One of the most memorable horror games I had had the pleasure of playing was Outlast, which demonstrated the full potential of the horror genre.
Story
Although there isn’t much to the story in this game and it won’t stick in your mind for years to come, you won’t be bored while playing because there are a variety of minor yet interesting things to experience.
I’m not disappointed that the game was a relatively brief experience because, for the first time, I feel that a brief game like this is just the right amount because, in my opinion, any longer would have me risking becoming slightly bored and uninterested as it builds to the conclusion of the storyline.
Gameplay
The game is definitely scary and will have you shivering but unfortunately, the game fails to hold that for the entire game once you get used to the way this game chooses to scare you it will no longer be as effective. The gameplay is quite well-tuned for a horror game. It has all the functions that allow for good emersion into the horror aspect of the game from dark lighting and an immersive map to good movement like a quick function to turn around whilst running away from a potential enemy.
Performance
I’ve played this game on both a PC and a console, and both platforms had excellent performance. I haven’t encountered any glitches during any of my three playthroughs, and I’ve never experienced stuttering or poor performance. The game’s consistency was strong, enabling enjoyable gameplay with good immersion.
Summary
After a decent amount of hours, I would give this game four out of five stars. it really showed what a horror game should be but unfortunately struggles to hold the scare factor for longer the half the game as the way the game chooses to scare you gets predictable and repetitive.
Red Barrels’ Outlast is now available to purchase on Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, OS X, and Nintendo Switch.
