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Outlast |OT|

Gbraga

Member
How are you guys downsampling? Editing the .ini doesn't work for me, even when I save it as read only, and the game only lets me go as far as 2560x1440.
 

wiggleb0t

Banned
Will this game be further difficult with being deaf in one ear? As I can't differentiate between left and right channel as I hear in surround sound naturally.
If I rock headphones and don't do the mono trick the left channel is only heard when I turn the ingame characters right side (right ear works) to the left as in real life to a degree.
 
Just finished it. The ending wasn't great and entirely predictable but not as bad as some people made out.

Overall I really enjoyed it, it was repetitive to say the least but I still had fun the whole way through. Also it's the best looking horror game I've ever seen. Some emvironments are awesome looking
 

JRW

Member
Finished today, Loved it.. Those that say it wasnt scary I'm curious if they're playing it in the right setting, at night with the lights out and volume turned up lol.. I was pretty terrified at times and not just from the occasional jump scares.
 

Gbraga

Member
Just finished it. Pretty good game, not scary at all though, and god what an awful story, before the final part it was just bad, so whatever, but I actually started laughing in the final sequences.

The protagonist is an idiot.
 

FINALBOSS

Banned
So I'm still mad early on...I'm at the point where you need to turn on the 2 gas pumps then turn on the generator...but that fucking guy is RUTHLESS when trying to hunt me and the "stealth" mechanic is so fucking terrible.

I just can't get passed this part because it's so fucking tedious and boring :(

Fingers crossed for Amnesia.
 

Sykotik

Member
Just finished it. Thought it was pretty damn good. Good length, atmosphere and puzzle/map design. Decent ending. Memorable characters and quite a few memorable moments. Fair difficulty and checkpoint system.

The game relies mostly on jump-scares - but, really, what else can they do? I think it's a flaw of the genre, and I can't hold that against the game.
 
As is the case with almost every horror game. Once you learn how the scares work it gets a lot less terrifying. If they don't have a great story to back that up then it all falls apart
...and that's why it falls apart, really. I finished it a few nights ago and after
Trager
the game went off the rails for me story wise. There were still some great sequences like being
outdoors in the storm
which was amazing visually and from an atmosphere perspective along with
losing the camera
.

However once you reunite with the priest and
you reach the lab
it gets so fucking silly and throws away everything that made the first 75% so enjoyable. The finale in particular made me laugh more than anything else and I don't think that was the desired effect. I would have preferred if they kept the supernatural out of it entirely and rooted the conspiracy in more real world stuff (dream therapy, fucked up experimentation, etc.)

Regardless, it's hard NOT recommending the game. For $20 you still get a heckuva a horror game and in a time where survival horror isn't terribly well represented, there's a great deal to love here.
 

Monocle

Member
This thread should have exploded by now. Outlast is probably the best horror game I know of. In terms of atmosphere, sustained tension, and effective scares, nothing beats it. Even Amnesia can't compete with the suspense of inching your way through a new area with your night vision on. And if something starts chasing you, forget it. Raw fear and the instinct to flee take over.

If this game didn't scare you, you were playing under the wrong conditions. Lights out, a big screen, and the sound way up is the only way to experience Outlast.

There are minor issues with confusing late-game environments, iffy platforming controls, the slight letdown of an ending, and the numbing effect of too many predictable chases. None of these problems should give fence sitters the slightest pause about playing this game. It's such a promising start to the next generation of horror. I hope it gets the enormous audience it deserves.
 
All those guys that are right next to you after you get your camera back gave me a good scare, shit

Yep I expected
when I picked up the camera there would be guys right in the view lens. So I let out a sigh then when I turned and saw them I freaked out
Very good scare
 

AkuMifune

Banned
Finished it over the weekend. Great game! As someone who considers REmake the best RE and Dead Space 3 an insult to mankind, a game like Outlast that does so much right in terms of it's environments, atmosphere and tension gives me hope for the future of survival horror. I really like ammo conservation to be a part of that experience, but if we have to go to no fighting completely to move the genre forward I'm fine with that. Just give me some more asylums to explore, please. Though a new game plus option with a shotgun would have been very cathartic. ;)

I kinda liked the turn at the end too
look, it was either going to be a lab or an ancient temple under there, and while I was expecting the temple, I'm fine with the lab. But how could the MC be the new host when his body is dead that was how we just defeated the previous host?
 
Finished today, Loved it.. Those that say it wasnt scary I'm curious if they're playing it in the right setting, at night with the lights out and volume turned up lol.. I was pretty terrified at times and not just from the occasional jump scares.

