The Evil Within 2 - Welcome to Resident Hill

[Varsity]

Really enjoying this, was unsure about the open world gameplay but think I got to a similiar stage as a few people here, chapter 3, shotgun GET etc. Decided to opt for the Nightmare difficult level as it said for "those who enjoyed the difficulty of the previous games." Definitely ratchets up the tension. 

 

I'll spoiler some other thoughts as I'm not sure what construes as a spoiler or not really. 

 

Really glad Kidman is back, her DLC in the first game was amazeballs and proper stealth/horror, seeing her pop up in the first cutscene brought a huge smile to my face. Same with the various Mobius logos and references dotted around. Love how insidious it is, that they've set up what looks like a whole underground complex locked away behind the facade of Union, works well in the whole dream atmosphere thing. That Shotgun quest really nailed that for me. 

 

I did noticed when I was browsing the options something about partner health so secretly hoping Kidman joins us in STEM in some capacity or another further on.

[Majora]

2 hours ago, Hexx said:

Is the story of the first needed at all?

 

Nah not really. They've wisely decided to ignore a lot of the convoluted bollocks from the first story and are basically just going with 'your daughter isn't really dead after all, she was kidnapped and used in our evil plans with this machine but we've lost track of her, go in and get her'. There are a few references to the first game as you'd expect but I wouldn't bother sitting through a lengthy recap of the first game's story tbh. They give you the backstory you need in the intro. 

 

Anyway, getting the shotgun was the one of the first things I did in chapter 3, purely by chance, and now it seems like I'm being sent back to that area to get the shotgun I already have. Interested to see how it handles that. 

[Kayin Amoh]

'You're the best around, Detective.'

 

 

'AND NOTHIN'S EVER GONNA KEEP ME DOWN!'

[Majora]

Bloody hell, how long is chapter 3?! I have been exploring as much of it as I can but I feel like I've been on this chapter forever now. 

 

I've stumbled across tons of optional stuff. One thing I feel the game is largely getting right is making that feel worthwhile. I do feel like I would have had a significantly worse experience if I hadn't stumbled across some of this side stuff, which certainly isn't something you can say of all open-world games. 

 

I was finding it pretty tough to begin with on normal mode but I think I'm tooled up enough now that the difficulty level seems to be going down a bit. Anyway, finally going to go check out the main objective!

[mr_woo]

4 minutes ago, Majora said:

Bloody hell, how long is chapter 3?! I have been exploring as much of it as I can but I feel like I've been on this chapter forever now. 

 

 

Yeah Chapter 3 definitely lasts for a few hours at least and it depends on what you do/don't do.  I'm hoovering up everything and doing all side quests/exploring everywhere so it's taking me a while.

 

There are 17 chapters or so and I'm at chapter 7 with 10 hours on the clock according to steam and ingame.

 

As for the game still having an absolute blast with it but need to take a break for some family stuff, I want to go back to it already  

[Curtis]

First death came at the first boss fight. Like all these games you never know whether there's a gimmick or you're supposed to pump it full of lead. Turns out both are viable. He says, empty clips in all chambers. 

 

While i'm enjoying the free roam stuff, the rest is sub-par, i've gotta be honest. I'm getting a sneaking suspicion, especially given the amount of chapters, its gonna fall foul to the same problems the first one had - too much padding and 5 hours too long.

[Opinionated Ham Scarecrow]

So much fun was had in chapter 3! Shame to see it end. Managed to grab 

Spoiler

the shotgun and sniper though

So I'm happy. Must have spent 2-3 hours just on that chapter getting all the bits and bobs.

 

I loved the first game, but this has knocked it out the park for me so far. The decision to make it more open for exploration works really well.

[Majora]

Unfortunately chapter 4 was kind of pants. Hope there's not too many of these marrow sections, the drab industrial corridor design feels weird in a series which previously excelled at varied, imaginative locales. 

[Mr. O]

Picked this up yesterday and having really noticeable sound sync issues with the dialogue and noises in the game. The voice or sound effect is a good 1 to 2 seconds behind.

