Can we all appreciate the fact that SH2 doesn't have any cheap scares? (Appreciation post)
Whenever I am scared by this game, it feels well earned. I dont like jump scares but these games actually have in universe jump scares that make sense or adds to the atmosphere. The random audio bursts, the random whispers, the creepy atmosphere. All of the scares are earned.
An example of a cheap scare are like overusing jump scares or unnecessarily playing to phobias. A big one for me is arachnophobia. I will always contend in RE4 that there is no reason for their to be a spider plaga outside of a cheap anxiety attack. You can remove it from the game or make it a different monster and it will take nothing away.
In SH2, All of the enemies, all of the jump scares, and all of the atmospheric effects are all well earned.