The reason the match mechanic was removed for this one is because the "Haunted" were manifested from Ruvik's subconscious. He was burned by fire and hates it and so the haunted were vulnerable to it. Sure, The "Lost" can be burned too but they react to it as much as any other human would but they are not manifested from Ruvik's fear of fire. They are different creatures overall.
God, the moment I saw that fire nonsense I knew it would be an explanation for every stupid thing. "Uh, he had a backstory where a fire happened, so that's why burning corpses RE:Re style worked."
He also glances behind him when an enemy spots him from behind. If you're within sneak kill range Sebastian will draw his knife. Overall animations in this game were quite good.
MarsShadow I guess...the fuck do i know... im getting it for christmas I saw John wolfe's stream and noticed it but i might have just been wrong....when i get it for Christmas ill reply and tell you guys my thoughts on the game :)
If sebastian looks around while running or crouch walking (not sprinting) then that means that an enemy is nearby But if Seb is frantically running or sprinting (stamina halved) then you're still detected
Best part of evil within 2, after you beat the game for the first time, and this is quoted you get "the greatest gift of all. A more cinematic way to play! Youve unlocked the cinematic aspect ratio!" And its exactly like evil within 1
It was really stupid having to beat the game just to get the letterbox back, instead of, you know, just making it an option to toggle on or off right from the beginning.
@@miguelb5661 it's the part where you fight Theodore and he uses the bosses from the first game to try to psych you Sebastian beats them all effortlessly due to fact he knows he's in a machine now
Fight or Flight. What you were talking about in the beginning, about having to decide to fight or run. It's tense because you need to make a decision in a split-second. Whereas a game like Outlast or Call of Duty, there's no choice. You're either running or shooting. No in-between.
@@marcelerystick7416 Yeah, but it still kind of applies. Nitro Rad's point here was that when you're given only one way of dealing with a problem, you're never going to feel a sense of uncertainty. Now it doesn't really impact a game like COD because it's not like they're trying to make you feel uncertain most of the time, they're generally going for the feeling of a power trip, but it's still a relevant enough example IMO.
The reviewer is correct, if you dive straight into this game using the exact same strategy that you used in the first game you will quickly find that things won't work out too well for you.
Indeed. In the first game you can kill everything and go through it quite easily However in this game (unless you are REALLY REALLY good at stealth) is it genuinly really bad to kill everything your first time through. (atleast if you play the real difficulty, aka nightmare). You just won't have enough resources. Especially when the Lamentor's come into play.
@@tnecniw Yep. I stopped trying to be smart and killing everything or finding ways to kill multiple enemies, and just reassessed situations and started running more. LOL. Even one explosive bolt is way too precious.
lmfao yeah, it took me till like halfway through the game before I finally thought to start investing in stamina and just leave the enemies to their shit it kinda sneaks ya too because when you're first going through the suburbs you can clean it out pretty well and still have enough to do the story, but then they introduce the dogheads and all the new enemies spawn and you still got hardly any ammo and you're like ohhhhhhhh. ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
To be fair, while I also missed the inclusion of the match mechanic and how fire was nerfed in general, (my heart yearned for those OHK incendiary agony harpoon bolts) it made sense from a plot perspective. The Haunted were weak to fire and reacted with such human pain to it due to Ruvik's trauma regarding fire. The first STEM was his mental world and the enemies', from their tortured appearances to their weaknesses, reflected that. Union is apparently an amalgamation of various minds and none of the antagonists in particular had any fear of fire (hell, Theodore made a point of decorating his part of Union and his followers with fire), and as such, fire, whether it comes from incendiary bolts or gasoline, loses it's effectiveness. Gameplay- wise, I really miss it, but from a theme and plot perspective, I really like how it differentiates the Union STEM from the Beacon STEM.
EXACTLY!! ONLY PERSON TO CALL THAT OUT!! Thats why i hate new actors. Dude acted like it was sebs first go around...when actually it was just the actors first go around
5:02 Holy molly O_O , and I thought that I was the only one with that idea. Strength of a great horror game is instilling uncertainty. The uncertainty you describe (when to *fight* and when to *flight* ) is quite prevalent in SH1-4 and Resident Evil 1 HD. And, for example, if SH only focused on fight responses, it'd become RE4, and if it only focused on flight responses, then it'd become SH Shattered Memories.
I learned this from Angriest Pat myself. Though not in those exact terms. ...Also I ran away a lot in Resi 4. Mostly cause I started to get overwhelmed by enemies.
I'll never understand crafting hate. I can see how it would be a pain in horror games, but I mainly play RPGs and man, I could spend hours crafting, trying to figure out all the item combinations, and hunting for recipes. SO satisfying when you find out how to make a new item.
This is said on your channel so much, but I can't help but repeat it. You deserve more subscribers dude. Your quality is higher than some or most people who have hundreds of thousands.
6:56 to answer your question nitro, in the first game, stem was connected to Ruvik's consciousness. When he was burned as a child he developed a deathly fear of it. Since every enemy in the stem was some physical manifestation of his insanity, they all shared in his weakness. In the sequel STEM is not connected to him so that aspect wouldn't pass over.
What I‘d like to mention about the burning corpses thing is that it ties in with the story and who is controlling stem at the moment, we know in the first game that Ruvik had an unnatural fear of fire which is why fire is one of the most powerful weapons in that game, in the second game, the people controlling stem through Lilly are people with a completely different mindset and Goal than Ruvik, not burning the corpses makes sense when you realize who is in control of this dream land at the time
I love how in 2, his weapons are modernized. Instead of a revolver he has a pistol, instead of a single action rifle he has a semi automatic one. This is to show how he isnt stuck in the past. Mostly. Since the shotgun and crossbow are still pretty similar. In 1 the revolver had a description where it said that most people in the force have moved on to pistols. And how he is one of the ogs.
