History YMMV / TheEvilWithin2

** By the same token, [[spoiler:after dealing with what an egotistical and manipulative prick he is, seeing Theodore tremble when Sebastian defeats his illusions will definitely inspire a smile or two from players. On top of that, Mya coming in and stabbing him ''twice'' helps a lot as well]].

* FoeYay: Sebastian's interactions with Stefano have this. Stefano chooses to leave Sebastian alive on multiple occasions rather than kill him like his other victims ''especially'' when he has the opportunity to do so, says that he should be offended that Sebastian is looking for Lily instead of him, and says that Sebastian is now his art.

* ThatOneSidequest: The [[spoiler:Anima]] sidequest isn't ''too'' difficult but requires relying entirely on stealth in tightly spaced areas and solving puzzles in order to escape. Not to mention, when we say entirely on stealth, we mean it since it's an instant death if it notices you and you're unable to kill or even hurt it. Many players go through it once to snag the bonus items, and then avoid it in all subsequent playthroughs.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Various diaries and residual memories throughout the game imply that [[spoiler:Anima]] is the one turning Union citizens into the Lost, and apparently it was doing this even before Lily vanished. Unfortunately, the game never goes in-depth on this and [[spoiler:Anima]] itself is regulated as a PlotIrrelevantVillain.

** Harbingers are the absolute worst. They have absolutely [[DamageSponge massive health]], have ridiculous range and damage output with their flamethrowers and take at least '''three''' Stealth Attacks to kill. However, it’s nigh impossible to sneak up on them, as they constantly jog around the area and flail their bodies around wildly as they spray the area with their flamethrowers. [[TheAllSeeingAi 9 times out of 10, they will notice Sebastian behind them; even if he avoids their gaze and makes no sound whatsoever]]. Dealing with them becomes a little easier if you know that when going for a stealth attack, you only need to get with a few meters away before sprinting towards them tapping the stealth attack button.

* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: Compared to the first game, the sequel's plot isn't considered as strong by some people due to lessening the complexity, making the tone slightly more LighterAndSofter, and deemphasizing the [[SurrealHorror surrealism]]. However, the sequel makes up for it improving on a lot of the gameplay flaws from the original, such as lowering the overall difficulty and adding a few extra features like the skills mechanic.

* SequelDifficultyDrop: Survival, the game's "Normal" mode, is easier than the original game's normal mode. Inverted with Nightmare, which is actually [[SequelDifficultySpike harder than the original game's hard mode.]]

** [[spoiler:Myra]] is not very easy either (though fitting considering she's the final boss). While her attacks are fairly easy to dodge, it's undermined by the fact that she moves pretty quickly, takes a lot of ammo to kill, and said attacks pack quite a punch. She also occasionally releases a group of spider-like creatures to attack you, which are frustrating when trying to avoid[=/=]kill them while battling.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Part of the game's divisiveness comes from the fact that neither Joseph or Ruvik appear at all throughout the game, leaving their ambiguous fates from the previous game even ''more'' ambiguous. [[spoiler:That being said, Ruvik is mentioned several times through the game and, if you can find all the photo slides scattered throughout the game, Kidman reveals that Joseph is indeed still alive, but she never really reveals anything else beyond that.]] Maybe they're [[SequelHook witholding that info for a possible sequel]].
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Various diaries and residual memories throughout the game imply that [[spoiler:Anima]] is the one turning Union citizens into the Lost, and apparently it was doing this even before Lily vanished. Despite this, however, the game never goes in-depth on this and [[spoiler:Anima]] itself is regulated as a PlotIrrelevantVillain.

* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: Compared to the first game, the sequel's plot isn't considered as strong by some people due to lessening the SurrealHorror and the slightly more LighterAndSofter tone. However, the sequel makes up for it improving on a lot of the gameplay flaws from the original, such as lowering the overall difficulty, in addition to adding a few extra features such as skills and better hiding spots.

* ThatOneSidequest: The [[spoiler:Anima]] sidequest isn't ''too'' difficult but requires relying entirely on stealth in tightly spaced areas and solving puzzles in order to escape. Not to mention, when we say entirely on stealth, we mean it since it's an instant death if it notices you and you're unable to hurt or kill it. Many players go through it once to snag the bonus items, and then avoid it in all subsequent playthroughs.

** The sequel tones down the high difficulty that plagued the previous game. Checkpoints are much more frequent, stealth is made easier thanks to new upgrades and the addition of bushes that conceal you, and you're now allowed to restore your health in safe houses via coffee brewers (although they take a while to refill).

* ContestedSequel: The changes made to Sebastian's personality and design, the overall atmosphere having less of an emphasis on SurrealHorror, the forefront presence of Mobius, and the absence of fan-favorite Joseph have gotten mixed reactions from a lot of gamers. That being said, the gameplay itself is considered to be an improvement over the first one, the OpenWorldSandbox elements have been heavily praised, and the strong level design have won the game a lot of fans.

* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: The plot of the game isn't considered as strong as the first by some people, but makes up for it by having generally better gameplay.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: While opinions of the writing and plot are debatable, and it's not like the original game was considered bad, the gameplay has gotten a lot of praise for fixing nearly every problem with the first and building upon the parts that were better received.

