The Evil Within 2 Impressions

The Evil Within 2 is looking awesome and spooky with a slight twist of absolute mind delusion. I was able to check out the game at Pax West for a quick press demo to see how things were running prior to launch. This demo of the game showed off some early chapters as we once again step into the shoes of Sebastian Castellanos in the search for his daughter. We start off by running away from this seriously messed up multi headed chainsaw wielding thing from nightmares I couldn’t imagine and then head into a quaint town. Things are immediately awful here as a mother smashes her son’s head into food while be psychotic, I dealt with her and then collected some supplies.

It’ll definitely feel familiar for those that enjoy the first game and they seemed to have stepped up the horror here. After moving forward through a mist filled outskirts I came across a town and was greeted with a cutscene. It was a couple of the squad members sent in to find some sort of special object and they're basically running from a large horde. This then introduces some stealth based mechanics such as crouching around or using a bottle to distract enemies.

The Evil Within 2 Screenshot
There wasn't honestly a whole lot shown for the game through this minor taste of general gameplay, but it definitely showed me a lot of what to expect. It's a very gorgeous looking game in terms of horror visuals and some insanely grotesque type creatures can be found within it. I certainly wasn't expecting the demo to be so surprising and while the setting might seem like something typical for a horror game, I feel that this one will be different. The first was very distinct and from what I've seen thus far they're going to raise that bar here.

It was also nice to see some more open environments and hopefully that concept is developed further across other levels. The first game did feature some areas with choice, but this one seems slightly more open from the start of the town. It was a very familiar time with the game so those that enjoyed the first one will feel right at home and those that haven't played the first, you've been missing out if you like the genre.

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Gamerheadquarters Reviewer Jason Stettner