Outlast Review

After sitting down for three hours I was able to speed through my second run of Outlast. It...lived up to my low expectations I suppose. The biggest issue I have is the numerous jump scares, the crutch which the game uses to beat you over the head. The fear of someone staring at you or chasing you down loses it's effect after the fifth or so time. It feels like the developers didn't know what scary was and instead of letting things build up and let the tension go up and down like a wave (like Soma or Amnesia) the game keeps you on constant edge. The story follows a reporter who gets info that an insane assylum is doing "bad things." I'm paraphrasing, there's a bigger story dealing with nazi technology and nanomachines that haunts the assylum and subjects driven mad by the experimentations. There used to be a game jam, a get together for devs, called Assylum Jam with the intent of posing the story away from the cliche mad patients attacking the player. I'm not sure what games came out of this jam but they must be somewhat more realistic than Outlast. Outlast depends on cliche because it has no real story. The first time I played it, sure, I was scared of the ever-present Walker who stalked me and tried to rip off my head. But after the second time I was used to his patterns and was able to dodge him. I think the drop off point for me was around the third time I "ran" from Walker. I think it's a bad sign when you start looking at the game as a rhythm pattern rather than a horror story. The AI goes one way, you go the opposite. These chase scenes became so monotonous that I groaned whenever the music started playing.  I could almost feel my brain turn off as soon as I was spotted by the AI. I died a few times but that never detered me from completing the game just to say that I've done it twice. I think the other problem is that this game is over six years old and the graphics, while disgusting, look outdated. I know this is the developer's first title and I applaud them for what the small team was able to accomplish, but I have to put my foot down, this game made me feel bad. Not because it's a bad game but because it didn't scare me. Or made me think. There's a few games I've played that had a haunting effect on me that were made with less resources and yet provide more entertainment. I can feel my brain shutting down as I write this but now I'm left wondering if I can stomach the DLC or the second game. I doubt it. I think it's time for a change to the palate.