Support the channel on Patreon (or else Ruvik will get you): • www.patreon.com/boulderpunch Get The Evil Within Series on GOG (affiliate): bit.ly/bouldergogevilwithin • bit.ly/bouldergogevilwithin2
The Evil Within is such a guilty pleasure of mine. It scratches that stealth itch that Resident Evil doesnt really offer but also gives us some unique monster designs that Silent Hill hasn't offered in a while
It harkens back to a time when games could be campy without the need to explain themselves. Today when there are games with "ironic" and "self aware" writing, games like Evil Within get praise because they're games first and foremost
@@Shawn_Raz_87 You missed the point of my comment. I wasn't saying it lacks a story, I was saying that the writing and gameplay are confident enough not to need ironic humor to justify the story.
@@TheGrayEsteban gotta agreed on that i saw the trailer has million views but most of the comments was disapointed due to some poor performance and lack of characterizations
I really like Evil Within. They felt more like old Resident Evil titles (obviously) but they also create a cool world that I think would make a good setting for other games.
The matches were actually cause of plot reasons, since Ruvik became severely scarred by fire which also killed his sister. If you notice the first time he’s harmed at all was when Seb threw his lantern and burned him. This explains why the enemies were so vulnerable to fire, likely cause of his traumatic experience. Wouldn’t make much sense to bring them back without him being the core again. Would’ve been nice to see a replacement though.
Yep, it would have been definitely been a good idea to replace them with something else on the sequel. Or bring them back saying that now sebastian associates matches with a way to protect himself from monsters after using them so much before in the stem, kinda like how he now has a safe area that resembles his old office and his trauma manifests flashbacks of the first game. I don't know something like that, cause the matches were a nice addition the first game had and it is a shame for them to be gone now
Evil Within 1 I like more because of just how many different enemies they throw at you and all the fun weapons. Evil Within 2 has the better story but I really did not enjoy the open world and more grindey feel. Best part of EW2 is the ghost enemy you can completely miss your first run. Both did have great enemy design, the visuals for them was great even if they weren't all scary, I was amazed at what I was looking at.
The story was much worse in the second game. I hated how they treated every women character like shit. They all existed just for comforting Sebastian. That was gross in my opinion.
On the topic of Evil Within 2... originally Oda + a Ruvik possessed Leslie were supposed to be a bigger part of the game (with concept art for both existing) but were scrapped during development.
Obscura oughtta be talked about as one of the greatest horror designs in gaming. She nails that noire grindhouse feel that movies like Seven and the first Evil Within have. I wish she was in the first Evil Within than the 2nd.
you can understand the story without playing the dlc, so its not a "scummy move to get people to buy the dlc" - you have to read the notes, audio logs in the main story, and just by watching the ghost segments, you can easily piece together what happened - it has a really cool story, I love the idea of being inside a killer's mind by linking everyone's brains together - its a premise that makes you go investigate every piece of environmental storytelling and actually read all collectible text
You don't even need to read the notes, audio logs or watch the ghost segments. If you are a fan horror media and have seen a lot of horror movies, it becomes very clean at the start of the first game that The Evil Within copies the storry of horror movies like "The Cell". Which is also one of the biggest problem The Evil Within series has, it's extremly predictable for experienced horror content consumers, yet it takes hours for the games to reveal the plotpoints those experienced horror content consumers had already figured out at the beginning. This makes the games frustrating and a chore to play.
I love the Evil Within Series. I think the first one is still my favorite cause it felt like playing a OG Classic of a survival horror game with a pretty great psychological horror factor. I love the 2nd one for it's semi open world structure that made it feel different from the first game but also improved on some aspects that honestly I feel made the second game better from a gameplay point of view from the first.. man I wish we could of gotten The Evil Within 3..
My wife was the one who first introduced me to this series and I simply fell in love with the evil within. I even made a fan fiction that connected Mobius as a competitor to Umbrella because the idea to make bioweapons through some sort of mind control was always a compelling idea to me and I also believed Sebastian as a protagonist works as the traditional Resident Evil MC.
@Jammyfish I don't know anything for sure, wish I did, Im just very hopeful lol... I think there will be another entry in the series cuz it's a Bethesda/Tango exclusive and Microsoft just spent a bunch of money buying that company
@@jacobpetrelle9371 Idk what they’d do with a third game tho, Sebastian has gone through so much hell that it kinda makes you wanna let the man live in peace. What I would really like or appreciate is some sort of storyline that associates with you playing as Joseph(whether it being a DLC or a full game) since we have no idea what that man has been up to.
@iiBandit yess! We play as Joseph and figure out he's still in a steam machine controlled by ruvik who's trying to farther his research. Then Joseph gotta break out and take down ruvik with Kidman's help. Something like that would make me so happy too lol
Tango has literally been talking nonstop about wanting to step away from horror and darker games recently, Hi-Fi Rush being the first showcase of it, so don't think another TEW is anywhere near close and with Mikami leaving Tango I do worry they would not be able to deliver another good entry in the series without him there.
Alot of creators are making videos about EW series. I feel this is a game that will gain a jump of popularity right now. I do love this series. Still hoping for an Evil Within 3
Same. It’s crazy how overlooked the series is. I don’t personally know anybody who’s played them, but the second game is one of my favorite games to come out of the last few years.
I feel exactly as you say it. The first game has better highs but loses in consistency. The second is more consistent but it never reaches the best levels (3,4,7,9) of the first game. Great video.
I was much more a fan of The Evil Within 2 than 1. I think what made it much better to me is that the story was much more understandable and personal. The characters especially Sebastian had far better a character. It was also less frustrating than 1. I liked you have a lot of room to look and run around though I think it is hard at the start to kill groups of enemies and one needs to run and hide a lot. Enemies can gang up on you. I enjoyed running around though and learning the area. Reminded me a bit of Alan Wake games. I also liked the voices a lot and the look of the game was much better, where for example Kidman looked less defined where here she looks much better. I also liked finding the extra bits all around. Kidman also felt much more personal here and I enjoyed her character interactions with Sebastian and her subsequent plots. Main enemies also tend to be not just monsters but have their own stories going on and the nurse being more personal and speaking to us like a psychologist is very helpful interesting here as well.
