From publisher/developer Red Barrels comes Outlast 2, the successor to 2013's overwhelmingly acclaimed indie survival-horror masterpiece of the same name. Having heard nothing from the developer for the last four years, the announcement of a sequel to the series sparked wild curiosity and sent waves of excitement rippling through the horror gaming community. Although Outlast 2 saw its share of delays, the stunning trailers and mouth-watering demo kept horror connoisseurs ensnared until the final release date eventually rolled around.
You take on the role of cameraman Blake Langermann. At the beginning of the game, Blake is working with his wife Lynn to investigate a trail of clues regarding the murder of an unknown pregnant woman; their pursuit has led them to the Arizona desert. However, soon things take a twisted turn as their helicopter drops from the sky, having been attacked by an unknown assailant, and Blake is separated from Lynn. The remainder of Outlast 2 sees that Blake goes through innumerable hells in order to try and find his lost love, and soon he finds himself thrown into the middle of a chaotic battle between evil and vile. The entirety of the title centers around two primary cult groups, and as such there is a lot of religious and anti-religious imagery to be had. That being said, if those concepts unsettle you, this is not the title for you by any means.
In keeping with what made the first Outlast such a unique success, the camcorder mechanic is back and slightly more refined with the addition of a microphone that can pick up distant audio; a feature that allows you to track enemies from afar. You will still need to feed it tons of batteries throughout the 6-7 hour long campaign, but luckily there are more than enough lying around, at least on normal difficulty. For healing aids you have bandages, which can be very scarce in areas; although ultimately they end up being useless in many instances, as enemies can catch up to you faster than you can use them and as such are best saved for when you're hidden. However, Red Barrel have solved the age-old question of "where does the main character keep their items?" by creating a simple inventory system that allows you to see how many bandages and batteries that you have left... right in the front pockets of Blake's vest.
Much akin to it's predecessor, the core "scare" factors of Outlast 2 stem from two things; chase sequences and stealth scenarios. These two horror foundations occur almost non-stop, leading to the game being crushingly intense, which makes the player appreciate any bit of recovery time, no matter how brief it may be. It also makes this title an incredibly tough one, since the enemies are expertly agile and they seem to be able to find you with relative ease, in most cases. Recently, Red Barrel have introduced a patch to nerf the game's adversity, but not by much, as even on normal difficulty a lot of trial and error is needed to progress in many areas. This is largely due to the fact that your escape route is almost always well hidden, whether it be a cart that you need to move in order to climb up a wall, a well placed crevice, or an obstacle that you need to crouch and crawl underneath.
In all truth, the struggle and hardship one will endure while playing through Outlast 2 may turn many players off from finishing even their first playthrough. While a hearty challenge is greatly appreciated, especially since so many modern horror titles are lacking in this area, much of the game's outstanding atmosphere is lost due to either having to run past everything in a chase scene, or having to bypass exploration opportunities because of the large amount of enemies in some areas. Another major problem that the game suffers from is inconsistency; you never know which foe will decide to attack you, and which one you can simply walk right up to with no reaction. It should also be noted that what would be considered "bosses" can easily one-shot you, sending you back to your last checkpoint.
If you're a gore fanatic, you've truly found your paradise here. This title has it all, from strewn intestines, to severed heads, countless mangled bodies, gutted bovine, puddles of blood, there's no doubt that Outlast 2 is visually gruesome; not to mention the horrendous deaths that will occur right before your very eyes. I don't want to go into too much detail here, since doing so will spoil some parts of the game. Visceral gore aside, the title looks fantastic; the graphics are top-tier, and the optimization is equally as praise worthy. The soundtrack is just as fantastic, and it's another unstoppable force to be reckoned with; whether you're in immediate danger or not, the high-intensity, cinematic quality sounds will continue to blast, ensuring that your heartbeat never falls below 100 BPM.
Outlast 2 is a cult-obsessed, gore-soaked title that is undoubtedly intense, crucifyingly offensive, absurdly challenging, and undeniably terrifying. It should also be recognized as 2017's Horror Game of the Year, and Red Barrel should be exceptionally proud of the monster that they've created. Despite it's minor flaws, which boil down to a few random crashes and an overly difficult campaign, Outlast 2 is an absolute must play for any fan of survival and/or psychological horror, and those that love the sight of blood and guts. Move over Resident Evil 7, there's a new king in town.
Rating: 4.5/5.0 - Excellent, highly worth playing.The Horror Network
Steam Group:
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetworkSteam Curator:
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetwork#curation 4.5