Texture detail is strikingly realistic most of the time and the lighting effects create a thoroughly spooky atmosphere. Visually Outlast 2 is quite pleasing, making fine use of Unreal Engine 3 (which was a decade old upon this game’s release). The extra space is largely an illusion, and the only reason you’ll ever feel lost is due to the wooden homes and rocky paths giving you a sense of “have I been here before?” Don’t be fooled by the open air, though, as the level design is just as linear. The real negative here is that it seldom reaches the same oppressive and claustrophobic tension this time around. I admit this is entirely incidental, as the high desert with its red sand, cacti, trees, lakes and caverns makes for a wonderfully idyllic setting that contrasts with the rundown asylum of the original Outlast. Which means I feel obligated to draw attention to the fact that the Montreal-based developers seem to have confused the mountainous, forested terrain of northern Arizona with the sprawling cities and flat deserts that make up the state’s central region. To my surprise, the game supposedly takes place in central Arizona – the same region I happen to call home. The gameplay transition between these narratives is silky smooth, but their connection is very thin, almost fighting each other for dominance. In his struggle to rescue Lynn, not only is he assailed by religious cultists, he also suffers hallucinatory nightmares of the time he and his wife both spent in a Catholic school as children. After coming to, his wife missing and the pilot reduced to a corpse strung up in a ritualistic fashion, Blake plunges into the abominable night with nothing but a video camera in hand. This time the tale centers on cameraman Blake Langermann and his journalist wife Lynn, who are investigating circumstances behind the murder of a Jane Doe when their helicopter is struck from the sky by an inexplicable flash of light. Outlast 2 does not pick up the story of the debut installment, which may disappoint those looking for a continuation of that game’s open ending, but personally I think this approach could give the franchise more longevity. ![]() and an all-too-familiar story of religious cults, coupled with a parallel narrative of guilt and psychological horror that lacks genuine surprises, this sequel often feels like developer Red Barrels are just spinning their wheels rather than driving this franchise to new and interesting places. With a few improvements that end up buried beneath frustrating A.I. ![]() Equipped with a video camera and night vision, players are powerless against the threats lurking the dark. ![]() Outlast 2 adamantly follows the formula of its predecessor, a first-person, found footage-style horror game.
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