‘You won’t be able to turn Sebastian into an invincible killing machine’
The Evil Within gave protagonist Sebastian Castellanos a handful of different methods to survive. These were mostly tied to the green gel item, as Sebastian could use it to better either himself or his weapons. It was limited but functional. The sequel aims to greatly improve on this.
Bethesda has outlined the upgrade process in The Evil Within 2 and it’s more divergent than its predecessor. Now, Sebastian won’t have to choose between his physical ability and his armaments; they’re two separate categories.
The green gel is back but this time it’s only used to enhance Sebastian. There’s an upgrade tree made up of five different branches, and players will have to decide where to allot the skills. The five areas are: Health, Stealth, Combat, Recovery, and Athleticism.
As for the weapons, Sebastian will have to find parts to make his tools more deadly. When it’s time to upgrade, players will have to choose whether to use the parts on reload time, ammo capacity, damage, etc. Once leaning toward certain weapons, there’s a crafting system to create the type of ammunition that fits the playstyle.
It’s deeper than the first game but it also seems like a couple of standard fare systems. What matters is that limited resources is a hallmark of survival horror. Tailoring your style is good as long as Sebastian still feels relatively underpowered. Bethesda seems to understand this, as it wrote “You won’t be able to turn Sebastian into an invincible killing machine. You can make him hardier, faster, and ‘sneakier’… however, you’ll still need to be smart. You’ll never be safe in Union, but you can be prepared to face whatever awaits you at your own pace.”
The Evil Within 2 — Customizing Your Experience [Bethesda]
