The Evil Within 2: 6 Major Updates You Need To Know About
Get ready to be scared.
The Evil Within gave us a stylish trench coat, plenty of dirty, blood-covered hallways to creep through and an automatic handgun to blast away any zombies in the way.
Leading up to its release, many horror fans were justifiably excited for Shinji Mikami's next game, because it looked just like Resident Evil. After its release, those same people gave up because it felt too much like Resident Evil… from 1996.
After reminiscing about gaming in the 90s, Resident Evil, and the time we felt that lump in our throats after seeing the first zombie slowly reveal its grotesque face, The Evil Within reminded us that not everything about the ‘good ‘ol days’ was better.
Even though killing zombies in games continues to be fashionable, The Evil Within felt like an expired bottle of milk which had been sitting in Mikami’s mouldy fridge for 15 years.
Still, after being a commercial and somewhat critical success, Tango Gameworks have been rewarded with another chance to update The Evil Within and give it an identity other than Resident Evil’s outdated, ugly, and less appreciated brother.
6. Character Is Being Focused On
Speaking to Gamespot, Pete Hines, Bethesda’s Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing, accused Sebastian of being "kind of an an a**hole whom players could not identify with".
Noticeably the understatement of the century, Sebastian was instead quite animatronic. True, he was a rather beautiful chap with a particular set of skills which would make Liam Neeson blush, but his commitment to maintaining a stiff-upper lip became a running gag, and he was as heavy and stiff as a tank.
This time, thankfully, Sebastian is not just an idiot whose sole purpose is to slowly open closed doors so that we all hide our faces behind our cupped hands. Instead, he is a Stephen King-like protagonist on a personally-driven endeavour to find his thought-to-be dead daughter Lily. This willingness to do anything to find your child is something players can understand and latch onto, and it will hopefully give Sebastian moments of weakness and humanity.
With everyone already aware that Sebastian is one of many features Tango Gameworks need to improve, it is reassuring to hear that the Japanese-based developers understand that the nonchalant detective was not important to the story and could’ve been replaced with anyone.
Justifiably, they are making amends this time around.