Yea I wonder this myself, how can you not be scared if you play at night alone with headphones on? Even normal games scare me if i play them like that :p.
 

derFeef

Member
Yea I wonder this myself, how can you not be scared if you play at night alone with headphones on? Even normal games scare me if i play them like that :p.

I play this on my TV at night with headphones, good stuff! I don't know if I want to keep going now though, I think I reached my personal climax 3 hours in or so
my fingers!!!
. Note - I can only play those games like in 30 minute stretches - but I do love them.
 
Yea I wonder this myself, how can you not be scared if you play at night alone with headphones on? Even normal games scare me if i play them like that :p.

Yeah, I've been playing Horror for a long time and I play tonnes of indie horror games and mods so I was pretty desensitised to that stuff and expected Outlast to not really be effective

but it scared the crap out of me at times. The camera is one of the coolest things in any horror game
 

Razorskin

----- ------
I really liked it even with its flaws, a very solid first effort for a new developer. Some nice set pieces near the end.
That father martin scene was something, especially with the naked twins holding the doors for you.
 
Just bought it and it doesn't launch. Go to the forums to try a few things to fix it. Been fiddling with it for like 30 mins ....sigh.... so tired of buying things and it doesn't work for any reason. Can't wait to go back into console gaming. Anyone else having problems launching the game?
 

TentPole

Member
Whatever its problems this is by far the scariest game I have ever played. Got to me worse than any of the Silent Hills, Fatal Frames, Condemneds, Siren, or Frictional Games. I know horror is subjective but for me this one took the cake. The end is still dumb though.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Yea I wonder this myself, how can you not be scared if you play at night alone with headphones on? Even normal games scare me if i play them like that :p.
Once it became clear how the game functions (almost entirely scripted rather than relying on AI), the fear factor kind of disappeared.

Whatever its problems this is by far the scariest game I have ever played. Got to me worse than any of the Silent Hills, Fatal Frames, Condemneds, Siren, or Frictional Games. I know horror is subjective but for me this one took the cake. The end is still dumb though.
It had potential, but it relied too heavily on jump scares and scripted sequences. It rarely spent time building genuine atmosphere. I'd say it's more shocking than scary.
 

derFeef

Member
I'd agree with the shocker statement. I would go as far saying it's the akin to a slasher/gore movie. I disagree about the atmosphere though, it has plenty.
 

TentPole

Member
Its true that once it got going it had very little down time but I think that the fact that it kept the tension cranked is what got to me so bad. I played through it in one long sitting and my nerves where shot by the time I was halfway through. I get why someone would find the constant high bad for the pacing/ atmosphere but for me it was terrifying that I never ever felt safe.
 

Despera

Banned
That section where
you go outside in the rain and search for the shed key, and you could sense the Walrider moving around (and even see a glimpse of him)
was intense. Night vision can look so damn real at times it's nerve wracking.

I've just finished that bit, and will continue playing later tonight. Who made this game? This is not the typical quality we see in the majority of indie titles.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Its true that once it got going it had very little down time but I think that the fact that it kept the tension cranked is what got to me so bad. I played through it in one long sitting and my nerves where shot by the time I was halfway through. I get why someone would find the constant high bad for the pacing/ atmosphere but for me it was terrifying that I never ever felt safe.
That kind of highlights another issue for me, though; the heartbeat system. If you don't hear your heartbeat, there are no enemies present and absolutely no danger. As a result, some sequences which may have been tense were ruined by the fact that it was clear that there would be no danger. :(

That whole scene when you
drop your camera
would have been infinitely more frightening if it wasn't obvious that there was no danger.

Who made this game? This is not the typical quality we see in the majority of indie titles.
A lot of ex-Ubisoft people that worked on Sands of Time, Splinter Cell Conviction, and Assassin's Creed along with Uncharted Drakes Fortune.
 

TentPole

Member
That section where
you go outside in the rain and search for the shed key, and you could sense the Walrider moving around (and even see a glimpse of him)
was intense. Night vision can look so damn real at times it's nerve wracking.

I've just finished that bit, and will continue playing later tonight. Who made this game? This is not the typical quality we see in the majority of indie titles.

Apparently it is a group of former AAA developers from a couple of different large companies but mostly Ubisoft.
 
Once it became clear how the game functions (almost entirely scripted rather than relying on AI), the fear factor kind of disappeared.


It had potential, but it relied too heavily on jump scares and scripted sequences. It rarely spent time building genuine atmosphere. I'd say it's more shocking than scary.



