Dead Space 2 vs The Evil Within 2
Dead Space 2 is a horror survival game from Visceral Games (2011) while The Evil Within 2 is a horror open-world game from Tango Gameworks (2017).
Quick answer: Dead Space 2 rates higher, 8.2 to 7.9 on the GamingPickz Score, and Dead Space 2 is the cheaper at $19.99.
What each one is
Dead Space 2 is filed under Horror and Survival. In contrast, The Evil Within 2 under Horror and Open-World.
Three years after the Necromorph infestation aboard the USS Ishimura, Isaac Clarke awakens from a coma, confused, disoriented, and on a space station called The Sprawl. Explore this world and its zero-g environments to discover the truth about the Unitology and its role in the Necromorph epidemic.
Detective Sebastian Castellanos has lost everything, including his daughter, Lily. To save her, he must descend into the nightmarish world of STEM. Horrifying threats emerge from every corner, and he must rely on his wits to survive. For his one chance at redemption, the only way out is in.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Setting and characters Dead Space 2 takes place in the year 2511, three years after the events of Dead Space . The action takes place on the Sprawl, a space station built by the Earth Government (EarthGov) in the remains of Saturn 's moon Titan in a period where humanity survived near-extinction due to resource depletion by mining other planets. During the previous game's events on the planet Aegis VII, an artifact called the Red Marker−copied from an… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Dead Space 2 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, while the Xbox 360 version received "universal acclaim", according to review aggregator website Metacritic . Reviews gave general praise to the game for its atmosphere and design, with several critics calling it an improvement over the original. Both Thierry Nguyen of 1Up. (Wikipedia)
Plot
Three years after the events of the first game, Sebastian Castellanos (Marqus Bobesich / Hiroyuki Kinoshita ) has left the Krimson City Police Department, haunted by his experiences at the Beacon Mental Hospital. His only child, Lily (Kiara Gamboa / Sakura Sakai), supposedly perished in their house fire, and his wife Myra (Elizabeth Saydah / Rika Fukami ), unwilling to accept her daughter's death, abandoned him. This, coupled with his trauma, results in… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Critical reception The Evil Within 2 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic . Ray Porreca's score of 7/10 on Destructoid said it was "Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Dead Space 2 | The Evil Within 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.2/10 | 7.9/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (94%, 29,751) | Very Positive (92%, 30,959) |
| Critic aggregate | 87/100 | 80/100 |
| Price | $19.99 | $39.99 |
| Install size | — | 40 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | verified |
| Released | 2011 | 2017 |
| Developer | Visceral Games | Tango Gameworks |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Dead Space 2 vs The Evil Within 2, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Dead Space 2Horror survival gameThe Evil Within 2Horror open-world gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Dead Space 2Horror, Survival Horror, Third-Person ShooterThe Evil Within 2Horror, Survival Horror, Psychological HorrorThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Dead Space 2 ✓Score 8.2 · 94% on Steam · 87 criticThe Evil Within 2Score 7.9 · 92% on Steam · 80 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Dead Space 229,751 reviewsThe Evil Within 230,959 reviews · 40 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Dead Space 2 ✓$19.99The Evil Within 2$39.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Dead Space 2PlayableThe Evil Within 2 ✓VerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Dead Space 2 takes 2 of the marked rounds to 1. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueDead Space 2 and The Evil Within 2 on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Dead Space 2 (GamingPickz Score 8.2)
- The cheaper right now: Dead Space 2 ($19.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: The Evil Within 2 (verified)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
HorrorSurvival HorrorThird-Person ShooterShooterSurvivalThird PersonActionStory Rich
Where they differ
Sci-fiSpaceAliensMultiplayerFuturisticCombat
Psychological HorrorOpen WorldViolentZombiesStealthFirst-Person
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Dead Space 2 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. The Evil Within 2 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Dead Space 2 and 4 for The Evil Within 2. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Dead Space 2 and The Evil Within 2 in scope?
Dead Space 2 has drawn 29,751 Steam reviews. The Evil Within 2 has drawn 30,959 Steam reviews and installs in 40 GB.
Is Dead Space 2 or The Evil Within 2 better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Dead Space 2 rates higher (8.2 to 7.9). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Dead Space 2 or The Evil Within 2?
Dead Space 2 is cheaper right now at $19.99, against $39.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Dead Space 2 or The Evil Within 2?
Dead Space 2 rates higher, 8.2 to 7.9 on the GamingPickz Score, and Dead Space 2 is the cheaper at $19.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.