I love how you say "dude" at the end of most of your praises lmaoo great work on this video, this one and the video you made on the first Evil Within has me really interested in the series and im gonna try it out so thanks!
Duude I played this on your recommendation and fucking loved it! Went in with 0 expectations but it was SO DAMN FUN. Such a shame everyone slept on it. Thanks! Anyone on the fence on this, just take a chance on it, it's worth it! Great video, as always!
Hey Nitro Rad, loved your video, as usual. The reason why the drop a match / ignite the corpses feature was removed was probably a storyline based decision. Ruvik was afraid of fire, remember? Stefano and the other controllers within STEM are not.
I really liked Stefano myself too. His part of the game is honestly where all the horror is. It's similar to Resident Evil 4 how after you finish with the village and get to the castle the game becomes much more action based. After Stefano's out of the picture, the game changes to far more action than horror. Still has some bits of horror but mostly just action. Even the enemies (which are still cool) are far less intimidating than the ones from Stefano's "world".
No I agree, I do think the horror was still there after Stefano I just don't personally think it was as good as the horror in Stefano's part of the game. His part of the game was so surreal and disturbing due to the fact he's just an empathy-less murderer who does whatever is needed for his art. Not to mention to me the monsters he created are far more disturbing but yea I didn't mean to imply I thought all the horror was lost after his section of the game.
im not the only one that acutely liked stefanos character and fair enough after stefanos dead the game gets really action focused oh well american devs like there action in horror games
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think that open-ended worlds are what the survival horror genre needs. I really like Silent Hill Downpour for its equivalent of the town, even though the game was very flawed. It's probably my favourite version of it. I would love to see the next Silent Hill game with an open world that uses the town creatively for puzzle solving and fight or flight situations together with the ever-changing nature of the town. Making it a truly living and breathing thing that constantly watches your every step. Great review by the way. I wasn't too keen on the Evil Within franchise. But I might give it a try now.
no u right , i love what downpower did,even if im like the only fan of that game hahahah ,i had no complints with the lay out ,exploring silent hill like that , i waited my whole life to do lol
First off, love your content. Secondly, I just finished my initial play through of evil within 2 and I am completely blown away. It’s such an underrated game
I've had this game in my backlog for years and finally started playing it the other day and i'm totally pissed off that I waited this long because it's fantastic.
Am I the only one who got the "Slow down time" ability on my first play through then? Look I did pretty much save for it from the beginning. Love this game, hopefully we'll get an evil within 3.
First, I stuck to stealthing because I suck at shooting and stealth killing saved ammo. Then I unlocked that skill and refuse to use a gun because I like the "puzzle" challenge of defeating every enemy stealth-only without alerting them.
Nitrorad- sees monster that tries to kill him, having only a few glasbottles and some matches: yawns Nitrorad- sees a mobile tripod and an old moaning camera, having more weapons on him than a fucking swat-member: shits his pants.
One of the Trophies/Achievements is called "Fire walk with me" and there is coffee you can drink to fill your health up so it's safe to say Twin peaks is referenced multiple times.
Okay, you did a damn good job with the editing in this one. The scene at 3:18 where you run away with the voiceover is almost funny because we can't hear or see what's got you spooked. And then at 3:50 you did it again, but with the sound this time, and the text explanations, and suddenly I felt chills up and down my spine. That's how you introduce an idea and prove it by example.
I find the sound design in this game to be one of it's most underrated qualities. You don't need your eyes to see in this game. You can just hear everything. Such as the stealth parts with Stephano's creations, primarily the Camera Woman. When you have to sneak around her, you don't have to see her to know what she is. You identify her from her moans. You know where she goes based off the 3D sound that the devs managed to master beautifully. And you know when she has seen you based off how aggressive she sounds. Also the guns sound amazing. the shotgun especially has that orgasmic blast that echos with power.
The way you explain the way tension feels when you are allowed the OPTION to fight, as opposed to the run and games like outlast. It's an obvious flaw and I can't be afraid when I know the game always wants you to run
Fallout: New Vegas is what got me into survival horror. Playing that game on survival difficult where you have to manage your weight and there isn't too much ammo in the beginning to the point you have to switch weapons and leave some behind because they weighed you down was really cool. Busting the Sheriff out of Primm is probably the highlight of all of my play-throughs. Wandering the mojave for food and water really feels visceral, I don't know. I was never a fan of survival games before that, but that experience really changed my mind.
Really enjoy your videos man, just found your channel half a year ago and since then I've checked out most of your reviews. You've improved so much over time(not implying you were ever bad, but the general quality of your script is great now. +10 points for interesting discussions) Keep up the great work! Very under rated channel.
I like binge-listening to videos on spooky games while drawing, and couldn't resist commenting. "Hearing those sounds instead of watching the animation play, well... That made my brain fill in every horrible blank there was. Listen! ... DRAGON BALL LEGENDS! PLAY NOW!" Yeah, gotta agree with you here, that is pretty scary.
I am still waiting for an opportunity to play this game, I'm glad this is a good sequel. A SPOILER(?) below Someone already sent me a video with a clip from EW2 with a mention of Joseph (*groan*). I really hope there's going to be a big DLC or an another full game in which we get to reunite with Joseph and seek out Ruvik. I'm especially worried about the former, he's apparently a lab rat for Mobius. I think I saw somewhere an official note saying that his mind was broken during Mobius' tests...
Now I would say the Evil Within 2 is a hybrid of resident evil and silent hill. There's the " always evil organization," mobius, that gave me vibes similar to the ones I got from umbrella (resident evil). Then the game has mechanics derived from silent hill, like the more open world and then the linear dungeons. The game also has that psychological horror aspect, very silmilar to silent hill again. Now this is gonna be weird but the voice acting of this game reminded me of the voice acting in the original resident evil games as well as the, awkward, uncanny valley nature of silent hill 2's voice acting. Again its a hybrid of both and to me it works really well. (Now nitrorad, if you look at the branching dialogue trees, that you hate, like thats the main source of all the cheesy but awkward dialogue, similar to silent hill and resident evil, in the game. It makes it a lot easier to swallow)
Honestly, I think the canned dialogue segments fit really well. The way the characters move with the unnatural dialogue fits right in the uncanny valley, especially with characters like O'Neal and that woman you save in the suburban area.
