the_batman
Banned
good god, i noped the hell out of the first encounter. the combination of the sound, the pitch blackness and no idea where to go freaked me out.
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Outlast 2 |OT| The Holy Trinity
- Thread starter Dusk Golem
- Start date
TranceKuja
Member
It's odd how this is definitely a bigger game but definitely not a better one than the first. I beat it and adored the atmosphere, liked that there were many different kinds of areas, but I was never actually scared. Mostly because of those nonsense one hit kills all the time.
I feel like in the first game you could really play strategically, go from cover to cover. I NEVER hid under/in something in this game, because enemies almost always spawn right in front of you. JUMP SCARE MUSIC! Now run! But not this way! Oops you died because we didn't signpost properly where you were supposed to go, which sucks when the areas are more open than they were in the first game.
Very frustrating and the plot didn't do much for me in the end either. Blah.
I feel like in the first game you could really play strategically, go from cover to cover. I NEVER hid under/in something in this game, because enemies almost always spawn right in front of you. JUMP SCARE MUSIC! Now run! But not this way! Oops you died because we didn't signpost properly where you were supposed to go, which sucks when the areas are more open than they were in the first game.
Very frustrating and the plot didn't do much for me in the end either. Blah.
AuthenticM
Member
I'm so in.
Well these are basically all of the things that I didn't want in the game. When they said it was more open, my instant thought is "That's not going to be good for the type of gameplay it has". Flailing around in unknown directions to escape and not knowing if that works or not does not sound fun.
Even the open sections are linear. Often, you'll walk up a narrow hill or between two fences, etc. while searching for a puzzle item, only to trigger the appearance of an enemy that simply wasn't just "patrolling" the area regardless of your actions. (This is repeatable) Without knowing that the enemy will be there beforehand, you're looking at a 99% guaranteed death.
Which is more or less the design philosophy of the entire game. There are parts where you're "expected" to use your microphone to detect whether an enemy is possibly behind a door, but these tend to occur when you're being chased, so. Run. Open doors in hopes of one being where the game wants you to go very matter-of-factly, only to be killed (usually in a single hit).
Repeating the same stretches of time turns seconds into minutes, ramping your frustration. You can only climb platforms the game wants you to climb, even if "looks" like you should be able to use them. The school is just you triggering certain things to trigger other certain things, and later on, the trial-and-error instant deaths from the main game become the norm in those too. Circling the same hallways is...
And do you enjoy balancing on narrow walkways where a tiny slip of the analog stick will cause you to fall? Later ones have you being chased by enemies that can kill you while you're tight-roping along.
The story is bad. Not memorable. The visuals are edgy for the sake of shock value, but there's zero substance to any of it. You can probably guess the main plot points after the first hour or so. When you pick up a note, why can't you just press a button like in other games to get the clean text version immediately, as opposed to having to replay it via your camera? It's an extra step that feels backward. Oh, and the QTE's. Forced waggling of the analog stick to break free should not be a thing at this point.
Playing the original Outlast a few months ago, I had reasonable expectations going in. Ignoring the impressive graphics (which are negated by you running and being in night vision mode most of the time), there's almost nothing redeeming about the gameplay. Outlast 2 is an experience that seems as if it was intended to be released 5-10 years ago.
Finished 2nd run, and i gotta say without the copious amounts of cheap deaths this game would have been awesome. Its still good, but at times it gets so fucking cheap its disturbing in its own right. I cant stress how much it takes away from the experience at times. Fun and frustration dont mix like oil and water, its so backwards design wise. A good balance is needed.
I couldn't get enough of that trippy ghost stuff in the school sections, the stuff you could see in the corner of your eyes and when you turned around quickly, mind fuckery stuff like that is what should've being going on throughout the entire game, rather than insta deaths mechanic to artificially extend the games time ?, i dont understand why else they'd put so much of it in there.
I couldn't get enough of that trippy ghost stuff in the school sections, the stuff you could see in the corner of your eyes and when you turned around quickly, mind fuckery stuff like that is what should've being going on throughout the entire game, rather than insta deaths mechanic to artificially extend the games time ?, i dont understand why else they'd put so much of it in there.
