Outlast: anyone played yet?

lilrayray69

Senior member
Apr 4, 2013
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Outlast came out today, was just wondering if anyone here has played it

It looks pretty neat, though I prefer FPS survival horror, not just the run/hide type but still it looks good. Reviews haven't been all that great from what I've seen, roughly 6/7 out of 10. Heard it's ~4 hours long, not sure if it's worth the $20
 

HeXen

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2009
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I got it for like $16. Downloading it now. Looks like it will be a panic type of game, I suspected it would be short, I mean how long can you really drag such a game out but hopefully it's difficult enough to offer a challenge that could make it longer.Hopefully it's not too heavily scripted in that one could sneak around without being chased but I doubt.

I like the concept and find it realistic in the sense that running and hiding is what most of us would do in that situation if we had no weapons.
....waits for tommy toughnuts to say he would just MMA their asses and walk out of there.....
 

WiseUp216

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Mar 12, 2012
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Pre-ordered it but probably won't be able to play it until tomorrow night.

Everything thing that I've read says "Short, but very good".
 

HeXen

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2009
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Actually I think I'll just wait until a nice dark and stormy night to play this one. I can see from the vids that the personal experience of the game could be easily ruined if played without being in the right mood. Like what happened to me when I first played Doom 3...on a sunny day, after work while in a "meh" mood, just ruined the whole game for me after that.
 

WiseUp216

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Mar 12, 2012
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Just played a little bit...

First impressions: Stunning graphics. I didn't expect much in this department based on the Youtube videos I have seen. Really surprised at how good it looks. It has killer sound effects to match. Very, very spooky feeling. I'm digging it a lot.
 

lilrayray69

Senior member
Apr 4, 2013
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Yeah the graphics are quite good. I guess I should use my headphones to really hear the great sound that everyone says it has.

It's cool I just don't like games where I don't have a weapon, I always wanna go in and blast the things away it's too scary without a weapon and just having to run and hide.
 

thm1223

Senior member
Jun 24, 2011
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I played a little bit of it (like 20-30 minutes), got freaked out twice, and stopped playing. Will definitely pick it up during the intermittent times when I have the courage to open it!
 

Dankk

Diamond Member
Jul 7, 2008
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This game is terrifying as fuck. I know the "dilapidated, run-down asylum" setting is kinda cliche and overused, but I'll be damned if it isn't effective. They really pulled all the stops on this one. The graphics are great, the sound is extremely well-done, and they leveraged every single possible opportunity to make you mess your pants.

It's really polished to boot. You can tell this game was made by some experienced developers.
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,145
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picked this up. The game looks great. though every time i turn it gets fuzzy.

the setting is scary as shit though. i played for a while then had to turn it off. NO GUNS!? ahhhh!
 

Dankk

Diamond Member
Jul 7, 2008
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Can someone compare it to Amnesia for me?

It's kind of a dumbed-down/streamlined imitation of Amnesia. Which I guess doesn't sound very flattering... in reality, it's still very good. It doesn't require you to think as carefully as Amnesia, the puzzles aren't as difficult, and it relies a bit more heavily on big scares instead of genuine, slow-burning horror.

If you're a fan of Amnesia, or if you're a fan of horror games - or if you're a fan of any kind of horror at all - you should definitely play Outlast. They took the Amnesia formula and tweaked it a little to appeal more to mainstream audiences, and that's not a bad thing. I welcome any horror games similar to Amnesia and this is a serious contender.
 

lilrayray69

Senior member
Apr 4, 2013
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Yeah I think it's more fun than Amnesia. Personally I'm not a huge fan of puzzles and whatnot, I just want a horror game. That's pretty much what Outlast is
 

HeXen

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2009
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I didn't care for the puzzle stuff in Amnesia and the graphics were poor. Excited to play this one but I know how I am with some games if I'm not in the right mood, so it'll have to wait.
 

coloumb

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Played for about 15-20 minutes. On par with Amnesia as far as scare factor goes [if you let yourself be immersed in the game].

