There is one type of game that has surely been missing on the market for current-gen consoles, and that’s survival horror. Us fans of terror and gore have been needing something to pry us away from the first-person shooter fest that is the current line-up of games, which is why we were beyond excited when it was announced that Outlast would be digitally hitting our Playstation 4 consoles. We were double excited and surprised when we found out that not only would we be getting Outlast on our PS4s, but we would be getting it for free with Playstation Plus.
When Outlast first released for PC, survival horrors fans everywhere were dubbing it as one of the scariest games of all time. Outlast relies on purely your trusty handheld recording device and your legs to sprint away from inmates who are looking to eat your tongue and liver. Without the ability of being able to fight for yourself, all you can do is run, or die. While many survival horror games have gotten used to the idea of using guns and other weapons to make a stand against enemies, this is one of the only horror games in which you are completely defenseless, making Outlast truly unique and absolutely terrifying. Outlast makes sure that your heart is constantly in your throat, and while it does have its issues, it surely lives up to its name as being one of the scariest survival horror games ever created.
Gameplay
Outlast is all about stealth. There is no means of fending for yourself whatsoever. In order to survive the halls of Mount Massive Asylum, you must use your surroundings to your advantage. Lockers and beds will become your best friend, as when you hear an inmate coming or are fleeing in panic from one, you can hide inside of a locker or under a bed and hope that they won’t check there. There were many times in the game where I would hide and just sit in the locker or lay under the bed for minutes at a time, too terrified to leave the mere moments of safety that you feel while playing Outlast.
While the fleeing-in-panic and ducking into cover method of gameplay that Outlast equips is unique and provides us with a true sense of horror, being completely defenseless, there are a few things that we wish would have been included to help aid you against the inmates. There were many times when I would become trapped in a corner by an inmate, and because there is no mechanic to shove the inmate out of the way, I would be beaten to death or have my heart ripped out. This happened on numerous occasions, and is quite frustratingly unrealistic, as anyone trapped in a corner by a brute would push or kick or do something to get him out of the way. I’m not asking for combat in the game, as that would completely change the whole unique aspect that Outlast has, but a means to push an enemy out of the way without doing any damage would have greatly helped.
Outlast also has you use a camcorder as a tool to help get you through Mount Massive Asylum. Recording certain events yields you with Notes that give you insight into the mind of the protagonist and background information on the asylum itself. In addition, the camcorder is extremely helpful in dark areas, as it has night vision. Since the camcorder runs off of batteries, though, you need to constantly scavenge across the asylum and collect as many batteries as possible, as your camcorder is absolutely necessary. There really is no way to get around the dark halls of the asylum without it. If you are making sure to explore, you should not encounter a time when you run out of batteries. As creepy as Mount Massive is, it is crucial that you check every room you pass for batteries. As far as collecting goes, you can also collect Documents, which are generally letters from past Mount Massive inmates or workers, which give you a bit more of story.
Graphics
When it comes to graphics, Outlast doesn’t necessarily look “next-gen”. It simply looks like an end-of-life-cycle PS3 or Xbox 360 game; however, this is far from important as for a large amount of the game you are surrounded by darkness, and the level of fear that that brings is immense. Even with the use of your night-vision camera, just knowing that you are in the dark and the overall essence of your green-tinted surroundings when looking through the camera gives you an overt feeling of insecurity, making you tremor like a child at the thought of what is lurking in the darkness. Overall, it is not the graphical prowess of Outlast that matters, but rather the use of lighting and darkness to evoke sheer terror in you.
Sound
Many survival horror games rely on sound effects to evoke their creepy atmosphere. Whether its ominous-sounding music or loud, sudden crashing sounds to give the player a few jump-scare moments. Outlast, on the other hand, requires zero music to be frightening, and loud sound effects as in other survival horror games are rarely used. In Outlast, the lack of a soundtrack at all is what gives it such a scare factor. With no music, you are purely left to feel your surroundings. Always eerily quiet, the halls of Mount Massive Asylum are lonely, with the only sound you primarily hear being the sound of your own heartbeat. When you do hear noise, it is either the sound of an inmate stomping in your direction, at which point you start to panic and quickly find a place to hide before he finds you; or, the voices of inmates talking to each other (or perhaps themselves) in creepy tones of voice that make you pray that you won’t have to encounter them. The use of sound, or adversely, the omittance of sound, greatly adds to the overwhelming rush of fear that Outlast constantly brings to the table, showing us that we don’t necessarily need terrifying sound effects to make us quiver.
Verdict
Outlast is a terrifyingly fun experience that gave a sense of horror that many survival horror games of the past year haven’t been able to give. As there are no survival horror games on the PlayStation 4 yet, all of you gamers looking for some fright should be sure to download Outlast, especially since it is only $14.99 and free for PlayStation Plus members for a limited time. Download Outlast, but be warned, this game will cause heart palpitations on an excessively uncomfortable level.