** One trick that you'd probably never think of is to climb a ladder... and just stay there. Any enemies that have spotted you won't be able to get you while you're on a ladder (preferably several steps above them), and will eventually just go away after a certain amount of time. This is especially useful in chapter 4 when you gotta deal with a horde of enemies in a tightly spaced area in the Marrow.

** The sequel seems to have toned down the difficulty that plagued the previous game. CheckpointStarvation is not much of an issue anymore, stealth is made easier thanks to new upgrades and the addition of bushes that conceal you, and you're now allowed to restore your health in safe houses via coffee brewers (although they take a while to refill).

* ContestedSequel: The changes made to Sebastian's personality and design, the overall atmosphere having less of an emphasis on SurrealHorror, the forefront presence of Mobius, and the absence of fan-favorite Joseph have gotten mixed reactions from a lot of gamers. That being said, the gameplay itself is considered to be an improvement over the first one.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Stealth in this game is a must, especially at higher difficulties. Even the powerful Lament and Harbinger can be taken down with enough sneak attacks without wasting a single bullet. As demonstrated by LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}}, taking pure stealth at the beginning of the game is totally viable. Plus, the amount of bullets you save can be used to kill anything you can't kill by sneak attacking them. The game even tries to encourage you to take other skills by having Tatiana, the nurse, discourage you from putting all your points in one category, but going full stealth, taking Bullet Cascade, and the {{Determinator}} "Grit and Bare it" skills and you won't need much else.

* PanderingToTheBase: Upon finding out that players enabled first-person via console commands, when it was just a gimmick for Chapter 4, the devs made it an option you could toggle in the 1.04 update. [[TropesAreNotBad Because why should home console players, who can't enable such commands, be barred from accessing such a cool feature?]]

** Laments, hulking [[EliteZombie Elite Zombies]] that unleash ear-piercing screams that will cause every nearby Lost to sprint towards Sebastian and drain his stamina bar instantly. They take two Stealth Attacks to put down, [[ZombiePukeAttack can launch gobs of acid with huge coverage and surprising accuracy]] and have a OneHitKill grab that cannot be broken out of without the Bottle Break skill. Made even more difficult by their high perception, meaning that making Stealth Attacks or sneaking by is all the more harder.

** The first game mentions Sebastian's backstory, including Lily's death and the disappearance of his wife, but only through files, which led some to believe that TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot by never actually exploring any of it. This game explores his backstory in much more depth.

** The ragdoll physics on dead Lost enemies don't even ''try'' to look realistic, resulting in lots of humorous floppy poses and twisted limbs, especially when killing one that was playing possum.

* MoralEventHorizon: Stephano's "Crimson Period" piece is a clear example. He kidnaps 2 dozen people, dresses them in white suits, and blows up their heads with bombs and freezes the corpses in time. Mind you, these people were hooded, awake, and perhaps very aware of what was about to happen to them. This is the point where Sebastian finally has more than enough with the guy and makes killing him almost as high a priority as saving his daughter.

** Sebastian is always carrying his default pistol in cutscenes, which wouldn't be a problem if the game didn't [[MisaimedRealism re-equip the basic handgun for you every time that happens]], forcing you to remember to manually switch back to whichever handgun you normally prefer once the scene ends.

* ScrappyMechanic: The fact that your stamina drains ''quicker'' when you've been spotted by enemies is not very helpful whatsoever (especially in early parts of the game where you'll very likely be running a lot and on "Classic Mode" where you can't even upgrade your stamina).
** Notice that you ''do'' in fact run much faster when you've been spotted, explaining the quicker stamina drain.

* CounterpartComparison: In his run through with this game, LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}} noted how Sebastian's situation was quite similar to Isaac Clarke's in the ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' series; both are ordinary men who were shoved headfirst into a fight for survival against horrific monstrosities in their first games, and in their second games, they had a better understanding of their situations and knew how to better fight back against these creatures, while at the same time dealing with emotional trauma, with Isaac suffering Marker-induced insanity while coming to terms about his dead girlfriend and Sebastian seeking to forgive himself for not saving Lily.
** Also Sebastian is very comparable to Ethan Thomas from the [[VideoGame/CondemnedCriminalOrigins Condemned]] series. Like Ethan, Sebastian is fired from the force after the first game and delves deeper into the conspiracy behind the strange goings on of their world. Also, like Sebastian and Isaac, Ethan is a pro by the second game and very much suffering from PTSD.

** The sequel seems to have toned down the difficulty that plagued the previous game. CheckpointStarvation is not much of an issue anymore, stealth is made easier thanks to new upgrades and bushes that can conceal you, and you're now allowed to restore your health in safe houses via coffee brewers (although they take a while to refill).

** The Hysterics, a Lost variant that resembles scraggly old women with knives. They're a lot faster and tougher than normal Lost, requiring two Stealth Attacks to put down and eating a lot of ammo otherwise. The worst thing about them? They're immune to the cover provided by Smoke Bolts, meaning you can't use those to escape or more easily ambush them. Fortunately, they stop showing up fairly early into the game and, for the most part, they move pretty slowly-- though they can sprint much faster than you when sufficiently agitated.