TEW2 was way more polished, better story, and less outrageous bullshit. But like Dead Space 2, was less scary than the first, but still had its moments. I much prefer the second over the first
Personally I love this series and how the two games differ so much. I think the way the story unfolds from the main plot of the first game, to the dlc, and then to the second game is pitch perfect. I wouldn't change a thing about it, especially the second game. While I understand why others don't feel that way, I just enjoyed the second one so much I can't bring myself to imagine anything different.
The 2nd TEW was still a massive flop all things considered. Given the unexpected and massive success of Hi-Fi Rush and Shinji Mikami leaving the studio... very unlikely a 3rd TEW will materialize anytime soon. A 2nd Hi-Fi Rush will most likely be the studio's next priority going forward.
@@mr.sinjin-smyth I really wouldn't want a third one personally. I think games moving away from being these long spanning franchises and more into one or two off experiences is better.
I think the whole match system and burning enemies was a lore thing. Ruvik, the core of the first game, had a traumatic fear of fire, hence the enemies in the first game, especially Laura, were weak to fire. That’s why you don’t see it in the second game.
The Evil Within series reminds me a lot of The Condemned series. Unique and interesting games, could've used another game or two, but was lacking something.
I'm glad you mentioned God Hand which is such an underrated & unappreciated gem, that got bad reviews simply because IGN didn't understand the game mechanics. I haven't seen you cover that game yet, so I hope to see a "video essay" on that game.
The first Evil Within was actually very good. Flawed but good. Better than many other horror games of its time. The second was alright, but the open world, the willing entrance into the horror, and the shift between the villains, made it to casual.
One of my favorite things about anima is if you play it on ps4 her singing comes through on your controller and is proximity based. The first time I encountered her I didn’t realized it was coming from there and it was one of the few moments in a horror game that actually scared me
The line Joseph says about the glasses, I had a girlfriend at the time who was not at all into gaming or horror, but she would listen or watch whenever I was playing a game she knew I was enjoying and when she heard that line about “feeling normal” with his glasses that caught her attention because she’s blind as a bat without hers and suddenly she was a fan of the evil within and watched me play both, crying through the second game.
Wow, I've seen some TEW videos on this scale length-wise, but this one I like the most, as a big fan I can only say thank you. The Evil Within, the first one, was it for me. It was focused more on horror and such, with it's relatively linear world, go from A to B, and it will lead you to C, I've spent a lot of hours on it. TEW2 I haven't played much even tho I was really excited, the open world aspect really took it out for me, but the first game, what a classic.
EW1 is by far the most memorable. The stuff with the save room, the tense horror, and the bosses were far superior to the sequel. EW2 has a more concrete story, but it's not worth remembering. EW1 not having fears and backstories with characters was by far the biggest let down of the whole series. The way it did that, when it did, was totally better than anything in the Silent Hill series.
The Evil Within 2 is one of the most underrated games imo. It's like a great mashup of RE and Silent Hill. I wish there was a 3rd that expanded on the semi open world horror idea. Bc those were my favorite moments in the game and is a very unique idea. I don't think I've seen another horror game with random events and side stories you can stumble on.
Given the unexpected and massive success of Hi-Fi Rush and Shinji Mikami leaving the studio... very unlikely a 3rd TEW will materialize anytime soon. A 2nd Hi-Fi Rush will most likely be the studio's next priority going forward.
I mean, The Evil Within has quite the charm, but it has confusing narrative (which doesn’t mean that it doesn’t make sense, just that it seems to be told confusingly just for the sake of being messy), some clunky and questionable mechanics and not really compelling character development (except maybe for Ruvik and Kidman). RE, especially in the remakes, got much better at developing characters and narrative. It’s super campy and horror B-movie kind of narrative, yes, but it works. Not to mention that the gameplay is more polished, which okay it’s kinda obvious since the remakes are more recent that TEW1, but I definitely hope for a TEW3 so we might get a game with more polished mechanics
The thing I remember the most about the Evil Within was a US president made a video compiling video game violence and it used a lot of game over scenes from this game.
The criticism around 21:00 is so true. Thats what i actually liked about ethan in re7 and re8. Not perfect and a little cheesy, but throughout the game he genuinely sounds like a dude whos like “WTF is going on!” The whole time which is so valid given his circumstances
I actually really enjoyed this game. The second is not really my jam, but I did finish. I would suggest it to anyone looking for a bit of a retro feel and some endearing jank.
I really like the first game a lot. The second is pretty good but I feel like the first game is a lot more tense and the level design is a lot better. Also.. with a story like this I feel like it's better when you don't have as many answers... answers that the second game gives you.
Evil Within is the second PS4 game I bought, I was so excited for a horror game from the director of Resident Evil, and it really let me down. The amount of insta-kills is such a turn off. RE4, one of my most beloved games, has some insta-kill moments too, but they are few and far between. EW just has too many of them. Plus, I really don’t like stealth in games and EW doesn’t do it very well. And I’m not a fan of EW’s upgrade system either. Great video! I’ve been enjoying your content for a long time and look forward to all your videos. Big Ups man! I wish you the absolute best.
I kinda liked blank slate sebastian in EW1, like "you weren't supposed to be a badass hero and survive this, you were supposed to die" and I know his tragic backstory didn't come through much but I like to think he's still a high functioning fighter despite it. Like "I don't got time to grieve, there's nightmare demons to burn" And I think the ending back and forth in ew2 between sebastian and kidman was pretty epic and rightly saves jumping the shark til the end. It's cool to see rules change in a game. No more ghosts, this is the real world while the union is collapsing and the plan all depends on the last survivor Kidman. It gives a lot of weight to the section.
the first The Evil Within game has a bit of identity crisis it tried to be to many things at once, mainly the trending mechanics like stealth and hide n seek around that time
I always liked the Evil Within more then RE4 - no Ashley, no stop and go combat where I have to open inventory to switch guns, no shooting while not being able to move. Out of all the Resident Evil games in my opinion RE4 would benefit most from a remake. By the time I'm at the garden with wolves im done with RE4. I do think RE4 is a classic though worthy of the praise, wish they would've done more village and less castle though. I thought the atmosphere of the Evil Within was almost impeccable. Sebastian was a great leading man - no Ethan Winters or Leon S but worthy of the lead role. They should v e cut the entire construction area chapter. Besides that it's just pure horror fun. Didn't really like TEW2 nearly as much as the original, no match mechanic, no arenas filled with traps etc etc. Anyways just my thoughts on RE4 / TEW great video Boulder Punch, your the best at these reviews, keep up the great work.
