Getting Scared Stiff – Outlast Review

Reviewed on the Xbox One.

Red Barrels has released quite the hit with Outlast.  This first person survival horror game was first released to Microsoft Windows in September of 2013.  It was so well received that plans were made to head on over to consoles as well.  It was then released to the Playstation 4 in February 2014 and then, finally, to the Xbox One on June 18.  The price of this game is $19.99 and is well worth the price you pay.

In Outlast you play the part of Miles Upshur, an investigative journalist who receives an anonymous message telling a strange tale about the goings on at Mount Massive Asylum that involve inhumane experiments.  You decide to head on up with your trusty camera to get the scoop for your next article.  What you find there is more than you bargain for.

Once inside you find it very difficult to leave.  It seems as though there were, in fact, some strange experiments that were going on and they did not end well for the staff as the inmates have now seemed to have taken over the asylum.  Beware, every time you think you’re about to get out… they suck you back in.

Video games have delved in to the horror genre on several occasions but have never really done very much to scare people, until now.  I was raised watching some of the best horror out there.  Today’s scary movies don’t really hold a candle to stuff in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.  You can’t just throw a bucket of blood around and call it scary.  Because of this I do find it difficult to find things that will really scare me.  Outlast has done this and more.  Everything comes together perfectly to practically make yourself crap your pants in fear while playing.  Especially if you are sitting in front of a big screen TV with the sound cranked and the lights off, which I recommend while playing.  No matter how long you are able to play in one sitting or how scared you get you’ll find yourself coming back for more, again and again.

BEWARE:  You cannot fight so you will die in this game… several times over.

The controls here are very easy and it has been proven that it is the best way to teach a novice how to use both sticks on a controller at the same time (as was the case with my wife.  lol).  The left stick is for movement and right is to look as is the norm, the right stick is also used to turn on night vision on the camera by pressing in.  From there you use X to interact with objects, A to jump, B to crouch or hide under a bed and Y to change the battery in your camera (beware, you will go through more of these than you think).  Left and right triggers are for peeking around a corner, left bumper is used to run (which you will do a lot of) and right is to use the camera.

The graphics in Outlast are not the best in the world considering you are playing on a next gen console but they are good enough to really get you in the mood.  Some parts of the game are played in pitch black areas where you need to use the night vision on your camera just to get around.  Shadows and other people (tormentors and tormented alike) will jump out at you as you traverse the asylum trying to reach your objectives and then get the hell out.  The lit areas are lit only enough to be able to see… unfortunately what you see is more than enough.  Blood on the floors and walls, people in the middle of strange experiments and eerie, deformed creatures chasing you with only one purpose in mind.  Everything here is designed to drag you in and spit you out.

Any good horror movie buff will tell you that it’s all about the sound.  And Outlast has got that in spades.  Although you don’t have to crank the volume to play this, it helps to really get you in the mood.  There’s just enough music in the game to set that eerie feeling that you need.  From there you get the sounds of screams, chains and murmurs in the background.  Your character’s heart will speed up and get louder as he gets more afraid during the game.  This further adds to the suspenseful feeling that Outlast creates.  The storyline for the NPC characters is also great.  It gets to the point where you don’t really know who to trust anymore.  If you have the chance and don’t really need to run stop and listen to what some of the characters tied to their beds have to say (if they aren’t screaming at the time).  But it’s the ones that are hunting you that you really should listen to.  Because the background sounds have a habit of drowning out the voice-overs I would recommend turning on the subtitles so you can read what they are saying.

Although the graphics aren’t realistic and the voice-overs can get drowned out by the background sounds I do not believe that this is a detraction from the game.  This is one that is definitely well worth the money that you spend to purchase it and I highly recommend it to all horror buffs.  I am rating Outlast with a 10/10.
When you’re done getting freaked out from Outlast don’t forget to get the DLC, Whistleblower also available now.