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Outlast PS4 |OT|

Replicant

Member
Just completed it. Kind of confused. Fucking Sweet
Billy
.

So I'm guessing.......
Sweet Billy tried to possess the journalist at the end of his lifeline and managed to do so. However, the whole thing was witnessed by Wnercke and he called his soldiers to make sure that Billy can't leave the area alive. Or maybe the whole thing of asking the journalist to kill Billy is a ploy to use him so Billy will become corporeal and therefore easy to kill. But from the looks of it at the end, if the body that Billy possessed got too damaged, Billy will become incorporeal again and started killing his enemies all over again.

I have to say that I wasn't scared much. Most of the time I just feel annoyed, especially when that big lunkhead is stalking me. He's fucking dumb though. I often crouched a few metres away from him in the darkness and he can't even sense me nearby. The game is pretty much is similar to Clock Tower/Haunting Ground except without the annoying fear meter, which caused your protagonist to stumble all over the place like a ditz cum airhead. It's still somewhat annoying though that you can't fight the enemies at all.
 

cheezcake

Member
The horror isn't about breaking the ai. Once you can see something clearly it isn't scary anyway. The horror is, or at least for me, things popping out of the darkness, frittering across the screen, making noises in some distant corner, the constant paranoia of wondering where the pursuers could be or could come from, and in the game's most effective moment, the sheer terror and chaos of sensory overload (
running for the dumb waiter
). As soon as I knew where an enemy was, I was no longer afraid. But damn if I wasn't afraid when they weren't around.

Good horror only subtely interacts with the player, then lets their imagination do the rest
 
decent little adventure but not scary at all, very telegraphed "gotcha ya" moments and the enemy design resembled human sized locusts from Gears, which kinda killed things.

also, for a game taking place in such small enviroments it sure had lots of tearing and frame drops, very unoptimized performance.

favourite part?
underground lab, that came out of nowhere.

So, on a scale of 1 to 10 - 1 being Bioshock, 5 being F.E.A.R. and 10 being Amnesia - what be this?

Yes, I am aware that my scale is terrible.

2, maybe 3 at best.

that scare in Bioshock when you
get an item, turn around and a dentist splicer is looking at you
is creepier than anything in this game.
 

FtHTiny

Member
Finished it today and it wasn´t really that scary.
Not being able to fight back made every enemy encounter the same. Once you get spotted you turn around, move 2 corners and dive into some cover.
Overall a good game but with a wierd ending.
 
Not sure how far I am into the game now, but I'm not nearly as scared the whole time as I was when I first started.

I've been crawling around in the asylum so long that I am now feeling like I'm just one of the guys. Even when I see the big head ripping guy, I no longer look upon him with fear, but more of respect or reverence.

I still get the momentary jump with the sudden scares, but the effect wears quickly. As someone noted, the sound design is fabulous in this game, and that adds more tension than the actual event scares for the most part.

I really wish I could interact more with the random inmates kicking around. I enjoyed the short interactions with the NPCs, even when they were saying random creepy things.

The AI is somewhat broken. There were several moments where Rule #1 - Cardio, was all I needed to overcome tricky chases. Some encounters are a little trial and error.
 
Easily the worst part of the game.

Billllly oh billllllllllly bill billlllly bill billlly
Should have been deleted from the game but I won't let it taint the memory. If whistleblower dlc has that shit I would lose faith in them making a new product going forward.
 

Anung

Un Rama
I liked it, it reminded me of
Black Mesa

Doing a collectible run through now. I think finishing it on Nightmare may be impossible.
 
Nearly every streamer/let's play I see has the brightness/gamma cranked way up to the point where you barely need the night vision. How can people play like this? It's so washed out and not scary at all.
 

eliochip

Member
I've been playing this game every night for the past couple nights with my little brother. I've never wanted a game to be over quickly as much as Outlast.

It's just unpleasant. I mean, it plays and looks fine but I hate being scared in this way. It brings to mind that article from Patrick of Giantbomb where he says some people would rather be in the backseat in these types of experiences.

My little brother's having a blast. He's always asking me if i'm going to play this after work and I'm like groaning
 

Melchiah

Member
I've been playing this game every night for the past couple nights with my little brother. I've never wanted a game to be over quickly as much as Outlast.

It's just unpleasant. I mean, it plays and looks fine but I hate being scared in this way. It brings to mind that article from Patrick of Giantbomb where he says some people would rather be in the backseat in these types of experiences.