Its strangely soothing to have a podcast type of video playing in the background with a calm narrative occasionally broken up by an aggressive zombie growl
Still play these gems today. Makes me think what we’re lacking today in horror games, I think because Evil Within felt like a throwback to those horror games of RE4 and Silent Hill, even with Dead Space. Just original IP but again, a throwback. Hope to see more with the series in the future.
Evil Within is an epic journey through the trauma and torment of a mad man. At the time of it's release there were too few games of it's caliber. I for one am still hoping there will be new life injected into this creative franchise by way of remaster and ofcourse a third title. Excellent story, no doubt.
A long time ago there was a fantastic series of horror games that had alot of action and shooting in them and then that team and head developer ended up leaving their original parent company, and moving on to make a completely new company so they could follow their dreams. And by follow their dreams I mean their new parent company told them to make the same game they made the last time. So they work really hard on it and it came out to middling reviews, lost focus, unfavorable comparisons to the last game they made and a wide string of technical issues and that game was -Callisto Protocol- EVIL WITHIN Patrick Boivin, 2022
Great video. Love the way you describe the games you do your videos on. I really hope you do The Callisto Protocol eventually. Because whoo boy there’s certainly stuff to talk about there. And I’m honestly curious to hear your thoughts on it
Every time I see video games that got cancelled right before the developers figured it out, I always think back to Assassin's Creed 2. Had Ubisoft decided not to pursue a sequel, we would have missed out on one of the best sequels ever made, in my opinion. Lots of game series that have a kernel of a strong idea get snuffed out too soon because the commitment to continue on despite less than ideal reception is too much to bear. Disappointing really.
Really enjoyed the first title. The GamePass for PC version has an exclusive first person mode. It makes some boss battles a little more challenging but i enjoyed the new perspective. The sequel is a better game mechanically but just didnt stick with me like the first did. Eventually i will finish the sequel but i still hope for a 3rd game
These games were not perfect but this was the first time since Dead Space 1 were I truly felt fear when playing. I remember after playing the first part of Evil within 1 I had to stop playing for a bit because of how anxious it made me I was screaming the whole first chase sequence with the chainsaw guy. These games, Dead Space 1 and 2, RE 4 and Silent hill 2 are the best horror games of all time for me. Each one of these games made me truly terrified for the whole ride these few games are what I measure every horro game to now that's why RE8 felt kinda boring after the first few hours.
Tango Softworks has a tragic history of 'design by committee'. Ghostwire Tokyo suffered from it the most IMO, it's a shame what Nakamura went through with its development. I'm glad they're in a better place now, having formed her own indie studio. If TEW1 is to be played, it should be the Microsoft Store or Game Pass version, as it offers significant improvements. Just wanna randomly throw out there; The Executioner DLC is underrated, having replayed it recently. Extremely flawed to the core but once you understand how it all works, there's something special in there and lots of unrealized potential. I suppose that describes all TEW games, in a way. I personally hate the first game's campaign and enjoyed 2. Have yet to replay the first game since its release however. I remember the biggest problem with the Spencer mansion homage being the pursuer and instant kill zones that get in the way of proper exploration. A bad kind of pursuer. That said, Ruvik reminds me of The Suffering for whatever reason. (Also, hey, modern God of War, while I'm not a fan, does offer lots of gameplay if you seek it via the open world stuff. TLOU2 is a more egregious example, only 4 to 5 hours of enemy encounters in a 25 to 28 hour long game..)
Eyyy, Boulder Punch is talking about one of my favorite modern horror games, and its prequel! (You read that right) TEW2 reportedly sold terribly, and that breaks my heart. I don’t know anybody who’s played it, and the comments I read online about it, almost everyone kinda hates it. IMO, it fixed everything I didn’t like about the first one. I’m just dying for a third game D:
genuinely same!! it's a true shame that it isn't as loved as it should be bc TEW2 needs a whole lot more love :( it's really such an amazing series and if we ever do get a third i'd be unbelievably happy about it
Loved both of these games. I thought the first one was something special and I feel Shinji Mikami went out with the ideas in the first game. So many things are done just once in the game like where Ruvik chases you around the mansion for one chapter😂
It's an okay game. I don't recommend it to ANYONE on console though due it being low resolution and a capped 30fps alongside some dated gameplay and mechanics. On PC, it's fine. Edit: alien isolation is what I would rather recommend. Came out around the same time I believe, but it offered a far more unique and greater impact on the industry. Literal documentaries were created because of how advanced and terrifying the xenomorph AI was.
Both of The Evil Within games are intriguing, though they often feel middleware, which is by far the main issue with the series. A third game would be nice, but there's little chance of that.
I played the game first when I was 14 in the Playstation computer place near my house and while everybody was playing COD BO2, Pro evolution soccer or what ever I saw it there just sitting and no one had opened it before, so I got curious and went by myself one time and played it and I was amazed, I kept coming everyday until I beat it, it was literally the best thing I've ever played, well that's besides half life 2
I think Castellanos being "In the wrong place, at the wrong time" could have worked. Having the player be an outsider to the plot, but still understand the story felt so unique. How you can execute this successfully, I don't know. It's a shame The Evil Within 2 went in a more cliche direction. I wish they fleshed out Stefano more as you never see artists as the main villains of games. As angry and frustrated as I was with The Evil Within 1, there's something about TEW2's more laidback nature that had me appreciating the first game more.
you forgot to mention one of the inspiring game for The Evil Within Series . Shadows of the Damned one of the failed project of shinji mikami which i find one of the bests games i ever played
With the enemies not catching on fire compliant, if you light a corpse on fire with an enemy is right next to you or over the corpse than it will also light of fire
the characters are not flat at all, Ruvik is a character for example that an insane amount of people love to this day, and there are tons of fans of all the other characters too - you just need to listen to their stories and keep an open mind to understand them
Game started out promising with the whole hospital opening scene and following village section… too bad it quickly went down the familiar RE route of forgoing survival in favour of action as you got further into the game.
