The Evil Within 2 (2017) (PC) (Tango Gameworks)
0I wasn't expecting much from The Evil Within 2, but its stealth-friendly third-person action combined with addictive Resident Evil-style resource management set in the context of a fairly open-ended game world make for a surprisingly enjoyable experience.
EW2's flimsy narrative framework (Inception-style simulations and brain trickery etc.) allows developer Tango Gameworks to conveniently throw all pretense of realism - or even basic consistency - out the window, but there's still a nice sense of place to the game's blatantly unoriginal setting. Also, scripted events and side quests present themselves more organically and less predictably than in many true open world games; to the point that entering an unassuming-looking building can be enough to trigger a tense mini-boss fight which you were definitely not expecting. And while it's a familiar enough concept, the RPG-lite mechanics do end up strengthening the "immersive sim" elements and give the player a good enough reason to obsessively explore every zombie-infested corner of the map in order to gather supplies. The enemy AI is dumb as hell, but there are still some challenging combat encounters and the stealth takedowns feel really good...