My little brother's having a blast. He's always asking me if i'm going to play this after work and I'm like groaning

That's been pretty much how I've felt as well, which is all the more amusing considering that I've been an avid horror fan for almost three decades. I want to play the game, but I also dread playing it. It's kinda nice but tormenting feeling, and something I've craved for for a long time. What makes it worse, is that these kind of chase scenes tend to make me overtly anxious. Hell, sometimes I get twitchy just because NPC crew members are following me all around the hallways in non-horror games. =D
 
Finished this last night. I must say, the ending was a little bit of a let down. Not because it was confusing or anything like that...it just felt derivative of another title with
sci-fi undertones and patient testing and experimentation creating the evil spirit thing
.

I would love to be able to play this game as the Walrider
 
Was in a party with a group of friends while we all watched one of my friends in the party, play, since he was broadcasting his gameplay. let's just say, great L.O.L's were had. It was really fun. Never had that type of experience before. I look forward to more experiences like this on the PS4.
 

Rflagg

Member
Getting so close to the end, but I feel like the last hour has been nothing but, running form one bad guy into the next bad guy chase. The game where I am is no longer scary just annoying due to trying to
find the fuses for the laundry chute
.

Edit: Finished
dat ending :(
 
wait, did they just update this? Now the monsters can find us in the closet. In the past, they used to look for all the other doors but the ones you were inside. Now they can find you no matter what.

That is cool, actually
 

Kydd BlaZe

Member
Own this on both PC and PS4 and I still haven't finished the damn game. Can only play this for like 10 minutes at a time before I feel like shit is getting too intense for me lol.
 

Ashtar

Member
I've been playing this game every night for the past couple nights with my little brother. I've never wanted a game to be over quickly as much as Outlast.

It's just unpleasant. I mean, it plays and looks fine but I hate being scared in this way. It brings to mind that article from Patrick of Giantbomb where he says some people would rather be in the backseat in these types of experiences.

My little brother's having a blast. He's always asking me if i'm going to play this after work and I'm like groaning
Pretty much the exact same experience except switch brother for Wife, I was legit scared through most of it, towards the end though I thought it dragged a little bit and I had to "let myself" be scared instead of it being my natural state.
 

Deadstar

Member
This game is terrifying. Tried the demo last night and the first hour alone is just insane. Though I was very surprised to see a ton of graphical glitches where you floor texture kept bugging out. How does that get past qa?
 

Cudder

Member
I pretty much know the first 3/4 of the game by heart on Insane. I died when you need to get the 3 fuses. It's pretty fun running it through on Insane, hopefully I can clear it in the next couple days.
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
I think Amnesia numbed me. This game actually makes me laugh.

That's really disappointing since I've been anticipating its PS4 release for three months.

Weird. Never had any issue playing through Amnesia, but Outlast has me frightened in terror every-time I pick it up. It's mostly the sound direction, the frightened gasps your character makes as you gently nudge the analog stick in dark corners, the shocking audio cues. Never have jump scares gotten me so good.

I am still early in, so I haven't reached the point where the curtains are pulled back on the illusion, but I am freaking out wandering each dark hall into the unknown.
 
The horror isn't about breaking the ai. Once you can see something clearly it isn't scary anyway. The horror is, or at least for me, things popping out of the darkness, frittering across the screen, making noises in some distant corner, the constant paranoia of wondering where the pursuers could be or could come from, and in the game's most effective moment, the sheer terror and chaos of sensory overload (
running for the dumb waiter
). As soon as I knew where an enemy was, I was no longer afraid. But damn if I wasn't afraid when they weren't around.

I agree. It's the spine tingling suspense. A good atmosphere and music help heighten it. Those are the scariest points, when nothing happens. Nothing can be scary because surely something is going to happen any second. Than BAM! Something as simple as a TV turning on can make you jump. When you do see the enemy, you run. At that point it's survival. It's a different kind of fear.
 
Weird. Never had any issue playing through Amnesia, but Outlast has me frightened in terror every-time I pick it up. It's mostly the sound direction, the frightened gasps your character makes as you gently nudge the analog stick in dark corners, the shocking audio cues. Never have jump scares gotten me so good.

I am still early in, so I haven't reached the point where the curtains are pulled back on the illusion, but I am freaking out wandering each dark hall into the unknown.

That very first jump scare in Outlast, so good. There are many more in the game buddy, you're going to absolutely love it!
 

