![]() Darkness defines much of the gameplay as Blake has to rely on his camera’s night-vision to properly navigate the environment. The lighting is also impeccable, especially when you’re navigating a wheat-field while evading enemies, their flashlights peeking through the stalks. ![]() It’s nothing revolutionary but it helps vary the gameplay and pacing…"Īnimation-wise, the game is also very, very good – the gait of each villager is distinct, equal amounts foreboding and trance-like. ![]() "Some of the areas are semi-open world, allowing you to take different paths and approach areas in a non-linear fashion. If a particular setting is too fly-infested, Blake will actually wave his hand back and forth, swiping away the insects. Granted, like Resident Evil 7, a lot of that comes via disemboweled bodies, entrails, charred corpses and the sheer slime inhabiting the environment. The texture work is impeccable on PC with ridiculous amounts of detail. While the first game impressed us with its atmosphere and sound design, Outlast 2 ups its production quality to an amazing degree. From there, it’s a hellacious trip but not one that immediately throws angry villagers your way, necessitating tense escapes through various structures (among other things). Heck, the very first “figure” you come across is a tall, slender woman named Marta with a giant pick-axe who makes no qualms about attacking Blake’s genitals. Without spoiling too much, Blake travels to a seemingly closed off village society where the locals are anything but friendly. How is this related to everything? Honestly, it doesn’t take long before the past and present begin to steer Blake down a foreboding future. However, even before the crash, Blake was dreaming about Jessica, a childhood friend of the married couple from school. Blake is separated from his wife and upon discovering the helicopter’s wreckage (not too far from the horribly maimed pilot), he sets out to save her. Unfortunately, a strange flash sends the chopper careening down. Thus the couple hire a helicopter and set out to investigate. Due to the high amount of mercury in her blood, Lynn deduces that she spent plenty of time near industrial equipment in the Supai region. The two encountered a rather curious case – a woman identified as only Jane Doe found murdered in the Sonoran desert. You are Blake Langermann, an investigative journalist and cameraman, who works with Lynn, his wife. Instead of directly following the first game, it takes a completely a different route. Obviously, Outlast 2 has a lot to live up to. "While the first game impressed us with its atmosphere and sound design, Outlast 2 ups its production quality to an amazing degree." Of course, good writing, strong pacing and a variety of disturbing sights didn’t hurt either. The unknown, the prospect of something more malevolent lurking beneath, made for one of the best horror experiences of 2013. It had jump scares, moody environments, horrifying entities and an entire asylum of crazed inmates. Red Barrels’ Outlast was a great example of this before it assaulted your senses will all manner of insanity. Fear of the “unknown” has been a motivator for many contemporary and old-school horror films, with the technique of hinting at malaise proving more effective than outright showing it. Several years ago, I personally identified what were some of the biggest aspects of horror for me.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |