Shinji Mikami is quite possibly the most important horror game director of all time, having created theResident Evilfranchise and directedResident Evil 4, with the latter having a massive impact on game design outside the horror genre as well. Mikami stuck with the horror genre when starting his own studio, developingThe Evil WithinandThe Evil Within 2under theTango Gameworksbanner.
For those unfamiliar with the series,The Evil Withinis a darker, gorier take on theResident Evil-style gameplay. The games are third-person survival-horror games that play very similarly toResident Evil 4, but with a heightened focus on actual horror elements.The Evil Within 2retained the visceral horror of its predecessor, but made some major changes to the gameplay to make it a more engaging game overall.
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The most notable change toThe Evil Within 2’s gameplay is how it uses semi-open world settings. Instead of confining players to mostly linear hallways and the like, players are free to explore open areas, which creates a sense of exploration that’s rare for the horror genre. This freedom gives players more options when it comes to completing objectives in the game, makingThe Evil Within 2arguably more engagingthan its predecessor from a gameplay standpoint.
Some fans have made the argument thatThe Evil Within 2isn’t as scary as the first gamedue to some of the gameplay changes, and that is something to consider. But even if one doesn’t findThe Evil Within 2to be quite as unnerving as the original, it’s still a high quality horror game to play on Halloween, with an engaging narrative and the cheesy B-movie style reminiscent of classicResident Evilgames.
In the meantime, it will be interesting to see exactly how Tango Gameworks' next title turns out.Ghostwire: Tokyoseems to have had a mostly positive reception so far, and while it’s not a horror game, it does feature a slew of supernatural elements that should ensure it still appeals to fans of the genre.
Ghostwire: Tokyois a PS5 exclusive, but Microsoft’s purchase of ZeniMax Media, Tango Gameworks' parent company, means that the game will likely make its way to Xbox Series X at some point down the line as well. Microsoft has said that it plans on honoring PlayStation 5 exclusivity agreements that were signed prior to its purchase of ZeniMax Media, but one has to imagine that the game is now going to be atimedPS5 exclusive as opposed to a pure exclusive. And in future, if there are any moreEvil Withingames, it seems likely that they will be Xbox-exclusive titles as well.
The Evil Within 2is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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