Alan Wake 2 is the horror game of the moment, and it's the right moment, with Halloween just around the corner. This weekend is the perfect time to bundle up with something pumpkin spiced, take a cautious glance left and right for black cats, and then dive into a spooky game.
But if you don't have a rig that can handle Alan Wake 2 or the cash on hand for it, The Evil Within 2 is the perfect runner up—and it's free on the Epic Games Store right now.
When the creator of Resident Evil makes a survival horror game, we pay attention. We liked The Evil Within well enough, but The Evil Within 2 is where the good horror's really at. We gave it an 80% in our review, and I think the love for TEW2 has only grown over time. Like Resident Evil at its best, this survival horror game manages to balance amusing camp and actual scares. "The Evil Within 2 is a modern cult classic, an erratic and strange horror game that deserved far more praise than it received back in 2017," we wrote a couple years later.
The Evil Within 2 differs from its linear predecessor by introducing a somewhat open world structure, with large areas you can freely explore and go on side missions. These areas suit the game's stealth system well, making it feel like a mix of "PS2-era throwback and inventive sequel" as we said in our review. A great Halloween game, then, especially for the low price of free.
The Evil Within 2 is available to grab for free on Epic right now, and will be available until November 2. It's not the only freebie on Epic at the moment, either: puzzle platformer Tandem: A Tale of Shadows is also free to keep for the next few days.
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