Actually this is false, the evil within 2 actually has bad camera aiming, you literally cannot form a circle with your controller. I discovered this thanx to a speedrunner noting why he doesn't do controller for part 2. Games aiming is borked on console. So the "hur durr, controller plus hard mode minus aim assist" isn't really an argument for people comfortable with console shooters especially since he dropped RE4 on the table, a game with no aim assist.
@@drownsinkoolaid4203 good point ...probably ...I have it on the xb1x because it was 1800o and looked really nice but now I'm thinking that on ps5 at 60 fps, even if it's only 1080p, would make for a far more enjoyable game. I may wait until it drops to like $10 though
Evil Within 1: I hate the stealth mechanics of most games. It's just not fun to hide. I never stealth, given the chance. Evil Within 2: I Love All The Stealth!!!! It's so good! Exploit all the weaknesses and stealth and be sneaky!!!!
3 wasn't terrible, it just wasn't a Dead Space game anymore and was rather House of the Dead's mindless shooting and horror elements that aren't all that scary mixed with RE6, in terms of action and not all the rest of that shit, with a little too much emphasis on gunplay and not story or survival. Also the ending was a pretty big cop out but really it would have been a fine game if it wasn't a Dead Space title.
Visceral said that the reasoning behind the action orientation were because of EA's pressure for forced revenue beyond the game's price and appealing to the revolting fast-paced hollywood-esque shooter demographic: - The cover and dash system - Universal ammunition - Power-creep on the militar modules or similars to it over the tool modules (A weapon composed of the rivet gun as main module and the militar shotgun as secondary with added DoT effects just tears apart any enemy in the game) - Biased crafting system due to purposed looting limitations that caused that, eventually, you were forced to either cannibalize your available weapons, start a new game or buy them through microtransactions, also putting the best components in microtransactions. In the end, due to these things, the story had to be shifted towards something that, as said before, was fast-paced with hollywood-esque action. That's the why Dead Space 3 ended up in the gutter, I like it because is Dead Space nonetheless, but still is alienated to me. :/
Diego Sáez I had no idea the pressure from EA was that bad, although knowing that now rather improves my opinion of the game, DS3 would have been a fine and slightly above average game had it not been a Dead Space title. When compared to the others it really pales in comparison to the rest but judged on solely its own merits and not the rest of the series I think the game itself is fine, it’s got some bs here and there (like the rarity of useful crafting items and the cop out ending) but it’s got a few genuinely scary moments, and I won’t like, the action can be pretty fun. It’s kind of like what you would expect from an ok clone game, which is a game that heavily borrows from the themes, gameplay, and elements of another game but it straggles the line between being a rip-off and being influenced by another game
4:55 That is REALLY good what you just said. Multiple game mechanics that can solve the same problem in their own way, but you're unsure of which ton employ at the moment. *Shoot, run, or hide?* All can solve the issue of, "a monster is after me" but all 3 only work in certain scenarios, and implementing the wrong solution at the wrong time gets you killed. (i.e. Hiding when a monster has already spotted you can get you killed. You should be shooting or running, but the uncertainty and panic causes you to choose 1 of your 3 options and hope it's the right one.) Excellent lesson man! 5:19 It makes perfect sense. If your only option is run, then you can run while feeling fairly certain that, "Ok, running will either WORK or a scripted event will happen that hinders my progress." Unless it's a really robust set of movement mechanics. Jog, run, stamina meter, vaulting over things, mounting on objects, crouching, on your belly... Which actually just goes back to your point, lol. If a game had a lot of robust movement mechanics, then it does just go back to what you said about choice. "A monster is after me. Do I duck and slide under this table? Am I confident in my ability to time this and not bash my head on the underside of the table? Or do I go for the more sure-fire mounting over a high wall? Mounting over a wall is slower than sliding under the table, but it's a more guarenteed option of escape. But, the monster might catch up" So yeah, ends up looping back to, "more options causes more tension. Choose the right option or lose!" Yeah, more gameplay choices does indeed provide a feeling of fear and tension.
The thing with Sebastian being always surprised seems like an obvious nitpick but when you really think about it we do it all the time IRL. When we see accidents happening, news of murder cases or even an insect we don't immediately recognize we say "What the hell is that?". I think you wouldn't stop being surprised no matter how many times you saw a monster made out of a bunch of stitched bodies with a buzzsaw for a hand going after you.
New Nitro Rad videos are always nice. Btw, I found out about a couple of action platformers you might wanna check out: One is this PS1 Game called Blasto! which I never played, but it seems to be in the same vein as Gex where the main character is always saying funny little catch phrases. And the other is this one action platformer for the Original Xbox called (I believe) Metal Arms: Glitch in the System, which I only remember as a game where you shoot robots that was a T rated game with Strong Language (I think they censored it though sooooooo). Just a couple of games you may want to look at in the future.
I just finished my first playthrough of this game, and I did it on Nightmare like you recommended. It kicked my ass, but I enjoyed the game a lot. If I'm honest, had you not made this video, I never would have played The Evil Within 2. Thanks. Its now a welcomed part of my collection.
You are such an amazing reviewer that I checked one part of the video to catch a pun I missed that a comment mentioned and kept absent-mindedly watching
They removed the match/body burn mechanic for two reasons: a) to make combat more streamlined, and b) story reasons. Ruvik in the first game was afraid of fire, so burning bodies was the only way to permanently kill enemies because of that connection. In this game, Ruvik is dead and has no connection to this STEM
I thought the match mechanic made things MORE streamlined. Gave you more options, it was sick. The story is whatever the developers want it to be, so that's not much an excuse. If that had to be a reason, then they could have made another story reason why matches work.