There are just too many people who whine about the low stamina without understanding it. It serves the tense atmosphere in that you are able to do something to get away, so you do it, but you're limited just about enough so you're not overpowered. And about the cop-argument, I hope these people realize that this isn't the real world, I sure hope the eyeballs on the walls and the overall supernatural stuff should tip them off somehow that this is more of a dream and even there it's a common trope that you run on the spot or through sirup dreams, I think a number of people can recall such accurances. So it fits both, the gameplay and the setting. So does powering up weapons and everything with brain gel, you are in your own mind, and others, that's the one thing that serves everything, your weapons are imaginary weapons, so calling the thing that runs everything brain gel seems appropriate enough to me...
That's not really a definitive answer, that's just the devs deciding the tone and atmosphere works better as a new IP rather then a sequel. TEW3 could eventually happen. The right people at tango could revive the series, and the little Easter egg in Hifi Rush at least confirms that they haven't forgotten the series exists
I think the reason they removed the fire from evil within 2 is that was keyed to ruvik his trauma and past, his weakness. You could argue the house fire for seb as way in but then it would be a trauma weakness so why would he be using it and not have it used against him. The agony crossbow was tweaked a bit because it was no longer a tool of ruviks. He made the original but over time with seb using it it became a part of him and his power. It’s why it’s less ornate. It’s a tool like any other to him it’s not supposed to look fancy just do the job. I think the flame thrower enemies are their attempt to keep the fire themes that made evil within stand out. From a writing a world building sense it’s consistentcy here that really made the second game a better story for me. Still want that 3rd though
As long as it's not with Sebastian this time, I'd love a sequel. Not because I dislike him, but because he got a mostly happy ending. It felt complete. Horror stories rarely get happy endings and it can be nice when they actually do. How much more of the horrible things could he actually go through and still be sane? It'd be stretching it for sure. Joseph or Kidman could work, Sebastian could always play a support role.
Evil Within always seemed like a hilarious case of "throw every horror trope we can into a blender and assume something scary will happen." What if a MUMMY covered in CHUCKY DOLLS had sex with YOUR MOM???
Horror & open world don't work. It eliminates all horror from the game. The only legit scary parts in Evil within 2 were the ghost girl parts. That was good atmosphere & eeriness. First one is was more scary & yes i do hope the series continues. No more open world crap though.
Well Evil Within 3 seems even more unlikely now that Shinji Mikami left Bethesda. Guess Microsoft trying to cancel Hi-Fi Rush told him everything he needed to know about working with them.
I like to describe this game as the baby of both RE and Silent Hill, not hitting as high as either do at thier own strengths, but decent enough at scratching an itch for either when i dont have a new one of those franchises to play.
Oh your first and second favourite game are *_Resident Evil 4_* and *_Deus Ex_* ! Mine are *_Majora's Mask_* , *_Deus Ex_* , then *_Resident Evil 4_* .
Support the channel on Patreon (or else Ruvik will get you):
• www.patreon.com/boulderpunch
Get The Evil Within Series on GOG (affiliate): bit.ly/bouldergogevilwithin
• bit.ly/bouldergogevilwithin2
The Evil Within is such a guilty pleasure of mine. It scratches that stealth itch that Resident Evil doesnt really offer but also gives us some unique monster designs that Silent Hill hasn't offered in a while
It's all the most stupid and fun over the top horror and 2010s gaming tropes thrown together into one big charming thrill ride. I love it.
It harkens back to a time when games could be campy without the need to explain themselves.
Today when there are games with "ironic" and "self aware" writing, games like Evil Within get praise because they're games first and foremost
@@Shawn_Raz_87
You missed the point of my comment. I wasn't saying it lacks a story, I was saying that the writing and gameplay are confident enough not to need ironic humor to justify the story.
Evil within was quite the hidden gem back then. It was there on a very dry season in horror survival games.
A gem, yes, but nothing too hidden about it (it was pretty hyped up and didn't live up to the insanely high expectations)
@@TheGrayEsteban gotta agreed on that i saw the trailer has million views but most of the comments was disapointed due to some poor performance and lack of characterizations
« Hidden gem » lmao
And then Alien Isolation completely outshined it
@@TheGrayEsteban i had high expectations and wasn't disappointed. Love TEW1.
Man, The Evil Within 1 was scary af when I first booted it. I was absolutely scared shitless when the big guy (in the very first part) chased me, lol.
Especially when your character starts limping. Don't think I've felt so stressed in a long time 😅
Well your name is joezay door saith, you probably jump at your own shadow
@@josedorsaith5261 the archipelago playlist lmao I know a fruit when I see one
@@ramrodbldm9876
Had a stroke?
Yo my got grade school tits.
I really like Evil Within. They felt more like old Resident Evil titles (obviously) but they also create a cool world that I think would make a good setting for other games.
The matches were actually cause of plot reasons, since Ruvik became severely scarred by fire which also killed his sister.
If you notice the first time he’s harmed at all was when Seb threw his lantern and burned him.
This explains why the enemies were so vulnerable to fire, likely cause of his traumatic experience.
Wouldn’t make much sense to bring them back without him being the core again.
Would’ve been nice to see a replacement though.
Wait but wasn't lily killed or injured in a house fire as well?
@@williamtodd8212 The house fire was just meant to be a cover up for her capture, Lily was gone already.
Yep, it would have been definitely been a good idea to replace them with something else on the sequel. Or bring them back saying that now sebastian associates matches with a way to protect himself from monsters after using them so much before in the stem, kinda like how he now has a safe area that resembles his old office and his trauma manifests flashbacks of the first game. I don't know something like that, cause the matches were a nice addition the first game had and it is a shame for them to be gone now
Evil Within 1 I like more because of just how many different enemies they throw at you and all the fun weapons. Evil Within 2 has the better story but I really did not enjoy the open world and more grindey feel. Best part of EW2 is the ghost enemy you can completely miss your first run. Both did have great enemy design, the visuals for them was great even if they weren't all scary, I was amazed at what I was looking at.
