This review has information not just about the game, but also surrounding it.
Outlast is a first-person survival horror video game developed and published by Red Barrels. In Outlast you play as an investigative reporter, Miles Upshur, who is heading to ‘Mount Massive Asylum for the Criminally Insane’ to discover and expose it’s secrets after receiving an anonymous tip that strange things have been happening in the asylum. Right after entering the asylum Miles he sees blood and dead bodies everywhere and realizes that this place is much more messed up than he had thought. From here on you have to try to escape the asylum and get some information on your camcorder. There are other characters in the game as well, like the doctor who had started all the experimenting, and the strongest and biggest patient. But for most of the game you are facing less significant ‘monsters.’ There are a few cut scenes where you encounter the more significant characters which helps the story move forward. Now one might think that the story is basically similar to every other horror game there is. But as you will find out later in this review, it is exactly the opposite. It can be considered as a new chapter in the adventure horror genre.
A little bit of history on the game: The developers had to go through a lot of rejections and waiting to even start working on their game. Since Red Barrels was a new company at the time they came up with Outlast, they had trouble getting money and people. But they persisted and finally, on a limited budget, made Outlast. Outlast was released on September 4, 2013 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 on February 4, 2014 and for Xbox One on June 18th, 2014. A direct prequel and finale to the game, Outlast: Whistleblower, was released on May 6th, 2014 for PS4 and PC, and on June 19th, 2014 for Xbox One. Following the game's overall success, the developers started working on its sequel, Outlast 2 which was released on April 25, 2017 (Outlast Wiki ). Around the release of the first ‘Outlast,’ the genre of indie horror games blew up and games like Slender: The Eight Pages, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Five Nights At Freddy’s came to exist(kidzworld). They had similar mechanics in the way that they had minimal combat, dark and eerie atmosphere. But Outlast had a unique story at that time, at least in the gaming industry. The use of sound and visual plus the horrifying story made outlast stand out.
Like most games these days, Outlast can be put under a few genres. Some of these genres are more broad than others and some could be unique to this game. One of the main broad genres outlast could be considered part of is the genre of horror. Many other games that I’ve played have failed to create the right atmosphere, which ruins the gameplay. But not this game. The developers got the looks and the music on point. According to David Stubbs and D.C. McAllister, in their article, “Six Elements That Make For A Quality Survival Horror Game”, the six elements that make a good horror game are: Disempowerment, Isolation, Tension, Uncertainty, Lingering fear, and an imperfect, relatable protagonist. Outlast does a good job of including all those elements in it’s gamaplay. The game truly scares you. All the violence and gore adds to the horror.
All the aspects of the game: rules, design, perspective, all contribute to make this game one of the scariest. The look of the game makes it very clear that this is a survival horror game. Most of the time, you are in a dark room and you have to use the night vision in your camcorder to see. The darkness itself adds a massive fear factor; the uncertainty whether there’s someone in the darkness or not is naturally engraved in our brains and the game uses it very well. The night vision definitely helps in the darkness, but the dark green view through the camcorder is so unnatural and unsettling; it can be scary if you see a monster through it. Almost everywhere you go there’s blood and dead bodies. A dead body alone is enough to scare you but when that ‘dead body’ starts to run after you; you really jump of your seat. Outlast makes great use of sound to create the atmosphere they want to. Every action such as driving or walking has a very specific and clear sound; it really makes you feel like you are actually there. There are a lot of jump scares in this game, but not any fake ones, where they build up the music but nothing happens at the climax. The pace of the music changes according to what is happening in the game; and a lot of times it helps you figure out whether to run or not.
Outlast is played by a variety of people across the globe. Since the game was made in Canada, it was mostly marketed in the west. The game is rated ‘M,’ which means that only ages 17+ can play this game. But I’m sure quite a few young teenagers also contribute to the demographic of this game. In Outlast, the player has to go through a lot of violence without attacking their opponent. In my personal opinion, this could be influenced from the fact that a lot of governments around the world are worried about video games influencing kids to be more violent; but in this game violence is only inflicted on the player, not by the player. Successfully hiding and escaping is rewarded while getting angry and trying to hit the monster is punishable by death.
I don’t think that the game is really trying to teach us a real life lesson at anytime; but,if we really look for it, the game has a political background story. The whole story of the game is based on how there is a asylum in the mountains of Colorado that is being run in secrecy by a big transnational corporation. There are many examples of such events in real life where big organizations or corporations stay in secrecy from the public in order to keep benefiting from their possibly illegal activities. I’m also taking a sociology class this quarter and I have learned a few things about transnational corporations. These big corporations almost always work for profit. They are willing to exploit anyone if they get the opportunity. There is a possibility that if you play this game, you will be aware about transnational corporations. Similarly, I don’t think that the game has much risk involved. But, again, if we really look for it,the only risk I can think of that this game can impose is the level of caution and fear in one’s daily life. If someone works at an asylum or any old building for that matter, and they are affected by this game; it might affect their job performance. It could also affect if the player is willing to go out at night; this might affect the player’s social status. Although, I’m just speculating and these things are not very likely, they are possible.
Overall Outlast is a very beautiful game in the sense that it achieves the atmosphere and emotion that it’s plot and intentions suggest. It can be seen why the developers needed a big amount of money for this game. This game completely immerses you into its world and doesn’t allow you to rest easy. It was a revelation for the horror genre in gaming and it will be remembered as one of the scariest games ever.