It did take me a lot of deaths and almost giving up but I held on and finally finished it.

tried the entirety of the handgun and the last of my harpoons

So receltly I made a post about evil within 2 after experiencing its first hour: https://www.reddit.com/r/theevilwithin/s/iosF4GgwMQ

Now, I've completed around 10 hours of the game and currently am on chapter 11 so thought I'd post sort of a mid game review.

Right off the bat, the game is amazing! Till now it has met and surpassed all my expectations, the gameplay is tight and responsive and a huge improvement over the first one! Every weapon and items feels like it has a purpose throughout the game and not specifically made for that chapter(looking at you TEW1)

The stealth is hugely improved i felt to a point where I can wipe out an entire horde with it. Once upgraded ofc finally the world is hauntingly beautiful. I never feel safe lol and am prepared for something to jump and kill me haha, I don't remember any game doing semi open world soooo well. It blurs the lines well between main story, side missions and random events which have their own cutscenes and everything it feels amazing and is overall very addictive and fun.

Now, the negatives unfortunately! I don't like the new sebastian....i loved the clueless, idgaf Sebastian from the first game where he just kept quiet and observed. In this one he talks.......a lot. Literally comments on everything to a point where I roll my eyes everytime he speaks, the monster designs so far have been good but felt like 1 had superior and more iconic ones, the overall creepy feel is a bit low in this one compared to the 1st but it's still creepy af(looking at you or not looking at you Anima lol)

Overall, the game is a lot of fun so far and I think i still might have 10 hours or so left before finishing it. I'm taking it really slow exploring everything and I feel it's adding to my experience. I'll post a final review once I fully finish the game. Oh and story is pretty interesting, it's not as complex and mind fucky as the first one but it's interesting nonetheless.

Final nitpick I swear, the first game looked prettier to me graphically, maybe the semi open world needed some graphical compromise or maybe I liked the artistic style of the first game more but yeah. Not saying this one isn't pretty by any means though.