And lots of cum in 2 too. Not a fan.
Agreed , but i think when it comes to weapon designs i prefer the more modern Ew 2 weapons rather than Vintage EW1 WW2 inspired weapons
I actually have the ghost enemies "Anima" singing as my ringtone.
Nah the second game had such poorly written generic story.
The story was much worse in the second game. I hated how they treated every women character like shit. They all existed just for comforting Sebastian. That was gross in my opinion.
when Sebby said "but there's EVIL WITHIN, TOO..." then they slowly looked at the camera. man, chills!
...seriously, that made me laugh
On the topic of Evil Within 2... originally Oda + a Ruvik possessed Leslie were supposed to be a bigger part of the game (with concept art for both existing) but were scrapped during development.
i wonder how that would go.
Man, that sucks. :(
Obscura oughtta be talked about as one of the greatest horror designs in gaming. She nails that noire grindhouse feel that movies like Seven and the first Evil Within have. I wish she was in the first Evil Within than the 2nd.
We have shade atleast...
I will defend these games with my life, they are fantastic
you can understand the story without playing the dlc, so its not a "scummy move to get people to buy the dlc" - you have to read the notes, audio logs in the main story, and just by watching the ghost segments, you can easily piece together what happened - it has a really cool story, I love the idea of being inside a killer's mind by linking everyone's brains together - its a premise that makes you go investigate every piece of environmental storytelling and actually read all collectible text
You don't even need to read the notes, audio logs or watch the ghost segments. If you are a fan horror media and have seen a lot of horror movies, it becomes very clean at the start of the first game that The Evil Within copies the storry of horror movies like "The Cell". Which is also one of the biggest problem The Evil Within series has, it's extremly predictable for experienced horror content consumers, yet it takes hours for the games to reveal the plotpoints those experienced horror content consumers had already figured out at the beginning. This makes the games frustrating and a chore to play.
Yeah, this guy being bashful just because the game didn't spell out the plot in his alphabet soup is just weird
I love the Evil Within Series. I think the first one is still my favorite cause it felt like playing a OG Classic of a survival horror game with a pretty great psychological horror factor. I love the 2nd one for it's semi open world structure that made it feel different from the first game but also improved on some aspects that honestly I feel made the second game better from a gameplay point of view from the first.. man I wish we could of gotten The Evil Within 3..
I had never heard of dsp before I started watching boulderpunch. Now I know everything about him
Nothing I could do dood!
*honks and snorts can be heard faintly off in the distance, followed by the Pigroach himself blaming the game of the day for his own failures*
@Jim internet cockroach
@Jim streaming lolcow. You're better off just not knowing more.
@@BoulderPunch You're on that mans hammer
Great reviews. I loved both of these games. Rest in peace, Tango Gameworks.
My wife was the one who first introduced me to this series and I simply fell in love with the evil within. I even made a fan fiction that connected Mobius as a competitor to Umbrella because the idea to make bioweapons through some sort of mind control was always a compelling idea to me and I also believed Sebastian as a protagonist works as the traditional Resident Evil MC.
sounds cool
@@cappedminer369 thanks bro
Man, I love both The Evil Within games!!! Big fan!!!!
This my favorite game series. Thank you for the content!!
Also, we are definitely getting a third Evil Within, don't give up hope!
Definitely?
Do you know something we don't?
@Jammyfish I don't know anything for sure, wish I did, Im just very hopeful lol... I think there will be another entry in the series cuz it's a Bethesda/Tango exclusive and Microsoft just spent a bunch of money buying that company
@@jacobpetrelle9371 Idk what they’d do with a third game tho, Sebastian has gone through so much hell that it kinda makes you wanna let the man live in peace. What I would really like or appreciate is some sort of storyline that associates with you playing as Joseph(whether it being a DLC or a full game) since we have no idea what that man has been up to.
@iiBandit yess! We play as Joseph and figure out he's still in a steam machine controlled by ruvik who's trying to farther his research. Then Joseph gotta break out and take down ruvik with Kidman's help. Something like that would make me so happy too lol
Tango has literally been talking nonstop about wanting to step away from horror and darker games recently, Hi-Fi Rush being the first showcase of it, so don't think another TEW is anywhere near close and with Mikami leaving Tango I do worry they would not be able to deliver another good entry in the series without him there.
The evil within 1 is one of the best survivor horror games I’ve played in my life
It's solid
FINALLY!!! I'm so glad your covering this series.
Alot of creators are making videos about EW series. I feel this is a game that will gain a jump of popularity right now. I do love this series. Still hoping for an Evil Within 3
Me too
Same. It’s crazy how overlooked the series is. I don’t personally know anybody who’s played them, but the second game is one of my favorite games to come out of the last few years.
I was surprised there wasn't any mention of Leslie, the one thing Ruvik is chasing throughout the game
I feel exactly as you say it. The first game has better highs but loses in consistency. The second is more consistent but it never reaches the best levels (3,4,7,9) of the first game. Great video.
Evil Within is a series I WANT to love and support but it never quite reaches the same level as series like Dead Space and RE
I was much more a fan of The Evil Within 2 than 1. I think what made it much better to me is that the story was much more understandable and personal. The characters especially Sebastian had far better a character. It was also less frustrating than 1. I liked you have a lot of room to look and run around though I think it is hard at the start to kill groups of enemies and one needs to run and hide a lot. Enemies can gang up on you. I enjoyed running around though and learning the area. Reminded me a bit of Alan Wake games. I also liked the voices a lot and the look of the game was much better, where for example Kidman looked less defined where here she looks much better. I also liked finding the extra bits all around. Kidman also felt much more personal here and I enjoyed her character interactions with Sebastian and her subsequent plots. Main enemies also tend to be not just monsters but have their own stories going on and the nurse being more personal and speaking to us like a psychologist is very helpful interesting here as well.
TEW2 was way more polished, better story, and less outrageous bullshit. But like Dead Space 2, was less scary than the first, but still had its moments.
I much prefer the second over the first
Personally I love this series and how the two games differ so much. I think the way the story unfolds from the main plot of the first game, to the dlc, and then to the second game is pitch perfect. I wouldn't change a thing about it, especially the second game. While I understand why others don't feel that way, I just enjoyed the second one so much I can't bring myself to imagine anything different.
