Evil Genius 2: World Domination

 PC
User Score
4.8

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 57 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 57
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 57
  3. Negative: 22 out of 57

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  1. Jimbob2k666
    Apr 6, 2021
    7
    Being a gamer in my early 50's, I have some memories of the first Evil Genius. However, I'm never one for examining sequels that are literally just a revamp of the original where said game was more than 15 years old. I don't have particularly fond memories of the original anyway, and I found it clunky, too complex for what is essentially The Sims with a purpose. So, I couldn't findBeing a gamer in my early 50's, I have some memories of the first Evil Genius. However, I'm never one for examining sequels that are literally just a revamp of the original where said game was more than 15 years old. I don't have particularly fond memories of the original anyway, and I found it clunky, too complex for what is essentially The Sims with a purpose. So, I couldn't find myself having time to relax in the original and gave up quite quickly.

    The first 10 hours of Evil Genius 2 does allow for some relaxation, but it is all a prelude to what becomes a bit of a mess. The heat system could have been a good feature, but it requires far too much micromanagement, and if that wasn't bad enough, the interface (World Map) where you attempt to control it is not well thought out and needs some sort of list feature, instead of trying to frantically scroll around trying to figure out what needs to be taken care of.

    The amount of incursions to your lair by Investigators, Soldiers is OK at the start, but later on, when you are constantly fighting against the world map design, the uncontrollable heat, and then trying to focus on the main and side missions, it all becomes too much. My first playthrough lasted 15 hours before I gave up in the hope I'd learnt enough to make my second run better, but then that run also felt like I was getting nowhere fast. This was playing on the 1 star easy mode too!

    I'm all for spending time to learn how to play these types of games, but I feel that 35+ hours in should mean I know how to cope. Playing on easy mode, I would have expected to have virtually completed the game, yet I am miles away from completing it. Having so many setbacks in easy mode does not make for a great experience. I was hoping to beat it on easy, then work my way through the other 2 difficulty levels to ensure replayability. However, I'm feeling like either I make a breakthrough soon (can't get to research 3) or i'll give up.

    I hope they do some balancing so that easy mode actually is easy mode. I'm not the greatest gamer that ever lived, and I'm always first to admit that, but when easy means hard, it makes me mad!    … Expand
  2. Babutto
    May 5, 2021
    5
    Copy-paste my Steam review.

    There are serious problems with this game. Cons.: 1. World map. It's not like before where you see the missions, the items you may steal, the main objective quests, etc. You need to scout the areas first, then you may finish quests. What kind of quests? Money (something that was done by default previously, depending on the kind of minions sent and their    Copy-paste my Steam review.

    There are serious problems with this game.

    Cons.:
    1. World map. It's not like before where you see the missions, the items you may steal, the main objective quests, etc. You need to scout the areas first, then you may finish quests. What kind of quests? Money (something that was done by default previously, depending on the kind of minions sent and their number), decrease heat, etc. So, it is logical, if you want heat decreased faster, then spend additional money and do it ASAP.

    The problem is: everything is repeatative and boring. Literally, 2-3 options to do. Instead of giving 6-10 options (more money - more heat, more money - faster, slower - cheaper, etc.) the developers were just lazy and gave these options we have.

    The network establishment is kind of... Unclear. Or useless... As I see it - the developers used that element to extend the length of the game in unnatural way. For example, if you want to establish more networks, you need more network stations. It means more energy. It means more reactors or generators. It means more money and spacier rooms. It means you need to spend time grinding money. You get it?..

    In the original you may have sacrificed minions to get more cash ASAP. Or just slowly managing your guarding minions (they brought more money on the map) and the affairs of the lair. Here there is nothing like this.

    2. Tutorial style beginning.

    Guys, if you need tutorial, you play tutorial. There are many people here who already know what is Evil Genius and how to play it. Simple tips would have worked.