 

Anyone else had this problem, On a PS4 Pro?

[El Spatula]

Uh what's the deal with the communicator thing turning red suddenly? Doesn't seem to do anything....

[Varsity]

4 hours ago, El Spatula said:

Uh what's the deal with the communicator thing turning red suddenly? Doesn't seem to do anything....

 

I think it's just with regards to how close you are to the resonance. Which doesn't matter cos you can see em on the map as far as I can see. 

[Rudderless]

I would strongly recommend seeking out **mild weapon spoiler**

 

the sniper rifle

since there's a boss later on for which it's all but mandatory. 

[mr_woo]

Finished it with just under 17 hours on the clock on Survival.

 

Overall I absolutely loved it and it'll be in my top 5 this year (Yakuza 0 still takes the top spot).  I can't say I like it a lot more than the first game or anything but I think they sit alongside each other really nicely in that they are doing different things. Now I'll admit it's been a long time since I've played the first game but I remember it being a lot more oppressive atmosphere wise, more grindhouse like whilst this feels more like a survival horror haunted house ride with gore.  It's story is told in a simpler way (not to its detriment) but it's also less of a mindfuck than TEW1 though it does have its moments.  I can see why some folks who loved TEW1 might not TEW2 but I really enjoyed them both.  On the otherhand I can see folks who didn't like TEW1 liking the sequel more.

 

Combat wise I do feel it's better than the first game overall but there's something wrong with the hitboxes up close, you cannot aim your gun when they are right up in your face and hit them with a shot, you have to rely on melee/or get some distance.  The thing that definitely hurts it is that it feels like the skill for pushing enemies away/making a bit of distance by kicking them away from you is broken, I never got it working properly (now admittedly maybe I misunderstood who to use it but never got a prompt).

 

Lot of thoughts whirring through my head about it but I'm delighted of course that there's a (game completion spoiler)

 

New Game Plus option and that they've given me a Magnum as well as a 40,000 gel to spend.  Sweet

[mr_woo]

1 hour ago, Rudderless said:

I would strongly recommend seeking out **mild weapon spoiler**

  Reveal hidden contents

the sniper rifle

since there's a boss later on for which it's all but mandatory. 

 

Which boss is that ?  Trying to think which one it is.  I used that weapon often enough but didn't rely on it too much during boss battles.

[Rudderless]

44 minutes ago, mr_woo said:

 

Which boss is that ?  Trying to think which one it is.  I used that weapon often enough but didn't rely on it too much during boss battles.

 

Chapter 11, the

flamethrower dude

 Takes way too many handgun bullets, and the shotgun isn't much help since you can't afford to get too close. 

[Majora]

Arrrgh, this chain attack mode mini game will be the death of me. Got 97,200 once but generally getting around 70,000 to 80,000. Once it starts introducing yellow squares I'm finding it nearly impossible to make chains. 

[mr_woo]

Just now, Rudderless said:

 

Chapter 11, the

  Hide contents

flamethrower dude

 Takes way too many handgun bullets, and the shotgun isn't much help since you can't afford to get too close. 

 

I didn't use the sniper rifle at all there

 

But I did have a fuckload of bullets available to me and upgraded my shotgun a lot so that probably helped and aiming for the head.

[Rudderless]

Just now, mr_woo said:

 

I didn't use the sniper rifle at all there

 

But I did have a fuckload of bullets available to me and upgraded my shotgun a lot so that probably helped and aiming for the head.

 

Well, the bit leading up to it has tons of enemies, and I was barely getting any resources throughout the whole lab section. I'd upgraded my handgun plenty, but after about 27 headshots he was still alive.  

[mr_woo]

Just now, Rudderless said:

 

Well, the bit leading up to it has tons of enemies, and I was barely getting any resources throughout the whole lab section. I'd upgraded my handgun plenty, but after about 27 headshots he was still alive.  

 

I should also say though I was playing on Survival and not Nightmare difficulty so if you were playing a harder difficulty I can see it being a bastard.  I also used explosives against that boss which worked well.

