4 out of 5 stars

Outlast’s horrific survival game keeps players on their toes as they make their way through an insane asylum with deranged mental patients lurking around every corner. Red Barrel Studios were the developers for Outlast and their first game they ever developed. It’s considered to be one of the best horror games out there, but Outlast does have some issues.

From beginning to end, Outlast’s graphics and audio are one of the best in a horror game. From the intensified lighting to terrifying audio, they both work together to keep the player on the edge throughout the gameplay experience.

The lighting in Outlast is very dark to give the player a terrifying vibe. When traveling around, all the player has is a camera with night vision to see because the majority of the asylum is bathed in darkness. The player will be looking through the bright green lens while navigating the asylum, which adds to the tension of the game.

The audio in Outlast makes it hard to navigate through the asylum. While opening doors to explore the asylum, it can be difficult at times open these doors because the doors make a creaking sound and might cause a mental patient to come after the player.

Other details like hearing footsteps or mental patients talking to themselves also add to the tension because the player knows that the patients are near them, but don’t know where the enemy is at due to the light being so dark.

Character models in Outlast are not bad, but it’s definitely not good. When going through rooms in Outlast, most of the insane patients look creepy from a distance. When the player looks at the patients up close, the patients don’t really look that creepy.

For the most part, the gameplay keeps players on the edge of their sets. The player will be playing as an investigative journalist, Miles Upshur. Miles goes through an insane asylum to do a report on the psychiatric institution. Outlast forces players to play strategically by sneaking around enemies, using the camera’s battery life wisely, and knowing their surroundings.

Throughout the journey, Miles Upshur is completely defenseless. So players cannot attack any enemies, but players can only run and hide. Since players are defenseless, this makes the gameplay more terrifying and difficult, but this also makes the gameplay repetitive after awhile.

The gameplay only gets repetitive when players constantly have to run and hide or die. Some of the areas of the insane asylum will take some patience because players will die a decent amount. After dying several times, players will be able to memorize the areas in the asylum and the routes the enemies will walk, which is sad because of how enormous the asylum is and the number of deranged patients there is.

Overall, Outlast character models are not that good and the gameplay might get repetitive, but Outlast is still one of the best horror games on the market right now. This game is recommended if you’re looking for a game that builds tension and jumpscares.