William Kirk at GameCloud writes: "The Evil Within 2 isn’t a scary game. In fact, it’s even less so than the original given the narrative construct it’s built around. Like a Matrix sequel, it’s just not as impactful when you know how it all works. Nevertheless, what this sequel does nail is the survival component. It also more than makes up for its trope-driven plot with a genuinely fantastic character story that’s well worth investing in. What I appreciate about this game, too, is how it embraces new ideas, and while I think it’s for better and worse in some parts, there’s no denying it’s a technically superior game on nearly all fronts (the terrible AI excluded). A little bit of the magic from the original has been lost in the process of reinvention, but it’s still just as imaginative and captivating as ever and is a great addition to both this series and the genre as a whole."
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.