The 2nd TEW was still a massive flop all things considered. Given the unexpected and massive success of Hi-Fi Rush and Shinji Mikami leaving the studio... very unlikely a 3rd TEW will materialize anytime soon. A 2nd Hi-Fi Rush will most likely be the studio's next priority going forward.
@@mr.sinjin-smyth I really wouldn't want a third one personally. I think games moving away from being these long spanning franchises and more into one or two off experiences is better.
RE: Revelations 2 reminded me so much of The Evil Within. Almost like a response to it in a sense.
I think the whole match system and burning enemies was a lore thing. Ruvik, the core of the first game, had a traumatic fear of fire, hence the enemies in the first game, especially Laura, were weak to fire. That’s why you don’t see it in the second game.
I absolutely love both games. It's really upsetting that he probably won't get a 3rd game. I'll have to do a new game plus on both games one day
The Evil Within series reminds me a lot of The Condemned series.
Unique and interesting games, could've used another game or two, but was lacking something.
I only ever play... with the borders turned on!!! 😱
I actually like the slow stealth scene, I wish it were used more or at least made more of a mechanic
when he says "but there's Evil withing, too" gave me "it's morbin time" vibes
I'm glad you mentioned God Hand which is such an underrated & unappreciated gem, that got bad reviews simply because IGN didn't understand the game mechanics. I haven't seen you cover that game yet, so I hope to see a "video essay" on that game.
The first Evil Within was actually very good.
Flawed but good.
Better than many other horror games of its time.
The second was alright, but the open world, the willing entrance into the horror, and the shift between the villains, made it to casual.
IMHO a all time classic. Probably the most underrated game ever
One of my favorite things about anima is if you play it on ps4 her singing comes through on your controller and is proximity based. The first time I encountered her I didn’t realized it was coming from there and it was one of the few moments in a horror game that actually scared me
The line Joseph says about the glasses, I had a girlfriend at the time who was not at all into gaming or horror, but she would listen or watch whenever I was playing a game she knew I was enjoying and when she heard that line about “feeling normal” with his glasses that caught her attention because she’s blind as a bat without hers and suddenly she was a fan of the evil within and watched me play both, crying through the second game.
Wow, I've seen some TEW videos on this scale length-wise, but this one I like the most, as a big fan I can only say thank you.
The Evil Within, the first one, was it for me. It was focused more on horror and such, with it's relatively linear world, go from A to B, and it will lead you to C, I've spent a lot of hours on it.
TEW2 I haven't played much even tho I was really excited, the open world aspect really took it out for me, but the first game, what a classic.
This series was amazing. I played them recently and they are good. But man they didn't sold well. Oh well.
Glad you enjoyed it but your standards for quality are low
@@aurancrash4654 I care only if I have fun playing a game. All other things don't matter.
@@Safersephiroth777
Based
@@Safersephiroth777 I can respect that. I have games that I know are bad but that didn't stop me from enjoying them
@@Safersephiroth777 as it should be
EW1 is by far the most memorable. The stuff with the save room, the tense horror, and the bosses were far superior to the sequel.
EW2 has a more concrete story, but it's not worth remembering.
EW1 not having fears and backstories with characters was by far the biggest let down of the whole series. The way it did that, when it did, was totally better than anything in the Silent Hill series.
The Evil Within 2 is one of the most underrated games imo. It's like a great mashup of RE and Silent Hill. I wish there was a 3rd that expanded on the semi open world horror idea.
Bc those were my favorite moments in the game and is a very unique idea. I don't think I've seen another horror game with random events and side stories you can stumble on.
Given the unexpected and massive success of Hi-Fi Rush and Shinji Mikami leaving the studio... very unlikely a 3rd TEW will materialize anytime soon. A 2nd Hi-Fi Rush will most likely be the studio's next priority going forward.
'Making Your Way Home' from EW2 is such a blissful song.
This game is incredible. Blows RE out of the water. They totally need to make a third already.
I mean, The Evil Within has quite the charm, but it has confusing narrative (which doesn’t mean that it doesn’t make sense, just that it seems to be told confusingly just for the sake of being messy), some clunky and questionable mechanics and not really compelling character development (except maybe for Ruvik and Kidman). RE, especially in the remakes, got much better at developing characters and narrative. It’s super campy and horror B-movie kind of narrative, yes, but it works. Not to mention that the gameplay is more polished, which okay it’s kinda obvious since the remakes are more recent that TEW1, but I definitely hope for a TEW3 so we might get a game with more polished mechanics
Eh, I'd say in the remakes due to some cuts the story is kinda mid compared to the OG and TEW 1@@dami_mage
The thing I remember the most about the Evil Within was a US president made a video compiling video game violence and it used a lot of game over scenes from this game.
The criticism around 21:00 is so true. Thats what i actually liked about ethan in re7 and re8. Not perfect and a little cheesy, but throughout the game he genuinely sounds like a dude whos like “WTF is going on!” The whole time which is so valid given his circumstances
I actually really enjoyed this game. The second is not really my jam, but I did finish. I would suggest it to anyone looking for a bit of a retro feel and some endearing jank.
I played this game when I was young, it was a whole lot of fun and I want to replay it. After this review I don’t wanna ruin the magic
I really like the first game a lot. The second is pretty good but I feel like the first game is a lot more tense and the level design is a lot better. Also.. with a story like this I feel like it's better when you don't have as many answers... answers that the second game gives you.
Evil Within is the second PS4 game I bought, I was so excited for a horror game from the director of Resident Evil, and it really let me down. The amount of insta-kills is such a turn off. RE4, one of my most beloved games, has some insta-kill moments too, but they are few and far between. EW just has too many of them. Plus, I really don’t like stealth in games and EW doesn’t do it very well. And I’m not a fan of EW’s upgrade system either.
Great video! I’ve been enjoying your content for a long time and look forward to all your videos. Big Ups man! I wish you the absolute best.
As someone starved for good Horror games made by big studios, I loved these games, a LOT of issues across them both, but I love them still.
Tatiana was and is the first and only video game crush for me.
