This game is different, very different from Evil Within 1. It is really hard for me to put this game into a like or dislike category, I enjoyed the game, but not really as a sequal to the original. Here is what I can say that will help break it down.

I like when companies are able to add new features into games, in this case the open world was very mixed for me. I feel that with making the world so open it has taken away from a lot of the horror elements in this game. That being said the few times you would explore a corner of the game for an encounter to lunge at you, were great. For what it was the crafting system was ok, and it was sorely needed with the open world gameplay. But I can not say that the crafting was good, once again taking a little away from the horrifying realisation that you are out of ammo.

The story itself was pretty solid with somewhat convoluted moments towards the end of the game, the first half of the game is surely the best with another interesting villian. This new bad guy felt really fresh and to follow in the wake of his distruction was pheonominal. Saddly it soon moves on to less interesting enemies and finally to the least challenging last boss in a game that I have ever played.

On that note, the enemy AI is not good. I like that once being seen it does not draw the whole area's worth of enemies upon you, however maybe they should try at least a little to find you after you crouch behind the nearest corner. They just wander back to their very obvious patrol, worse so in my opinion then the first game.

The atmosphere was somewhat mixed in this one as well, the first game was throwing you head first into a seemingly endless abyss of constant danger. Evil Within 2 however, you could easily stealth kill anything you came across (mini bosses being the only exception) and if you failed you could run 10 feet and they would walk back allowing you to stealth kill them anyways. Call me crazy but any dark and cramped moment in either game sent me on high alert where being out in the open allows me to see every little ambush coming from a mile away. All in all, I did not find this title scary. Well, except for the ghost lady (that never really gets explained) she was pretty terrifying.

They traded horror for drama and in a "scary game" it leaves me with a lot to be desired. The decision to change the models was unnecessary; and the change in voice actors (for whatever reason that may be) was done well enough that it didnt bother me too much. The "haunted heroic father righting his wrongs" was enough to engage me with the story, but it is still a trope. On the technical end I had a few crashes and some visual glitches, but it was minimal. In the end, it was a good game that had great moments, but should have stayed a little closer to the roots of the first game in my opinion. 8/10

This game is different, very different from Evil Within 1. It is really hard for me to put this game into a like or dislike category, I enjoyed the game, but not really as a sequal to the original. Here is what I can say that will help break it down. I like when companies are able to add new features into games, in this case the open world was very mixed for me. I feel that with making the world so open it has taken away from a lot of the horror elements in this game. That being said the few times you would explore a corner of the game for an encounter to lunge at you, were great. For what it was the crafting system was ok, and it was sorely needed with the open world gameplay. But I can not say that the crafting was good, once again taking a little away from the horrifying realisation that you are out of ammo. The story itself was pretty solid with somewhat convoluted moments towards the end of the game, the first half of the game is surely the best with another interesting villian. This new bad guy felt really fresh and to follow in the wake of his distruction was pheonominal. Saddly it soon moves on to less interesting enemies and finally to the least challenging last boss in a game that I have ever played. On that note, the enemy AI is not good. I like that once being seen it does not draw the whole area's worth of enemies upon you, however maybe they should try at least a little to find you after you crouch behind the nearest corner. They just wander back to their very obvious patrol, worse so in my opinion then the first game. The atmosphere was somewhat mixed in this one as well, the first game was throwing you head first into a seemingly endless abyss of constant danger. Evil Within 2 however, you could easily stealth kill anything you came across (mini bosses being the only exception) and if you failed you could run 10 feet and they would walk back allowing you to stealth kill them anyways. Call me crazy but any dark and cramped moment in either game sent me on high alert where being out in the open allows me to see every little ambush coming from a mile away. All in all, I did not find this title scary. Well, except for the ghost lady (that never really gets explained) she was pretty terrifying. They traded horror for drama and in a "scary game" it leaves me with a lot to be desired. The decision to change the models was unnecessary; and the change in voice actors (for whatever reason that may be) was done well enough that it didnt bother me too much. The "haunted heroic father righting his wrongs" was enough to engage me with the story, but it is still a trope. On the technical end I had a few crashes and some visual glitches, but it was minimal. In the end, it was a good game that had great moments, but should have stayed a little closer to the roots of the first game in my opinion. 8/10