EGM1966

Member
Easily the worst part of the game.

It made sense and wasn't that unexpected - it was obvious early on they were going to take the
experiments/real world source for the horror vs genuine supernatural elements
.

I didn't like it because it demystified everything but it was clearly built in to the piece right from the start.

More importantly as a game though, and where I'd agree with you, I found the mechanics for the final stretch fell apart vs the more refined and balanced mechanics featured throughout the game until that point - it was literally trial by death to work out where to go and that wears off any sense of horror/immersion very quickly. Really soured the end of the game a bit for me.

They should have worked out a far better set of mechanics for the final stretch I think.
 
It made sense and wasn't that unexpected - it was obvious early on they were going to take the
experiments/real world source for the horror vs genuine supernatural elements
.

I didn't like it because it demystified everything but it was clearly built in to the piece right from the start.

More importantly as a game though, and where I'd agree with you, I found the mechanics for the final stretch fell apart vs the more refined and balanced mechanics featured throughout the game until that point - it was literally trial by death to work out where to go and that wears off any sense of horror/immersion very quickly. Really soured the end of the game a bit for me.

They should have worked out a far better set of mechanics for the final stretch I think.

Agree...the final area pretty much broke the tone of the game.
 

maltrain

Junior Member
Awesome game. Really. But:

* Play it on NIGHTMARE mode. I've seen many walkthroughs and the game is SO EASY on other modes.

* Play it DARK. Again, in many videos I can see people adjusting the brightness of the game at a point where night vision it's almost useless. In some scenarios (the yard for example) I couldn't see much even with night vision.

* Use HEADPHONES. If you have the Pulse or the new Gold ones, download "Horror" mode from the app... and use the higher volume and bass you can.

I can bet many people who didn't found the game as scary is because they played it on "normal" or much brightness than default.
 

Kikarian

Member
I've just
Gone outside, looking for the priest person. I'm so anxious at this point. I feel like someone is following me. I had to pause the game for a few seconds when the spirit/ghost? fly's past you.
 
should i give this game another go in the daytime?

i've come to terms that i can't handle horror games if i have no way of fighting back.

I only made it as far as crawling around some air vents...
 
completed the game last night - had a lot of fun with it, but it's not the type of game I'd want to replay. going through it once was enough for me. I am, however, looking forward to the dlc that's coming.
 

bender

What time is it?
I played last night and made it to the basement to reset some power boxes or something.

nope.gif

Not sure how I made it through Amnesia last year but I really can't handle this genre of games. /chicken
 

Sanctuary

Member
Game was really good as far as atmosphere goes, and it had its moments of terror. Unfortunately for me, the real terror came when enemies started chasing me down the hallways.

To me it just felt too much like a timer mechanic, and those are the least fun mechanics for me in a game. When you're wandering around, it's easy enough to figure out where to go due to the game being pretty linear, but once the music and chase begins, it's more like you're acting out a Benny Hill scene if there's no locker nearby, because you have to keep running around looking for where exactly you're supposed to be going.

Another thing I didn't really like was the fact that the majority of the game is viewed in a monochrome green. It gets tiring after a while, especially when it's covering up some really nice aesthetics. Plus, those are some of the most inefficient and short duration batteries I've seen in my life. Seriously, two minutes until *beep* *beep* *beep*?

Finally, while I know the actual gameplay was setup specifically to play out this way, it was really hard to have any suspension of disbelief after about the first hour. I'm sorry, but no one who isn't flat out insane to begin with would be running around without a makeshift weapon, or simply getting the fuck out and going home. Near the end of the game, all I could think about was how much it felt like I was playing Dead Space 2: The Weaponless Edition.
 

Replicant

Member
Finally, while I know the actual gameplay was setup specifically to play out this way, it was really hard to have any suspension of disbelief after about the first hour. I'm sorry, but no one who isn't flat out insane to begin with would be running around without a makeshift weapon, or simply getting the fuck out and going home. Near the end of the game, all I could think about was how much it felt like I was playing Dead Space 2: The Weaponless Edition. Especially closer towards the end.

Isn't that the complaint most people have about many horror films? "If it were me, I wouldn't even go there". It's true but then we wouldn't have any story. :p Plus, I don't think the journalist knew what he was going to stumble upon when he got inside. There should be an option to backtrack and go home after seeing the pig-roasted guy though. That'd be awesome. "I'm a sane person and would rather be home than here" trophy then should unlock.