Messofanego
Banned
Who agrees the ending is a wet fart?
Messofanego
Banned
Rhazer Fusion
Member
I think the game is enhanced for PS4 Pro.
SlasherJPC
Banned
It's a bit of a downer but only because it leaves a lot open to interpretation and if you didnt pay super attention to some small details you may or may not have picked up on... you walk away just assuming this game is literally about
the end of days
I still loved my time with it and it scared me completely so much... but would have been nice for a bit more clarity.
Yikes. I really liked the first one, and even then I had some gripes about how it would handle placements of things and cheap setups, though they weren't too bad. I don't mind linearity, but I absolutely detest OHK stuff that's nearly impossible to avoid unless you're precognitive. Hearing that the story isn't exactly the best is incredibly disappointing also, though the ending being a dud doesn't shock me. Then again I actually really like the ending to the first game.
I think the ending
Yeah that sort of stuff should've been littered throughout the entire game, not just in the other world/school sections. I want so much of that stuff in a horror game (thanks Layers of fear) that you could play through it several times and still find new disturbing little touches like that, i didnt even notice that particular part in the gif after 2 playthroughs for instance.
I like to zoom in and check out the dead bodies hanging from trees and the ones wrapped up in barbed wire and stuff. And there were times i be thinking if that corpse head suddenly just looked right at me, or maybe even the eyes just shifted to where you're positioned it'd send a chill through my body. Little touches like that a player mightn't even necessarily even see unless their looking/lucky, just completely fuck with the player in a good way i mean.
was redeemed somewhat with the revelations of his schoolfriend getting messed up and hung, and just how that whole part of the story evolved, all the other religious stuff was nonsense.
Yup, more of this please in the next game.
Yeah that sort of stuff should've been littered throughout the entire game, not just in the other world/school sections. I want so much of that stuff in a horror game (thanks Layers of fear) that you could play through it several times and still find new disturbing little touches like that, i didnt even notice that particular part in the gif after 2 playthroughs for instance.
I like to zoom in and check out the dead bodies hanging from trees and the ones wrapped up in barbed wire and stuff. And there were times i be thinking if that corpse head suddenly just looked right at me, or maybe even the eyes just shifted to where you're positioned it'd send a chill through my body. Little touches like that a player mightn't even necessarily even see unless their looking/lucky, just completely fuck with the player in a good way i mean.
I thought it was poorly designed and frustrating. I didn't have much time to play yesterday and died 4-5 times on this part and decided to quit. I'm sure I was missing the critical path but didn't have much time to look thanks to the insta death if you get caught.
I died more times in that first encounter than in the early hours of the game afterward. Your first instinct after being caught once is to maybe sneak past or hide and wait for it to walk by you. I tried turning off the camera, crouching, etc. and would always be seen. I tried climbing onto that roof to the left, which is pretty low so it would kind of make sense. Nope, you have to trigger the enemy and circle around.... which is also how you deal with it on subsequent encounters. (And if you hated that particular part, the second half of the campaign has nothing positive for you.)
It's like the game is telling you up-front, "You play this how we want you to play this. No ifs or buts. Fun isn't a given."
I felt like a lot of the enemy encounters were like that first encounter. Die a cheap death or two until you just run back to where you came from before heading back.
In the first Outlast you'd be pushed into new unexplored areas as you were being chased. Not knowing where to go made it pretty intense but it was designed in such a way that you weren't getting cornered too much or anything. I don't think Outlast 2 did a good job of that until late in the game.
They honestly didn't need that many visits to the school to get that across, especially for something so... uninteresting. I'm sure people guessed it earlier, if it wasn't outright shown, I can't remember.
... And I thought they were going the sexual abuse route. The bloody toilets (reluctant teenagers giving birth in the school stall is a trope), as well as Jessica's behavior when she was being accosted by the teacher- it seemed as if he'd hurt her before. It would match the weird sexual theme of the game as a whole.
... And I thought they were going the sexual abuse route. The bloody toilets (reluctant teenagers giving birth in the school stall is a trope), as well as Jessica's behavior when she was being accosted by the teacher- it seemed as if he'd hurt her before. It would match the weird sexual theme of the game as a whole.
