User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1998 Ratings

User score distribution:
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
  1. Jun 19, 2020
    6
    Compared with the first part, it sags greatly in optimization, in the plot and in the villains, the slurry in the end is of course in general.
  2. Jun 29, 2020
    6
    Here is how I have ended with a mere 6/10 for metacritic.

    Even though the grand Plot of the story is better on EW2, and the game is very playable as a story experience, EW2 is a step down from EW1 in so many ways: 1 Story is forgettable where it matters i.e. in actual localised story and script and it's cardboard cut-out villians 2 Colour schemes/art and atmosphere is a significant
    Here is how I have ended with a mere 6/10 for metacritic.

    Even though the grand Plot of the story is better on EW2, and the game is very playable as a story experience, EW2 is a step down from EW1 in so many ways:
    1 Story is forgettable where it matters i.e. in actual localised story and script and it's cardboard cut-out villians
    2 Colour schemes/art and atmosphere is a significant step-down from EW1
    3 Weapons are considered secondary to the stealth 'executions'
    4 Most of what made EW1 combat Wonderful and interesting has been removed i.e. environmental traps like tripwire mines and bombs, unique traps
    5 Open world is dull and offers nothing more than busy work -which is the definition of an open world done wrong.
    6 Combat is made dull by points 3, 4 and 5 being so Massive to the operation of the game
    7 This is compounded by reusing the same map again i.e. revisiting an open world area, and re spawning a new set of similar mobs
    8 Horror atmosphere is distinctly lacking
    9 Player death sequences have been removed 99% of time, except in minor exceptions
    10 Whiny characters scripts
    Somethings that are decent about the game:
    1 Over branching Plot is nice concept
    2 Game is very playable, in general for the story experience
    3 Open world exploration is rewarded
    4 Generally well optimised - i had no issue with graphics and performance
    5 Certain modernisation of game, like :
    *In game-games at hub - though these seem compltely out of style with the rest of the game, almost as an escape...
    *In-game skill system for character and weapons does helps and does work
    * Upgrade economy , although repetitive is still ok

    I reviewed this on steam a long time ago, but my conclusion was a DONT RECOMMEND. The more I think about it more, the more this game is compltely missable and especially how the stealth + open world have completely ruined it - let alone the completely weak horror element with poor use of colours and atmosphere.

    As far as I'm concerned because so much is missing from the 2nd that was in the 1st, they have ruined what made EW1 good - and so we have the generic, story game - the horror story line is quite conservative too, a story of a father and his daughter.
    Expand
  3. Nov 13, 2017
    6
    It's, okay: I enjoyed the start of the game more than I expected to, the middle-portion started to wane quite a bit and by the end I had started to get bored with it.

    Initially it had a bit of a Silent Hill 2 feel to it (I never did play the first Silent Hill) and I was hoping that it would open up in the same way with exploring various areas and finding out via "brute force" where you
    It's, okay: I enjoyed the start of the game more than I expected to, the middle-portion started to wane quite a bit and by the end I had started to get bored with it.

    Initially it had a bit of a Silent Hill 2 feel to it (I never did play the first Silent Hill) and I was hoping that it would open up in the same way with exploring various areas and finding out via "brute force" where you could or couldn't go. Sadly TEW2 instead have me a lot of "points of interest" that turned out to not actually be that interesting.

    The weapon and character customization are pretty cool however the lack of weapons and actual "abilities" made this all feel sort of tacked on. I ended up with an over-powered pistol that left me hardly ever using my shotgun or crossbow; fun for an experiment but too cumbersome to bother with unless you like counting your steps between doorways.

    Another thing that started to really annoy me was the slowed down pace at many points...I'd just had an adrenaline-fueled shootout or encounter and then I was forced into a slowed down walk to a gate, a jump to an alternate "alternate" reality that did nothing but frustrate me (because why slow down the action so quickly to almost halt it entirely)...

    It tries to be a lot of things but fails to actually master any of them. At one point an AI enemy ran away from me but forced my character to move very slowly (appeared like lag) until it had exited the area...the what now?

