Forceful combat fuels your survival
Skin-crawling creepiness provides๊ some great horror
Endearingly goofy dialogue
New visual style lacks the first game's panache
Depending on your outlook, the story could be mo𝔉re sappy than stirring
Minimal enemy variety
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Sebastian Castellanos seems to mildly resent starring in this survival horror sequel. "Who comes up with these ridiculous names?" he grumbles after learning of a technological device with a title and function I instantly forgot. "That doesn't make any sense!" he bluntly fires back as former ally Juli Kidman lays down some dense exposition. The Evil Within 2 doesn't take the rich, psychologically disturbing pre🔜mise and gorgeously grungy aesthetic of the first game to their full potential;𝕴 if anything, it regresses in a few unfortunate ways. But despite the rough edges, this third-person thriller is still strangely enjoyable, much like the company of this curmudgeonly Castellanos.
Three years after surviving Ruvik's twisted mindscape within Beacon Mental Hospital, Sebastian has been kicked off the force and seeks solace in the sauce. After barely mentioning her in the first game, the former detective is now wrought with guilt over the death of his daughter Lily; we know this because the opening scene graphically shows the flesh melting off her five-year-old face. Suddenly, his former partner-turned-double agent Juli Kidman appears with news: Lily didn't die in that house fire after all, and Sebastian must rescue her by delving back into the shared cons▨ciousness of the STEM system, better thought of as The Spooky Matrix. You've no choice but the brave the undead dangers of Union, a virtual small town that's twisting in on itself like a blood-soaked version of the neighborhood from Psychonaut's Milkman Conspಞiracy.
It quickly becomes apparent that trying to rationalize anyone's motivations or the logistics of some impossibly convenient plot devices is going to be tricky at best. All you really need to know is that Sebastian is back and ready to kill any and all freaky monsters and murderous egomaniacs to save his daughter. But he looks and sounds a bit... off. Both Castellanos and Kidman have new voice actors; say what you will about the original perfo𝓰rmances, but I'm personally miffed whenever a universe's central characters experience a . That said, the line delivery is still solid, and often charmingly goofy. I always crack up at how nonplussed Sebastian is by the absolutely horrific things he's regularly exposed to, grunting out a world-weary "Shit." as enemies close in, or plainly responding to a living nightmare with "That was weird."
The character models seem to have taken on a vaguely rubbery look, struggling to emote in ways that make the dialogue hit home. In fact, the graphics make an odd departure from the first game across the board. Somehow, despite the fact that this sequel wasn't made with PS3 and Xbox 360 versions in mind, the visual presentation has taken a stylistic step backwards. Where the original game made great use of grimy textures and dark visual filters to give the world an air of rust, intestinal slime, and decay, The Evil Within 2 feels like it's trying to make every little thing pop. The result is a visual style that feels oddly vibrant given the overall vibe, like a Fallout 4 spin on Resident Evil. You can spot soon-to-be-reanimated zombies from a mile away by how much they contrast with the environment, as if this is an old episode of Scooby-Doo where you can clearly pinpoint what can and can't move at any given moment. It's by no means an ugly game, excluding the purposely hideous enemies who look great despite a lack of variety. But compared to 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:The Evil Within's lavishly gory intersecti✱on of serrated metal and soft organs, the lack of a distinct, cohesive look for the sequel is a bit di🐲sappointing.
Lucas Sullivan is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+. Lucas spent seven years working for GR, starting as an Associate Editor in 2012 before climbing the ranks. He left us in 2019 to pursue a career path on the other side of the fence, joining 2K Games as a Global Content Manager. Lucas doesn't get to write about games like Borderlands and Mafia anymore, but he do﷽es get to help make and market them.