If I see this right Jess
'
Also,
was killed by the priest resulting in her neck being broken and you finding her body and him. He then manipulated you in helping him stage it as a suicide due to the knowledge that her father hit her. People believed it and as he got older he believed it as well.
Also,
Lynn was never pregnant. They just both due to microwaves got pulled into what everyone else in that town thought was happening when they arrived. It also seems the closer to the towers the less it affects you. Cause the people who were at the lake run away from you and put up the help signal hoping maybe the tower could see it.
Just finished the game. The problem with horror games is that I don't find them scary anymore. I played it yesterday at 3 a.m. and it felt like walking in the park. Sure, atmosphere is horrid, but I guess it's just my problem. I also think that Outlast 1 + Whistleblower did it better, but I still enjoyed the sequel.
Just played it with few friends from start to finish in one go and I very much enjoyed it. I liked the horror and it scared me a good bunch of times and the story left me pondering about it all. We propably hurried it a bit around some parts, not really reading all the texts so we missed things that would link things together, but I will enjoy putting the pieces together later on.
HalfBakedProphet
Member
An amusement park ride. Best way to describe the second half. It stopped feeling like a game at some point and more like a walking running simulator. The story had potential and almost all of it is squandered or felt unfinished IMO. I was interested in the Jessica stuff when the school flashbacks first started but they took one little piece of information (
) and decided to stretch it out like a piece of taffy. The reveal wasn't even that intriguing by the time they finally got around to it.
I was willing to overlook a lot of the first games rough edges because you could see the potential. So I was expecting growth this time around and really didn't get it in the desired areas. Their storytelling and game mechanics need a lot of work. One shot kills and a bunch of trial and error does not a good game make.
I hope they find a way to tie their themes together with the awesome visuals in a more fulfilling way next time around. A lot of that involves making the actual game more interesting to play. I almost kind of hope they do a brand new IP that isn't tied to these gameplay mechanics.
Visuals and atmosphere are amazing. Playing with headphones and I was super impressed with the sound design. The rest of the aspects of the game ranged from middling to very disappointing.
Jessica's "suicide" and how Blake left her with Father Loutermilch
I was willing to overlook a lot of the first games rough edges because you could see the potential. So I was expecting growth this time around and really didn't get it in the desired areas. Their storytelling and game mechanics need a lot of work. One shot kills and a bunch of trial and error does not a good game make.
I hope they find a way to tie their themes together with the awesome visuals in a more fulfilling way next time around. A lot of that involves making the actual game more interesting to play. I almost kind of hope they do a brand new IP that isn't tied to these gameplay mechanics.
Visuals and atmosphere are amazing. Playing with headphones and I was super impressed with the sound design. The rest of the aspects of the game ranged from middling to very disappointing.
Alpha Phoenix
Member
Is there any story connection to the original or its DLC whatsoever?
No spoilers, please. Just a simple Y or N will suffice.
No spoilers, please. Just a simple Y or N will suffice.
Alexander DeLarge
Member
I'm about two hours in and I'm really disappointed by this. The AI can see through walls and there's far too much "running away from guys with pitchforks" for me. A lot more than the original or the DLC had.
It's strange that their first game did things better than the second. Isn't it supposed to be the reverse? Especially in nailing down horror gameplay?
It's strange that their first game did things better than the second. Isn't it supposed to be the reverse? Especially in nailing down horror gameplay?
Gold_Loot
Member
After the lukewarm first hour of this I think I actually like this more than the first game. I'm about 75% complete and something just clicked with me I'm not sure if it's the atmosphere or just the setting in general but I love the transitions between the past and present.
I know horror is very subjective but, this game is hitting all the right nerves in me.
Good stuff.
I know horror is very subjective but, this game is hitting all the right nerves in me.
Good stuff.
xrnzaaas
Member
I haven't finished the game yet but so far I'm hugely disappointed with it. The trial and error chases are the worst and it's not as scary as the original (I expected it to be at least on par with the original).
I won't rate the story and the characters until I get to the end, because I feel it would be pointless.