I'd say atmosphere is what it had in spades. It's had great art and sound design. It just felt like a dangerous and crazy place. BUT, once you realize how unthreatening the enemy A.I. really is, it falters. If you needed the enemy A.I. to feel constantly menacing I could see how you would think it had no atmosphere. I really enjoyed it despite its shortcomings.
Yeah, I've been playing Horror for a long time and I play tonnes of indie horror games and mods so I was pretty desensitised to that stuff and expected Outlast to not really be effective

but it scared the crap out of me at times. The camera is one of the coolest things in any horror game
That greenish/white filter does a ton in tricking your eye into overlooking idiosyncrasies and it works really really well. The graphics are fantastic.
 

Zushin

Member
I finished the game last night. Really, really enjoyed it. Thought it was pretty fantastic. It probably wasn't as scary as Amnesia, but I thought the atmosphere was incredible. Hoping A Machine for Pigs is good now.
 
Ive been playing a bit of this but im having a hard time getting into it. I was expecting Amnesia + REC = pant shitting, but like 5 minutes in, when you meet the Priest, it all seemed so shlocky and badly written i was pretty taken aback. He just seemed like your typical videogame villain.
And once the enemies were introduced i was really disappointed. There was no mystery at all, its like YOURE IN AN ASYLUM, NOW YOU GET CHASED AROUND BY NUTCASES WITH STICKS. Amnesia was so terrifying because it never explained or directly showed what was chasing you. This is just like being chased by one of the goons from borderlands around a mental home. That was what made it not scary for me. I played the first hour or so without ever being unsettled, scared or even bothered.
Im not even sure ill finish it now. The idea of going back to it just doesnt interest me. The camera is a great idea, and it looks amazing in motion, but damn, that cheesy writing and shit enemy design is killing it for me.

edit

Ive been pimping this mod since i first played it earlier in the year, but Black Snow for HL2 is a more enjoyable horror game than this. It has better writing (as others pointed out, the notes in outlast read like youtube comments). Black Snow has an abandoned arctic research facility, an un-fightable unseen enemy, puzzles that arent "flip 3 switches", and atmosphere as good as anything in Outlast. Seriously, if youre a horror fan, try it. The ending is shitty tho (like the modders just ran out of time), but its damn good.
http://www.moddb.com/mods/black-snow
 
Finished(5 hours), I can confirm my initial first impressions. This is forgettable game, I didn't feel scare never, just the first 20 minutes, I really don't know how reviewer take scare of it.
It's a product that become a game and not an interactive movie just in a section, the best part of the game. You know probably that I'm talking of the Doctor scene.

Final of the game is simply rubbish. It seems like a teen horror hollywood movie. 'Nuff Said.

Pros: graphic/atmosphere/sound
Cons: Script, documents, interaction, safe zone that make easy to broke this game, final, overall experience.

6/10.
 

Despera

Banned
Finished the game. It was awesome and I highly recommend it.

It relied on jump scares a bit too much and the ending wasn't that satisfactory, but the atmosphere was just mind blowing imo especially with how good the night vision effect is in the game.

I look forward to Red Barrels' next outing, hopefully the Oculus Rift will be out by then.
 

jaaz

Member
The part with
Dr. Trager
was definitely the highlight of the game. It's a shame it went downhill after that.

Agree 100%. Best part of the game and the scariest in a game I didn't really find all that scary. Too bad they didn't realize this and had more characters interacting with you.
 

jaaz

Member
This thread should have exploded by now. Outlast is probably the best horror game I know of. In terms of atmosphere, sustained tension, and effective scares, nothing beats it. Even Amnesia can't compete with the suspense of inching your way through a new area with your night vision on. And if something starts chasing you, forget it. Raw fear and the instinct to flee take over.

If this game didn't scare you, you were playing under the wrong conditions. Lights out, a big screen, and the sound way up is the only way to experience Outlast.

There are minor issues with confusing late-game environments, iffy platforming controls, the slight letdown of an ending, and the numbing effect of too many predictable chases. None of these problems should give fence sitters the slightest pause about playing this game. It's such a promising start to the next generation of horror. I hope it gets the enormous audience it deserves.

Glad you enjoyed it. But some of us are simply not scared by jump scares, particularly when they become predictable as in this game. I played with all of those things you said and only felt a little scared during a particular encounter with a Doctor. Many of us are scared by psychological horror more than jump scares. For example, the environments and "WTF is that" monster of the Silent Hill series and Amnesia I find much more scary. The scarred patients, lumbering patients with sticks jogging around and lumbering monsters looked ridiculous up close and pretty laughable.

You want to really scare me? Combine a good storyline with real world terrying events, with decrepid environment, and with terrifying monster design a la Silent Hill 2 or 3, and now we're talking. After all:

1) Nothing is scarier than real life.
2) What you can't see is almost always scarier than what you can see.
 
