The Outlast series has been a horror classic since the first game's release in September of 2013. Fans of the genre tend to turn back to this series every Halloween when it's time to break out the spooks once again. Outlast 1 & 2 has a proven track record of scaring unsuspecting (or suspecting) players with haunting atmosphere, claustrophobic tendencies, and mentally insane characters that turns the creep factor all the way up.
Outlast is a first-person survival horror game that released in September of 2013 by Red Barrels. It follows the story of a freelance investigative journalist, freely exploring and wanting to address the disturbing rumors surrounding the Mount Massive Asylum. Set in the mysterious mountains of Lake County in Colorado, Miles, armed with nothing but a camcorder and a whole lot of courage, steps inside the condemned asylum in search of answers. Miles gets a little more than he bargained for when he discovers the decrepit remains of various asylum patients called "variants" who have fallen under the hands of Trager, a doctor performing inhumane experiments on the asylum's staff and patients. After the release of the first game, Red Barrels released Whistleblower, a DLC addition to Outlast that follows Waylan, a software engineer that led Miles to the asylum in the first place.
Outlast II released in April of 2017 and became a YouTube staple, even though it was nowhere near Halloween at the time. Taking certain aspects from the first Outlast, Outlast II is set between northern Arizona cornstalks surrounded by a tight-knit religious group that is keen and determined to please its Gods with human sacrifices and unholy rituals. The campaign follows yet another investigative journalist, this time named Blake Langermann, determined to uncover the cult for what it actually is: a murderous group of individuals blindly following a dangerous leader. Langermann follows Miles' example and arms himself with a single camcorder that acts as his eyes and light. With superior hiding abilities and a hunger for information, Langermann embarks on an insane ride, uprooting decaying bodies, journals, and abandoned buildings to understand what exactly has been happening,
Why the Outlast Series has Exceeded Horror Expectations
The Outlast series has continued to astound horror fans and created a new precedent for horror games since the first game released back in 2013. It is not often that a first-person survival game does not allow its players to equip or arm themselves with any kind of weapon at all - creating a feeling of complete helplessness that Outlast nails right off the bat. The entire series isn't weighed down by heavy exposition or detail-heavy backstory, leaving players in the dark a lot of the time, forcing them to ask questions that they may not get answers to.
Everyone who had played the first Outlast game had raised expectations for the second one, and could not wait to see what was going to happen in the world of Outlast. While the scores for Outlast II were almost as good as its predecessor, the game was still able to deliver scares unlike other indie games available at the time. With the game engulfing the player in near-darkness almost one hundred percent of the time, the second Outlast was able to recreate the deafening feeling of not knowing what was lurking in the corner.
Red Barrels is still not done with the Outlast series, and earlier this year gave fans a taste of what was next to come in the series called The Outlast Trials, a new experience in multi-player horror. But before players can get their hands on the next game, the first and second Outlast is a perfect start to the 2020 spooky season that would surely keep players on their toes.