🤨
@@modernwarhero8447 best waifu. I mean just listen to her
"only" is a bit funny but I can't lie that's a good choice
I kinda liked blank slate sebastian in EW1, like "you weren't supposed to be a badass hero and survive this, you were supposed to die" and I know his tragic backstory didn't come through much but I like to think he's still a high functioning fighter despite it. Like "I don't got time to grieve, there's nightmare demons to burn"
And I think the ending back and forth in ew2 between sebastian and kidman was pretty epic and rightly saves jumping the shark til the end. It's cool to see rules change in a game. No more ghosts, this is the real world while the union is collapsing and the plan all depends on the last survivor Kidman. It gives a lot of weight to the section.
the first The Evil Within game has a bit of identity crisis
it tried to be to many things at once, mainly the trending mechanics like stealth and hide n seek around that time
I always liked the Evil Within more then RE4 - no Ashley, no stop and go combat where I have to open inventory to switch guns, no shooting while not being able to move. Out of all the Resident Evil games in my opinion RE4 would benefit most from a remake. By the time I'm at the garden with wolves im done with RE4. I do think RE4 is a classic though worthy of the praise, wish they would've done more village and less castle though. I thought the atmosphere of the Evil Within was almost impeccable. Sebastian was a great leading man - no Ethan Winters or Leon S but worthy of the lead role. They should v e cut the entire construction area chapter. Besides that it's just pure horror fun. Didn't really like TEW2 nearly as much as the original, no match mechanic, no arenas filled with traps etc etc. Anyways just my thoughts on RE4 / TEW great video Boulder Punch, your the best at these reviews, keep up the great work.
Its strangely soothing to have a podcast type of video playing in the background with a calm narrative occasionally broken up by an aggressive zombie growl
Still play these gems today.
Makes me think what we’re lacking today in horror games, I think because Evil Within felt like a throwback to those horror games of RE4 and Silent Hill, even with Dead Space. Just original IP but again, a throwback.
Hope to see more with the series in the future.
Evil Within is an epic journey through the trauma and torment of a mad man. At the time of it's release there were too few games of it's caliber. I for one am still hoping there will be new life injected into this creative franchise by way of remaster and ofcourse a third title. Excellent story, no doubt.
Loved these two games so much and your analysis is spot on!
I honestly felt the Kidman dlc was the best part of this entire series. The stealth does kinda suck but man it made the first game palatable.
A long time ago there was a fantastic series of horror games that had alot of action and shooting in them and then that team and head developer ended up leaving their original parent company, and moving on to make a completely new company so they could follow their dreams. And by follow their dreams I mean their new parent company told them to make the same game they made the last time. So they work really hard on it and it came out to middling reviews, lost focus, unfavorable comparisons to the last game they made and a wide string of technical issues and that game was -Callisto Protocol- EVIL WITHIN
Patrick Boivin, 2022
Great video. Love the way you describe the games you do your videos on. I really hope you do The Callisto Protocol eventually. Because whoo boy there’s certainly stuff to talk about there. And I’m honestly curious to hear your thoughts on it
Every time I see video games that got cancelled right before the developers figured it out, I always think back to Assassin's Creed 2. Had Ubisoft decided not to pursue a sequel, we would have missed out on one of the best sequels ever made, in my opinion. Lots of game series that have a kernel of a strong idea get snuffed out too soon because the commitment to continue on despite less than ideal reception is too much to bear. Disappointing really.
Really enjoyed the first title. The GamePass for PC version has an exclusive first person mode. It makes some boss battles a little more challenging but i enjoyed the new perspective. The sequel is a better game mechanically but just didnt stick with me like the first did. Eventually i will finish the sequel but i still hope for a 3rd game
I have it one Steam and it has the FPS mode, played most the game like that. Did they remove it?
These games were not perfect but this was the first time since Dead Space 1 were I truly felt fear when playing. I remember after playing the first part of Evil within 1 I had to stop playing for a bit because of how anxious it made me I was screaming the whole first chase sequence with the chainsaw guy. These games, Dead Space 1 and 2, RE 4 and Silent hill 2 are the best horror games of all time for me. Each one of these games made me truly terrified for the whole ride these few games are what I measure every horro game to now that's why RE8 felt kinda boring after the first few hours.
So glad you're reviewing these!!
I damn near threw my ps4 controller through my tv first time i encountered anima as her humming came from the fucking controller.
Tango Softworks has a tragic history of 'design by committee'. Ghostwire Tokyo suffered from it the most IMO, it's a shame what Nakamura went through with its development. I'm glad they're in a better place now, having formed her own indie studio.
If TEW1 is to be played, it should be the Microsoft Store or Game Pass version, as it offers significant improvements.
Just wanna randomly throw out there; The Executioner DLC is underrated, having replayed it recently. Extremely flawed to the core but once you understand how it all works, there's something special in there and lots of unrealized potential. I suppose that describes all TEW games, in a way. I personally hate the first game's campaign and enjoyed 2. Have yet to replay the first game since its release however. I remember the biggest problem with the Spencer mansion homage being the pursuer and instant kill zones that get in the way of proper exploration. A bad kind of pursuer. That said, Ruvik reminds me of The Suffering for whatever reason.
(Also, hey, modern God of War, while I'm not a fan, does offer lots of gameplay if you seek it via the open world stuff. TLOU2 is a more egregious example, only 4 to 5 hours of enemy encounters in a 25 to 28 hour long game..)
Thanks for the tip, man. I wanted to replay it but have been warned about the Steam port being janky
@@josedorsaith5261 you're janky, just like your m. Tell that btch that she still owes me from the crk rock she bought, tell her pay or backhand
what do you mean they're in a better place ? what happened to them ?
@@cappedminer369 They formed their own game studio, called Unseen.
@@theblobconsumes4859 oh, i thought for a moment you meant they died.
