Outlast is a single player horror game, that truly redefined the standard for the horror genre of video games in this generation. With outstanding graphics and yet horrendous gorey and foul scenes that will leave a scar in your memory,(In a good way.) Red Barrels (The designers of the production.) showed a brilliant story line in Outlast and also managed to create a awe inspiring environment that filled the game with a essence of fear, not to mention the enemies each had their own unique features, along with each bit of detail the characters have. In the game Outlast, the player takes the role of an investigative reporter named Miles Upshur an ambitious reporter who goes where none of his peers would dare to enter, The Mount Massive Asylum, to discover the insidious secret within. Red Barrels did not decide to wait long for the scares to come, In fact the first jump scare is within the first five minutes of gameplay, when a corpse hanging from the ceiling falls in front of the player as he/she opens the door, But the game doesn’t rely on only jump scares and that is the beauty of Outlast. It mixes the jump scares in with pure adrenaline rush of fleeing from psychopaths and hiding in order to sneak past them. There is no solace for the player in Outlast, there is no rebelling against the madness, Red Barrels stated this in the beginning of the game. “You are not a fighter; to navigate the horrors of Mount Massive Asylum and expose the truth, your only choices are to run, hide, or die.” Which sets this apart from some horror games where players are given a gun and that seems to take away from the fear of the production. The only equipment the players have in outlast is a camcorder, (With a night vision setting on it.) and a notepad. The camcorder is the only useful item players have and without it, the player is surely going to be brutally killed, the camcorder helps navigate the player through dark areas and illuminate good hiding spots when the player is in need of one due to impending psychopathic pursuers; The notebook is merely something for Miles Upshur to record is thoughts during the ordeal, If the player views the notebook they would see he has a bit of dark humour when writing about the situation.

The cons of the game would be minor relating to the pro’s, First con is the horrid battery life on the camera. The player could be running from Chris Walker(A main antagonist) and randomly your battery goes out on the camera, leaving you blind in the darkness. Another con (But this one is more in a personal opinion.) I felt as though the campaign was too short, but it was still great in detail and plot line, but I feel as though they could have stretched the ending out a bit longer. The final con, The ending was horrid, and for anyone who is reading and has not played Outlast yet please take your eyes away from the page for this is a spoiler. The ending is so horrendous, due to the fact there is no reason for it. (I will explain) You are given an assignment by Rudolf Wernicke to kill Billy Hope, the Walriders Previous host, Miles Upshur takes quite the beating in the process but he manages to do so, but upon returning to Wernicke he is confronted by Security Forces (Alongside Wernicke I must add.) and the player is shot down. (Well not just shot once, Red Barrel decided for Miles Upshur to be overkilled, He was shot at least ten to fifteen times.) Then the game went black and went straight to the credits, leaving the player in complete befuddlement, wondering what the just happened and why?
Aside from those minor cons Outlast is an amazing game, and all connoisseurs of the horror genre should try it, I would not recommend it to the weak of stomach or heart, Due to the vulgar scenes containing Internal organs, Decapitation, Detachment of limbs, Psychological horror, Vulgar language, Multiple jump scares, Nudity, and Minor Necrophiliac scenes. All and all Red Barrels did an amazing job producing this game, and personally as a player I hope they continue with games just like this.