Outlast 2 (styled as OU𐕣LAST) is a 2017 first-person psychological survival horror video game created and published by Red Barrels. It is the follow-up to Outlast (2013) and follows the story of Blake Langermann, a cameraman who teams up with his journalist wife, Lynn, to investigate the murder of a pregnant woman in northern Arizona. After a helicopter crash separates them, Blake must search for Lynn while navigating a village occupied by a group of people who believe that Judgment Day is near.
Following the success of Outlast, Red Barrels announced a sequel in October 2014. A gameplay preview was shown at PAX East in April 2016 and at E3 2016 in June 2016. Initially planned for release in autumn 2016, the game was delayed multiple times and finally launched on April 25, 2017, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. A version for Nintendo Switch was released later, on March 27, 2018.
Upon its release, Outlast 2 received mostly positive feedback, with praise for its visuals, sound effects, and overall atmosphere. Some reviews noted concerns about the amount of violence, themes, and difficulty level. A comic book series titled The Murkoff Account, which takes place between Outlast and Outlast 2, was released from July 2016 to November 2017. A prequel game, The Outlast Trials, was released on March 5, 2024.
Gameplay
Outlast 2 is a first-person single-player survival horror game that continues the found footage style from the first game. The player controls Blake Langermann, a cameraman who explores an old, run-down area in Supai, Northern Arizona, near the western edge of the Colorado Plateau.
The player cannot fight enemies except during specific parts of the game. Instead, they must run and hide from many hostile enemies. The player can move by crouching, running, jumping, walking, vaulting, sliding, and climbing, similar to the first game. They can hide in lockers, barrels, wardrobes, beds, water pools, tall grass, cornfields, and houses. The player has a limited energy level and must manage how long they run, or they will become tired and move more slowly.
Langermann has only a camcorder with night vision, but using night vision drains the camcorder’s batteries. Compared to the first game, his role as a cameraman gives him a more advanced camera with clearer footage, zoom, and a sensitive microphone that can detect distant footsteps and other sounds. The player uses an inventory system to see how much footage is recorded on the camera and what items they are carrying. Spare batteries for the camcorder and bandages to heal injuries are found throughout the game. The game is inspired by horror films such as The Hills Have Eyes (1977), Race with the Devil (1975), and The Blair Witch Project (1999).
Plot
An assisting cameraman named Blake Langermann works for his wife, Lynn, an investigative journalist who is looking into the murder of a pregnant teenager known only as Jane Doe. The couple hires a helicopter pilot to fly them over the area where Jane Doe might have come from. However, during the flight, they are suddenly struck by a mysterious blinding light, and the helicopter crashes in the Supai region of Coconino County, Arizona, United States. After the crash, Blake wakes up to find the pilot dead and Lynn missing.
Blake travels to the nearby town of Temple Gate, where he learns that the residents once gave up their children in the name of God. He later finds Lynn in a chapel, where she is being held hostage by a violent, unstable Christian group led by a preacher named Sullivan Knoth. Knoth claims that Temple Gate is located at the entrance to Hell and that Lynn is pregnant with the Antichrist. The group believes that pregnant women must be executed because they might be carrying the Antichrist. The couple escapes the chapel, but Lynn becomes ill and is kidnapped by a group called the "Heretics," a Satanic splinter group led by an androgynous person named Val. Val wants to speed up the arrival of Judgement Day by witnessing the birth of the Antichrist.
Blake is helped by a local man named Ethan, who left Knoth’s group. Ethan explains that his daughter, Anna Lee, is Jane Doe and that he helped her escape Temple Gate. While Blake rests, a large woman named Marta, who is one of Knoth’s executioners, breaks into Ethan’s home and kills him after accusing him of heresy. Blake flees from Marta and the cult to another chapel, where he learns from a captured Heretic that Lynn was taken to the mines near Temple Gate.
During his journey, Blake is repeatedly attacked by the blinding light and has disturbing visions of his childhood Catholic high school, St. Sybil. These visions reveal that his childhood friend, Jessica Gray, apparently committed suicide. However, it is later discovered that Jessica was molested and murdered by their music teacher, Father Loutermilch. Father Loutermilch tricked Blake into staying silent about the crime and made it look like Jessica had hanged herself. The demon chasing Blake is a twisted version of Father Loutermilch.
Blake travels to the mines but accidentally enters a forest where a group called the "Scalled" lives. The Scalled are infected with syphilis and were exiled from Temple Gate. They believe Blake is their Messiah and capture him. Blake escapes when the Scalled’s leader, Laird Byron, and his large companion, Nick Tremblay, are killed by their own followers. Blake also finds a document that reveals the Murkoff Corporation caused the region’s madness by operating an experimental mind-control station hidden in the mountains. This station is also the source of the blinding light Blake has seen.
At the mines, Blake enters the Heretics’ underground temple and finds Lynn, who is visibly pregnant, during a ritual. Knoth’s group arrives to attack the Heretics, allowing Blake and Lynn to escape. As dawn breaks, a lightning storm destroys the town. Marta returns and attacks the couple but is killed by a cross thrown from a distant chapel. Lynn gives birth but dies in the process, and Blake loses consciousness holding the newborn, which is implied to be a hallucination based on Lynn’s final words and the baby’s lack of a shadow. Knoth appears and urges Blake to kill the child before killing himself.
As Blake walks outside, he finds that Knoth’s followers have poisoned themselves. The sun grows brighter, and Blake hallucinates being surrounded by its light. He has a final vision of chasing Jessica through the school. When he finds her, Jessica promises she will never let him go, and they begin to pray together.
