Read on to find out everything we know about The Evil Within 2, or head to our preview to find out what we think from playing through one of the game’s early segments. If you want to know what else is on the way this year, check out our guide to the biggest and best upcoming games.
In summary:
Release date: 13 October 2017 Publisher: Bethesda Genre: Survival horror Developer: Tango Gameworks Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
When is the release date?
The Evil Within 2 is out in the UK and US now, following a 13 October 2017 release date. That might not sound all that significant until you remember that, like most games, it’s coming out on a Friday. The 13th. Geddit? Following in the footsteps of the original The Evil Within, it’s a multi-platform release, hitting the Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
Best The Evil Within 2 deals
If you’re in the US, GameStop and Best Buy both have the game for $59.99 regardless of platform. If you’re still on the fence about whether The Evil Within 2 is your kind of game, Bethesda has announced that there’s now a free (30GB-ish) demo available for all PC, Xbox One and PS4 players. You’ll get access to the first chapters of the game for free, giving you a taste of the terrifying linear experiences and open world of Union. And if you then decide to buy the game, you can pick up where you left off in the demo! Oh, and if you missed out on the original, you can pick up a copy relatively cheaply now to make sure you’re ready for the sequel.
Will there be DLC?
Bethesda hasn’t yet announced any DLC plans for The Evil Within 2, but we can almost certainly expect some. The first Evil Within game had three DLC packs – two story-based and one challenge pack – and also bundled them together in a Season Pass, so we’re expecting to see something similar from the sequel.
What is the gameplay like?
So what actually is The Evil Within 2? As you might have guessed from the name, it’s a sequel to the original third-person survival horror title, which has a pretty heavy focus on some seriously nasty gore. Like the first game, this is created by Shinji Mikami, who directed Resident Evil, Dino Crisis, and Resident Evil 4, so he has some serious survival horror chops. Once again, you’ll play as Detective Sebastian Castellanos, who is given the chance to save his daughter Lily – who just so happens to already be dead. To do so he has to delve into the depths of Union, a town overrun with supernatural threats.
The game will mix psychological and survival horror, and will encourage players to choose how to proceed: a stealthy approach using Sebastian’s crossbow from the shadows; guns blazing with limited ammo; or simply running past the biggest threats. The announcement trailer (at the top of the page) is mostly just CG, so doesn’t show off any actual gameplay, but there’ll be a big emphasis on the psychological side, with hallucinatory sequences and locations to mess with Sebastian’s (and players’) heads. You can see that in action in the game’s second trailer, a profile of the mysterious photographer Stefano Valentini. He’s one of the game’s human enemies, a twisted serial killer hoping to take advantage of the sinister surroundings, but from the look of things he’ll be just as much of a threat as the game’s inhuman opponents.
Tech Advisor’s Deputy Editor, Dom covers everything that runs on electricity, from phones and laptops to wearables, audio, gaming, smart home, and streaming - plus he’s a regular fixture on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.
