Thursday, February 20, 2014

Review: Outlast for PS4

Title: Outlast
Format: Digital Download via PlayStation Network (4.3 GB)
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: Red Barrels                                                                                                       
Developer: Red Barrels
Original MSRP: $19.99
ESRB Rating: M
Note: Outlast is also available on Steam for $19.99. The PS4 version was used for this review

Outlast – Bring Some Underwear

Gameplay: Outlast is a game that was produced by Red Barrels, a team well versed in game development. The group members have worked on Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia, Uncharted 3, Army of Two, and many other respectable AAA games over the past fifteen years, and frankly, it shows in a great way. Outlast is a first-person survival-horror game in which you have no weapons and can’t fight. However, you do have a video camera with night vision, and the ability to maneuver around fairly well. Your goal is simple: survive.

Outlast opens up with a quiet drive down what looks like an abandoned road, and into what appears to be an abandoned insane asylum. Although it’s a classic trope, the setting feels right. The player soon finds out that they will be playing as Miles Upshur, an investigative reporter, who has been sent to Mount Massive Asylum to figure out what has been going on. After an anonymous tip was given to him regarding strange happenings at the asylum, Miles takes it upon himself to figure out the mystery. Speaking of tropes, the front door is locked, another way must be found inside, and most of the power has been turned off. Now, it’s up to Miles to figure out the mystery behind the asylum.

You didn’t think it’d be easy, did you? Apparently, there are three warring groups within the asylum: Father Martin, a religious nut who is trying to be bigger than God, Dr. Richard Trager, who makes Deadpool look sane, and the main boss of the game, who I won’t explain for spoiler reasons.

Gameplay is fairly basic. You really only have seven commands: jump, walk, run, use your camera, hide, pick up item, and crouch. Jumping isn’t always as fluid as you would hope. In the later levels, it becomes a critical element to the game, and it’s frustrating when there’s clearly enough room for you to jump between you and a monster, and the game says: “Nah, I’m not gonna let you do that. Sorry bro.” When the jumping mechanics do work, the game turns into Mirrors Edge with a haunted house vibe. For a reporter, you sure are athletic. I complain, but the open areas and jumping mechanics work really well when the game says you’re going to need them. Running around is smooth, the opening door animation is fluid, and a strong sense of accomplishment is had when you successfully outrun a monster and scramble into an air duct.

Visuals: As you would expect from a horror game, there’s a lot of darkness to be found. As soon as you walk up to the asylum, you’re greeted with a strong feeling that a lot of care was put into the design of this asylum. Rooms are laid out correctly, almost everything loads in real time (save for a few important locations), and the shadowing effects are really quite impressive. The place looks haunted.

Like all haunted mental asylums, the place is dark. To counteract this, your video camera has night vision. In order to keep it going, you need batteries which are fairly easy to find. Night vision and the dark add a couple clever tricks into your arsenal when hiding from monsters. 


The game’s environments really do portray a sense of helplessness and fear when you’re exploring the asylum. Dark corners, mangled body parts and hideous monsters are par for the game and Outlast does a fantastic job at making you think twice about what may be around the next corner.

Audio: Many of the NPCs have clever lines of dialogue that add to the dismal atmosphere. Although, don’t expect much in the way of Skyrim-like dialogue trees. Most characters, aside from the main ones, have fewer than two or three lines of dialogue. Although creepy, the phrase: “it’s not safe” (and several variants on it) were said fairly often. I do understand that these characters have been through a lot and that the trauma was, from what I learned through character interactions, horrible, a few extra lines would have helped with the immersion process.

Aside from that, the main characters’ voice actors do a fantastic job at providing an exceptionally eerie vibe, fitting well with the setting the designers are trying to create. Madness, desperation, and insanity are all executed perfectly by the main voice actors. The background music also adds to the dread by not being too overpowering, unless you are caught in conflict with the monsters. After being spotted, the “battle music” starts, and a Metal Gear-like escape sequence starts where you have to lie low until the monsters resume their path. You can usually place where they are coming from with character monologues, rattling chains, and by how loud/intense the music is.


Online/Multiplayer: There’s no online multiplayer, however you can stream your gameplay to UStream or Twitch and broadcast to other people via the PS4

Conclusion: Outlast, as a horror game, is a nice change of pace. There’s a lot of depth to the game, areas to explore, and back story that can be added through case notes and files scattered through the game. There’s a constant feeling of despair to be had and the controls are fairly tight. However, the game has little to no replay value. Once you run through the game once, you’re not going to see too much new content. There is some DLC slated for the future, but it seems like it will be more of the same. It is free for PS+ members through February, so you may as well pick it up.  If you’re in the mood for a good scare that may or may not give you nightmares, Outlast is your game.

Final Score: 7.0/10

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Next Week - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies for Nintendo 3DS

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