Eyyy, Boulder Punch is talking about one of my favorite modern horror games, and its prequel! (You read that right)
TEW2 reportedly sold terribly, and that breaks my heart. I don’t know anybody who’s played it, and the comments I read online about it, almost everyone kinda hates it. IMO, it fixed everything I didn’t like about the first one. I’m just dying for a third game D:
genuinely same!! it's a true shame that it isn't as loved as it should be bc TEW2 needs a whole lot more love :( it's really such an amazing series and if we ever do get a third i'd be unbelievably happy about it
Loved both of these games. I thought the first one was something special and I feel Shinji Mikami went out with the ideas in the first game. So many things are done just once in the game like where Ruvik chases you around the mansion for one chapter😂
It's an okay game. I don't recommend it to ANYONE on console though due it being low resolution and a capped 30fps alongside some dated gameplay and mechanics. On PC, it's fine.
Edit: alien isolation is what I would rather recommend. Came out around the same time I believe, but it offered a far more unique and greater impact on the industry. Literal documentaries were created because of how advanced and terrifying the xenomorph AI was.
Both of The Evil Within games are intriguing, though they often feel middleware, which is by far the main issue with the series. A third game would be nice, but there's little chance of that.
I played the game first when I was 14 in the Playstation computer place near my house and while everybody was playing COD BO2, Pro evolution soccer or what ever I saw it there just sitting and no one had opened it before, so I got curious and went by myself one time and played it and I was amazed, I kept coming everyday until I beat it, it was literally the best thing I've ever played, well that's besides half life 2
I love the longer videos! Awesome video as always ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
I think Castellanos being "In the wrong place, at the wrong time" could have worked. Having the player be an outsider to the plot, but still understand the story felt so unique. How you can execute this successfully, I don't know. It's a shame The Evil Within 2 went in a more cliche direction. I wish they fleshed out Stefano more as you never see artists as the main villains of games.
As angry and frustrated as I was with The Evil Within 1, there's something about TEW2's more laidback nature that had me appreciating the first game more.
you forgot to mention one of the inspiring game for The Evil Within Series . Shadows of the Damned one of the failed project of shinji mikami which i find one of the bests games i ever played
It's more of a Suda51 game though.
With the enemies not catching on fire compliant, if you light a corpse on fire with an enemy is right next to you or over the corpse than it will also light of fire
the characters are not flat at all, Ruvik is a character for example that an insane amount of people love to this day, and there are tons of fans of all the other characters too - you just need to listen to their stories and keep an open mind to understand them
Great video Boulder Punch!
Game started out promising with the whole hospital opening scene and following village section… too bad it quickly went down the familiar RE route of forgoing survival in favour of action as you got further into the game.
There are just too many people who whine about the low stamina without understanding it. It serves the tense atmosphere in that you are able to do something to get away, so you do it, but you're limited just about enough so you're not overpowered.
And about the cop-argument, I hope these people realize that this isn't the real world, I sure hope the eyeballs on the walls and the overall supernatural stuff should tip them off somehow that this is more of a dream and even there it's a common trope that you run on the spot or through sirup dreams, I think a number of people can recall such accurances.
So it fits both, the gameplay and the setting. So does powering up weapons and everything with brain gel, you are in your own mind, and others, that's the one thing that serves everything, your weapons are imaginary weapons, so calling the thing that runs everything brain gel seems appropriate enough to me...
Evil Within 1 and 2 are amazing! I want a part 3!!
22:03 I love Juli Kidman!❤
Not only is Evil Within 3 not likely, it's confirmed we won't get a sequel.
Ghostwire Tokyo started as TEW3, then development pivoted.
That’s not a confirmation. See, Devil May Cry’s relationship with RE4.
That's not really a definitive answer, that's just the devs deciding the tone and atmosphere works better as a new IP rather then a sequel.
TEW3 could eventually happen. The right people at tango could revive the series, and the little Easter egg in Hifi Rush at least confirms that they haven't forgotten the series exists
I think the reason they removed the fire from evil within 2 is that was keyed to ruvik his trauma and past, his weakness. You could argue the house fire for seb as way in but then it would be a trauma weakness so why would he be using it and not have it used against him. The agony crossbow was tweaked a bit because it was no longer a tool of ruviks. He made the original but over time with seb using it it became a part of him and his power. It’s why it’s less ornate. It’s a tool like any other to him it’s not supposed to look fancy just do the job. I think the flame thrower enemies are their attempt to keep the fire themes that made evil within stand out. From a writing a world building sense it’s consistentcy here that really made the second game a better story for me. Still want that 3rd though
the sudden footage of DSP in your videos always crack me up
With Shinji Mikami leaving Tango Gameworks, the likelihood of getting a 3 is pretty much nonexistent.
Tango Gameworks shut down, so now it's guaranteed to never exist
Love your analysis! Great work
27:25, R.I.P Tango Gameworks:( shame on you microsoft!
As long as it's not with Sebastian this time, I'd love a sequel. Not because I dislike him, but because he got a mostly happy ending. It felt complete. Horror stories rarely get happy endings and it can be nice when they actually do. How much more of the horrible things could he actually go through and still be sane? It'd be stretching it for sure. Joseph or Kidman could work, Sebastian could always play a support role.
Oh my god the DSP lore.
Evil Within always seemed like a hilarious case of "throw every horror trope we can into a blender and assume something scary will happen."
What if a MUMMY covered in CHUCKY DOLLS had sex with YOUR MOM???
Horror & open world don't work. It eliminates all horror from the game. The only legit scary parts in Evil within 2 were the ghost girl parts. That was good atmosphere & eeriness. First one is was more scary & yes i do hope the series continues. No more open world crap though.
Was not expecting to see "the guy". That was a jump-scare worse than anything in Evil Within
Well Evil Within 3 seems even more unlikely now that Shinji Mikami left Bethesda. Guess Microsoft trying to cancel Hi-Fi Rush told him everything he needed to know about working with them.
This is one of those games I wish I get my money back for.
22:32 "Not the most practical footwear seen the circumstances" Minutes later she pins a dude with her heels...nice ;-)
I like to describe this game as the baby of both RE and Silent Hill, not hitting as high as either do at thier own strengths, but decent enough at scratching an itch for either when i dont have a new one of those franchises to play.
Oh your first and second favourite game are *_Resident Evil 4_* and *_Deus Ex_* !
Mine are *_Majora's Mask_* , *_Deus Ex_* , then *_Resident Evil 4_* .
I don't know man, I really liked the opening section.