    Nothing really scared me either so while it does have some really nasty looking subjects I really almost felt as if I was in a cheap horror movie more than something making me want to run away.

    Your character will almost always start with saying "What the hell...". It gets stale really quickly.

    Anyway enough with this review. It was okay but not worth picking up at full price and if you're okay with everything I've mentioned above then you'll probably enjoy portions of it as I did but at the same time don't expect it to be all fun and games.
    Expand
  4. Nov 28, 2017
    7
    overall, game is solid, but it could be way better. developers like couldnt specify if they want to make a action game, shooter, suirvival horror or adventure. final product is a mix of everything and it's not the best balance imo. there are some pretty good horror elements to build a atmosphere on it but suddenly everything goes into action and killing. like in dying light, soon you willoverall, game is solid, but it could be way better. developers like couldnt specify if they want to make a action game, shooter, suirvival horror or adventure. final product is a mix of everything and it's not the best balance imo. there are some pretty good horror elements to build a atmosphere on it but suddenly everything goes into action and killing. like in dying light, soon you will find in situation that u're chasing the enemies for reward rather than hiding and avoiding. but then ammo is noiwehre to find at least first 75% of the game and you need to take stealth approach which is a little bit boring. you have a few nice weapons but munition is so rare to find. story is growing throughout the game and from slow start it's getting more and more thrilling . overall, it's a good game, not the best in genre but deffinitely not the worst. too bad they didnt put some more horror elements. Expand
  5. Oct 15, 2017
    7
    The Evil Within 2
    Not enough of its own thing
    The Evil within 2 a quote unquote Survival horror game where you once again play as Sebastian... This time however the story is much more personal and therefore miles better than the original as you’re out to save your daughter instead of chase after a lunatic… The story has some touching moment and is greatly told… easily the best part of
    The Evil Within 2
    Not enough of its own thing
    The Evil within 2 a quote unquote Survival horror game where you once again play as Sebastian...
    This time however the story is much more personal and therefore miles better than the original as you’re out to save your daughter instead of chase after a lunatic…
    The story has some touching moment and is greatly told… easily the best part of this experience…
    The rest of the game though for the most part in my opinion is a step in the wrong direction…
    This game calls itself a horror game, but to me this 12 and a half hours felt more like an action 3rd person shooter zombie game with sprinkles of horror.. especially compared to the first…
    there are the occasional monsters like the first game, and there are a few really great chapters here, especially in the beginning…
    But The Evil Within 2 went more the route of an open world supply gathering stealth game than a linear puzzle solving horror game like the original..
    The makes for a really good action game... not for a very good horror games as I find zombies to be more annoying than they are scary…
    The Evil Within 2 is essentially taking Resident Evil 4, Silent Hills, The Evil Within, and The Last of Us and throwing it into a blender, but never quite being as good as any of those 4 parts…
    The first half of the game is more open worldy, where you’re in a creep town called union..
    There are side quests all around this town that will lead to creepy encounter, enemies to kill for their goo... but more importantly weapons…
    IF you want all the weapons in this game you have to actually work for them…
    I didn’t dislike this section of the game… I just could’ve definitely done without it…
    I was tense while exploring this tiny town trying my hardest to not alarm enemies, kill them for their goo get what I can and get out… go back to the safe house, upgrade my weapons with the scraps I found a round a get back out there…
    Which is where the last of us influence comes into play…
    The light crafting system here for ammo and medpacks is heavily inspired by the last of us, and you can craft items on the go, but doing so at a crafting table uses less materials, so is worth searching for..
    Speaking of the green goo...
    the nurse lady in the mirror is back to help you on your journey to save your daughter... letting you upgrade your health, combat, and stealth in a skill tree in exchange..
    You’ll also be able to take to a shooting range for rewards to help upgrade your character...
    Stealth this time around feels a little clunky to me and enemies are annoyingly unpredictable… where I found them turning around right before I was ready to get them from behind with a quick kill…
    though combat isn’t too difficult, as most will go down with a couple nice headshots, ammo seems to be pretty readily available, and you’re able to pick up axes that work as a 1 hit kill melee attack.. .though you do have a knife if you’re out of ammo or materials to craft more... which is a situation I never found myself in…
    Especially thanks to the safe houses in this game where you can stock up on a few bullets and refill your health with a cup of coffee so you can save your syringes and med packs for boss fights…
    The best part of this game is when you get back into the main storyline…
    There are a great number of characters you’ll run into, hate, and even care for…
    And some of the missions do the cool layers of fear thing where you turn around and the room is changed or there’s a door there that wasn’t there before… really creeping you out…
    Sadly these creepy moments only exist in the first half and the horror aspects completely disappear until something else happens for a brief moment that ties into the first game that I won’t spoil, but it just reminded me of the potential of this series and made me sad when the game continued and I was just back to feeling like I was Nathan drake with none of the charm having a weird nightmare…
    I was a huge fan of the original evil within until a game breaking bug stopped me from completing it…
    Thankfully the evil within 2 is much more polished and I ran into 0 bugs the whole time…
    It’s just not what I wanted from it…
    The Evil Within 2 feels like a completely different game than the original..
    It’s just lacking in the horror field... I’m tired of zombies…
    But for what it is, this is a really good action game…
    I give The Evil Within 2
    a 7.5/10
    Expand
  6. Nov 5, 2017
    6
    Although being a great game the controls of it felt very clunky and at times frustrating. The gun controls are very difficult to control and actually getting off shots is very difficult at times making me frustrated with the game rather than actually enjoying it. However it is a very immersive horror experience, and I do feel properly scared when I'm playing it, that aspect of the game,Although being a great game the controls of it felt very clunky and at times frustrating. The gun controls are very difficult to control and actually getting off shots is very difficult at times making me frustrated with the game rather than actually enjoying it. However it is a very immersive horror experience, and I do feel properly scared when I'm playing it, that aspect of the game, worked very well. Expand
  7. Dec 21, 2017
    5
    Gameplay is slow and clunky. This is the problem that consoles have brought to gaming. Game designers have to design the action sequences around the speed of the response time that people can manage with the crippled input devices that are on consoles. Character motion is so awkward and imprecise. I feel like I was moving through sludge.

