"Outlast 2" Review: Fear comes first

The first "Outlast" was one of the scariest games, if not THE scariest game I've played ever. It introduced a very unique style of horror that mimicked certain horror movies such as "Quarantine" or "The Blair Witch Project". This found footage type horror game adds this immersion that wasn't yet there in other horror games. Add tot that, that it was all set in a dilapidated asylum filled with murdering, sick headed, psychopaths who have it all out for you, it was something I haven't played in any other game at the time.

Now comes "Outlast 2", the sequel to the first one, but I use that term loosely since there isn't really any clear relation to the first one at all. However, the overall premise is still the same. You're a journalist who is going to investigate a mysterious place and suddenly you kidnapped by the residents of that place, and disturbing stuff ensues.

"Outlast 2" sort off fixes everything wrong with the first game. There are less moments where you get chased and have to hide and wait for a long time and instead added more segments of getting chased and finding your way out. I counted I only hid in a locker once in this game. The setting is scarier depending on what scares you and sadistic, religious cults are definitely something that frightens me so that really added a sense of fear to the game. Since the majority of the game is in the woods, paths aren't as linear as in the first one. You can hide in a house if you choose to, or you can just simply speed up and find your way to the next checkpoint. Another potentially frightening setting to the game is the school, which consists of long hallways reminiscent of the first "Outlast". So there is something for someone looking for a taste of "Outlast 1".

The story starts off strong and intriguing but as it progressed it gets kind of convoluted and silly, and the ending, well, let's just say isn't anything to about either. And I think that is why the story is my main problem of this game. They have a great setting for this story but the story ends up being more about shock value rather than actual horror. Yes, there are a lot of shocking, horrific, imagery in this game that is hard to watch but also not very scary and they have a LOT of them. It ends up with characters that you don't really care about, which granted the first Outlast didn't have either.

What "Red Barrels" have excelled at is fear, and there are more than a handful of moments where I screamed because a guy was chasing me, or something popped out of nowhere. There are a number of jump scares but there are also a number of genuine scares that just have to do with fear because you thought you saw something, or a shadow appearing out of nowhere. It is effective and knows just the perfect time to scare you. The game is a little too long though, there are moments where you do feel them dragging it out so if you're playing with friends at night, then it'll be quite a while before you finish.