When comparing The Evil Within 2 vs Dark Souls III, the Slant community recommends The Evil Within 2 for most people. In the question“What are the best single player games on PS4?” The Evil Within 2 is ranked 46th while Dark Souls III is ranked 50th. The most important reason people chose The Evil Within 2 is:
As you explore the nightmarish world of The Evil Within 2, you'll almost never feel safe due to a variety of reasons. First, the disfigured nightmare monsters are very dangerous, so messing up usually equates to your death. Even when you get used to the controls and combat, you can mess up very easily. This uncertainty of success slowly creeps into your mind, being more effective than any jump scare. Second, resources are very scarce, so every shot counts. If you spend too many bullets in one section, you probably won't have enough for the next. If you miss a headshot, the monster will probably get to swing at you. As a result, you might constantly weigh your options, whether to attempt a direct confrontation or go for the riskier stealth kills in an attempt to conserve ammo and health. Third, the world is very open, removing some of the predictability found in linear survival horror games. You never know when or where the monsters will be, causing you to always look in every direction. This uncertainty can be really nerve wracking. The Evil Within 2 is a great example of survival horror done right.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Great feeling of suspense
As you explore the nightmarish world of The Evil Within 2, you'll almost never feel safe due to a variety of reasons.
First, the disfigured nightmare monsters are very dangerous, so messing up usually equates to your death. Even when you get used to the controls and combat, you can mess up very easily. This uncertainty of success slowly creeps into your mind, being more effective than any jump scare.
Second, resources are very scarce, so every shot counts. If you spend too many bullets in one section, you probably won't have enough for the next. If you miss a headshot, the monster will probably get to swing at you. As a result, you might constantly weigh your options, whether to attempt a direct confrontation or go for the riskier stealth kills in an attempt to conserve ammo and health.
Third, the world is very open, removing some of the predictability found in linear survival horror games. You never know when or where the monsters will be, causing you to always look in every direction. This uncertainty can be really nerve wracking.
The Evil Within 2 is a great example of survival horror done right.
Pro Excellent crafting system
As you explore the world you'll find various materials that can be used for crafting ammo and health items. You can either use a crafting table or craft items while you're out in the field at double the cost. This gives the crafting system a fair amount of flexibility and depth, allowing you to quickly craft something in case of an emergency, while also rewarding careful resource management and planning.
Pro Interesting story
The Evil Within 2 at its core is a story about a father looking for his long-lost daughter in a nightmarish artificial world, generated within a computer system. Its inhabitants have succumbed to the negative influences of the world, turning them into monsters, which leaves you to take them out. It's a really good mix of great plot elements, drama, interesting characters with a slight touch of conspiracy. On top of that, the story has a fairly satisfying conclusion without trying to set up for a sequel.
Pro Extensive lore that's presented in unconventional ways
There's tons of lore everywhere for you to discover, but it isn't necessarily told through a conventional story.
Weapons, armor, spells, and items you acquire have descriptions on them that tell you where in the game world they came from, any prominent characters they're associated with, and a bunch of other relevant and interesting information. So when you find examples of the lore scattered around the game, like bosses wearing a style of armor you read about, or an obscure NPC mentioned in a sword's description, you know the history behind the design and their purpose without that boss or character needing to explain anything to you.
Even though the actual story in Dark Souls III is very thin, there's a lot to find under the surface if you're willing to look for it.
Pro Stunning environments
The world of Dark Souls 3 looks amazing, so you may often feel the need to stop and take in the beautiful sights. This can be the sheer size of structures, mountains, or caves. It can also be the decorations, inscriptions, or details in a room. There's always so much to look at, allowing you to truly immerse yourself in its world.
Pro Can give a great feeling of accomplishment
The Dark Souls series is known for its difficulty and Dark Souls 3 is no exception. It's filled with difficult enemies and tough boss battles, able to cause you grief on more than one occasion. However, every time you progress to the next safe spot or defeat a boss you'll often be filled with a mix of joy and relief. Beating this game will almost certainly feel like an achievement.
Pro Unpredictable boss battles
The boss battles in Dark Souls 3 consist of several phases, changing up how the bosses fight over the course of the battle. They will gain new abilities, become more aggressive, or reveal various nasty surprises. This creates an enjoyable experience that is different from most modern games where bosses are just glorified pincushions.
Pro A great variety of equipment for almost any playstyle
You'll be finding new pieces of equipment quite often, giving you many options to choose from. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to pick the equipment that best suits your playstyle.
For example, heavy armor will make you move slower, but you'll be better protected. Greatswords have a wide reach, but you swing them really slow. Conversely a dagger is very fast but it has a horrible reach.
Pro Solid controls
This game feels and plays really well. Your character responds to button inputs immediately and it almost never feels like you're losing control over it. The control scheme can also be customized, giving you the option of a more personalized experience.
Pro Great combat system
Dark Souls 3 is a very fast-paced game but it's not just about having quick reflexes. A lot of the combat comes down to exploiting your enemies. To do that, you have to learn their patterns and attack the moment they pause or perform a telegraphed attack. This creates a combat system, which rewards awareness and patience, and is satisfying to master, even if you don't have extraordinary reflexes.
Cons
Con Might not be that scary for hardened horror fans
While there is a fair share of grotesque imagery and creepy moments, the scare factor isn't that high. You'll encounter the ocasional jump scare, but nothing ever gives you an impending sense of doom, which can be pretty disappointing for horror enthusiasts.
Con Poor support for mouse+keyboard control
The default DS3 key/button bindings actually prevent full use of certain weapons by requiring the shift key to be pressed and not-pressed simultaneously. Rebinding is possible, but limited by issues like the left mouse button overriding all others and certain bindings not actually working in game (e.g. Shift+MiddleClick).
Con It's hard
You should try avoiding the trap of great review scores since most of them fail to mention the difficulty. It's simply put - hard. A lot of the combat requires quick reflexes, good mechanics, and the mental fortitude to carry on after failing for hours. If you're new to the Souls-like genre or simply want to enjoy a relaxing evening playing a video game, you most likely won't enjoy Dark Souls III.
Con Poorly tuned dynamic visiblity
You may notice some texture pop in while sharply turning the camera. It can be somewhat distracting if you notice it, but most of the time you won't because it happens in the distance.
Con Occasional performance issues
There are portions of the game that will have noticeable framerate drops, which can negatively affect the gameplay. Most of the fault lies with the game engine, so getting better hardware won't help that much.