Outlast horror game

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I hadn't even heard of this one.  It looks pretty good.  I think I'll pick it up and give it a whirl.

http://www.giantbomb.com/videos/quick-look-solo-outlast/2300-7895/

[-budd-]

Saw it on steam, it just went off sale yesterday. It was $15.99. It's on my watch list. Love me some good suspense games.

[-budd-]

impressions please if you pick it up. :D

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I'm trying to find out if I can remap the controls to the numpad.  If I can, I'll buy it.  If not, no sale.  Nobody on the Steam forum has answered yet though.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I picked it up.  I haven't played much but it seems good so far.  The graphics are very nice and the aesthetic suitably dark and spooky.  Controls seem good and I like the fact that the game portrays your whole body.  You can see your arms and hands reach out to interact with items and see parts of your body as you manoeuvre around the environment.  I suspect that will come into play with the horror element as you have to reach into dark areas at times to retrieve items or get leverage to open doors and whatnot.

The game seems similar to Amnesia but set in modern day.  I really like the video camera aspect so far.  It looks great and you need to use the camera's IR capability to get around darkened areas.  This drains the batteries which are in short supply so it's a balancing act as to whether or not you try to stumble around in the dark to save battery life or not. 

Some startling "gotcha" type scares so far.  One got me good.  Others were pretty telegraphed.  I'm not sure how much is fully scripted and how much is random but so far, it seems mostly scripted.   There hasn't been a lot of spoken dialogue so far as much of the exposition is revealed via files you find around the asylum and notes your character makes in his reporter's notebook.   Voice acting seems hit or miss so far. 

What little I've seen of the story hasn't exactly been too original yet.  Spooky doin's afoot at the old, abandoned asylum and an evil corporation up to no good but the atmosphere is great so far. 

Looking forward to delving a bit deeper into it tomorrow night once it gets dark.

[Gusington]

Does Outlast involve ghosts?

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Im not sure but not so far.  I'm only about 45min - 1 hour in and it's been deranged and sometimes disfigured people up til now.

[Gusington]

I call that 'my job.'

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Being deranged and deformed?  Does that pay well?

[Gusington]

'Pay' as far as amusement? Some days. 'Pay' as far as cold hard cash? Some days. Remember also I mean I am surrounded by the deranged and deformed...I myself am totally normal.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

OK, I'm further in to the story now.  There is a supernatural element to it but I still haven't discerned exactly what it is.

The gameplay is quite similar to Amnesia in that you have no weapons, everything can kill you, and darkness is your friend.  It does suffer the same flaw as Amnesia in that there is no real penalty for dying so, in my case, the fear is tampered by the knowledge that death is largely consequence free. 

Having said that, there are some legitimate scares and tense moments.  I really like the video cam with night vision dynamic.  It just feels and looks right.  I also really like the way the game goes out of its way to portray your body in a realistic and meaningful way.  From little things like the way your hands hug the wall as you peak around corners to the puzzle type stuff where you can't quite fit through gaps or people can grab your arms as you push doors or grasp ledges.

I'd say the biggest difference between this title and Amnesia apart from the era is the pacing.  Whereas Amnesia was kind of a slow burn that ratcheted up the fear by delaying the spooky and allowing the tension to slowly build, Outlast is more of a roller coaster.  Once the initial exploratory/exposition levels are done, the game hardly lets you catch your breath.  It forces you to constantly be on the move and induces fear by never letting you feel truly safe.

It's pretty fun so far but does have some flaws.  Again, I'd like to see death carry a hefty penalty so you really do fear getting caught.  I'd also like it if there were an option to disable item highlights.  As it plays now, any inventory items that you can pick up flash on screen and it lessens the immersion in my opinion.  I think it would be better if you had to search for them rather than having them instantly highlighted for you.

Finally, much like Amnesia, it could do with less full frontal dick shots.  I don't wanna see dong, even if it's just computer animated.  It' ain't right!

[Gusington]

What?? Dick shots? Did you put that in there just to see if we were paying attention?

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Sadly not.  There are a pair of psychotic brothers who prefer to hunt you down au naturel.  Nothing worse than hiding under a desk, using your video cam's night vision to see if there are any baddies out there and being treated to a fully rendered 3D wang glowing green in the viewscreen.

[Dolan50]

"Sadly not.  There are a pair of psychotic brothers who prefer to hunt you down au naturel."

HaHaHa,
I guess now We know the true horror for this game,if they catch you banjo music starts to play and you get treated to some lovin like in the the movie "The Deliverance".

I always thought that movie was a horror movie and not a love story.LOL
The real penalty isn't in dying it's living with all that shame.

[LongBlade]

Sadly not.  There are a pair of psychotic brothers who prefer to hunt you down au naturel.  Nothing worse than hiding under a desk, using your video cam's night vision to see if there are any baddies out there and being treated to a fully rendered 3D wang glowing green in the viewscreen.

That could be a sig quote right there.