You're totally right about uncertainty being a core element of horror. It's not scary when you know exactly what the game wants you to do. But it is scary when there are lots of options, none of them seem obviously "right," and you're pressured to make a split second decision with no guarantee of survival. That's part of the reason I hate seeing autosaves occur onscreen in text. It basically spoils the fact that you're entering a "scary part" with a scripted path to safety. It eliminates the uncertainty of the situation. All sense of danger disappears when I see the game announce that it's autosaving.
the reason why the fire mechanism was taken out was for story purpose in the first game ruvik trauma was base around fire and he was the only one in control of stem at the time
Needs more Joseph. This is one of my top 10 for ps4. I like this game too but the really tense sections like the gas leak in the sewers, the ghost lady’s sections, and a few other moments make me back away.
I loved the first game up until the end. I really loved the first and last hour of the 2nd game. The whole middle section didn't feel like a horror game at all.
I totally agree with the difficulty. Basically every enemy you take down feels like an achievement and let's not talk about the knife lady. She's impossible. I had to lower the difficulty and thanks to that I found a totally new action-horror game.
I was expecting some goofy dude doing let's play when I saw the thumbnail in my recommendation. Then I watched the video. I have to say, really good stuff, I love video essays. Subbed!
I suppose the ability to make more ammo on the fly is more for people who are new to the survival horror genre and aren’t that good at ammo reservation. Kinda like me. Though, it’s not because i just let loose on anything in my wake, it’s just that i don’t have a good aim, and the monsters are all twitchy and stuff, so it’s a little hard to get a headshot without having to stand a few feet away.
One of the hidden classics of the genre. Play this game. It has a couple shortcomings - but you'll not play anything quite like it, in the same way you'll never play anything quite like Silent Hill.
If you turned how many times Sebastian says " What The" into a drinking game where you took a shot Everytime he says it. You would die of alcohol poisoning an hour into the game
normally I'm used to boss monsters being scripted events. so when I walk out a bulging and heard multiheaded saw lady walking around town? I immediately felt dread.
This is why I like NitroRad in comparison to other reviewers. He has this level of insight that I can't see most reviewers using. This has got to be the best review of TEW2 I've seen.
The reason the match mechanic was removed for this one is because the "Haunted" were manifested from Ruvik's subconscious. He was burned by fire and hates it and so the haunted were vulnerable to it. Sure, The "Lost" can be burned too but they react to it as much as any other human would but they are not manifested from Ruvik's fear of fire. They are different creatures overall.
Makes sense.
using that thought, wouldn’t this also be a factor considering lily ALMOST died in a fire?
@@notimetoexplain8063 they faked her death though she doesn't know about the fire
And with Seb stomping.. It's not his first rodeo, he knows what's he in and if stomp works.. It works. All it does is wear down the sole of his boot!
God, the moment I saw that fire nonsense I knew it would be an explanation for every stupid thing. "Uh, he had a backstory where a fire happened, so that's why burning corpses RE:Re style worked."
i love how Sebastian looks back for a second when he's running , that attention to detail is really nice
Jason Nesbitt
i like it but he does it too often even when you are just sprinting
They should have it so he only does it when an enemy is behind him
He also glances behind him when an enemy spots him from behind. If you're within sneak kill range Sebastian will draw his knife. Overall animations in this game were quite good.
MarsShadow
I guess...the fuck do i know... im getting it for christmas
I saw John wolfe's stream and noticed it but i might have just been wrong....when i get it for Christmas ill reply and tell you guys my thoughts on the game :)
yeah. he's like crash bandicoot
If sebastian looks around while running or crouch walking (not sprinting) then that means that an enemy is nearby
But if Seb is frantically running or sprinting (stamina halved) then you're still detected
Best part of evil within 2, after you beat the game for the first time, and this is quoted you get "the greatest gift of all. A more cinematic way to play! Youve unlocked the cinematic aspect ratio!" And its exactly like evil within 1
It was really stupid having to beat the game just to get the letterbox back, instead of, you know, just making it an option to toggle on or off right from the beginning.
@@unshackledmind7863 I'm pretty sure they made it as a nudge to the original game.
@@led-0185 Which is a far superior game might I add
@@unshackledmind7863 That's just your opinion, though.
@@unshackledmind7863 Evil within 1 was soooo much better than 2
That old boss rush section later in the game was so damn cool.
Ikr! That was my favorite part of the game, Sebastian finally facing his demons
i don't remember this at all and i beat the game.
@@miguelb5661 it's the part where you fight Theodore and he uses the bosses from the first game to try to psych you Sebastian beats them all effortlessly due to fact he knows he's in a machine now
@@wwld9823 Oh yeah, how he takes down that Sadist is so satisfying! xD
agreed not only nostalgia bomb but it felt satisfying.
"Or the SAFE bet with the pyramid head influenced monster"
I see what you did there.
The Evil Within 2: Sebastion has a very bad day......Again
Fight or Flight. What you were talking about in the beginning, about having to decide to fight or run. It's tense because you need to make a decision in a split-second. Whereas a game like Outlast or Call of Duty, there's no choice. You're either running or shooting. No in-between.
that comparison with call of duty doesnt work because thats just every FPS genre game.
@@marcelerystick7416 Dishonor gives you that option though.
@@gt131970 but what nitro rad was saying was describing horror games specifically
you either running or shooting
soooo... fight or flight?
@@marcelerystick7416 Yeah, but it still kind of applies. Nitro Rad's point here was that when you're given only one way of dealing with a problem, you're never going to feel a sense of uncertainty. Now it doesn't really impact a game like COD because it's not like they're trying to make you feel uncertain most of the time, they're generally going for the feeling of a power trip, but it's still a relevant enough example IMO.