    3. This achievement style of gameplay is just garbage. It looks like people will need money and it will be the last straw for them to advance... No. It distracts attention. In Evil Genius there were secondary quests. Finished? Cool. Skipped? Ok. This is it. Simple but efficient.

    4. Research. It is too primitive and short. You can't manage your minions scientific minions to do the research manually, boosting it or slowing. Garbage.

    5. Even weak agents kick the ass of the guard minions. In the original weak agents can be taken down by 1-2 guards. And hey were rushing to the spot of fight if it's nearby. Here it's not like this. Your guard will have a nice meal while the colleague at the entrance will fight to death.

    6. Absolutely plain humor. Nothing is funny. Just nothing (especially those cut scenes). In the original there was so much fun. Here the jokes are very bland.

    Pros.:
    - Animation.
    - Construction of rooms.
    - Design of small details and decor.
    - Casino.

    I still recommend to try the game if there are some patches, cheap DLC, anything else. Right now the game seems VERY VERY VERY unfinished. As if they cut huge amount of content. Or... Castrated the Evil Genius. For this stage of release - it's bad.    … Expand
  3. RobbD
    Apr 11, 2021
    6
    I was waiting for this game and waned to play it. The first three and a half hours(for the passage of one company you will need about 25 hours) are really interesting to play. But then ... BOREDOM sets in. If they told me to describe what you did the most in this game, I would answer: WAITED. 1) wait for the room to be built. 2) Wait for the minions to plunge into the helicopter 3) WaitI was waiting for this game and waned to play it. The first three and a half hours(for the passage of one company you will need about 25 hours) are really interesting to play. But then ... BOREDOM sets in. If they told me to describe what you did the most in this game, I would answer: WAITED. 1) wait for the room to be built. 2) Wait for the minions to plunge into the helicopter 3) Wait for the task to be completed 4) wait for the gold to accumulate, etc.

    And the main problem in the game, while you are waiting, you have NOTHING TO DO in this game!!!

    By the way:
    Traps are useless. I'm serious! Yes, traps can be improved, but at that moment you will have about 30 killers who can cope with any threat.

    P.S. I didn't think playing a villain would be so boring(((    … Expand
  4. isocano
    Jun 6, 2021
    5
    Un juego peculiar para muchos seguramente, algo original incluso, aunque a mí me recuerda a un theme hospital que no llega a encajar del todo.

    A nivel visual cumple e intenta ser gracioso, aunque para mí no lo consigue como sí hacía el theme en su día. Respecto al gameplay... he intentado varias mecánicas y me parece algo lento y repetitivo, a la vez de falto de opciones. El    Un juego peculiar para muchos seguramente, algo original incluso, aunque a mí me recuerda a un theme hospital que no llega a encajar del todo.

    A nivel visual cumple e intenta ser gracioso, aunque para mí no lo consigue como sí hacía el theme en su día.

    Respecto al gameplay... he intentado varias mecánicas y me parece algo lento y repetitivo, a la vez de falto de opciones.

    El tutorial en concreto es muy aburrido y creo que deberían haberlo hecho algo más libre, para el juego que es te obligan en exceso a seguir un camino predeterminado y aburrido.

    Aprueba porque para los fans del género puede dar bastantes horas, para el resto de personas creo que no es una gran opción, esperaba algo más sinceramente.    … Expand
  5. Florianmsn
    May 25, 2021
    6
    Nach 10 Stunden: Leider fehlt es mir an einigem stellen noch. Ich hoffe das hier nochmal Hand angelegt wird. Gerade an Erklärungen fehlt es überall im Spiel. Wofür ist dieser Gegenstand, warum kann ich das hier nicht bauen, warum laufen mir meine Minions davon, wie komme ich da hin, wofür ist das hier? Ständig frage ich mich Dinge die mir das Spiel leider nicht beantwortet. Gerade beiNach 10 Stunden: Leider fehlt es mir an einigem stellen noch. Ich hoffe das hier nochmal Hand angelegt wird. Gerade an Erklärungen fehlt es überall im Spiel. Wofür ist dieser Gegenstand, warum kann ich das hier nicht bauen, warum laufen mir meine Minions davon, wie komme ich da hin, wofür ist das hier? Ständig frage ich mich Dinge die mir das Spiel leider nicht beantwortet. Gerade bei Gegenständen die eine Funktion haben wäre es schön in dem Info Text noch ein paar sinnvolle Information zu finden. Oft stehen da belanglose Texte die zwar amüsant sind mir aber nicht helfen.

