One of the few moments of solace I encountered after an intense chase. I like your chances.” But the lack of combat was never difficult to accept as a gaming conceit. There were, admittedly, a few points when I found myself thinking, “Hey, Blake, why don’t you pick up one of those crazy torture saws and use it to defend yourself? These guys are looney and emaciated. Throughout the game, my sense of narrative progression was marred by the knowledge that I was really no better off than I was at the beginning. Outlast 2, much the same as its predecessor, does not fall victim to this. This doesn’t make them bad, but it does alter the core experience.

The result is that these games, while they may still make for stressful playing, aren’t truly frightening to the end. At that point, all the game has left to frighten me are atmospheric effects (sound, lighting, music) and jump scares, both of which I’ve likely also grown desensitized to by then. Rather, I feel empowered and ready to take on whatever the game is going to throw at me. In games like the Dead Space franchise or Resident Evil 7 there comes a point - after I’ve gotten all the best guns or otherwise beefed myself up - when I don’t feel vulnerable anymore. This avoids, especially late in the game, the problem I’ve found other horror games sometimes run into. For terrified Blake, the only option is to run and hide. While cultists attack Blake constantly, hunting for him throughout the game, he is never given a means to fight back. There’s blood and gore aplenty, but chief among Outlast 2’s arsenal of mechanics for disarming players is, well, disarming players. Never once did I feel in control of the situation, as the game goes to great length to keep players on the back foot.

Right from the game’s opening, a feeling of utter powerlessness is at the forefront of the experience. It makes for the scariest video game experience I have ever encountered, and it speaks to the developer’s mastery of its preferred horror delivery system. What they find is a settlement full of Christian cultists with some pretty out-there ideas. The pair has come searching for information about the murder of a pregnant woman in the area. Players take control of Blake Langermann, cameraman and husband to photojournalist Lynn Langermann. Some (spoiler free) background: Outlast 2 takes place in the Arizona desert. In its sequel to the acclaimed original Outlast (2013), developer Red Barrels doubles down on what made that first title so harrowing: an acute and enduring sense of powerlessness. O utlast 2, the most recent addition to the horror family of video games, is a terrifying ride.

Outlast 2 blake