    The skill tree is basically crippled. 1/2 way
    Gameplay is slow and clunky. This is the problem that consoles have brought to gaming. Game designers have to design the action sequences around the speed of the response time that people can manage with the crippled input devices that are on consoles. Character motion is so awkward and imprecise. I feel like I was moving through sludge.

    The skill tree is basically crippled. 1/2 way through the game I leveled up the predator skill thinking yay here's something I can use, but I never activated once. The help says sneak up behind someone and watch for the red marker. You do that and the red marker never appears. So you just stealth kill them as pre-level predator.

    Is it scary? Well for me Dead Space 1 and 2 set the bar in scary action games. The Evil Within 2 might be scary if you haven't experienced a scary action game before. Maybe I am immune to scares after playing Dead Space. Although it does have some weird bukakke like monster, if I wanted to watch porn, I'd watch porn.
    Expand
  8. Sep 18, 2021
    7
    ====================IIIIIIIIII GAME SCORE : 73 IIIIIIIIII====================
  9. Sep 27, 2021
    7
    'The Evil Within 2' improves in many ways over the original. However there are still a few major issues that keep this game from achieving greatness.

    The original game was difficult but mostly due to the awful controls and the abominable x100 zoom-in when aiming your weapons. Once the enemies flanked you, it was over, blame the enormous amount of zoom-in the game provided. The controls
    'The Evil Within 2' improves in many ways over the original. However there are still a few major issues that keep this game from achieving greatness.

    The original game was difficult but mostly due to the awful controls and the abominable x100 zoom-in when aiming your weapons. Once the enemies flanked you, it was over, blame the enormous amount of zoom-in the game provided. The controls in Evil Within 2 are still a bit bad, especially when enemies get up close to you. The aiming however is vastly improved, it is still not what it should be, but it is a significant improvement over its predecessor.