Speaking trophy, it's annoying how the chapter select does not do shit for collectables. So if you miss one in the entire run, you have to replay the entire game all over again. This is BS!
 

Sanctuary

Member
II don't think the journalist knew what he was going to stumble upon when he got inside.

That's why I said after the first hour...
The other thing is that once you finally realize "Oh hey, maybe if I want to live, I should leave" and the game starts ushering you towards that direction, you have so many opportunities to actually leave, yet you stick around the Asylum because the game is setup so that you're a mouse in a maze with no real free will.
 

Replicant

Member
That's why I said after the first hour...
The other thing is that once you finally realize "Oh hey, maybe if I want to live, I should leave" and the game starts ushering you towards that direction, you have so many opportunities to actually leave, yet you stick around the Asylum because the game is setup so that you're a mouse in a maze with no real free will.

I think once he is past the door after seeing the skewered guy, you have reached the point of no return. If you noticed, he's been trying to get out but can't because the doors are locked, the windows are barred, and various people (ie the priest, the crazies) made it impossible for him to get out.
 

Sanctuary

Member
I think once he is past the door after seeing the skewered guy, you have reached the point of no return. If you noticed, he's been trying to get out but can't because the doors are locked, the windows are barred, and various people (ie the priest, the crazies) made it impossible for him to get out.

Nope. There are a handful of areas that would allow you to leave (IRL), or have props that would allow you to leave. And FFS, once you
kill off Doctor Scissors
why would you leave that weapon behind? You wouldn't, but the plot demands that you do.
 

Replicant

Member
Nope. There are a handful of areas that would allow you to leave (IRL), or have props that would allow you to leave. And FFS, once you
kill off Doctor Scissors
why would you leave that weapon behind? You wouldn't, but the plot demands that you do.

Hmm, now that you mentioned it, I do remember getting out into the garden and wondering why he didn't just climb up the fence or something.
 
I happened to be rubbing my face when someone came out of fucking God only knows where and I nearly gouged my damn eye out on accident. Thanks, dev team.
 

KORNdoggy

Member
Nope. There are a handful of areas that would allow you to leave (IRL), or have props that would allow you to leave. And FFS, once you
kill off Doctor Scissors
why would you leave that weapon behind? You wouldn't, but the plot demands that you do.

The weapons falls down the elevator shaft. It's not like it's just left lying there.

Loved this game though. Good length, genuinely and consistently intense. And atmospherically absorbing. Put me in the mood for more stealth games (just in time for thief)
 

Sanctuary

Member
The weapons falls down the elevator shaft. It's not like it's just left lying there.

It's more like it
conveniently falls through the floor so that it can fall down the shaft
. The game is liberal with contrivances, but I'm not saying it was a bad game despite my nitpicking.

I really enjoyed it for the most part, I just wish that I did not have to spend as much time looking at green as I did. The battery element was pretty annoying too, but either they are dispersed smartly enough so that you'll always find 1-2 when you're about to run out, or the game randomly generates them when you're really low. I honestly couldn't tell which was happening.

Put me in the mood for more stealth games (just in time for thief

Put me in the mood to replay Dead Space 1&2.
 

Daffy Duck

Member
Oh boy, I'm about 5 minutes in and already feeling totally creeped out and on edge.

I hate the floorboards squeaking.

Don't think I'll put my headset on!!!
 
Managed to get all the trophies. Took 3 attempts on insane mode but happy to have it all done. My first run through was a great experience. The sound and atmosphere were brilliant although some things do get repetitive towards the end. All in all it was a good game and I'm glad I could stop being a man baby for long enough to get through the first run.
 

Cudder

Member
Managed to get all the trophies. Took 3 attempts on insane mode but happy to have it all done. My first run through was a great experience. The sound and atmosphere were brilliant although some things do get repetitive towards the end. All in all it was a good game and I'm glad I could stop being a man baby for long enough to get through the first run.

Did you watch videos of other people playing so you knew what to expect? If not, only 3 runs on Insane mode is impressive considering everything that can go wrong.
 

GorillaJu

Member
The last area of the game
is completely fine. Yeah it's a departure from the main meat of the game, but the climax is essentially when you see the priest burn himself. At that point he says you're no longer in danger, and of course Billy is still on your ass like a dried shit nugget, but the tense sneaking moments of the game are gone. It's just a manner of finishing it off. To me the final area is where the game's ending starts
 
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