[h1]SENSATIONAL SURVIAL-HORROR HIT OF IT'S TIME[/h1]
When it came out i remember youtube exploded with its playthroughs, im still impressed by the memory of how everyone ran for it, though i experienced it personally only years later after initial release. Now even more years passed after its peak and my first taste, so its time for it to prove itself once again, lets crunch the old pack of favourite crackers.
[h3] Drawbacks [/h3]
I'd say they are none but still let's nitpick on some. We still can't fight back, scavenge resources or interact with the environment pretty much. We have a line of non logical events like early on, how Lynn was able to jump off of the window if she was so important to cult? or how the hell villagers move around if all hefty gates are locked? Then you have these naive set of moments like blood trails to show the right path, that crucifix and casket escape though it was epic (at least game forced blake to bandage his hands) and some linearity, especially in the mines section. Honestly, hard difficulty wasn't that hard, it just takes a fewer attacks of enemies for you to die. As of duplicates, i have met same models for birds, few npcs and notes but they pretty much fixed that, since the variety is there comparing to the original game.
[h3] Upsides [/h3]
[olist]
[*] Visuals & cinematics. I usually say that the outlast graphics are some of my favorite, and particularly on this part its definitely is. At first serving as a significant upgrade over the original and besides just a pleasure to look at on any scene. Speaking of scenes, sequel got a strong affinity with cinematic approach comparing to the first game, it kicks off like that by the best cannons of some "group going for a alleged trip and falls intro trouble". In the earliest scenes of school we see a definite influence of horror classics like thick blood flow taken from shining. First heretics show up was cool where val being sensual. All dream sequences with school were absolutely hit of an atmosphere, especially those ones with the snowy outside areas or window lookups to the school yard, they are super cozy. Night time rural american setting of arizona with various npcs and decorations works much better and loose than the notorious mount massive asylum from the first game. Following our trip the top cinematic scenes would be the chapel, crucifixion, plenty of cool transitions from the real world into dream while performing some actions like opening a camera or hanging off of the window, then phone tongue choking for sure, notorious burial alive, heretics mines orgy, marthas death and cliffhanger with epic finale no doubt. All of it is like an amazing horror film.
[*] Explicitness & tensity. Keeping up in the vein of the visual side i gotta note the many overtly scenes, no jokes or limits about that. The most disturbing or memorable ones being the chapel torture, father loutermilchs haunting in the school, pretty much the entire nick & laird infected zone section, heretics progressive buildup into an underground orgy, and of course child birth in the end. This game is what truly could be called a horror with many reasons, where the more important one is how it keeps up the blood boiling through the hours you spend throughout. With the crow and well tongue being early alarms you soak in the real sweat from the marthas wooden trolley area and nick & laird hunting sick forest in the first half to the escalating heretics progression through mines in the second, eating on sudden jumpscares of loutermilch monster or hill billy from the top of a ledge in between. It all more or less scares the ♥♥♥♥ out of me, and in my opinion the most intense and in terms of horror more beautifully crafted cinematic part of the game is in schools library which turns into labyrinth, it's tight and has a quick but effective turns.
[*] Mechanics. Now we smoothly slide into the gameplay with advancements & additions over the original. First, the door latches and window openings makes it more interactive and real right off the bat. Second, we have at least an illusion of relative open areas, with multiple buildings in there and variety of structures covered with a thick and dark rural setting, which makes it work to me decently. Now, regular enemies much dangerous and smart comparing to the original game and considering the open spaces. They open doors, go through window holes, collectively attack you, alarm others, they even bloody crawl through tight gaps, and many npc models are different to each other which makes a quality up. Now doors that we cannot open just write jammed/blocked next time we bump into them instead of that door handle grab and shake animation replay. In the sequel we got a better mechanic of camera where it switches to a recording mode in a specific areas for a save of the evidences. Besides, developers added the cameras microphone mode to allow us detect enemies on distance whick makes the atmosphere tense up. This gameplay element is very well applied into the section of catching jessica in the dark using sound in one of the surreal visions of blake which ends with the her gallow. There is the controlable raft which is slightly dull but still diversifies the playthrough as well as minetracks direction-switch levers. Finally, the inventory implementation is one of the best that i have seen alongside the forest's ones.
[*] Level design & atmosphere. Well, besides visuals and gameplay we likely would crave for more and we will have it. I like how the level design applied in the boundaries of such setting with the small explorable buildings between dusty cactuses-filled rocky grounds, laked shores, mined caves and forests of arizona. ([spoiler]those little cabins & basement windows always hooked me up[/spoiler]) Second chase in the area near chapel remembered very well from the first time of play with that cabin floor smashdown and underhourse crawl-through with cinematic pitchfork stick-out. Variety of npcs with female and children ([spoiler]at least references[/spoiler]) included this time making it natural. Water wheel area always felt more rural and nice on that vibe. Besides reality to switch the gears of atmosphere we have my favorite school sequences, they are so pleasant yet terrifying isolative with that snow.. The idea of switching between a dream and reality is amazing, and how the transitions implemented is the cherry on the top of a cake, for instance one time we get in the dream just through a look into the camera where the next time we dive into lake waters but finding ourselves drowning in a the schools pool.. Just spectacular cinematics and high atmosphere in there!
[*] Plot. If you'll have a will to delve into reading found documents scattered all over the places you'd be closer to realization of what lies beneath that holy war of seemingly dark and light sides. After revealing the truth of events you'd look at the game from a different corner and see this is a real life context of high-power circle of people making a tough playground of the programmed lab rats in the face of those village cults. Theme that meets us in reality and how it underlies in such religious rural coat with all characters and dream sequences is splendid!
[/olist]
[h2]–VERDICT–[/h2]
Let's clear up the facts and conclude. It looks magnificent, plays well or at least better than the original and feels terrifyingly close to you. If in the outlast 1 we thought why the hell miles wouldn't break a window and simply run away, here blake got at least one logical reason besides unknown tangled territory which is Lynn. He asks himself how the ♥♥♥♥ do i get out of here when he is in dreams which another logical thing, see? We might try to pick on harder but let me add something.. it performed well giving around thirty frames on fullHD resolution with medium settings on the office laptop, and now it deserves, ripping:
[h1]8/10[/h1]
P.S. The game is the equivalent of watains lawless darkness
