Outlast

Outlast
Developer(s)	Red Barrels
Publisher(s)	Red Barrels (through Steam)
Writer(s)	JT Petty
Engine	Unreal Engine
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4
Release	Microsoft Windows September 4, 2013 PlayStation 4 Q1 2014
Genre(s)	Survival horror
Mode(s)	Single-player

Outlast is a survival horror video game developed and published by Red Barrels Games, a company founded by people previously involved with video games such as Prince of Persia, Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell and Uncharted. It was released on September 4, 2013 for Microsoft Windows and scheduled for a PlayStation 4 release early 2014.

Gameplay

Outlast is a first-person survival horror game set in an asylum. The main character, Miles Upshur, is incapable of combat, except for certain scripted sequences in which he pushes enemies away. To navigate the environment, the character is able to climb to ledges, vault over low obstacles, crawl, and slide in narrow gaps. Except for vaulting, enemies are incapable of any of these maneuvers, which gives the player a certain edge. In addition, the player can survive encounters with the inmates by hiding inside of lockers or under beds, although certain enemies may search the room and attempt to locate the player for a short time before moving on.

Since much of the asylum is dark, the player must use Miles' video camera to see, thanks to its night vision function. Using night vision consumes batteries, replacements of which are scattered throughout the environment.

When injured, Upshur must avoid taking any further damage for a while, which will allow him to recover.

Plot

Miles Upshur, a freelance journalist, receives a tip-off from an anonymous source about Mount Massive Asylum, a psychiatric hospital owned and operated by the Murkoff corporation. Upon gaining entry to the asylum, he finds the bodies of the asylum's staff strewn about the hallways, and the now escaped inmates, known as "The Variants," roaming the grounds. Progressing through the upper dormitories, he encounters an impaled SWAT officer, who in his dying moments tells the journalist to get out of the asylum while he still can. Exiting the dormitories, Upshur is attacked by a powerful inmate named Chris Walker, who throws him through a window, and down to the atrium. Upon regaining consciousness, he encounters "Father" Martin, an inmate who believes he is a priest. Martin says Upshur was sent by God to be a witness to his cult and has to stay in the asylum, and then departs as Upshur passes out again.

Awakening, Upshur starts his attempt to find a way out of the building, while avoiding attacks from Walker and the other inmates. However, as he attempts to unlock the main doors from security control, he is ambushed and sedated by Martin, who again states that he must remain at the asylum and witness the events there. Martin shows him footage of the asylum's security forces being slaughtered by a mysterious, seemingly supernatural entity known as the Walrider before transporting a now-unconscious Upshur to the asylum's holding cells.

Upshur is forced to work his way upwards through the sewers after encountering a pair of inmates, the Twins, who express a desire to kill and eat him. However, the duo abstain from attacking for the moment, as Martin has asked them not to harm the journalist. Upshur makes his way through the sewers, while avoiding attacks from hostile inmates, finally reaching the asylum's showers.

While attempting to escape through the showers, however, he is attacked yet again by Walker, and escapes through the vents. Progressing further through the building, Upshur is soon chased into a corner by several inmates, but escapes through a dumbwaiter, only to be captured by one of the Asylum's now psychotic doctors, Dr. Rick Trager, who collects body parts of the inmates. Trager imprisons Upshur, strapping him to a wheelchair, and slices off two of his fingers using a large pair of shears. Upshur manages to escape and a chase ensues, followed by a struggle when Upshur pulls Trager into a moving elevator and crushes him between floors.

Encountering Martin again, Upshur exits onto the asylum grounds, but he is chased back inside by the Walrider, revealed to be a ghost-like being which Upshur can only see with the naked eye and while using his camera's night vision. He is forced to circumnavigate the ruined stairway to access different floors of the building by following a trail of blood Martin left for him to follow. Upshur finally locates Martin in the asylum's chapel to witness the latter's death, self-immolation on a crucifix, before taking the now-repaired primary elevator down. Martin tricks Upshur, however, and instead of taking him to the exit, the elevator takes him to an underground military facility beneath the asylum. While searching for an exit, Upshur is attacked and incapacitated by Walker. However, before Walker can kill the journalist, the Walrider attacks and brutally kills the inmate before leaving. Upshur proceeds into the facility and meets Dr. Wernicke (originally believed to be dead), the scientist in charge of the entire experiment known as "Project Walrider".

Wernicke explains that the Walrider is the result of nanotechnology experiments conducted on an inmate called Billy Hope, and that the Walrider is controlled by Hope. Wernicke orders Upshur to find Hope in the laboratory and kill him by shutting off his life support system, thus killing the Walrider. After accomplishing this task, Upshur is caught by the Walrider who brutally beats and possesses him, as only a person who has experienced great physiological pain can sustain it. Limping towards the exit, he is confronted by Wernicke, who is accompanied by several armed guards who repeatedly shoot Upshur. As Upshur collapses to the floor, dying from his wounds, the screen fades to black and Wernicke's voice is heard as he realizes Upshur has become the Walrider's new host. Panicked gunfire, screams and mauling sounds are then heard briefly before the credits roll.

Release

It was released on September 4, 2013 for digital download through Steam, and it will be released in late 2014 for the PlayStation 4.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	79.94%
Metacritic	80/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
Eurogamer	7/10
Game Informer	7.5/10
GameSpot	7/10
IGN	7.8/10
Joystiq	4.5/5
PC Gamer (US)	7.5/10
Metro	7/10
Destructoid	9/10

Outlast was met with mostly positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, as of October 29, 2013, the game holds an 80/100 score based on 57 critic reviews. At GameRankings, it maintains a 79.94% based on 36 critic reviews. It has been received with a number of accolades and awards from E3 2013, including the "Most Likely to Make you Faint" honor, and one of "Best of E3".

The PC gaming website Rock, Paper, Shotgun gave Outlast a very positive review, noting that "Outlast is not an experiment in how games can be scary, it’s an exemplification." Marty Sliva of IGN rated the game with a score of 7.8, praising the horror elements and gameplay while criticizing the environments and character modeling.

Downloadable content

A DLC pack called Outlast: Whistleblower has been announced, which would serve as a prequel to the original game. The new storyline follows the person that, having been in the asylum before the original game, tipped off Upshur about what was happening there.

External links

• Official website