A direct sequel to 2014’s action-horror video game The Evil Within, The Evil Within 2 is a cinematic experience from start to finish. Three years after the events of the first game, protagonist Sebastian Castellanos, an ex-detective, is confronted by his former partner in crime, Juli Kidman. She informs him that his young daughter, Lily, had survived the fire that consumed the Castellanos household prior to the first game. Kidman explains that all this time, Lily was being used as a test subject by MOBIUS, a shady organization that was also responsible for the events of The Evil Within, and that MOBIUS needs Sebastian’s help to save his daughter. Sebastian is understandably skeptical of Kidman, as she had been working undercover for MOBIUS in the previous game, although during the time skip she’d been working to bring down the organization. Not to mention, he clearly has PTSD from the horrors he witnessed in the first game, so he isn’t exactly jumping at the opportunity to work with the same organization that ruined his life. Kidman eventually resorts to tranquilizing him, leaving Sebastian with no choice but to enter MOBIUS’ STEM system. Once in Union, a world created by STEM, Sebastian realizes that Lily is actually trapped there. In order to save her, he must fight his way through endless hordes of zombies-like creatures, body horror monsters, an artist turned serial killer, a crazy cult leader, and Sebastian’s estranged wife, Myra.
One of the aspects I enjoyed about this game was its sci-fi elements. Worlds constructed by MOBIUS’ STEM system aren’t physical places, but rather, one’s consciousness, meaning that Sebastian is essentially asleep the entire game. I’ll admit, all the jargon took some getting used to, especially since I played this game before playing the first one. However, in The Evil Within 2, the overarching lore is presented in a more straightforward, subtle manner, as MOBIUS isn’t the main focus this time around–it’s Sebastian. I found the game’s character-driven story immensely refreshing, as this kind of storytelling is rarely done in video games, and understandably so, as gaming is an interactive medium. The Evil Within 2 expertly balances character study with near non-stop action, ensuring players are as entertained with the gameplay as they are enthralled by the story.
Perhaps the first thing I noticed about the game is its stylish presentation. The scene where Sebastian “enters” STEM, in particular, reminded me of the iconic “Leap of Faith” scene in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse (2018). The first half of the game, which features Stefano Valentini as the primary antagonist, is especially stylistic and artistic. This fits Stefano’s character, who, after failing as an artist, resorted to making “art” out of people by mutilating and killing them. I had the most fun in this first half of the game, as some of my favorite TV shows and films feature a serial killer of some sort. In fact, one of Stefano’s “artworks” reminded me of an especially chilling scene in the second season of NBC’s Hannibal. Stefano is strikingly similar to Mads Mikkelsen’s portrayal of the infamous cannibal, both in terms of personality and wardrobe. Despite my love for the serial killer genre, I couldn’t wait for Sebastian to kill Stefano, as the artist was especially twisted and completely irredeemable, even though he lost his eye while working as a war journalist. While I’m usually more partial towards redeemable villains, I feel irredeemable villains work best in video games, as players must defeat them in order to progress, and players won’t feel as inclined to progress if they empathize with a villain.
Part of what makes The Evil Within 2 so unique is its open world setting. Like most horror video games, the plot follows a strict linear narrative. However, the world of Union can be explored freely in most chapters, and the game even provides players with various side quests that, when completed, reward players with useful weapons and materials. Union is a world created by MOBIUS that can only be accessed by hooking someone to a machine, which transports them to monster-ridden worlds via brain synchronization. For years, Lily was being used as Union’s “core,” but since she has gone missing, the town is falling apart. The town of Union was intentionally designed as a typical American suburb, and houses MOBIUS agents who are also trying to find Lily. Union is also home to the Lost, which are the game’s most common enemy type. These creatures are basically zombies on steroids, as they are extremely aggressive and can run surprisingly fast. Since these enemies are practically everywhere, it’s probably not possible–or smart–to eliminate each one. Luckily, the game implements a stealth system that allows players to sneak past enemies without wasting a single bullet. Whenever an enemy is present, an eye icon will appear at the top of the screen. If the eye is looking left or right, this means the enemy is aware of your presence, but hasn’t spotted you. If the eye is wide-open and looking in the center, however, an enemy has noticed you and it’s time to either eliminate them or run. I found this mechanic very useful, especially later in the game when players encounter much stronger enemies. This mechanic is best used in the open world, when players must scavenge for weapon parts, green gel, or other materials. Ammo and health items are scarce in the game; instead, players must craft ammo from gunpowder and similar materials, and medical syringes or medical kits from herbs. This can be done at workbenches, of which there are many throughout the game. Players can also craft in the game menu. Known as field crafting, this method isn’t recommended as it uses nearly three times the amount of resources used when crafting at a workbench. Field crafting should only be used as a last resort in this regard. I used field crafting only twice throughout my entire playthrough during two particularly challenging bosses.