    The game starts out awfully slow, forty minutes worth of cinematics including the kind that make you walk through them. Nothing like taking control from the player to break immersion. I don't mind and actually enjoy cinematics, but I only ask that it doesn't have me walk at a snails pace through them. Why can't I run anymore? Why can't I aim my weapon? Every time I was getting sunk in the atmosphere, Sebastian's headache again, here comes the wobbly walls and camera, time for the scripted ghost "chase" again.

    I never thought the original was scary but the game did manage to create some tension. This was mostly thanks to the bosses. But in Evil within 2, aside from the Buzz-Saw Stalker and the things that crawl, there isn't anything else that can get your adrenaline going. The enemy Ai is still pretty awful, while the stealth is pretty solid, it's not entirely needed, enemies will stop chasing you after a few seconds.

    There is also the problem of ammo, even on new game plus I never had full ammo on anything until near the end of my second play-through. I started new game plus and relied on brass knuckles for the vast majority of that play-through to save ammo. Bad guys have been dropping green slime since new game plus even though I no longer need any. They could have gone the extra mile and eliminated green slime once the game recognized that all augments were completed and have the slime be replaced by AMMO!

    It still manages to be a good ride for the most part. I got it on sale for $20. Had I paid full price I would have rated this game on the red zone. Get it on sale and it will be worth it.
    Expand
  10. Nov 8, 2017
    5
    This game is one big wannabe. That's all it is. Like any other fake product, it tries to copy a lot of epic games, but fails just short on all points. Some of those games are resident evil, the last of us, tomb raider. It feels like some of the levels where directly influenced by one of those games. Like a cheap version of them which at first looks similar but ultimately lacks the realThis game is one big wannabe. That's all it is. Like any other fake product, it tries to copy a lot of epic games, but fails just short on all points. Some of those games are resident evil, the last of us, tomb raider. It feels like some of the levels where directly influenced by one of those games. Like a cheap version of them which at first looks similar but ultimately lacks the real substances which makes those games great. Some of the problems are as follows:

    The story lacks any suspense.
    The plot has twists which feel like the next random event.
    The game-play, while not bad, is more often a struggle rather than fun.
    Environments that have no atmosphere.
    Companions which doesn't have any personality - only bad acting.
    Protagonist who is boring.
    Effect-oriented scenes that are just that - for effect. Like an uninteresting movie with a good car-chase.
    The game just tries too hard.

    Overall: it's worth the try, but don't expect to be immersed in this mediocre game in the skin of a block-buster
    Expand
  11. Oct 19, 2017
    7
    The Evil Within 2 has a truly great concept and story to tell, in my opinion it's one of most original horror action games you can buy. It's twisted and will mess with your mind a lot. It has decent enough gameplay (Sebastian - main characters could be less clumsy as former cop/detective) and good exploration - where unlike prequel, this game has few open hub areas and it serves the gameThe Evil Within 2 has a truly great concept and story to tell, in my opinion it's one of most original horror action games you can buy. It's twisted and will mess with your mind a lot. It has decent enough gameplay (Sebastian - main characters could be less clumsy as former cop/detective) and good exploration - where unlike prequel, this game has few open hub areas and it serves the game well.

    Now I would rate it higher but I can't - because.... BETHESDA!!! The game is built on the same, slightly modified engine as the first one - and it's truly is not a great engine and this game comes with problems. As of date of this review, fullscreen doesn't work - regardless what it says you are put in borderless window, GPU is not being utilized - game uses up to 80% GPU horsepower, very often far less than that, some players experience micro-stuttering on some hardware configurations. Despite it's a lot better from technical perspective than first game, I cannot ignore problems and have to take those into consideration when rating a game (-1 from rating).

    As for non-technical problems, voice acting quite bad for some characters (mostly side characters) and dialogue animations are straight terrible - luckily it's not RPG so there is not that much of them. Also one open zone is reused with just tiny variation and you have to dig through it twice. So this also have be reflected on final score (-1 from rating).