I won't rate the story and the characters until I get to the end, because I feel it would be pointless.
thehillissilent
Member
More_Badass
Member
Any impressions from those who 1) haven't played the first and 2) haven't played many horror games?
Finished this game today and feel like it was a lot better than the first, but that's not something I felt until near the half-way point where it was entirely clear that they wanted to make something a bit more like high-octane action horror, rather than stealth survival horror. YMMV on whether that is a direction the series should go in, but once I adapted to the change I found this to be a huge jump in quality for me.
The pace is just so much better. You're thrust into new environments quickly, tasked with much simpler objectives that keep you moving forward. And those environments are quite varied, actually.
Then there's the (not really a spoiler):
stuff. This played a much bigger role in the game than I thought it would, and for such a small play space kept adapting and redefining its purpose throughout the game in such a beautiful and scary way all the way up until the end.
I don't think Outlast 2 is a *scarier* game than Outlast 1 or Whistleblower, but if you're a certain kind of person it can be, and the quality of the encounters usually go down pretty well. There is a lot of trial and error in some stuff, but when it does flow, it flows amazingly well and rewards quick thinking excellently.
Also, the (again not really a spoiler)
are so seamless and brilliant. These guys are Gods with the technology; with the exception of 1 or 2 glitches, it was a quality (and long) experience for the price.
Would like to see them retire the Outlast series for a while though. I think Outlast 2 goes to the logical endpoint with the gameplay, and I'd really like to see something a bit more fresh from these guys.
(Also finished Little Nightmares today too -- what a fucking day for horror games I had lol)
The pace is just so much better. You're thrust into new environments quickly, tasked with much simpler objectives that keep you moving forward. And those environments are quite varied, actually.
Then there's the (not really a spoiler):
school
I don't think Outlast 2 is a *scarier* game than Outlast 1 or Whistleblower, but if you're a certain kind of person it can be, and the quality of the encounters usually go down pretty well. There is a lot of trial and error in some stuff, but when it does flow, it flows amazingly well and rewards quick thinking excellently.
Also, the (again not really a spoiler)
transitions between the school and current time
Would like to see them retire the Outlast series for a while though. I think Outlast 2 goes to the logical endpoint with the gameplay, and I'd really like to see something a bit more fresh from these guys.
(Also finished Little Nightmares today too -- what a fucking day for horror games I had lol)
Enjoying this a whole bunch so far. Really appreciate less of the focus being on cheap jump scares and more on atmosphere and the tension of being chased.
It feels, mechanically at least, like Call of Cthulhu which I loved and I'm glad to see a game explore those kind of set pieces again.
With the way people were talking about it I was expecting very little downtime but there's been plenty in my opinion so far. Love the focus on reality shifting horror too.
It feels, mechanically at least, like Call of Cthulhu which I loved and I'm glad to see a game explore those kind of set pieces again.
With the way people were talking about it I was expecting very little downtime but there's been plenty in my opinion so far. Love the focus on reality shifting horror too.
Tarnpanzer
Member
So is this on par with it´s prequels in terms of quality?
Is it really that much longer to justify the higher price?
Is it really that much longer to justify the higher price?
badnewsbeers
Member
I'm with you. I'm only a couple hrs in, but where are the scares? The first game was borderline unplayably scary for me, this one I've not even twitched. The setting is too open, the enemies too blah. It's more gross than anything. Dying is just a hindrance more than anything.
This game worked way better in a claustrophobic asylum.
I think I agree with everything he said here, though I have no issues with
the ending. The whole story as it was presented was a bit of a mess but I wouldn't single out the ending.
It was pretty funny seeing the places where he experienced frustrating deaths. All the same spots I had issues with. The best is getting cornered because you tried to open a door that was locked. If I never see a locked door in a video game again it'll be too soon.
I still say there were parts where the level design clicked with the gameplay but that happened less often than it should have and certainly less often than in the first game. It's a shame too because the environments were breathtaking and the sound design was perfect.
DragoonKain
Neighbours from Hell
I've been playing this, I'm about 3 hours in or so and I have to say that so far I agree with Angry Joe's review on it. I think it's so far inferior to the first one. Trial and error sections, scripted running sections. Ugh. Plus I think being outdoors for the majority of the game fits the format horribly. I much preferred the more confined aspect of the first Outlast, with less baddies. I'm just not really enjoying it. I was so looking forward to this game too.
