It seems Halloween has brought out the best in publishers lately, as all of a sudden I find myself reporting about new and upcoming games games on a near-daily basis. Not only did Lace Mamba release Lucius earlier this month, but it’s also releasing AfterFall Insanity in early November. We also saw the return of Trains vs. Zombies this month and now there is also Outlast.
Outlast comes to us from a new studio called Red Barrel and will be a horror game in which you run and sneak your way through an old asylum. In an interview with Joystiq the developers explained that much of their game is inspired by Frictional’s Amnesia: The Dark Descent and will also be about a sneaking your way past monsters, rather than just taking them on in honorable and manly combat. “That’s the thing about survival horror: if you’re empowered, then the threat is not as big” Red Barrel’s co-founder Philippe Morin said to Joystiq. That’s something I have to agree with, because it’s natural to be more scared when you know that you lack the resources to overcome potential threats (which is how I felt back in in middle school when I had to take my final math exam and forgot to bring my calculator).
Judging by the trailer below, Outlast doesn’t look like “just an Amnesia-clone” either and actually does feature some interesting variations on the formula. The gameplays look a bit more cinematic and focused on action to start off with, but pay attention and you’ll also notice that events seem a lot more scripted than they did in any of Frictional’s games. I am glad though, because that fact seems to be accompanied by the removal of a sanity-meter, which is one of the most poorly optimized mechanics I have ever seen in any horror game. This title definitely seems to be catering more towards me than to fans of Silent Hill-like psychological horror, what with the exciting music and close-ups on a monster’s face when he grabs you. What do you think? Does this game look too much like Penumbra and Amnesia or is it clearly different from those two? Let us know in the comments!
