do you remember Silent Hill 2's writing/storytelling/atmosphere/anything?
 
One of the worst survival horror games I've ever played. There's near zero atmosphere because of several reasons. Firstly, the nonsensical setting, which works neither as zombie outbreak nor Silent Hill ripoff - plus the cringey (constant) dialogue is a total turnoff. There's practically no tension in game design, because they copied a bunch of cheap open world tropes (instead of making careful levels like classic survival horror,). I.e. fetch quests, too much looting, arbitrary map placements, map icon hunting instead of real exploring/puzzle solving. Also, the art direction is bland and uninteresting.

I'm getting easily nervous in horror games if they are done at least somewhat competent, but in this one not even jump scares had any effect. Nothing feels like it matters.
 

Courage

Member
Refers to Silent Hill 2

Says the story of TEW2 is great

Do you remember Silent Hill 2's writing/storytelling/atmosphere/anything?

yeah

I'm digging Evil Within 2 too but it doesn't touch the way Silent Hill 2 did psychological horror.
 
At the top of the list, but I'd say Alien: Isolation edges it out.

Both are reigning champs though.

As far as absolute fear and barely escaping by the skin of your teeth, fuck yea. Alien Isolation is the master.

Dead Space was fantastic and its one of my favorite games of last gen, but I never felt like I didnt have the tools to handle the situation. In Alien, you very much feel like a mouse running from an 8ft tall murderous cat.
 

SexyFish

Banned
The actual best since Silent Hill 2 is a half-life mod called Cry of Fear.

Dead Space is also great though. And I'm loving Evil Within 2 but there is no way I could say the story is great.
 
Evil Within 2 is really bad, at least compared to SH2. There're been far, far better survival horror games since then such as SH2 & 3, RE4, Cursed Mountain, the Siren series, Obscure 1 + 2, Haunting Ground and just lots more. EW2 has nothing on these.
 
Better than Resident Evil 4?
Better than Shadows of the Damned?
Better than Dead Space?

Or is it less action, more "true" survival horror with more running away and hiding instead of shooting now? That would be sad :(
 

rtcn63

Member
...Yes?

Edit: Okay, I think your edit is a little clearer lol

I mean unless I'm misremembering SH2 entirely, the narrative style and atmosphere are completely different to that of TEW2. Even the original TEW and RE7 share more of the DNA of the SH series.
 

BadWolf

Member
Refers to Silent Hill 2

Says the story of TEW2 is great

Do you remember Silent Hill 2's writing/storytelling/atmosphere/anything?

I said it's the best game in the genre since Silent Hill 2. Silent Hill 2 is still king.

I don't see how me saying TEW2 has a great story is a problem. They have different kinds of stories and are both great.
 

Intel_89

Member
I'm really enjoying TEW2 but I'm not finding it scary at all, especially when you put it against the original or any of the good SH games.
 

Lime

Member
I haven’t played EW2 yet, but I sure don’t expect it to at all reach the pinnacle of SH2. Especially the story and narrative when the gameplay revolves around shootbang monsters.
 

rtcn63

Member
I said it's the best game in the genre since Silent Hill 2. Silent Hill 2 is still king.

I don't see how me saying TEW2 has a great story is a problem.

You're effectively using SH2 as the bar and then listing all the comparable aspects of TEW2. The story of TEW2, even standalone, is pretty bad/generic at best in execution. Especially compared to TEW1's. RE7 had (relatively) much better writing for a game that intentionally played it horror trope-y.
 
The story is fucking shit, are you kidding me?

TEW2 is one of the most mediocre survival horror game of all time. Generic spoon fed ''Daddy save me'' story with shitty voice acting, horrible writing and incredibly stupid characters. Sorry mate but it's a pile of shit.

They've adressed TEW1's issues, but somehow managed to fuck it up even more. I actually look upon TEW1 more fondly than before, lol.

THIS.

The Evil Within is so much better than The Evil Within 2, even control is more responsive and tight. Art direction and atmosphere is unmatched too.
 

Arklite

Member
It's a well made game, but it's a pretty safe sequel compared to the original. In terms of horror I'd put RE7 above it just within this year. As an action/horror title it probably doesn't top Dead Space 2. The good news is it's good enough quality to compare them.
 

Carlius

Banned
evil within 1
evil within 2
resident evil 7
dead space 1
resident evil 4

to me the greatest horror games.
never liked the silent hill games.
 
I dont even own it yet and I cant wait to get it.

Yes, Dead Space is awesome. Cant leave out Dying Light, yeah, it's a bit different, but try venturing out at night and see what happens. :)
 
[QUOTE="God's Beard!";252502374]SOMA beats Silent Hill 2 in every category except for somehow having worse gameplay.[/QUOTE]

SOMA to me was more of a mind fuck game. That ending though.
 

Pilgrimzero

Member
I can. Silent Hill Homecoming, Silent Hill Downpour, Alone in the Dark 2008. Should I keep going?

Can’t agree with your first two. Atleast the story in those was coherent though lackluster and the combat worked fine.

Haven’t played AitD2008
 
I'm not done yet, but so far it's incredible. Better than Evil Within 1, any Resident Evil since 4, and it has better gameplay than The Last of Us, although that had better characters and story.
 
I haven't played it yet, but I'll be pretty shocked if it's better than Resident Evil 4, Dead Space 1 & 2, and Resident Evil VII. Saying The Evil Within 2 is better than all of those games is a pretty bold statement. I'd really be interested in hearing more opinions on this from others who have played it.
 

myco666

Member
Nah. Story is at best fine and combat isn't that great. Bunch of great locations though. Original is way better game.
 
Wow.

I’ve watched an entire playthrough and I would say the first half of the game is pretty good but that second half is garbage. My god at the “story” and writing.
 

jman4371

Neo Member
Damn, everybody in that Halloween thread was praising EW2 constantly for its everything so I thought this thread would be echoing that. Guess not lol

I'm on chapter 11 right now in the first and I'm enjoying it. Not amazing but it's still a good time with great atmosphere (especially Chapters 9 & 10). Glad to hear you enjoyed the sequel so much!
 

rtcn63

Member
No.

I'm didn't compare them directly.

Okay now you're just fucking with me.

"The greatest thing since X."

"Oh but the topic title isn't relevant to the opening post."

Damn, everybody in that Halloween thread was praising EW2 constantly for its everything so I thought this thread would be echoing that. Guess not lol

I'm on chapter 11 right now in the first and I'm enjoying it. Not amazing but it's still a good time with great atmosphere (especially Chapters 9 & 10). Glad to hear you enjoyed the sequel so much!

When it comes to actual gameplay, I'd take TEW1/2 and RE7 over the classic Silent Hills. And I played and beat all of them except the first. (Did do Shattered Memories though)
 
I’m enjoying the game quite a bit, haven’t finished it yet but this argument is already a “lol no” for me.

When there’s a group of enemies near a saferoom and I can run out, sneak kill one of them and then run back into the saferoom with the others chasing me, and then immediately go back out the door and repeat that exact same process with the same group of enemies until they’re all eliminated...I’m not buying the “great stealth system” argument.
 
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