

The best of them is this games take on Outlast’s Chris Walker, a cultist named Marta. The characters are part of what made the original Outlast so great, and the characters in Outlast 2 are as good if not better in most cases. The issue is, even when you figure this out, the flashbacks carry on assuming you have not, and by the time it shows you what truly happened, it doesn’t feel much like a whammy. You can guess pretty early that Jessica did not actually commit suicide, and you can infer from even the most subtle clues that she was being abused (likely sexually) by staff at the school.

The sequences themselves are terrifying and jarring, but the story within is far less interesting from the main one. The transition between the real world and the flashbacks are very well done, and some happen so seamlessly that it’s disorienting, but in a good way. While you travel, Blake will frequently have invasive visions of his past in a Catholic school, where he is haunted by the memories of his friend Jessica who supposedly hung herself. The side plot however is not as engaging. Part of this is likely because the subject matter allows for more symbolism, but overall the storytelling in the main plot feels much tighter. All of them help piece together the story wonderfully, even after considering that there seem to be fewer notes overall compared to the original. Many are letters written by or to the main characters, delving more into their personality. Many are verses taken from the “Book of Knoth”, describing all manner of outlandish visions Knoth claims to have. These aren’t direct explanations of the plot. As a precaution, the cultists seem to have taken to murdering every newborn child and most older children, fearing any one of them could be the child of Satan.Īs in the original game, you learn more about the cult not only through conversations and set pieces, but from notes you find scattered around. The believers worship Knoth as a prophet of God, and fearfully anticipate the coming of the antichrist. Outlast 2 doesn’t deal in Nazi pseudo-science, so it has more liberty to let its environment and character actions tell the story.Īfter a brief tutorial hike, you come across a “Christian” cult led by Sullivan Knoth.

The original was fairly good at storytelling, but the nature of its story meant it had to do a lot more direct explaining. The progression of the story in Outlast 2 is very well done, and in the main story it never feels like the story is spoon fed to you. Unfortunately, the powers that be crash your helicopter and the two of you separated, leaving you and your surprisingly stable camera to crawl through the cult grounds alone. You are cameraman Blake Langermann, flying over a deserted canyon with your wife Lynn to investigate the apparent murder of a pregnant teenager. Outlast 2 is messed up, and thus many of the descriptions herein may also be messed up. Right down to the horrific imagery made of repressed memories and subconscious anger. In story, Outlast 2 has no relation to its predecessor, but fans of the original will find that it definitely feels like an Outlast game. All the while, you record the horrors you witness and uncover the secrets of the cult, as well as face memories of your past.

Instead of traveling back to Mount Massive Asylum, players are dropped in the middle of a deranged cult village and must traverse churches, mountains, forests, swamps, and mines to find their wife and escape. It was so popular that a sequel was only sensible, and now we have Outlast 2. It made waves among the horror themed Let’s Players of the world, but was also critically acclaimed for its design and characters. Outlast set a new bar for indie and mainstream horror when it came out in 2013.