    Ebenfalls fühle ich mich in meiner Freiheit beschnitten. Jeder Fortschritt muss mit einer Haupt- oder Nebenquest gestartet werden bzw benötige ich die Quests um Forschungen und andere Gegenstände zu bekommen. Im ersten Teil hat man bestimme Einheiten gebraucht um voran zukommen (so auch hier) aber aktuell startet man eine Quest die Einheit plopt auf der Karte auf und man holt Sie sich ins HQ um sie zu verhören. War früher auch so aber das passierte automatisch und ich musste nicht extra die Quest starten.

    Ebenfalls finde ich es etwas unbalanced bzw sind einige dinge durch Quests o.ä. beschnitten (s.o.)
    andere aber nicht. Da ich keine Lust auf Quests hatte und direkt loslegen wollte mit Basis Bau und Weltherrschaft kam ich sehr schnell an den Punk an dem die halbe Basis aus Generatoren bestand und die andere hälfte aus meinem Tresor.
    Warum der Tresor so enorm viel Platz einnehmen muss verstehe ich nicht. Die Weltkarte war komplett aufgedeckt und nun hing ich an den Quests. Die Weltkarte an sich ist auch noch nicht Perfekt, so reichen mir 2-3 Netzwerke um ausreichend Geld zu verdienen um den riesigen Tresor immer voll zu halten. Man nimmt einfach 3 Aufträge mit 1-2 Stunden an und bekommt stätig Geld. Wenn das Argwohn auf Max kommt kann ich das Netzwerk für ein paar Minuten nicht nutzen. Na und? Wenn ich den Argwohn vorher runterschrauben will dauert das länger und kostet Geld. Macht für mich also keinen Sinn.
    Ebenfalls sind Kameras und Wächter in meinem Spiel sinnlos? Ich habe sehr viele Kameras in den Fluren (leider geht das nur noch in den Fluren) verteilt und Personal an den Monitoren aber ich habe nicht das Gefühl, dass es irgend einen Effekt hätte, ähnlich wie die Wachposten.

    Da die Basis mittlerweile aber auch komplett vollgestopft ist kann ich kaum bis keine Fallen bauen für gegnerische Agenten.
    Ich habe dann einige Quests nachgeholt und kann jetzt die anderen Stockwerke besiedeln. Jetzt müsste ich aber meine komplette Basis umbauen um es irgendwie sinnvoll zu gestalten.
    Schön ist das man hier die Erde wieder aufschütten kann und alle Räume jederzeit neu platzieren kann aber sinnvoller für mich ist es einen neuen Spielstand anzufangen und dann schön Dienst nach Vorschrift zu machen.
    Es gibt noch einige Kleinigkeiten die mich nerven oder wo der Rotstift angesetzt wurde. Zum Beispiel sind die Leichensäcke mittlerweile kein Thema mehr da alles in Evil Genius 2 mit einem Super Multifunktions Staubsauger einfach eingesaugt wird. Und auch alles andere wird mit diesem Staubsauger gemacht. Egal ob saugen, tragen, bauen, umstellen... alles die selbe Animation.

    Zuletzt noch der Charme, leider fehlt mir der Witz und Charme aus dem ersten Teil etwas. Gerade bei den Animationen, Sprüchen und Missionen fehlt es meiner Meinung nach an besagtem. Wer es z.B. aus Two Point Hospital gewohnt ist sich über durchsagen, Krankheiten oder Animationen zu beeumeln wird hier etwas vermissen.