Alas - I didn't make it in time to hide in a cabinet as some big as thug chased me down and pulled out my intestines... :(
 

lilrayray69

Senior member
Apr 4, 2013
501
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The sound in this game IS very good! I love the details in all the small things, from the wood creaking, sound of walking on metal, walking in pools of blood (and how you track bloody footprints), how when you get near a wall vent you can actually hear it. The way the building seems to creek and moan like an old building does, in addition to the maniacs moving around in it. I also like how there's not much in the way of music to mask any of that, and how if you listen closely you can sometimes hear the storm and wind going on outside. You can hear phones off the hook as you get near them, the drone of computers, everything. It's very impressive

Too bad I can't bring myself to play the game with any decent level of volume though! I find it's really the sounds that scare me, because everything will go from so quiet to *BOOM* scary sequence.

I did find a few problems, mainly in accidentally messing with the games mechanics. Like when I saw the first bad guy, I guess he didn't see me so I just kinda kept staring at him and followed him around for a while. I then found out that some enemies can hit you a number of times and you'll survive. I also followed them as they left to see where they go.

Still, it's a really neat game
 

Dankk

Diamond Member
Jul 7, 2008
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Ok, rant time. I trudged through Outlast far enough to finish it the other night and I feel like I've taken up way too many issues with the game for me to enjoy it. I need a place to vent.

On Steam, the game's synopsis begins by saying, "Hell is an experiment you can't survive in Outlast." In this case, it's an experiment of head-sagging repetition and boredom. That's the only way I can describe it. There is no main appeal, no core mechanic, no real hook of this game that manages to remain interesting for more than an hour. To be more succinct - I believe they titled the game "Outlast" as a shorthand way of saying, "This game will outlast any real desire or curiosity you have to actually finish the damn thing."

It absolutely drags in the second half. The overarching objective of the game is to "Find the Exit". You slip into the role of an independent journalist who's bitten off more than he can chew, and now you need to backtrack and find your way out. Simple, no? Yeah... of course it's not. Soon, the game begins to persistently cocktease you and prevent you from actually exiting the asylum. Every time you think you're approaching the finish line, the game goes "NOPE", some scripted event happens, your path is diverted, and you are forced into another hour of mind-numbing gameplay and puzzles that are so egregiously thoughtless and uninspired that it's almost offensive.

In most other games, having extended playtime isn't a bad thing. But this game is artificially inflated as fuck. And that's saying a lot for an 8-hour game. (I used to value games based on how long they are, but nowadays I prefer quality over quantity. Outlast, unfortunately, favors quantity while being nearly devoid of quality, gameplay wise.) They could have condensed the game into four hours and made it more directionally coherent and satisfying; short and sweet. But they didn't.

It absolutely blows my mind that the game's designers could not think of any objectives more interesting than "Find the key", "Push these buttons", "Flip this lever", "Turn the two valves", "Ride the elevator", etc, etc. Come on, guys, you can do better than that! Make the game's objectives tie into the story! Make my actions more interesting, varied, and contextual! By the time I reached the third instance of the game asking me to "find the valves and turn them off", I groaned in frustration. I'm not exaggerating either - there were literally three different instances of me having to turn water valves in order to proceed. Not only were the game's objectives completely dull, they were recycled as well. It felt like I was part of the prison staff doing chores.

There is some credit due however: Technically, the game is incredibly polished and detailed. The game uses a 64-bit executable, which is a very intelligent, forward-thinking move for a PC game. The entirety of the game's content can be loaded into RAM this way, and thus there are no loading times to break immersion. Very smart. The graphics are excellent. The textures, geometry, lighting, and animations are all top-notch. The sound design is nailed with precision. The general atmosphere and environment around me were so well-constructed and convincing, that it was obviously created by some very talented people.

It's like they've created the shell for a good horror game, and then neglected to actually make a good game.

Such a shame too, because it starts out so promising. The beginning of the game sets the mood so well. It's dark, you pull into the driveway in your truck, the radio playing quietly, you step outside, there's this huge building looming before you, and you feel like you're in for something great. But it only goes downhill from there. Once you've played the first hour, you've seen 99% of what the game has to offer. It's nothing but hamfisted stealth gameplay, recycled puzzles, and generic enemies chasing after you for the rest of the game.