In addition, the map offers many cracked mirrors that, when interacted with, transport Sebastian to his former office. Here, players can use green or red gel to upgrade Sebastian’s health, stamina, and other stats. Green gel is acquired when defeating enemies, although it can also be found hiding in boxes and other breakable objects, or often in plain sight. Upgrading is essential, as Sebastian starts out with embarrassingly low health and stamina. In Sebastian’s office, players can also upgrade weapons at the workbench and unlock lockers with keys found inside statues hidden around the game map. Players can even practice at the shooting range, a minigame that rewards players with green gel, weapon parts, or locker keys depending on their score. Sebastian’s office is a sort of safe haven for players, and I found myself constantly visiting it. This is due to the game’s difficulty, which took some getting used to. The Evil Within series has been described as the Dark Souls of horror gaming, and even on Survival (standard) difficulty I found myself constantly loading my most recent save because I wasted too much ammo or was inches from death and didn’t want to waste a healing item. The Evil Within 2, in classic survival horror fashion, forces players to think on their feet and strategize, intentionally giving players minimal resources. This isn’t to say the game is impossibly difficult, nor that it holds the player’s hand the whole way through. Rather, it expertly balances difficulty with accessibility, ensuring that casual and veteran gamers alike can have a fun, rewarding experience. A good example of how it does this is with the several coffee machines found in the game. These are located in safe rooms, where players can save, use a workbench, or just take a breather. Drinking from a coffee machine will fully replenish Sebastian’s health, which is useful if you don’t have enough resources to craft healing items. The catch is that players can only drink from each coffee machine two times. This is a good example of aiding the player while at the same time challenging them, as there are very few of these machines and each one is located a considerable distance from each other.
While The Evil Within 2 isn’t quite crap-your-pants scary, there are several enemies that are particularly spine-tingling. The first of these is Anima, a long-haired, ghost-like woman who stalks Sebastian three times throughout the game. Each time, players will be transported to a strange location with no exit. The only way they can escape is by escaping Anima, who can instantly kill Sebastian if she notices him. The second is Laura, a recurring boss from The Evil Within. While she had more of a presence in the first game, she is just as terrifying in the sequel. This is mostly due to her character design, which was inspired by the iconic long dark-haired girls of Japanese horror films. This, coupled with her spider-like appearance and movement, makes for a truly terrifying monster.
Another aspect I enjoyed was the various ways in which Sebastian can fight enemies. The most obvious of these is with firearms. Various guns can be found and unlocked during the game, and each weapon can be upgraded to the player’s liking. My main weapon of choice in this game was the shotgun, so by the end of my playthrough, my shotgun was practically maxed out in upgrades. I found myself using the shotgun the most because many of the enemies attack in groups, and the shotgun, if upgraded, can easily take out more than one enemy with a single well-placed headshot. A particularly unique weapon is the Warden Crossbow, which can also be upgraded. This weapon carries five different types of bolts: harpoon, shock, freeze, explosive, and smoke. Certain enemies are weak to at least one of these bolt types, and players often have to experiment to figure out which type of bolt is effective for dealing with an enemy, and which isn’t. I found myself using the explosive bolts the most often, as this type of bolt can take out several enemies at once. Another way to dispose of enemies is by stealth killing them, which is useful if you wish to get rid of a few pesky enemies without alerting even more. This mechanic can only be used on the Lost, but considering how many of these enemies there are, I’m grateful it exists.
My main complaints about this game arise in the second half, where we’re introduced to a new antagonist: Theodore Wallace, a power-hungry cult leader who wants to use Lily to become even more powerful. The “cultist boss” is an overdone trope in horror gaming, and I was disappointed that this otherwise unique title fell victim to this cliché. Luckily, like Stefano, Theodore doesn’t overstay his welcome, as he isn’t killed by Sebastian but his wife, Myra. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the sudden difficulty spike, also in the latter half of the game. There’s a certain area I dread revisiting due to its labyrinthine design and seemingly endless waves of powerful enemies. Another aspect I disliked about the game concerns Kidman’s brief playable section towards the end of the game. I feel this part could’ve been cut as Kidman’s portion isn’t particularly creative; it plays as your standard third-person shooter. Plus, until this point players had been controlling only Sebastian, so this sudden character switch was jarring. I guess this was kept in the game to raise the stakes higher, but the developers could’ve easily accomplished that with a cutscene. However, The Evil Within 2’s pros far outweigh its cons, and I highly recommend it despite these flaws.
Overall, The Evil Within 2 is a non-stop thrill ride from start to finish, emphasizing style and story over horror, yet being utterly terrifying when it wants to be. Its balanced difficulty system ensures that all players can enjoy themselves, and both the gameplay and plot are engaging. Its innovative open world design revitalizes the survival horror genre, and its unique crafting system adds a layer of complexity. After playing the first game, I think I prefer the sequel as I felt it had a more riveting story, and I enjoyed the open-world setting. Both games are worth playing, and only time will tell if we get a third installment. The Evil Within 2 is available to play on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC.
—Brittany Crosse, Blog Editor
Brittany Crosse’s Bio:
Brittany Crosse is a senior at Lewis University who has previously attended Moraine Valley Community College. She is majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, and hopes to one day make a career out of writing short stories, which has been a goal of hers ever since she was little. In addition to writing, she also plans to teach fiction writing at the university level. Her interests outside of writing include TV shows, anime, music, video games, and books, her favorite authors being Neal Shusterman, Stephen King, and Haruki Murakami. Brittany spends most of her time with her dog Cordelia, a.k.a. “Cordy.”