    Nach 20 Stunden:
    So ich habe jetzt noch mal einige Stunde gespielt und bin der Meinung das hier definitv nachgebessert werden muss. Macht einfach kein Spaß mehr! Aktueller Stand bei mir: Absolut keine bis kaum Minions, kein Geld und werde ständig angegriffen. Die Aufträge und Missionen kann ich nicht machen weil keine Minions. Kein Geld weil ich keine Minions auf Missionen schicken kann. Wenn ich ein paar Minions bekomme und auf Mission schicke fehlen die mir in der Base. Die Base wir die ganze Zeit angegriffen aber weils keine Minions gibt auch keine Verteidigung. Mein Genie stirbt am laufenden Band weil ich es auch nicht heilen kann durch dauernde Angriffe. Ständig Fehlermeldungen im Trainingsraum und optionale Missionen funktionieren auch oft nicht. Kann also Stunden an "Arbeit" und fortschritt in die Tonne kloppen weil ich so keine Chance habe Geld oder Minions zu bekommen bevor mein Genie stirbt. Habe schon versucht ne Stunde im Save zurück zu gehen aber es endet immer gleich. Ich bin sicher nicht auf den Kopf gefallen aber das Balancing in dem Game ist einfach unter aller sau. Für mich ist Cyberpunk definitiv definitiv Spielbarer als dieses Spiel hier + Ich hatte mehr Spaß. Ich habe schon viele viele Stunden in EG1, Jurassic World, Two Point Hospital, The are Billions und und und gesteckt und habe massig Erfahrung mit aufbau/ Management Spielen. Alle sind besser als das hier in aktuellem Zustand!    … Expand
  6. Maximus_Falcon
    Aug 11, 2021
    7
    Недурственная игра. Стилистика выдержана безупречно! Может быть игре и не хватает глубины 1й части. Но как развлечение на несколько вечеров она вполне себе.
  7. Messadan
    Apr 4, 2021
    5
    I never played EG1 so this is a brand new genre to me. The good stuff:
    - design
    - graphics - base building - sound - concept - traps / tower defense The bad stuff: - minion managent - dealing with agents... you have mercenaries with guns and your workers get into fist fights with intruders first... nonsense - the path finding is laughable - world map... it’s boring, no meaningful    I never played EG1 so this is a brand new genre to me. The good stuff:
    - design
    - graphics - base building - sound
    - concept - traps / tower defense The bad stuff:
    - minion managent - dealing with agents... you have mercenaries with guns and your workers get into fist fights with intruders first... nonsense - the path finding is laughable - world map... it’s boring, no meaningful interaction, no clear follow up, just click here to get 10k and there to lower the heat... Surely they can fix most if not all of this especially given that the critics are very consistent. I’ll pick it up again in a few months (maybe)    … Expand
  8. brettins
    Apr 1, 2021
    5
    Man, was I ever excited for this one. I've dropped hundreds of hours into Theme Hospital, Dungeon Keeper, Two Point Hospital. Haven't actually played the original Evil Genius, but I'd heard great things and I thought this would be a great combo of my favorites.

    The game is just...bland. And it feels like there's lots of little mistakes that bely the lack of a clear artistic vision, and    Man, was I ever excited for this one. I've dropped hundreds of hours into Theme Hospital, Dungeon Keeper, Two Point Hospital. Haven't actually played the original Evil Genius, but I'd heard great things and I thought this would be a great combo of my favorites.

    The game is just...bland. And it feels like there's lots of little mistakes that bely the lack of a clear artistic vision, and a few bugs that just stopped me in my tracks.

    Game starts! Suddenly this minion is talking at me in this super authoratative manner. They seem to try to lampshade this with the Evil Genius saying "who are you giving me orders?", but as soon as the cutscene is done he keeps giving you instructions like he runs the place. Immediate disconnect - how am I supposed to feel like an Evil Genius if my henchman talk to me like they're the boss?