They could have at least tried throwing some different enemies at you. But my ideas for improvement are futile at this point. There's so many things they "could have" done to make the game more engaging. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. The grizzled-looking, deformed, hulking cadavers threatening you are scary the first time, but become trivial the next twelve times. Like the game says, "Did this guy not scare you the last three times? Too bad, here he is again!". One of the game's mini-bosses (for lack of a better term) makes an appearance on multiple occassions, and the first time you see him, you exclaim, "Holy shit, what the fuck is that?" and then the next three times you see him, you go "oh, look, it's the fat guy again. Great."

Soon after, you realize the enemy AI is ridiculously braindead, and they won't see you unless you're sprinting past them, or you're waving your hands in front of their face.

Then the game's entire illusion of threat collapses in on itself when you realize none of the enemies can even outrun you. Nothing can even match your pace. When I got frustrated trying to be sneaky, I decided it would be faster and less aggravating to simply run around in circles with enemies chasing me, all while trying to figure out whatever nonsense task the game wanted me to do next. If one of the enemies pokes you, no big deal; it takes multiple hits for you to die, and you have regenerative health. Suddenly the game isn't so scary. There was a point where I got so tired and frustrated that I simply began sprinting through entire levels. Finally, I put on some Weird Al Yankovic in the background to alleviate any more cheap jump scares the game would try to throw at me. (Outlast sure does love it's jump scares).

Overall I'm really disappointed. Red Barrels had the foundation for something great. They just failed to build upon it.

At least I can say I've beat it now. I would not recommend this unless you're a diehard horror fan who absolutely needs something new to play. Feels good to get that off my chest.

I just started playing the new Amnesia game, and despite not oozing with nitty-gritty run-down atmosphere like the asylum in Outlast, Amnesia still feels far more refreshing and creative. I really don't intend to start an Amnesia vs. Outlast argument here... believe me, I really wanted to like Outlast. But the more I played it, the more I hated it. Had to be said.
 
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Baasha

Golden Member
Jan 4, 2010
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There is some credit due however: Technically, the game is incredibly polished and detailed. The game uses a 64-bit executable, which is a very intelligent, forward-thinking move for a PC game. The entirety of the game's content can be loaded into RAM this way, and thus there are no loading times to break immersion. Very smart. The graphics are excellent. The textures, geometry, lighting, and animations are all top-notch. The sound design is nailed with precision. The general atmosphere and environment around me were so well-constructed and convincing, that it was obviously created by some very talented people.


Then the game's entire illusion of threat collapses in on itself when you realize none of the enemies can even outrun you. Nothing can even match your pace. When I got frustrated trying to be sneaky, I decided it would be faster and less aggravating to simply run around in circles with enemies chasing me, all while trying to figure out whatever nonsense task the game wanted me to do next. If one of the enemies pokes you, no big deal; it takes multiple hits for you to die, and you have regenerative health. Suddenly the game isn't so scary. There was a point where I got so tired and frustrated that I simply began sprinting through entire levels. Finally, I put on some Weird Al Yankovic in the background to alleviate any more cheap jump scares the game would try to throw at me. (Outlast sure does love it's jump scares).

Overall I'm really disappointed. Red Barrels had the foundation for something great. They just failed to build upon it.

Very well stated.

Most of the points you made are spot on.

I just finished the game the other day (night LOL) and one thing I'd add is that the ending is absolutely TERRIBLE! You go through all that for THAT?!

Anyway, the graphics, lighting, and sound were simply superb - I was scared out of my wits a few times during the game (especially with the fatman in the sewers when you're waist-deep in ... sewage. That music when he's around is also terrifying.

You also have to lure some enemies (the doctor) and just run in circles and get to your objectives - scary at first (since you think you have to hide and be tactful, but once you realize they can't catch you, you just run for it. LOL...).

I enjoyed the game a lot (not really into horror games) but I don't think I'll play it ever again. One hit wonder?
 
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WiseUp216

Platinum Member
Mar 12, 2012
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I'm around 5 hours into the game and coming to almost the same conclusion.

Atmosphere is second to none but the game play feels kind of superficial after you get a little more comfortable with the environment.
 

coloumb

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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I believe I was on Ch8 [I looked at a walk through as I couldn't figure out how the hell to progress] and ended up quitting/deleting the game shortly thereafter. The "scariness" factor started to turn into "thisistooannoying" factor.