Outlast wasn't scary.

So as a game designed primarily to "scare the hell out of you", it was a failure for me. I absolutely loved the detailed environs, and the great use of visuals and audio to create an intense atmosphere. But that was pretty much it. I went in with my teeth gritted expecting the worst after the handful of reaction videos I saw. But aside from a generic jump scare no better than the dog coming through the window in the first Resident Evil every here and there, I was almost never genuinely scared.

Especially when it became obvious just how stupid the enemy AI is. They just robotically move in a pattern, and when you reach a new section in their area, they move to a new pattern closer to where you are and loop that pattern endlessly instead. They are no smarter than the average robot master from the eight bit Mega Man games. If they see you and you run away, you can hide in the exact same spot they just found you in the last time, and they will not search it again.

Towards the end of the game things take a turn for the weird, almost Crysis style. It becomes very frustrating, repetitive, and drawn out. Ok, I need to do this and this to progress. Oh but now you throw THIS at me too, and then THIS. But you just say "do this" and give me no clue how to do it or where it is and stick something on my tail that never gives up, can't be hidden from, and literally stays on my shadow the entire time.

No spoilers, but I'll just say this. I ran in circles for an hour before finding that damn "failsafe". I did a quick google search, and apparently that was a problem for a lot of people.

Ultimately, all of it's positive traits are rather shallow, the actual gameplay is borderline non-existent, and what is there is simple minded trial and error.

Aren't most games trial and error?

I don't think the game is scary in the sense of "horror". It's more nerve-wracking running around hiding and trying not to get killed. What bothers me most about it is the inability to fight back, if only to "stun" your opponent. What a wuss of a character the protagonist is, going into a condemned psych ward with crazies running around and the only thing you can do to defend yourself is hide under a bed or in a locker? Or run?

The game goes for the realism factor, but realistically if I were in that situation, you'd be damned sure I'd drop the camera, grab for the nearest rebar, and start beating down some dudes with it. At least 'Condemned' gave us that. This pussy crap of running away from every bad situation doesn't sit well with me.

@jasean79: Most games do indeed have trial and error, it's a question of how much and how noticeable it is when I criticize a game for it. I'd say games like Dark Souls and (the classic) Splinter Cell fall into the offensive side of the spectrum. Where it becomes nigh impossible to progress through an area on skill. You must screw up a few times and see the solution from that view, then redo it a few times until you get it right. It ruins replay value of games because the second time around you can play the game practically blindfolded, just going through the paces.

This kind of tense environment combined with some dynamic AI would be a pretty incredible game. But the robot master pattern AI just kind of messes it all up for me. But yes, the character should have been capable of some very basic physical actions against the inmates. Just an ability to do a "shove" action, or to catch enemies in environmental traps would be nice. (like what happened to Dr.Trager, only in real time rather than cutscene)

From the bits I've seen, that sounds about right. Nothing but cheap jump scares and little to no use of atmosphere.

A game that focus on scaring the player not being good sounds about right. The problem is that scaring the player is done by hurting the game play. One way the scare the player is to weaken the main character.

It was an ok experience but not that scary I agree,certainly not anywhere near the standards of the genre´s best efforts,Amnesia TDD and Penumbra Black Plague.

No game is scary , its a game after all and i cant help but get surprised over the reactions from some people and it can only be staged.

Yeah I always thought it looked like cheap ass jump scares, and apparently I'm not wrong.

The problem is that being scared takes a different mind set to the one need to play games.

Jump scares are cheap, but in moderation they are fine. At least early in, Outlast boasts great atmosphere (nods towards the graphics and the audio) though its not going to win any awards for originality.

I haven't gotten too deep in so I'm not in a position to argue with the rest of your points, though they sound reasonable.

I bet you wish Outlast had co-op, don't you ?

Share the Experience, Dilute the dissapointment with a friend.

@Randolph: if it's scares your looking for try an old game I had on the ps2 (if u happen to have a ps2 collecting dust) Project Zero it may not look like much when u google it but I found it genuinely scary and I'm no softy.scariest game I ever played.

Yeah I thought the video's I've seen made it look scary as hell but I had my doubts. Not surprised about the AI but that is unfortunate.

@ariabed: Otherwise known as Fatal Frame. Yep, I'm a big fan of those games. Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly was one of my hands down favorite games of the PS2 generation.

The game was just plain stupid, maybe because I'm in the wrong mindset to get scared by "scary games". Yeah, I jump with jump scares but I also jump if somebody behind me drops something that makes a lot of noise, that's not what "scary" means.

Outlast was too easy, too predictable, dragged on for an hour too long and the ending was meh.

Like the OP said, the "failsafe" was annoying as hell, to a point where I just decided not to sneak and confront the enemy. Run past him, click the appropriate things, outrun him, hide in a closet, let him walk away, rinse and repeat, and guess what? You can do that through the whole game...find a room with 2 or 3 closets/beds/etc, memorise the room, run around as much as you want taking a little care not to get cornered, outrun everything and if you do need to hide, run back to the room and hide in the far locker, they'll only find you 1 time in 10, and even if they do, just run away, lose them and go back to the same room and hide.

The point in Outlast is that you couldn't hurt anything and everything could hurt you, so you have to be very afraid, sneak and hide...except you don't need to sneak and hide; you can just run. So what was the point of that game again? It sure as hell wasn't the story...

Oh god don't start this shit.

I haven't played the game, but I did watch Jesse Cox's play through of it. Although, there is a big difference between watching and playing a game, I didn't find the game all that scary. The doctor scene was pretty cool, but not frightening. Probably not worth a play through in my opinion (I usual watch let's plays to determine if a game is worth my time).

Outlast, like other horror games of late that feature the "realistic", neutered protagonist choice to instilling fear aren't particularly scary and only elicit that reaction from people used to going on massive power trips throughout other games.

Like Amnesia or Slenderman, Outlast boasts an impressive atmosphere that pulls me into the world. Unfortunately, I lose all sense of fear, excitement, and that immersion factor when I realize just how painfully easy it is to survive.

I didn't hate my time spent with Outlast, and I'll probably run through it again on the PS4 just cuz, but these type of games really need improved AI and a bit more of a challenge in order to become scary. Or, at the very least, not boring by the time you're in the final act.

I miss the old Resident Evil/Silent Hill type games where ammo was scarce but you could still fight. It was way more intense to battle a giant snake with only a handful of shotgun shells than hiding under a bed for the 50th time, doing nothing but waiting for the monster to walk by.

Here's hoping The Evil Within delivers.

I got the new Playstation Gold Wireless Headset with 7.1 surround sound home last night, downloaded the companion app, applied the horror audio mode, and replayed a bit of Outlast.

Holy mother of spinach I was wrong about it not being scary. I wasn't even hearing it before. This is a whole new world. I'm off Friday, and I'm gonna replay Outlast, take a renewed spin on Tomb Raider and Resogun, and go through some KZ Shadowfall. I have got to start taking sound equipment seriously.

Even on scenes where I know what's coming, hearing it that way makes it fresh, new, and it sends a jolt through my whole body every time. Brilliant stuff. Still a shame about the boring enemy AI, but wow. This magnifies the already intense atmosphere times ten.

Even that very first jump scare at the start of the game, Christ, I think a little bit of pee came out that time!