Rely on Horror, J. Leendertsen writes: "2014’s The Evil Within was a divisive title among horror fans. A back-to-basics approach to survival horror from Shinji Mikami himself, it offered all the scares and tension of classic titles like Resident Evil, but was hamstrung by a slavish devotion to genre tropes and a nearly nonexistent narrative structure. Viewed by many as a spiritual successor to Resident Evil 4‘s style and gameplay, it never fully escaped the shadow of its zombified sister series, despite its psychological horror aspirations. The Evil Within 2, however, is an entirely different beast. By innovating on the gameplay established with the series’ initial outing and expanding the game’s scope and storytelling, The Evil Within 2 feels confident enough in its own skin to stand tall next to genre mainstays. It’s everything one could want from a sequel."
The Outerhaven writes: While I hold Bethesda's The Evil Within series as some of the best Survival Horror games available, it's clear that Bethesda has no intention of revisiting the series. While Capcom is still working on its Resident Evil series, I look back at the now-dead survival horror series from Bethesda, wondering why the series was left wide open, and yet still not revisited.
An OK horror series left behind. It had some great ideas, but it never knew how to play to its strengths. Instead, it came out like just another RE4 clone.
I would love for a third entry to come out, but it needs to learn to lean in on the psychological aspect and move away from the generic "pew pew" ideology at the center of the gameplay loop. It doesn't need to abandon it; it just needs to put it into better context, is all.
Also, try a first-person perspective instead. Too many 3rd-person games with nothing to offer but an avatar taking precious screen space. At least make it an actual option and not that janky-ass mess the second game pretended to have.
To celebrate Halloween, Fanatical has launched its 'Frightmare' bundle, which offers a big collection of Steam Deck-friendly games.
Got an Xbox and a Game Pass subscription and want something spooky to play? Here are the best horror games on Xbox Game Pass.
I'm sadden to see that this game isn't getting the attention it deserves, such a great game. Game of the year for me.