The reviewer is correct, if you dive straight into this game using the exact same strategy that you used in the first game you will quickly find that things won't work out too well for you.
Indeed. In the first game you can kill everything and go through it quite easily
However in this game (unless you are REALLY REALLY good at stealth) is it genuinly really bad to kill everything your first time through. (atleast if you play the real difficulty, aka nightmare).
You just won't have enough resources. Especially when the Lamentor's come into play.
@@tnecniw
Yep. I stopped trying to be smart and killing everything or finding ways to kill multiple enemies, and just reassessed situations and started running more. LOL. Even one explosive bolt is way too precious.
@@desfefe However, when you have unlocked the knuckle duster...
KILL EEEVERYTHING! xD
(Seriously, you can two punch a lamentor)
lmfao yeah, it took me till like halfway through the game before I finally thought to start investing in stamina and just leave the enemies to their shit
it kinda sneaks ya too because when you're first going through the suburbs you can clean it out pretty well and still have enough to do the story, but then they introduce the dogheads and all the new enemies spawn and you still got hardly any ammo and you're like ohhhhhhhh. ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
To be fair, while I also missed the inclusion of the match mechanic and how fire was nerfed in general, (my heart yearned for those OHK incendiary agony harpoon bolts) it made sense from a plot perspective. The Haunted were weak to fire and reacted with such human pain to it due to Ruvik's trauma regarding fire. The first STEM was his mental world and the enemies', from their tortured appearances to their weaknesses, reflected that. Union is apparently an amalgamation of various minds and none of the antagonists in particular had any fear of fire (hell, Theodore made a point of decorating his part of Union and his followers with fire), and as such, fire, whether it comes from incendiary bolts or gasoline, loses it's effectiveness. Gameplay- wise, I really miss it, but from a theme and plot perspective, I really like how it differentiates the Union STEM from the Beacon STEM.
so basically it accomplished what Silent Hill Downpour wished it could've done
Downpour did the SH2 explore the city thing PERFECTLY!
I think your just attributing the games actual flaws with the 1 thing it got right.
@@Coreisus I really enjoyed Downpour tbh. Loved the open world and side quests. One of my favorite SH games.
@@jimmylittle9393Same
@@jimmylittle9393 i agree, easily the most underrated Silent Hill game
@@Coreisus the other problems overshadow it so much, it doesn’t even feel like the town of silent hill, it’s just an empty ass town.
"What the hell is going on?" "What is this" "wtf", c'mon Sebastian, you know what's going on
EXACTLY!! ONLY PERSON TO CALL THAT OUT!! Thats why i hate new actors. Dude acted like it was sebs first go around...when actually it was just the actors first go around
5:02
Holy molly O_O , and I thought that I was the only one with that idea.
Strength of a great horror game is instilling uncertainty. The uncertainty you describe (when to *fight* and when to *flight* ) is quite prevalent in SH1-4 and Resident Evil 1 HD.
And, for example, if SH only focused on fight responses, it'd become RE4, and if it only focused on flight responses, then it'd become SH Shattered Memories.
I learned this from Angriest Pat myself. Though not in those exact terms.
...Also I ran away a lot in Resi 4. Mostly cause I started to get overwhelmed by enemies.
this is formally dubbed as the "nitrolaugh" video XD
Such a goofy laugh...
I love it
LAWDhavemuhsee th
I flat out love the part where your just laughing and just having complete fun with the game.
The Evil Within 2: Electric Boogaloo
The game of games hahah
We gonna take you down to
Evil Within 2: electric boogaloo
I'll never understand crafting hate. I can see how it would be a pain in horror games, but I mainly play RPGs and man, I could spend hours crafting, trying to figure out all the item combinations, and hunting for recipes. SO satisfying when you find out how to make a new item.
Jeez that camera monsters design looks great!
This is said on your channel so much, but I can't help but repeat it.
You deserve more subscribers dude.
Your quality is higher than some or most people who have hundreds of thousands.
I love those giggles of yours when you were talking about the stealth takedowns. Honestly put such a large smile on my face.
6:56 to answer your question nitro, in the first game, stem was connected to Ruvik's consciousness. When he was burned as a child he developed a deathly fear of it. Since every enemy in the stem was some physical manifestation of his insanity, they all shared in his weakness. In the sequel STEM is not connected to him so that aspect wouldn't pass over.
What I‘d like to mention about the burning corpses thing is that it ties in with the story and who is controlling stem at the moment, we know in the first game that Ruvik had an unnatural fear of fire which is why fire is one of the most powerful weapons in that game, in the second game, the people controlling stem through Lilly are people with a completely different mindset and Goal than Ruvik, not burning the corpses makes sense when you realize who is in control of this dream land at the time
Aw, I really liked Stefano. I'd totally buy a statue of him or something.
I love how in 2, his weapons are modernized. Instead of a revolver he has a pistol, instead of a single action rifle he has a semi automatic one. This is to show how he isnt stuck in the past. Mostly. Since the shotgun and crossbow are still pretty similar. In 1 the revolver had a description where it said that most people in the force have moved on to pistols. And how he is one of the ogs.
I love how you say "dude" at the end of most of your praises lmaoo great work on this video, this one and the video you made on the first Evil Within has me really interested in the series and im gonna try it out so thanks!
Duude I played this on your recommendation and fucking loved it! Went in with 0 expectations but it was SO DAMN FUN. Such a shame everyone slept on it. Thanks! Anyone on the fence on this, just take a chance on it, it's worth it!
Great video, as always!
Hey Nitro Rad, loved your video, as usual. The reason why the drop a match / ignite the corpses feature was removed was probably a storyline based decision.
Ruvik was afraid of fire, remember?
Stefano and the other controllers within STEM are not.
13:22 RIP Visceral Games. You'll be remembered as the father of grunt melee attacks and the foam finger.
