Outlast 2

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 41 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 41
  3. Negative: 2 out of 41
  1. Post Arcade (National Post)
    May 3, 2017
    40
    Outlast II is, in the end, a case of wasted potential. It revs up its scare engine to maximum RPMs in the moments after its opening crash sequence, then quickly fizzles in the first major encounter, which I suspect will leave most players cursing at their screens in frustration as they die half a dozen times without any idea where they need to go or what they must do in order to not die a grisly death at the hands of a crazed woman who enjoys nothing more than repeatedly killing us with a sharpened crucifix as we blindly stumble around in the dark...What, that doesn’t sound fun to you? Me neither.
  2. Slant Magazine
    Apr 25, 2017
    20
    Red Barrels's game is an immature and hateful slight at anyone who dares to believe in a divine creator.

Awards & Rankings

55
#55 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017

User Reviews

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User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 451 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 277 out of 451
  2. Mixed: 104 out of 451
  3. Negative: 70 out of 451
  1. OCD_Gaymer
    Apr 29, 2017
    3
    As a big supporter of its predecessor and amazing DLC content; I'm absolutely gutted to leave such a review for this game.

    This is by far    As a big supporter of its predecessor and amazing DLC content; I'm absolutely gutted to leave such a review for this game.

    This is by far one of the most frustrating games I've played in quite some time. The constant one-hit kills (even on normal difficulty) had me rolling my eyes, less than an hour into the game. My entire experience was nothing but inching forward little by little in hopes to eventually find the path that the developers intended you to run towards, yet give you little to no visible clues as to where that really is. You will spend over 6 hours in this miserable title, just running a muck and exhausting every option until you eventually figure out that there is a small hole in a fence that you need to run through in less than a few seconds. Open environments like this, do not work for this type of gameplay. You need to have some type of clue where you're going, but instead of giving you clues-- they decide to just kill you the very moment you turn left instead of right.

    Dying over and over again is just one of the many issues with this title. Let's talk about some new gameplay features. You now have the ability to bandage your wounds. This is quite amusing as you cannot bandage yourself unless you come to a complete stop for several seconds. Also, since most enemies tend to just kill you in one hit-- I ask you this...what is the point? Even more hilarious; every time you die, you receive full battery for your camera and it instantly restores your health. Almost as if you were rewarded for dying? Very odd design choice. They also added another feature to the camera that allows you to hear better and from what direction. This would have been a nice addition as it does help you figure out what direction you should avoid; however, the terrible stealth mechanics completely negate any effort the developers placed on their excellent sound design.

    Enemies seem to always find you; even if you're laying down in the cornfields, shrub or grass. It doesn't really seem to matter. In 90% of the chase sequences, it's better to just run around until something catches your eye that you didn't notice on your last dozen times playing the same sequence. One particular enemy that annoyed me, is actually the first enemy you encounter! You can't hide from her at all-- if she sees you and you didn't turn around upon her immediate appearance-- your dead. After several run-ins with her, I just let her kill me the moment she spot me. You can duck and weave all you want, she will find or catch up to you, I lost track of how many times I saw her pickax impale me from behind. The only way I know to avoid her is to trip her up on some environmental objects, since the artificial intelligence seems to ignorant to avoid consistently. One particular scenario the developers ask you to push a cart up to a large door to hop over into the next area. But this is easier said than done (much like everything in the game), because she will ambush you two (sometimes 3) times for every couple feet you move the cart. Depending on how close she gets to you when she appears, you may already be dead before you noticed the sound-queue that she has made her appearance. You'll run round and round and eventually she'll get tripped up on environmental objects that give you a small chance to finally outrun her (something you normally can't do) to evade for a bit. This whole segment is nothing but frustration and I'm loving the reactions from people on YouTube from this part. Yes; this game upset me so much to the point where I actually enjoy seeing others be tortured by it as well-- I'm not alone in this.

    I wanted to save my last paragraph for the story but I honestly couldn't tell you what in the world is happening. Outlast 2 makes further use of collectible items to tell a good portion of its story. The biggest issue here, is that a lot of it is just nonsensical bible passages that take far too long to decipher for me to care. Not to mention, I don't feel the need to stop and read one of these every few minutes while one-hit-kill-lady is screaming from behind me. Outlast 2 may potentially have a good story to tell, but I would be willing to put money on how many people would actually care to finish it themselves before simply viewing the confusing ending on the internet.

    Outlast 2 may look and sound impressive...but it ends there. Red Barrel completely missed what made the first two entries to the series so amazing. I never struggled like this in the others, I always had some sort of clue on where I was going and why, but this entry is designed in the complete opposite manner. I would really like to see the developers thought-process during the games creation because I just can't fathom why they made the choices that were made. Graphics and gore do not make a good game and all this studio needs to do in order to see that, is take a few steps back and really examine their previous efforts.    … Full Review »
  2. Bubbly_Backseat
    Apr 30, 2017
    7
    Outlast 2 is a solid sequel to the original Outlast, but that is not to say that the game has its faults. The game is highly polished withOutlast 2 is a solid sequel to the original Outlast, but that is not to say that the game has its faults. The game is highly polished with amazing: sound, visuals, graphics, lighting, and a beefy amount of content for its price tag. What truly holds this game back is its level design. Be prepared for some trial and error in some of the game's sections. You'll die a few times trying to find the exit while attempting to escape sudden death.

    This trial and error aspect of the game won't really affect you if you were a fan of the original Outlast and its DLC, as you would be familiar with this IP's level design. For players new to the franchise, it would be recommended to use a guide of sorts if you found yourself stuck in a specific section.

    Outlast 2 is also a game with a fair amount of scares and a creepy atmosphere that also raises the bar on gore and violence from the first game. The gameplay is now evolved from the original; now you must check your shirtpockets (an in-game inventory of sorts) to keep track of your battery and bandage count, and there is running stamina. Bandages are a new feature that removes the health regeneration from the first game and replaces it with a limited healing system. At first, it may seem that these three new additions to the game could be an inconvenience, but turn out to actually add to the game's tension.

    In summary, Outlast 2 is a highly polished game with nicely evolved gameplay, but includes level design that relies on trial and error to overcome. This game is definitely a worthy purchase to fans of the original Outlast, but a cautious purchase to newcomers of the franchise.

    Replay Value - Moderate
    Length - About 9 hours
    Repetitiveness - Moderate    … Full Review »
  3. jamessprague
    May 1, 2017
    6
    Are rednecks the new zombies? Because they are already overplayed...

    + Amazing graphics + Creepy sound + Shocking moments -    Are rednecks the new zombies? Because they are already overplayed...

    + Amazing graphics
    + Creepy sound
    + Shocking moments
    - Uninteresting and cliche characters and bosses
    -Horrible checkpoints
    -Level design is not for running but ironically thats what you mostly do.
    -Much less stealth
    -80% of all deaths will mostly happen because you don´t know the way,get stuck from objects or weird jumping.
    -The scariest parts of the game are set in the school flashbacks
    - A season pass ending.

    The game falls well short of all the hype. Nothing new is brought to the series and what was great about the original; tension, story and the fun factor have been gutted. Outlast 2 will be mentioned in top 10 most disappointing games of 2017.    … Full Review »
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