Oh well, I'll see how it finishes.
Oh well, I'll see how it finishes.
This game is an audio/visual masterpiece, shocked how good it looks and how well it runs on a base PS4, hasn't got the best AF but I only really noticed in the flat corridors of the brief s
sequences. Everywhere else is drenched in a ridiculous amount of darkness so you don't notice, plus the dope post-processing effects on the camera are perfect, I love the aesthetic. Also: The voice actress for Marta? (Incense-cross lady) is perfect, that creepy fuck.
A few sequences past the big chapel set-piece, there's been quite a few kinda on rails chase sequences, I'm shocked how well they've been working, it's all quite slick, especially the few runs through cornfields. Although I wish the controls were a touch streamlined, I'd almost appreciate a kinda Assassins Creed style traversal system, rather than having to stop in your tracks to open doors/windows with a face button, plus locking doors behind you can be a bit fiddly, it's easy in the rush of the moment to accidentally reopen the door you just came through. Overall though a lot of control foibles add to the scrappy
improvisational nature of the game. Oh, and the post processing on the directional microphone is amazing, I just wish it didn't drain your battery like a motherfucker.
Oh, and recording events is so bloody awesome, plus you get to watch them back with new narration that's hinting at some really interesting internal character stuff, it's really entertaining to try and film the optimal documentary insert-shot.
chool
A few sequences past the big chapel set-piece, there's been quite a few kinda on rails chase sequences, I'm shocked how well they've been working, it's all quite slick, especially the few runs through cornfields. Although I wish the controls were a touch streamlined, I'd almost appreciate a kinda Assassins Creed style traversal system, rather than having to stop in your tracks to open doors/windows with a face button, plus locking doors behind you can be a bit fiddly, it's easy in the rush of the moment to accidentally reopen the door you just came through. Overall though a lot of control foibles add to the scrappy
improvisational nature of the game. Oh, and the post processing on the directional microphone is amazing, I just wish it didn't drain your battery like a motherfucker.
Oh, and recording events is so bloody awesome, plus you get to watch them back with new narration that's hinting at some really interesting internal character stuff, it's really entertaining to try and film the optimal documentary insert-shot.
CaptainKashup
Neo Member
I've found some audio files left from a cut content where (big spoiler)
Horrendous stuff. It's best that it was left out from the game.
the Priest rape Jessica.
Horrendous stuff. It's best that it was left out from the game.
Rewrite
Not as deep as he thinks
Man, the chases in this game are intense as fuck, but I'm so fucking pissed that you basically have to do trial and error to get them right. I'm stuck in one of them and for the life of me I can't figure out how to progress and keep dying.
Edit:
After the 6th try, I finally figured it out. God.
Edit:
After the 6th try, I finally figured it out. God.
Rewrite
Not as deep as he thinks
It's not that the game is bad, but the first one is definitely scarier than this one so far IMO. This one has a lot of problems in regards to cheap deaths, more so than the first one did. The chases are frustrating this time around for me. They're intense for sure, but I hate now knowing where to go which is something I didn't experience much (if at all) in the first game's chases.
TheTylerRob
Member
The cheap deaths are such a huge part of the gameplay loop in this one I am considering dropping it and watching a let's play. I'm pretty disappointed.
SlasherJPC
Banned
It's just horror in general. So varied in what people expect and enjoy. I enjoyed the first game but I prefer 2 though I think I like Whitsleblower DLC the best.
xrnzaaas
Member
Finally finished the game yesterday. I'd give it a 6.5-7/10 (the first game+dlc are a strong 9/10 for me). The linear chase scenes ruin a lot of the fun and tension. A LOT. The first chase in the
almost made me look up a video guide, because not only it was super trial&error the game didn't give anything hint what to do to proceed. It's really a shame because I enjoyed the story, the setting
and how gorgeous it looked at times and I plan on replaying it to get all the documents and to understand some things better.
school
even though I would prefer to spend more time in confined spaces
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