I’d actually liked Stefano he was a really interesting antagonist
I really liked Stefano myself too. His part of the game is honestly where all the horror is. It's similar to Resident Evil 4 how after you finish with the village and get to the castle the game becomes much more action based. After Stefano's out of the picture, the game changes to far more action than horror. Still has some bits of horror but mostly just action. Even the enemies (which are still cool) are far less intimidating than the ones from Stefano's "world".
Garrus -Vakarian I can understand that criticism but personally I think horror aspect was still maintained intact
No I agree, I do think the horror was still there after Stefano I just don't personally think it was as good as the horror in Stefano's part of the game. His part of the game was so surreal and disturbing due to the fact he's just an empathy-less murderer who does whatever is needed for his art. Not to mention to me the monsters he created are far more disturbing but yea I didn't mean to imply I thought all the horror was lost after his section of the game.
Garrus -Vakarian that’s okay man I understand
im not the only one that acutely liked stefanos character and fair enough after stefanos dead the game gets really action focused oh well american devs like there action in horror games
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think that open-ended worlds are what the survival horror genre needs. I really like Silent Hill Downpour for its equivalent of the town, even though the game was very flawed. It's probably my favourite version of it. I would love to see the next Silent Hill game with an open world that uses the town creatively for puzzle solving and fight or flight situations together with the ever-changing nature of the town. Making it a truly living and breathing thing that constantly watches your every step.
Great review by the way. I wasn't too keen on the Evil Within franchise. But I might give it a try now.
no u right , i love what downpower did,even if im like the only fan of that game hahahah ,i had no complints with the lay out ,exploring silent hill like that , i waited my whole life to do lol
Originally I thought that would be a terrible idea but I think maybe there is something to what ur saying. Putting open worlds in horror games? Huh.
First off, love your content. Secondly, I just finished my initial play through of evil within 2 and I am completely blown away. It’s such an underrated game
💯
I've had this game in my backlog for years and finally started playing it the other day and i'm totally pissed off that I waited this long because it's fantastic.
"Become a cockroach." 10/10 life advice
Cannot wait for the third one! Even if it is the last game, it would be an honor
This series needs one more game to bring the plot full circle
That run up stealth move should be a standard in modern games of this type. It just looks so damn satisfying.
Two years later, this is still one of my favorite games. What a masterpiece.
Am I the only one who got the "Slow down time" ability on my first play through then?
Look I did pretty much save for it from the beginning. Love this game, hopefully we'll get an evil within 3.
I got it through a glitch early in chapter 2
@@robogreek3157 Lucky 😜
NitroRad, you're not an idiot for loving the lunging takedowns. Honestly, I could watch em all day
First, I stuck to stealthing because I suck at shooting and stealth killing saved ammo. Then I unlocked that skill and refuse to use a gun because I like the "puzzle" challenge of defeating every enemy stealth-only without alerting them.
Nitrorad- sees monster that tries to kill him, having only a few glasbottles and some matches: yawns
Nitrorad- sees a mobile tripod and an old moaning camera, having more weapons on him than a fucking swat-member: shits his pants.
2:29 is that a twin peaks reference
One of the Trophies/Achievements is called "Fire walk with me" and there is coffee you can drink to fill your health up so it's safe to say Twin peaks is referenced multiple times.
My thoughts too, good show!
Okay, you did a damn good job with the editing in this one. The scene at 3:18 where you run away with the voiceover is almost funny because we can't hear or see what's got you spooked. And then at 3:50 you did it again, but with the sound this time, and the text explanations, and suddenly I felt chills up and down my spine. That's how you introduce an idea and prove it by example.
We new this day would come.
+1
Let's old on to this channel forever :)
there's an edit button you know
This knew video is great
"Shotgun Bullets"
I find the sound design in this game to be one of it's most underrated qualities. You don't need your eyes to see in this game. You can just hear everything. Such as the stealth parts with Stephano's creations, primarily the Camera Woman. When you have to sneak around her, you don't have to see her to know what she is. You identify her from her moans. You know where she goes based off the 3D sound that the devs managed to master beautifully. And you know when she has seen you based off how aggressive she sounds. Also the guns sound amazing. the shotgun especially has that orgasmic blast that echos with power.
Can somebody make a montage of Sebastian slam dunking the monsters at the beat of quad city DJs?
Thanks internet.
The way you explain the way tension feels when you are allowed the OPTION to fight, as opposed to the run and games like outlast. It's an obvious flaw and I can't be afraid when I know the game always wants you to run
Fallout: New Vegas is what got me into survival horror. Playing that game on survival difficult where you have to manage your weight and there isn't too much ammo in the beginning to the point you have to switch weapons and leave some behind because they weighed you down was really cool. Busting the Sheriff out of Primm is probably the highlight of all of my play-throughs. Wandering the mojave for food and water really feels visceral, I don't know.
I was never a fan of survival games before that, but that experience really changed my mind.
Really enjoy your videos man, just found your channel half a year ago and since then I've checked out most of your reviews. You've improved so much over time(not implying you were ever bad, but the general quality of your script is great now. +10 points for interesting discussions) Keep up the great work! Very under rated channel.
I like binge-listening to videos on spooky games while drawing, and couldn't resist commenting.
"Hearing those sounds instead of watching the animation play, well... That made my brain fill in every horrible blank there was. Listen! ... DRAGON BALL LEGENDS! PLAY NOW!"
Yeah, gotta agree with you here, that is pretty scary.
I guess if you are running and Sebs constantly looks behind himself it means whatever is chasing you is indeed chasing YOU.
I am still waiting for an opportunity to play this game, I'm glad this is a good sequel.
A SPOILER(?) below
Someone already sent me a video with a clip from EW2 with a mention of Joseph (*groan*). I really hope there's going to be a big DLC or an another full game in which we get to reunite with Joseph and seek out Ruvik. I'm especially worried about the former, he's apparently a lab rat for Mobius. I think I saw somewhere an official note saying that his mind was broken during Mobius' tests...
McDonald's should give him some money for advertising their symbol with his bangs
Pink Dumpsterfire big mood
"hmm, I wonder if I should watch an LP of this ga-" *hears camera monster sounds* NOPE
I’m digging those bits of editing you’ve thrown in here and there.
I was surprised how much they kept up the horror in those open areas! I loved it, I'll probably replay it soon after watching this!
the stomp could mean he his tired of this so he just want to make it fast
or is show how he want he's child back
Basically. He's here to save his daughter and some dumbass lost won't stop him, of course he'll curbstomp it.
Now I would say the Evil Within 2 is a hybrid of resident evil and silent hill. There's the " always evil organization," mobius, that gave me vibes similar to the ones I got from umbrella (resident evil). Then the game has mechanics derived from silent hill, like the more open world and then the linear dungeons. The game also has that psychological horror aspect, very silmilar to silent hill again.
Now this is gonna be weird but the voice acting of this game reminded me of the voice acting in the original resident evil games as well as the, awkward, uncanny valley nature of silent hill 2's voice acting. Again its a hybrid of both and to me it works really well.
(Now nitrorad, if you look at the branching dialogue trees, that you hate, like thats the main source of all the cheesy but awkward dialogue, similar to silent hill and resident evil, in the game. It makes it a lot easier to swallow)
Nitro rad: *proceeds to laugh like a maniac while charging at enimies from behind*
You're not the only one who feels that way about the aiming, it feels like inputs are late
Honestly, I think the canned dialogue segments fit really well. The way the characters move with the unnatural dialogue fits right in the uncanny valley, especially with characters like O'Neal and that woman you save in the suburban area.
There's something kinda unsettling about this man childishly giggling about a running stab to the head
I agree with the argument at around 5:00 minutes that varied gameplay can effectively create uncertainty, it all made sense!
13:00 omg im glad im not the only one that realized you can exactly fit the fridges through the windows
You picked nightmare difficulty, so there is no aim assist. That's why your aim is just bad while using the controller.
Actually this is false, the evil within 2 actually has bad camera aiming, you literally cannot form a circle with your controller. I discovered this thanx to a speedrunner noting why he doesn't do controller for part 2. Games aiming is borked on console.
So the "hur durr, controller plus hard mode minus aim assist" isn't really an argument for people comfortable with console shooters especially since he dropped RE4 on the table, a game with no aim assist.
how do devs always screw up stuff like that? drives me crazy
@@drownsinkoolaid4203 good point ...probably ...I have it on the xb1x because it was 1800o and looked really nice but now I'm thinking that on ps5 at 60 fps, even if it's only 1080p, would make for a far more enjoyable game.
I may wait until it drops to like $10 though
Evil Within 1: I hate the stealth mechanics of most games. It's just not fun to hide. I never stealth, given the chance.
Evil Within 2: I Love All The Stealth!!!! It's so good! Exploit all the weaknesses and stealth and be sneaky!!!!
Dead Space next please? I mean, Visceral Games even just got shut down
what a shame
Dead Space 3 was Garbage & flopped hard so am not shocked there gone still I mostly blame EA.
3 wasn't terrible, it just wasn't a Dead Space game anymore and was rather House of the Dead's mindless shooting and horror elements that aren't all that scary mixed with RE6, in terms of action and not all the rest of that shit, with a little too much emphasis on gunplay and not story or survival. Also the ending was a pretty big cop out but really it would have been a fine game if it wasn't a Dead Space title.
Visceral said that the reasoning behind the action orientation were because of EA's pressure for forced revenue beyond the game's price and appealing to the revolting fast-paced hollywood-esque shooter demographic:
- The cover and dash system
- Universal ammunition
- Power-creep on the militar modules or similars to it over the tool modules (A weapon composed of the rivet gun as main module and the militar shotgun as secondary with added DoT effects just tears apart any enemy in the game)
- Biased crafting system due to purposed looting limitations that caused that, eventually, you were forced to either cannibalize your available weapons, start a new game or buy them through microtransactions, also putting the best components in microtransactions.
In the end, due to these things, the story had to be shifted towards something that, as said before, was fast-paced with hollywood-esque action. That's the why Dead Space 3 ended up in the gutter, I like it because is Dead Space nonetheless, but still is alienated to me. :/
Diego Sáez I had no idea the pressure from EA was that bad, although knowing that now rather improves my opinion of the game, DS3 would have been a fine and slightly above average game had it not been a Dead Space title. When compared to the others it really pales in comparison to the rest but judged on solely its own merits and not the rest of the series I think the game itself is fine, it’s got some bs here and there (like the rarity of useful crafting items and the cop out ending) but it’s got a few genuinely scary moments, and I won’t like, the action can be pretty fun. It’s kind of like what you would expect from an ok clone game, which is a game that heavily borrows from the themes, gameplay, and elements of another game but it straggles the line between being a rip-off and being influenced by another game
It’s funny how Sebastian still says stuff like “What’s going on?” Or “What’s happening here?” in this game. Dude you’ve been through this before lol.
Glad to hear i wasn't the only one having difficulty landing those headshots
4:55 That is REALLY good what you just said. Multiple game mechanics that can solve the same problem in their own way, but you're unsure of which ton employ at the moment. *Shoot, run, or hide?* All can solve the issue of, "a monster is after me" but all 3 only work in certain scenarios, and implementing the wrong solution at the wrong time gets you killed. (i.e. Hiding when a monster has already spotted you can get you killed. You should be shooting or running, but the uncertainty and panic causes you to choose 1 of your 3 options and hope it's the right one.) Excellent lesson man!
5:19 It makes perfect sense.
If your only option is run, then you can run while feeling fairly certain that, "Ok, running will either WORK or a scripted event will happen that hinders my progress."
Unless it's a really robust set of movement mechanics.
