Outlast

 PC
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 59 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 50 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 59
  3. Negative: 0 out of 59
  1. GameCritics
    Sep 29, 2013
    70
    Still, it's easy enough to recommend Outlast despite the weaknesses. As far as atmosphere goes, it's at the top of its class and the journey throughout is a well-constructed one, for the most part. It occasionally dips too heavily into common video game contrivances—three fuses littered around the area, three switches for a door, scrounging for batteries, that sort of thing—but it's still a gruesomely enjoyable tale despite its flaws.
  2. The Digital Fix
    Sep 18, 2013
    70
    Although Outlast’s probably not a game you’ll revisit once completed, it’s certainly somewhere you’ll remember for a while to come.
  3. God is a Geek
    Sep 17, 2013
    70
    If you’re looking for a more cerebral approach to horror, you’re going to be disappointed with Outlast. There isn’t much depth – or replayability, for that matter -in this short, nightmarish rollercoaster, but it will make you jump more than once.
  5. NowGamer
    Sep 13, 2013
    70
    It’s a shame the plot and enemies ruin things a bit, because Outlast is a truly effective survival horror for the most part.
  6. Gameblog.fr
    Sep 9, 2013
    70
    Outlast is not so impressive visually, but it has a terrific atmosphere that will scare all players. It would have been better with a wide variety of gameplay situations though.
  7. Metro GameCentral
    Sep 8, 2013
    70
    Repetition and overfamiliarity are always the best ways to nullify fear, but until they set in this is one of the most effectively scary video games ever made.
  8. Eurogamer
    Sep 5, 2013
    70
    Stop and peer too long into Outlast's gloom and you'll see the zips on the monster costumes. Take it at at speed and you'll find a haunted house worth visiting.
  9. GameSpot
    Sep 4, 2013
    70
    Most of the time, particularly early on when its quirks are fresh and unknown, it delivers. Even its weakest moments owe their existence not to ineffective ambiance and tension, but rather to excessive confidence spurred by eventual predictable encounters that clash with the promise of the setting.
  10. Game Revolution
    Sep 20, 2013
    60
    As a budget Steam release, Outlast offers some cheap thrills for fans of the survival horror genre. Unfortunately its underwhelming visuals, combined with Red Barrel Games’ over-reliance on jump-scares ahead of more psychological frights, made my experience with it feel similar to walking through a haunted house: It’s scary, but not in a very clever way.

Awards & Rankings

52
#52 Best PC Game of 2013
20
#20 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
12
#12 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2039 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,598 out of 2039
  2. Mixed: 316 out of 2039
  3. Negative: 125 out of 2039
  1. Torque2100
    Sep 4, 2013
    4
    Wasted potential. So much wasted potential.
    This game lures you in with some great graphics and a neat little camera gimmick. To be fair to    Wasted potential. So much wasted potential.
    This game lures you in with some great graphics and a neat little camera gimmick. To be fair to the game the graphics are gorgeously rendered. The camera's Night Vision effect in particular is well done and it's nice to actually see Mile's hands when he actually performs an action.

    However, the experience starts to fall apart almost immediately. What's wrong with this game? Well where do I begin? For one, the setting. Asylums are seriously overplayed as horror settings. We get it, crazy people are scary. The so-called scares are predictable and hokey. The story is the same warmed over pap we've seen over and over and over and over and over again. An evil Mega Corporation has been performing unethical experiments that got completely out of control blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Mercernaries blah blah Ham fisted religious undertones blah. There's no mystery at all. Furthermore it falls into the exact same trap that the Dead Space games fell into. The graphic designers are so proud of their work on the monsters that they just can't bear to keep their babies in the dark, so they have the monsters prance around in plain view like they're so happy to be seen. Also, the poorly designed stealth mechanics make enemy encounters frustrating rather than scary.

    I see that the game was heavily marketed as being "designed by veterans of some of the biggest franchises in history." This is a flaw as far as I can see. These veterans just kept on doing the same thing they've always done, and the result is that they did the same thing we've always done and the game falls into the same traps it always has. These developers could have learned so much from the Amnesia series since it's obvious that Outlast desperately wants to be Amnesia. The developers would have benefited from another playthrough.    … Full Review »
  2. chilao
    Sep 5, 2013
    3
    As said before, the game loses his essence of horror itself on the very 10~30 minutes. After that is "go there", "oh, there's a veryAs said before, the game loses his essence of horror itself on the very 10~30 minutes. After that is "go there", "oh, there's a very predictable problem and you have to take another route", "oh a bad guy on the way and you gotta run and hide, hearing your heavy breathing" etc...

    Horror?! Seriously, Gone Home was scarier.

    Seems like a bad movie where you can't wait for it to finish and say for sure "yeah it sucks".
    It amazes me how a game that took me about 4 hours to finish, bored me as much Outlast did.

    The idea of "can't fight any enemy" made me think that "this could be interesting", but the AI is really easy to outrun. I didn't ran out of battery neither died on the entire game play (pretty much the entire meta-game).

    And what about the notes?! Some crack-wise spiderman-like comments from a character that runs the entire game...

    I was expecting much, much more from this game. Very disappointing.

    I'm giving 3 because the gore was delivered as promised.    … Full Review »
  3. MixedFeelings
    Sep 4, 2013
    10
    Absolutely my favorite horror game to date. I felt the immersion within the first 10 minutes of game play. The best time to play is afterAbsolutely my favorite horror game to date. I felt the immersion within the first 10 minutes of game play. The best time to play is after nightfall. Lights off and undisturbed. Turn up the AC for a chilly room. Then blast the surround sound. You will not be disappointed.… Full Review »
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