The player had the dominant role in The Evil Within. Our strategies and performance defined the relationship through the gameplay, deciding each outcome for Sebastian. When Sebastian takes the dominant role in The Evil Within 2, he redefines our relationship through a cutscene — the convention whereby games take control away from us.

That cutscene begins when The Sadist teleports to the elevator. Anima's gambit returns; Sebastian is trapped. He fulfills the archtype when he attacks The Sadist without the player.

Our old response was to escape. With escape impossible, he breaks the player's control and changes a hopeless scenario. He changes escape into a strategy of tactical evasion. He kicks a gurney to distract The Sadist, then blindsides him with a stealth attack. Sebastian avoids injury in order to injure in turn.

The Evil Within 2 breaks the fourth wall to communicate his autonomy. When he refuses the elevator, he refuses a key part of the first game's design. Elevators gave Sebastian a place to stand while new areas loaded in The Evil Within. From Sebastian's perspective, they transported him from one nightmare to another. Here, we see another instance where the first game's design damages Sebastian in the fiction. Sebastian acknowledged their function in passing at the game's end: "If I make it out alive, I'm never riding in an elevator again."

When Sebastian says "Not this time," he states more than his resolve. He will not load The Evil Within's title sequence. He refuses the first game's design.