Jog, run, stamina meter, vaulting over things, mounting on objects, crouching, on your belly... Which actually just goes back to your point, lol.
If a game had a lot of robust movement mechanics, then it does just go back to what you said about choice.
"A monster is after me. Do I duck and slide under this table? Am I confident in my ability to time this and not bash my head on the underside of the table? Or do I go for the more sure-fire mounting over a high wall? Mounting over a wall is slower than sliding under the table, but it's a more guarenteed option of escape. But, the monster might catch up"
So yeah, ends up looping back to, "more options causes more tension. Choose the right option or lose!"
Yeah, more gameplay choices does indeed provide a feeling of fear and tension.
The thing with Sebastian being always surprised seems like an obvious nitpick but when you really think about it we do it all the time IRL. When we see accidents happening, news of murder cases or even an insect we don't immediately recognize we say "What the hell is that?". I think you wouldn't stop being surprised no matter how many times you saw a monster made out of a bunch of stitched bodies with a buzzsaw for a hand going after you.
New Nitro Rad videos are always nice.
Btw, I found out about a couple of action platformers you might wanna check out: One is this PS1 Game called Blasto! which I never played, but it seems to be in the same vein as Gex where the main character is always saying funny little catch phrases. And the other is this one action platformer for the Original Xbox called (I believe) Metal Arms: Glitch in the System, which I only remember as a game where you shoot robots that was a T rated game with Strong Language (I think they censored it though sooooooo). Just a couple of games you may want to look at in the future.
That first area with the red curtains and patterned floor is definitely directly from Twin Peaks.
I'm having an absolute blast with this game. I'm on chapter 9, and trying to savor every minute of it. TEW2 is so up my alley.
I just finished my first playthrough of this game, and I did it on Nightmare like you recommended. It kicked my ass, but I enjoyed the game a lot. If I'm honest, had you not made this video, I never would have played The Evil Within 2. Thanks. Its now a welcomed part of my collection.
14:45 SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO NOOOOWWWWW...
I love that song
You are such an amazing reviewer that I checked one part of the video to catch a pun I missed that a comment mentioned and kept absent-mindedly watching
2:29 those decorations are like the White lodge in Twin Peaks
If this doesn't blow up your channel, I don't know what will.
Thanks for not spoiling things, I'm still playing through it and you didn't spoil later sections
They removed the match/body burn mechanic for two reasons: a) to make combat more streamlined, and b) story reasons. Ruvik in the first game was afraid of fire, so burning bodies was the only way to permanently kill enemies because of that connection. In this game, Ruvik is dead and has no connection to this STEM
I thought the match mechanic made things MORE streamlined. Gave you more options, it was sick.
The story is whatever the developers want it to be, so that's not much an excuse. If that had to be a reason, then they could have made another story reason why matches work.
the cardio workout from the first game helped our man in the sequel I see
You're totally right about uncertainty being a core element of horror. It's not scary when you know exactly what the game wants you to do. But it is scary when there are lots of options, none of them seem obviously "right," and you're pressured to make a split second decision with no guarantee of survival.
That's part of the reason I hate seeing autosaves occur onscreen in text. It basically spoils the fact that you're entering a "scary part" with a scripted path to safety. It eliminates the uncertainty of the situation. All sense of danger disappears when I see the game announce that it's autosaving.
the reason why the fire mechanism was taken out was for story purpose in the first game ruvik trauma was base around fire and he was the only one in control of stem at the time
that also effected the monsters
Needs more Joseph.
This is one of my top 10 for ps4. I like this game too but the really tense sections like the gas leak in the sewers, the ghost lady’s sections, and a few other moments make me back away.
some of the best survival horror coverage on UA-cam right here! Personally sold on EW2, but waiting on a price drop.
I actually heard the original version of “Ordinary World” today on the radio.
fatal frame do it
Would definitely like to see that.
I asked for it 2 months ago and he hasn't make a video about it :/
Especially Fatal Frame 2..... personally the best of the series.
I got PSTD from playing Fatal frame
We all got PTSD playing that game lol
I loved the first game up until the end. I really loved the first and last hour of the 2nd game. The whole middle section didn't feel like a horror game at all.
I totally agree with the difficulty.
Basically every enemy you take down feels like an achievement and let's not talk about the knife lady. She's impossible. I had to lower the difficulty and thanks to that I found a totally new action-horror game.
NitroRad happy about stealth kill is my new religion
I was expecting some goofy dude doing let's play when I saw the thumbnail in my recommendation. Then I watched the video. I have to say, really good stuff, I love video essays. Subbed!
These two games are sick. If The Evil Within was another Resident Evil 4, this game felt like another Silent Hill.
I suppose the ability to make more ammo on the fly is more for people who are new to the survival horror genre and aren’t that good at ammo reservation.
Kinda like me. Though, it’s not because i just let loose on anything in my wake, it’s just that i don’t have a good aim, and the monsters are all twitchy and stuff, so it’s a little hard to get a headshot without having to stand a few feet away.
One of the hidden classics of the genre. Play this game. It has a couple shortcomings - but you'll not play anything quite like it, in the same way you'll never play anything quite like Silent Hill.
If you turned how many times Sebastian says " What The" into a drinking game where you took a shot Everytime he says it. You would die of alcohol poisoning an hour into the game
I've never seen someone so happy doing a running takedown.
normally I'm used to boss monsters being scripted events. so when I walk out a bulging and heard multiheaded saw lady walking around town? I immediately felt dread.
I just had to come back and thank you, Rad. I just finished it and I really like it. Without you, I honesrly wouldnt have bought it.
Discovered your channel about two weeks ago and ended up binge-watching every video til now. Great stuff, absolutely love it. Keep it up!!
This is why I like NitroRad in comparison to other reviewers. He has this level of insight that I can't see most reviewers using.
This has got to be the best review of TEW2 I've seen.