    All in all, it's great game and one you must experience because honestly it's one of the kind, especially if you like **** stories and and twisted storytelling. If you don't mind small but relatively apparent technical problems - grab it now, otherwise - wait maybe for sale, maybe they will patch thing or two until then, but i strongly recommend to any fan of genre to experience the game, it's really worth!
    Expand
  12. Aug 26, 2022
    7
    Great game. Way better than the first part. Loved most of it. I still didn't like the running away sequences or the sneaking stuff, but the fighting was great. Also the story was amazing... so was the sound. Pickens approves!
  13. Jan 29, 2019
    7
    Довольно надоедливая сюжетная линия и твисты. Фантасмагория, визионерство главного героя тоже наводят скуку. все выглядит не аутентично и нудно. 7/10 за полученное состояние проникновения драмой.
  14. Jul 18, 2020
    7
    this is a good game but if you played the first game you will notice this game are less horror, darker and not that difficult on the normal difficulty. the big plus of the game is the story and the character development of Sebastian, where in the first game the story was more focused on the villain.

    it is a good game,but i enjoyed the first one more. still i can't complain about this
    this is a good game but if you played the first game you will notice this game are less horror, darker and not that difficult on the normal difficulty. the big plus of the game is the story and the character development of Sebastian, where in the first game the story was more focused on the villain.

    it is a good game,but i enjoyed the first one more. still i can't complain about this after all i got the game cheap and still fun to play.
    Expand
  15. Oct 28, 2020
    7
    wwwwwww eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr tttttttttttttttttttttttttttt sss
  16. Jul 31, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Great game with a huge focus on story, characters, and world-building. I don't remember the last time when the story absorbed me so much. Yes, there are a few bugs here are there, but nothing game-breaking. Usually minor visual glitches. Expand
  17. Sep 1, 2018
    7
    Ok, the game is fun to play, but I can't give it a better score because of a few important shortcomings:

    1) Graphics: the game looks dated sometimes, even on Ultra settings. You can't control texture quality on the graphics settings - unacceptable by 2017 standards for PC games. This is a big downer for me. 2) You cannot skip all the dialog and cut-scenes, which becomes an annoying
    Ok, the game is fun to play, but I can't give it a better score because of a few important shortcomings:

    1) Graphics: the game looks dated sometimes, even on Ultra settings. You can't control texture quality on the graphics settings - unacceptable by 2017 standards for PC games. This is a big downer for me.
    2) You cannot skip all the dialog and cut-scenes, which becomes an annoying "feature" after the first play through.
    3) Bugs and crashes. Not a lot, but annoying nevertheless. The final scene ("Game Clear") gets stuck, and took me a while to realize that I just had to press a bunch of random keys for the game to resume and enable the New Game+ feature. Btw, that's what worked for me, other ppl reported other ways to unstuck the "Game Clear" screen.
    4) The dialog is repetitive at times. I've lost count of how many times the main character says "what the hell" when he sees something odd.
    5) You cannot raise the difficulty on New Game+, which to me defeats the purpose of a second play through. I like to play Casual first, then raise the difficulty on subsequent play throughs. For whatever reason, the developer thought that it was a good idea to only allow to decrease the difficulty on New Game+. So, let's say you complete the game on Survival, then start New Game+: you can only lower it to Casual? You bring all your weapons and upgrades to New Game+ - so, if anything, I want to raise the difficulty, not lower it. It makes no sense to me.
    Expand
  18. Jan 15, 2018
    7
    Story:

    Great game to begin with: The story was a bit absurd and exaggerated which left me with so many questions and I felt like it didn't fit the game, it felt very different from the original which was all about being inside the stem with no idea if what was happening real or not. It would of been better in my opinion if it carried of from number 1 with Ruvik. However i guess that
    Story:

    Great game to begin with:

    The story was a bit absurd and exaggerated which left me with so many questions and I felt like it didn't fit the game, it felt very different from the original which was all about being inside the stem with no idea if what was happening real or not. It would of been better in my opinion if it carried of from number 1 with Ruvik. However i guess that story's next par is for another Evil within game or a DLC.

