It's not anymore Last of Us than the original game, honestly. The same comparisons the original game could have, IE Resident Evil, Last of Us, Silent Hill, can be made with TEW2.
It's actually more its own beast since LoU wasn't open-world anyway, and the open-world isn't what I think many think it is, it's more stylized like Silent Hill both in the fact the town parts are split into 'segments' like Silent Hill rather than one seamless open world (they're more just bigger levels you can explore), and the town segments are not randomized in anyway, IE there's no respawning enemies, infinite enemies, or anything. Enemies in even the hub world areas are intentionally placed there by the designers and once killed are dead for good. There are story moments that spawn more enemies in parts of the overworld, but that's still intentionally designed.
Some people don't like the art direction of the first part of Union, and that's all down to taste but Chapter 3's open world bits are its thing, then the chapters that follow are its own thing too. I'm trying not to speak too much since I need to form my own opinion and don't want to get to spoiler talk for others, but I think some are jumping the gun too hard from superficial similarities and not seeing the mechanics, level design, and pacing at play to differentiate itself and how it's still very much Evil Within. Almost all the people behind TEW2 are the same people who were behind TEW1, given they have more experience, critique, and going for not exactly the same vision now, and it shows.
I know I need to see past Chapter 6 to judge the game properly, but everything I've seen so far just depresses me. I really LOVE the first game, and I consider it to be my GOTY of 2014, and I was really excited about the sequel. but other than the ''gameplay'' everything else seems bland to me, it's just not as dark and interesting, everything in TEW2 just looks colorful and flat.
The first TEW might not be perfect, but it is something that I honestly have never seen before, even the Silent Hill inspired approach feels original and unique. It's truly a Mikami game, no doubt.
This one really just feels like a ''western dude's typical horror shooter'' with colorful skill tree, weapon wheel and map icons. (and yes, the director this time is a western guy, not Mikami.)
Not saying TEW2 is bad or anything, I am just disappointed by how ''not unique'' it feels, it really feels like a mix of games I've already seen and played, and surprisingly The Evil Within isn't one of them...
I completely disagree with you.
For starters, it's literally the exact same team making TEW2 than 1. It's not any more westernized than the original game, outside of the first game having kind of a Japanese interpretation of European architecture and this being a kind of Japanese interpretation of American architecture. And there's some people weirdly fear-mongering the director was 'originally American', despite the fact he has lived in Japan now for longer than he ever lived in America, he worked on the first game and was lead designer some of people's favorite chapters of the original and did the DLC, he was selected by Mikami and the team for that. The 'open world' is overselling what it is, I keep making the Silent Hill comparisons because it literally is like if you took Silent Hill 1 & Downpour-esque elements into a blender. In the original Silent Hill the town is split into segments you can freely explore before you get to your main objective, there's supplies to find around town and a few small story things (like cheryl's notebook, the store, etc). The enemies are all placed and designed for the areas they patrol in that game and occasionally you have an objective to do in the overworld, like the first one is to find three keys to open up a door in Silent Hill 1.
The Evil Within 2 is structured more like this, the Chapter 3 'open world' is actually not that big. It's about six city blocks by four city blocks, but in a more suburb forest area. There are various places you can decide to explore, or not. Some trigger story moments, optional cutscenes, and some even lead to completely optional levels you don't need to do but can choose to do. It doesn't work like a 'Western' open world, both in the whole place is intentionally designed, the 'side-quests' are no more than exploring optional locations (you don't need to kill X enemies ever, you don't talk to NPCs to receive side-quests, you just explore and can stumble on things). And if you don't want to, you don't need to. Just go to the story location and move on.
In the first six chapters, only chapter 3 is in a more open level. And even then, you can do things like route plan in the stage as enemies don't respawn (unless a story moment happens to make more enemies appear specifically in that area). Now I would recommend some exploring, there's some weapons you can permanently miss for example by not doing so, but there's more than one type of each weapon anyway (like I right now know of four different kinds handguns you can get).
I know you have talked about how much you personally dislike the HUD and the art direction of Union, and it's okay to think that, but I honestly think your letting your dislike of it cloud your vision to make serious jumps here. You can turn off all HUD elements individually if you really dislike them so much (I played the first game with absolutely zero HUD, no aiming reticle, no nothing, and I plan to do the same here), and it's okay to be disappointed and your feelings are yours, but you're so focused on one part of the game you dislike you're not really even seeing everything else.
You have a point, but still I can't help but feel disappointed.
At one point I was an artist, and I do think I am a bit too sensitive when it comes to color, lighting, tone, immersion and atmosphere, especially in games...my favorite kind of art form. I always value games that can create an experience deep like a dream, ICO and Demon's Souls are good examples.
I see a lot of talent in the first Evil Within, it was a beautiful piece of art in my honest opinion, with a better control and more thought out level design it could be one of the best game of this generation.
I just can't see that twisted talent anywhere in TEW2, that eerie, drippy, suffocating, dirty atmosphere is pretty much gone, it's rarely seen in this game, at least in the first 6 chapter, most of the time it feels like a game made by a different team somewhere in the west.
