I started playing the Outlast games about a year ago but didn’t really get into them till relatively recently. I am currently playing Outlast and Outlast II concurrently at the moment but I’m going to take a break with Outlast II till I finish this original Outlast playthrough as the gameplay in Outlast just got a little more intense.

The first couple of sections of the game are relatively tame as far as survival horror goes. Searching around creepy environs for keys or other paths forwards, running into insane asylum inmates, and taking pictures and videos’ of various interesting areas you come across. You get to walk, run, jump, crouch, and use your camera in both day and night vision modes. You’ll collect documents and notes along the way which etch out the worldbuilding and give you a back story. An inmate might run after you, jump out at you, or even possibly harm you but at this point it’s still easy to get away from the ails Outlast throws at you, so far. You learn to take note of lockers and hide in them when appropriate and the best defense I found against enemies chasing you is to run like hell till they are out of sight or until the “chase” music goes away.

The tension in Outlast however persists. In many other games after a particularly harrowing section you might get a level or two of “kick back” time to recuperate and get ready for the next tense event or section. Not so with Outlast. Once you’ve just passed what you thought was a “hard as hell” section, what does Outlast do? Does it slow down and give you a break or a minute to catch your breath. Hell no! In fact more likely than not you’ll be thrown into a more intense situation. Did you just pass a section where 1 enemy was relentlessly chasing you to finally outwit him on your fifth try? Not to worry, now there will be an even more intense section with 2 enemies out to eviscerate you (…highly eviscerated people…).

Outlast is definitely a fun game, but it’s not for the tame. And I’m not talking about the creepy environment and inmates in the asylum. You’ll be digging into all of your gaming experience to progress through Outlast and it will be challenging the whole way through.

I use to not be a fan of survival horror games where enemies were relentlessly and mercilessly chasing you as you try to complete whatever parts of the mission the game has in store. Then I played Alien: Isolation. The Alien is tame compared to the onslaught of enemies and mini bosses Outlast throws at you throughout the game. You’ll need to always be aware and alert, plus make sure to have plenty of batteries for your camera as you make your way through Outlast.

Though I have yet to complete the game, I have settled into the stress that is Outlast and now thoroughly enjoy the game. I just completed a section which I thought was a bit stressful but after a few deaths to help the mind map the section I was in, I was finally able to find all the trinkets needed to activate another plot puzzle and progress.

So, if you decided to play Outlast, just remember to bring all your gaming skills with you because you will need them this time!

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