    One thing i really like about this game though is the references to the original game which felt really connected and really made the game feel like the game was a close sequel to The evil within 1 with a different story. References such as Safe Head, Laura, Sadist, Flash backs, talks about the previous events, Beacon hospital references and so on, also the return of Tatianna which in this game is properly done, in this game the nurse has a proper character and interacts with Sebastian a lot more, we get to learn so much more about her and why she is what she is.

    Gameplay:

    I found this game way too easy, i completed my first play through on Nightmare and it felt nothing like the originals difficulty, it was even easier than survival on the original in my opinion, and the reason for the has to be the overpowered skills such as a stealth perk which completely breaks the game and removes basically all need to use any other weapons towards 75% of the enemies. apart from it being too easy i found it really enjoyable especially the open world sections with all the side quests and loot gathering.

    Cons:
    I have a couple minor cons about this game.

    one of the main being the terrible mini bosses in my opinion, none of the mini bosses were able to match the mini bosses from the original such as safe head and Laura. actually the enemies all together felt like a step back from the original, the game was lacking in enemy variety.

    the progression. Another con i have for this game is the progression. the reason this is a flaw is because i found that the progression in this game was far too fast and easy, within the first 2 hours i was able to get my character set to finish the whole game with ease. i was able to make it to the final boss with 600+ gun powder, 70+ Herds, Full ammo including bolt in all weapons and pouches, i didn't even have to craft a single syringe in my Nightmare play through, and crafted minimal ammo which i only did craft towards the end because i felt like i was saving so much resources for no reason.

    And my final con is how fast the game skipped chapters, some chapters literally took 15 mins to pass.
    Expand
  19. Oct 5, 2018
    7
    Apesar de seus fatos negativos, The Evil Within 2 chega para mostrar porque veio. Sua experiência apesar de tudo é incrível e desafiadora, e em certos momentos você pode deixar de lado alguns pontos incompletos da história para simplesmente se divertir (ou entrar em pânico simplesmente). Apesar de tudo, é sim um jogo importante para sua prateleira.
  20. Apr 5, 2023
    6
    A mixed bag of other iconic games from the genre, a big slice of Resident Evil 4, a splash of Silent Hill, and even F.E.A.R. You can disable all elements of the hud individually to make it more atmospheric but the game just fails to be scary as it fails being a good action game or a good stealth game, it tries to be all of those but does neither well enough.
    The hub sized map at first
    A mixed bag of other iconic games from the genre, a big slice of Resident Evil 4, a splash of Silent Hill, and even F.E.A.R. You can disable all elements of the hud individually to make it more atmospheric but the game just fails to be scary as it fails being a good action game or a good stealth game, it tries to be all of those but does neither well enough.
    The hub sized map at first makes you feel compelled to explore every corner, every enterable building has something going on, this is the strongest point of the game but then you are introduced to the awful map transitions through a computer, and the game becomes more linear and weaker.
    Your empty guns will suddenly have ammo on cinematic fights, boss fights have ammo respawns, so much for the game trying hard to make itself less fun by not giving you ammo and forcing you to use the weak stealth, where you can just toy with enemies that get stuck easily, this just felt like a way they figure out to make the game last longer.
    Expand
  21. Dec 11, 2022
    6
    A decent sequel. Not as scary as the first one. Nightmare difficulty felt pretty good. Also there are no memorable villains like the Box Head guy from Evil Within 1.
  22. Apr 9, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My rating is based on my impressions of the game. This is not an objective review. I play quite a big number of titles per year and decided to review them as a peace of art and not as a product. Expand
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 28
  2. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. Feb 28, 2018
    73
    Fans of Silent Hill and Resident Evil should definitely try The Evil Within 2. Even with all its annoying flaws, the sequel is better than the original game. Slowly but surely, Tango Gameworks is working its way towards a perfect formula for a modern horror game.
  2. Jan 2, 2018
    80
    This time devs cleaned up their act. The Evil Within 2 fights with immortals in a richer, better-designed and well-crafted action. It is not just a thoughtless brutality, as it may seem. Good ideas are rewarded by a pleasantly long game time.
  3. PC PowerPlay
    Dec 1, 2017
    70
    A definite step above the original but still not without its problems. [Issue#268, p.60]