[Rudderless]

4 minutes ago, mr_woo said:

 

I should also say though I was playing on Survival and not Nightmare difficulty so if you were playing a harder difficulty I can see it being a bastard.  I also used explosives against that boss which worked well.

 

I was on Survival, too. Anyway, once I grabbed the sniper, it was a doddle. 

 

Did you know you can shoot the tank on his back to disable the flamethrower? Though he gets enraged and moves faster.

 

[mr_woo]

Just now, Rudderless said:

 

I was on Survival, too. Anyway, once I grabbed the sniper, it was a doddle. 

 

 

  Hide contents

Did you know you can shoot the tank on his back to disable the flamethrower? Though he gets enraged and moves faster.

 

 

Yep but I'm guessing like me you were

 

shooting it trying to make it explode

  Of course that didn't fucking work!

[Majora]

Just took a quick glance at the trophy list and it implies that (chapter 5 boss)

 

 

in the encounter outside city hall either you don't need to kill it or you can kill it non-violently. Says something like completed the encounter with minimum bloodshed.  Anyone managed it? Only 1.8% of people have that trophy so seems pretty obscure. 

[mr_woo]

14 minutes ago, Majora said:

Just took a quick glance at the trophy list and it implies that (chapter 5 boss)

 

  Hide contents

in the encounter outside city hall either you don't need to kill it or you can kill it non-violently. Says something like completed the encounter with minimum bloodshed.  Anyone managed it? Only 1.8% of people have that trophy so seems pretty obscure. 

 

 

Yep very easy to bypass, can tell you how if you want but if you want to find out yourself it's all good

 

[Majora]

I'm on chapter 7 so you may as well tell me Enjoying the game but chances of me replaying it anytime soon, if ever, seem slim with so many games coming out. 

[mr_woo]

9 minutes ago, Majora said:

I'm on chapter 7 so you may as well tell me Enjoying the game but chances of me replaying it anytime soon, if ever, seem slim with so many games coming out. 

 

Surely

 

 

You just run to the left of the building and there's a truck I think and an explosive red barrel.  Shoot the barrel and it clears the pathway and you can run down the side to the back of the building and some normal enemies/a door into the city hall.  I did this AFTER beating the boss though

 I thought it was just the normal way in to be honest but apparently that's how to avoid the boss fight

 

 

[Majora]

Nope, never saw that area at all! Pretty cool. 

[Nespresso]

12 hours ago, El Spatula said:

Uh what's the deal with the communicator thing turning red suddenly? Doesn't seem to do anything....

Bring up your scanner when you see that as you're able to lock on to a new point of interest. 

[Varsity]

Trudging through CH4 atm, not a fan of a certain bit but still having fun regardless. Put my thoughts in spoilers as usual. 

 

The first person bit in CH4, I see what they were going for, but first person didnt work particularly well in that DLC for the first one and it's just as cumbersome here. I feel they could have had the same thing going on in third person as not being able to see through the gas would still be in effect. Kudos though, they did get me with a jumpscare xD Nightmare mode appears to have been the right choice for me, feels about right. 

 

The whole ambush thing waiting for the door to unlock at the start of the CH was genuinely tense and had to come up with a few different ideas before scraping through it! Seems like for now at least, there's just enough ammo to get by, it's not scarce but I'm not overburdened with it either. 

 

Had fun on the shooting range earlier too, a nice nod to RE4, getting the locker key from the chain attack mode was a bit of a bitch though!

 

 

[Hideous Kojima]

Not going through this thread now for fear of spoilers, but has anyone else been experiencing frame rate stuttering on Steam? I've used different settings, wires, resolutions, quality settings, even overclocking. Nothing helps. 

[Majora]

I kind of regret playing it on normal mode to be honest, it seems just a little too easy. Up to maybe a third of the way through chapter 3 it seems quite tough but once you get the good weapons the scales tip maybe a bit too much in the opposite direction. I'm on chapter 7 now and always have plenty of ammo, often having to leave ammo and health kits behind, I have about 40 herbs in my inventory and tons of gunpowder. Not going to restart at this point though.