Freaks in this game are not scary, you feel almost sorry for their condition. Really guys, I can't imagine why you get scary from this game. I read "best horror I've ever played".
Guys, play more.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Freaks in this game are not scary, you feel almost sorry for their condition. Really guys, I can't imagine why you get scary from this game. I read "best horror I've ever played".
Guys, play more.
I didn't find the game too scary either, but that's just being ignorant. Different people find different things scary.

I play maybe a little too much horror, but I am fortunate I can still be scared. That said, the outside segment in Outlast did scare me. Probably the closet it got to psychological and pretty well done.
 

AkuMifune

Banned
Freaks in this game are not scary, you feel almost sorry for their condition. Really guys, I can't imagine why you get scary from this game. I read "best horror I've ever played".
Guys, play more.

Dude, I've played everything. This is good. You'd have to go back to Silent Hill 3 to find anything close. Maybe Penumbra, but it's dated now. The first Amnesia was OK, but otherwise I haven't enjoyed another horror game in years.

Your criticisms are valid for something like Dead Space 3, but otherwise you just sound like you're trying too hard.
 

derFeef

Member
Freaks in this game are not scary, you feel almost sorry for their condition. Really guys, I can't imagine why you get scary from this game. I read "best horror I've ever played".
Guys, play more.

Ugh.
That's a very ignorant post, people enjoy differen things and horror is very subjective.
 

Jackpot

Banned
tbh my first motivation when seeing the enemies was to try and interact with them. There must be one potential superhero amongst all the crazies.
 

Valravn

Member
After playing tag with some murderous mental patients i really had to stop playing after
i lost my camera and now i have to venture in the dark. Nope.
 

Valravn

Member
Hehe, i dont quit. I take long pauses. ;)

Anyway, im past the
dark. Got my camera back. Met the two naked patients again. One was standing before a door, doing nothing. Very threatening guys.

Edit: And i finished the game. I really liked it. The game relies a bit too much on jumpscares. Walking through dark corridors with night vision is what made this game scary for me.
Now i can start Amnesia! :)
 
I really want this game! But my PC can't handle it... do you guys know when it is supposed to come out on PS4?? :(


Also this game would be AMAZING on Oculus Rift. Have any you guys tried this game with OR?
 
I suppose I should actually put up some impressions since I beat it.

Yesterday I was going to watch Jim Sterling's drunken Let's Play, but after watching the first exploratory area and jump scare, I though, why ruin it for myself when I can experience it for myself? Twenty bucks sounds a bit steep for the length I expected, but eh better value than a brand new bluray, right?

It was pretty decent, a dark, gruesome adventure. The camera is neat, and you're never really in danger of running out of batteries, even if you futilely scan every dark empty corner thrice over.

I appreciate games like this with no combat, where you run and hide from the enemies, but they could have been a bit more aggressive and challenging. Imagine if the enemies were faster, could jump and follow you up climbable areas, and the platforming segments would be mad dashes to get away from a relentless serial killer who is just as versatile as you, instead of just turning around and going back on patrol waiting for the next trigger to follow you to the next area.

Then the art, holy crap, the art. Most talking about environments though, all the characters just have this gross generic eaten face look, but I suppose that's what they were going for. The levels mostly look phenomenal, like an authentic abandoned asylum. I was expecting the worst from the textures, but they actually look decent as long as your eyes aren't glued inches away from a wall. The lighting is what looks great, in the few places that aren't pitch black!

Will admit, the final act kinda sucked tho :/ The story is pretty much SyFy Original material, but I didn't expect much anyway.

Favorite part was the
Dr. Tager section, I couldn't decide if I wanted to puke from disgust or laughter. Seriously, great B-movie moments here with this guy, too bad he didn't last very long.

I really want this game! But my PC can't handle it... do you guys know when it is supposed to come out on PS4?? :(


Also this game would be AMAZING on Oculus Rift. Have any you guys tried this game with OR?

Hmm, my four-year old PC handled it just swell, it doesn't seem to be a very graphically intensive game. Honestly not sure why it can't have a PS3 and X360 version too.
 
I just beat it.

Fun game overall, but I got a little sick of turning valves, hitting switches and looking for keys. The story was also B grade movie nonsense that got even worse at the end of the game. The atmosphere and sound design were top notch and I loved the full body awareness.
Going into sewer and having to slog through the water while in complete darkness was my scariest moment
.
 
So I'm still mad early on...I'm at the point where you need to turn on the 2 gas pumps then turn on the generator...but that fucking guy is RUTHLESS when trying to hunt me and the "stealth" mechanic is so fucking terrible.

I just can't get passed this part because it's so fucking tedious and boring :(

Fingers crossed for Amnesia.
After activating a pump or the level he comes running to your location, so just hide and wait for him to return to the area with the generator.
 
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