![]() In fact, it’s kind of interesting that between this Canadian production and the Japanese Resident Evil 7, the two biggest horror releases in years have been sequels that abandon their established settings in favour of a “rednecks hunt outsiders” story. Not that the importance of the initial premise should be downplayed. Instead, through increasingly blurred transitions and unspoken parallels and symbolism, players are forced to ask which event the game is actually about, both for them and for the protagonist. You see, the two halves never directly connect as you’d think. ![]() They provide an unnerving contrast during the plot’s first half and assemble a provocative and disturbing climax during the second. Shifts to these relatively still and pristine classrooms and hallways are a crucial piece of the game’s presentation. The primary setting, where journalist couple Blake and Lynn Langermann have crash-landed in an Arizona village of violent cultists houses most of the fear of being murdered, while occasional flashbacks to an incident at the pair’s old Catholic school contain most of the uncertain dread. Except in this case, the original’s brand of horror has been preserved and amplified with the addition of a psychological component.Īt first, these two elements are confined to designated locations in the plot. That kind of situation is still present, but the unfair design has been cleaned up significantly, creating a more streamlined, sophisticated experience akin to Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs relative to The Dark Descent. It also had a terrible habit of dropping the player in a small area with a puzzle and a homicidal psychopath, expecting them to solve one while avoiding the other, often repeatedly. It simply didn’t have a selling point beyond its iconic night vision aesthetic and unspeakable horror. Both games now share the distinction of being the only titles to make me legitimately jump in fright (usually I just inhale sharply and recoil from the screen), and while that alone doesn’t make Outlast 2 a great game, it certainly warrants a recommendation for horror fans.Įven ignoring the straight-faced cliché of it all, the first game was still noticeably flawed. They’re so relentlessly crass and horrific, predatory of some of the easiest universal fears, that they should just roll off my back as unintentional parody. You know that sort of award bait where a loveable (usually non-human) character dies in a naked attempt to pull on the audience’s heartstrings? And you know how cynical viewers usually dismiss it as cheap psychological manipulation, but occasionally a work will emerge that’s so well-formed that it manages to evoke powerful emotions regardless? The Outlast games are basically that phenomenon taken to the darkest possible extreme. ![]()
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