Outlast II Reviews
Despite a sluggish start, Outlast 2 from Red Barrels is a solid horror gaming experience with shocking imagery, a compelling story, and scares galore.
Outlast 2 has all the makings of a good horror game: alarming visuals, intense situations, menacing antagonists, and an overwhelming feeling of powerlessness. Though I would have liked the world of Temple Gate to be developed more beyond Knoth's Gospel, I loved every minute of my playthrough.
The fact that it's not as breathtaking as its predecessor shouldn't really stop horror fans from picking up this creepy run-and-hide simulator.
Outlast II significantly ups the ante in the production values stakes, but its biggest sin is relying a little too heavily on trial and error in the gameplay department. There's an unsettling story here that wanders into some quite shocking territory, but the writing doesn't always sing from the same hymn sheet, and some murderous moments are delivered a little too frantically for the fiction to fully marinate. Despite that, there's more than enough good on offer here to tempt you back to church. Pull up a pew and prepare for a psychological onslaught.
Dripping with Christian lore and barrels worth of red blood, Outlast II is a gruesome horror experience that never lets up.
In comparison with the first game, Outlast 2 is a huge leap forward with a lot of advantages, such as the deep atmosphere, great graphics, sound, violence and an intuitive plot development.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Everything, in Outlast II, is better than the previous chapter: the story is more deep and articulate, the levels are bigger, the enemies smarter... Well, most of all, it's even scarier. Strap in, it will be one hell of a ride.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Controversially written and unflinchingly scary, Outlast 2 is a remarkable game that solidifies itself and its franchise as one of the greats in the genre. Although it gets slowed down by infrequent issues with AI and sequences that will feel familiar to series veterans, the end result is an atmospheric, dread-inducing, and contentiously biting narrative horror. Even more, above all of those attributes it needed to be terrifying, and holy hell is it terrifying.
I've never played a game that made me cringe and squirm as much as Outlast 2. Outlast 2 builds the type of tension and fear that I haven't experienced in a game for a very long time. If you enjoy horror, Outlast 2 will definitely leave an impression on you. Outlast 2 doesn't necessarily change the formula established in the first game but improves on the formula as best it can.
Without redefining the foundations of the original, Outlast 2 weaves an intriguing tale- paced expertly through environments that breed a sense of tension and paranoia only the best in the genre can muster.
Outlast 2 features audio that is constantly slithering up your spine and teasing you with a fright that may or may not pop out at any moment.
Outlast 2 is visually beautiful, tense and boasts a grotesque but intriguing story. Unfortunately, the overabundance of atrocious chase sequences completely destroy any and all tension and fun the game has going for it.
The Switch version of Outlast 2 is not too different from the PC and console versions released last year, and that's surely something, even if some compromises have been made. Content wise, the game offers a new Story mode and not much else. At the end of the day, Outlast 2 is still a must-have for every survival horror fan out there.
Review in Italian | Read full review
If you loved Outlast for its story and the fact that it stripped away any sense of viable defense, then there's something special waiting for you. The story really does sing. But if you were hoping for something a bit more fresh and different in a genre that has started to become one-note, then you may be disappointed by what Outlast 2 has to offer.
Some gameplay improvements and a slight shift in style have turned Outlast 2 into one of the most terrifying games ever made.
If the number one thing you want from a game is a good scare, Outlast 2 is a big success. If you're looking for deep gameplay or replay value though, you'll have to look elsewhere.
Outlast 2 is an intense adventure that will keep you up for many sleepless nights. Red Barrels knows how to keep players on their toes. The game's heavily-scripted scenarios can annoy if you don't get the mechanic at play immediately, and are thus forced to repeat a section multiple times, but generally the formula continues to work in Outlast 2. This is survival horror at its most base level, where you are a mostly defenseless layperson caught up in a horrifying ordeal, who would feel lucky just to escape with your life. The wait was indeed worth it, and Outlast 2 should be on the must-play list of horror fans everywhere.
Outlast 2 is a true improvement on its predecessor, with Red Barrel Studio planting its flag to claim the standard for horror games in 2017. From the beautifully horrific environments, the ambitious ideas to the sheer unsettling nature, it's disturbing in the ways you'll want from it. It makes this title truly interesting, even affecting. While it's aggressive in its assault on the player, perhaps to the point of becoming tiring, on the whole the game is very, very good. This is especially true of the exquisite second half of the game that sings to a developer in tune with its vision. Outlast 2 serves up an expertly crafted horror experience that will likely find itself burrowing into you even after your time in the Sonoran desert has come to an end.
No game is better than Outlast 2 at making you feel helpless, alone and terrified.