    Also, it immediately becomes unclear if I'm actually the evil genius, or who I am, because Maximilian responds to my commands as if I'm a commander in Warcraft - "Ah, Evil thinks alike" he says. Oh, ok, so I'm some other evil thing telling him what to do. But the minion was clearly talking to me, and then Maximilian was acting like he was talking to him. Which is it?
    Ok, lets build some **** Your minions get your new buildings out of a cave next to your base. Ok, sure, we've got a bunch of old evil equipment that we....pay gold for? For some reason? Why? Is there an invisible troll guarding the evil gadgets we have to pay a toll to? Ok, let's take it for granted that the minions "do it all" gun is powered by pure gold. Sure. I'm interested to see where we'll build all of these evil contraptions we're inventing here!

    Wait, once I research the minions STILL get it out of this random cave? What?!? We had all of this stuff just sitting around? Why doesn't the game mention this? There are lots of ways the writers could have handled this... maybe the game could a big deal about this treasure trove of everything evil that has ever existed, but we have to learn how to use it before we can pull it from the cave? Nope. It's just a cave, and once you research it, the minions can go get it from the cave. Which...for some reason...they couldn't before. No explanation.

    Meaningless Traits
    Also, your minions have traits. Oh that's fun!! Traits in Two Point Hospital made me really sweat over who I hired in - NO UNHYGENIC NURSES! It made every hospital employee seem like they had a real personality. Alright, good work Evil Genius 2!! Except... I don't pick which minions get sent on schemes, and traits don't seem to have an effect on them, and it doesn't seem like their traits really matter?

    The traits don't seem to match up with who trains for what profession either. I remember getting told to make minions into guards, so I do that, and immediately my minion with the traits "Pacifist" and "Wants to be a technician" goes and starts training to be a guard. I immediately look around on the internet to see if there's a way to stop that...nope. This makes no sense? How did we pick this minion to do it, and not the one with "strong right hook"? And no real way to cancel it either.

    So, what is the point of the traits if minions are totally disposable and you can't guide them based on their traits!? So frustrating!

    Schemes - The Minigame where you just click on an icon
    Alright, so maybe the base management is wonky, I hear we are taking over the world!! Awesome, let's try this!! The overworld schemes are just... nothing. Click to get money, click to lower heat. It's totally inane. Click it, if you have the resources, it happens. Some crappy writing about the scheme that they're running, totally bland, totally uninteresting.

    Also, why are my minions sent off on this to disappear? Some lame explanation in the cutscene about "not tracking justice back to my base"? WTF?

    Alright, we have scientists, we have guards, we have valets. Wait, valets? Like, a parking valet? There's no such thing as a casino valet, so these are...busboys...running casino tables? What?? And why are my valets performing at my Vegas show thing? Because they decided that valets are at in the casino and didn't want to deal with splitting them up into different jobs? Then don't include the performance stage. Makes no sense.

    Conclusion
    Each thing I kept coming across took me out of the Evil Genius experience and made me super aware that this was a game, and nothing really brought me down into the world to think that I was an evil genius doing things. Again and again things didn't work in a cool way, nothing felt like it had any thematic punch. Even Maximilian just felt like...nothing. A boring clone of Dr. Evil who asked minions stupid questions, while the minions replied with eye-rollingly bad jokes.

    My first refund ever on Steam, and I'm really sad about it. I was really excited for this game, and it's really a big pile of...schmeh.    … Expand
  9. TPC802
    Apr 14, 2023
    6
    Bem, eu vou tentar dividir essa avaliação em duas partes, uma positiva e outra negativa.
    Começando de forma positiva, Evil Genius 2 é um jogo com uma proposta muito interessante e que eu pessoalmente gostei muito de poder ter meu próprio império do mal, além de possuir uma trilha sonora que muitas vezes vai fazer você se lembrar de filmes antigos de agente secreto e também possui uma    Bem, eu vou tentar dividir essa avaliação em duas partes, uma positiva e outra negativa.
    Começando de forma positiva, Evil Genius 2 é um jogo com uma proposta muito interessante e que eu pessoalmente gostei muito de poder ter meu próprio império do mal, além de possuir uma trilha sonora que muitas vezes vai fazer você se lembrar de filmes antigos de agente secreto e também possui uma arte agradável. Evil Genius é um bom jogo para quem quer ser introduzido para jogos de administração por ter uma jogabilidade fácil e simples, um dos motivos pelo qual eu decide jogar o jogo.
    Mas entrando um pouco nos pontos negativos do jogo, no qual infelizmente devo dizer que são mais do que os positivos, podemos começar com o sistema de missões do jogo que tem um problema de softlock, ou seja, as vezes você está fazendo a missão 1 mas para poder concluir você precisa concluir a missão 2, mas o jogo não te permite cancelar ou iniciar uma nova missão enquanto você não terminar a missão 1, fazendo você ficar preso naquela missão. Aconteceu alguns casos em que eu tive que carregar saves de duas horas atrás por esse tipo de problema , é frustrante mas não é difícil se recuperar do prejuízo, mas de toda forma é algo bem chato.
    Outro ponto negativo é as falas dos "Evil Genius" , os dubladores fazem um ótimo trabalho e isso é inegável, mas o jogo não se deu o trabalho de fazer com que cada um tivesse interações únicas, sendo momentos muitos raros durante a campanha e sendo presente em algumas vezes na campanha principal. Ou seja, independente se você começa um jogo como Emma ou como Red Ivan , os diálogos nas missões secundarias e quase todas as primarias serão os mesmos ,algo que eu acho muito triste pois ter diálogos únicos seria uma forma de incentivar os jogadores a re-jogar com os outros personagens . E para finalizar eu queria falar sobre a cutscene final das campanhas, elas são muito curtas e pouco elaboradas, não fazendo jus ao tempo e esforço que o jogador investe no jogo, ficando assim a desejar.

    Então em resumo, o jogo ele é divertido para quem quer ser apresentado a jogos de administração e tem um tema legal, mas antes de iniciar/concluir qualquer missão , lembre-se de fazer um save manualmente para não perde muito do seu progresso. Caso surja um Evil Genius 3(e realmente espero que sim) espero que esses erros não sejam repitidos.    … Expand
  10. HydrophobikFish
    Jun 9, 2023
    5
    Overall I love the idea of the game more than the execution. it's very easy and doesnt' have much depth. I was able to easily rack up tons of cash for whatever I want and never had to deal with a serious incurision I couldn't handle. it needs more going on over the hood, because as it is the stellar presentation is done a disservice by the underwhelming game.

Awards & Rankings

77
#77 Most Discussed PC Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 57 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 57
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 57
  3. Negative: 0 out of 57
  1. CD-Action
    Nov 19, 2021
    80
    The terrific concept, the amazing music, the minions bustling around the retrofuturistic secret base of my own design – there was a moment when I was deeply in love with Evil Genius 2. Hours later I discovered that it drags research out frustratingly and the choice of rooms you can build is too narrow considering the length of the scenarios. What’s the point of having a multistory facility if all the floors look the same? Still, it’s a fantastic game that will make all fans of Dungeon Keeper feel right at home. [06/2021, p.46]
  2. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Jun 17, 2021
    58
    There are only a few changes over the original game, and almost all of them are for the worse. Not to mention that the increased amount of busywork made me feel more like an evil genius’ butler than the big man himself. [Issue#253, p.48]
  3. Checkpoint Gaming
    May 29, 2021
    80
    Evil Genius 2: World Domination proves that exciting strategy games aren’t always super complex and difficult to learn.
    Read full review
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