Development
After the first game, Outlast, was very successful, Red Barrels announced on October 23, 2014, that they would create a sequel. It was also said that the characters and setting in the sequel would be very different from the first game. Players would not return to Mount Massive Asylum in the new game. In an interview with Bloody Disgusting, Philippe Morin, one of the founders of Red Barrels, said, "we really want to keep improving our craft, but ultimately we'll approach things the same way."
On October 28, Red Barrels posted a message on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. The message showed a bulletin board with papers labeled "Classified" and the word "Tomorrow" across the image. The next day, a teaser trailer for the game was shared on their YouTube account. On January 26, 2016, when asked if the game might be released at the same time as other games or allow pre-orders, Red Barrels said it was possible but not certain.
On February 5, 2015, Morin was interviewed by Indie Games Level Up! about the game. He said the game was inspired by the 1978 Jonestown event. The main villain in the game, Sullivan Knoth, is compared to Jim Jones, the leader of the Jonestown group. On April 4, Red Barrels released a video titled "Jude 1:14-15." Unlike other teasers, this video showed a cross of Saint Peter on a background of clouds and included a mysterious, masked audio message. When played backward, the message reads:
On April 23, a demo of the game was shown and released at PAX East 2016 and E3 2016 on June 15. On August 26, Samuel Laflamme, the original composer of Outlast, announced he would return to create the game's soundtrack. He also mentioned the possibility of another teaser. Unlike the first game, Outlast 2 does not include any downloadable content. The developers explained, "while the first Outlast was made with the idea of adding extra content later, that was not the case for Outlast 2. We’ve considered many options, but none of them felt appropriate for extra content. Outlast 2 was created to make you feel like a rat in a maze, without any knowledge of what’s outside the maze."
Soundtrack
The game soundtrack, composed by Samuel Laflamme, was released on April 25, 2017. The album includes 14 original tracks created by Laflamme, as well as a part of Ave verum corpus by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on track 14, titled "You Never Let Me Go." This differs from the original game, Outlast, which uses orchestral arrangements. Instead, Laflamme used instruments such as guitars, bass guitars, percussion, and tools he and his team made themselves. He adjusted and changed these sounds using a process called Modular Filtering.
To create unique sounds without an orchestra, Laflamme built an instrument with a metal string attached to a piece of wood. He used this instrument throughout the score, saying it "really fit with the overall score." The soundtrack is available on all streaming platforms. It was also released in the first quarter of 2019 as a Double LP Vinyl Set. This set includes music from the first and second games, pressed on Glow in the Dark and Black Splatter vinyl. Each capital letter in the track names spells the word "Redemption," and the album has 14 tracks in total.
Release
The game was released digitally on April 25, 2017, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. At the same time, a physical version called Outlast Trinity, which includes all games in the Outlast series, was also made available. The game was first planned to be released in autumn 2016, as shown in a teaser trailer. However, on August 1, 2016, the company announced that the release would be delayed until the first quarter of 2017.
About a month before the release, the Australian Classification Board did not allow Outlast 2 to receive an "R18+" rating, which is the highest rating given to video games in Australia. The board said the game showed "sexual violence." Without a rating, the game could not be sold in Australian stores. After a few days, the board changed its decision and gave the game the "R18+" rating, allowing it to be sold.
In July 2016, Red Barrels announced The Murkoff Account, a six-issue online comic series. The comic follows Paul Marion and Pauline Glick, known as the Pauls, who work for Murkoff Insurance Litigation. Their job is to ensure Murkoff does not pay more than necessary to protect the company’s interests. Their story connects the events of Outlast and Outlast 2.
In December 2017, Red Barrels announced that Outlast 2, along with Outlast and its downloadable content Outlast: Whistleblower, would be released for the Nintendo Switch in early 2018.
Because of feedback from players and critics, Red Barrels released an update in March 2018. This update added a new difficulty mode called "Story Mode." This mode reduces the number of enemies and their speed, damage, and ability to detect the player. Players can still die in the game, but "Story Mode" gives them more time to explore the environment and focus on the story. The update also added back some content that had been removed to achieve an "M" rating instead of an "Adults Only" rating.
Reception
Outlast 2 received mostly positive reviews from critics, but the PlayStation 4 version received "mixed or average" ratings.
Destructoid’s Nic Rowen gave the game an 8/10, noting that it is an impressive effort with some noticeable issues. He said the game is worth most people’s time and money, though it may not impress everyone.
James Kozanitis from Game Revolution scored the game 4.5 out of 5 stars. He said Outlast 2 is a good horror game that makes players feel nervous but keeps them interested. He believed the story struck a balance between being too clear and too confusing. He also said parts of the game left a strong impression, making him feel both scared and excited. The game’s themes added to its intensity, making players think deeply about moral choices.
Louise Blain of GamesRadar+ gave the game 2.5 out of 5 stars. She said the game was frustrating and not enjoyable, even though it had an interesting story.
Lucy O'Brien from IGN scored the game 8.3/10, calling it a terrifying follow-up to the 2013 version. She said the game keeps scary moments coming quickly.
James Davenport from PC Gamer gave the game 85/100, saying that while stealth and chase mechanics were similar to the first game, the experience was powerful and emotionally intense.
Philip Kollar from Polygon gave the game a 7.5/10. He said it was one of the strongest recommendations he had ever made. He admitted the game brought back difficult memories and made him feel uncomfortable, but he respected how it focused on creating strong emotions.
Alice Bell from VideoGamer.com scored the game 6/10. She said the game had good design features, like the night-vision camera, which was still scary. However, she felt the jump scares and graphic scenes did not fit well with the psychological horror elements. She also said the story reused old horror ideas that were not needed.
The game was nominated for "Use of Sound, Franchise" at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards.
Future
Outlast 3 was announced in December 2017, but no specific time frame or target platforms were said for sure. During this announcement, Red Barrels explained that because they faced challenges adding downloadable content for Outlast 2 due to its structure, they planned to release a smaller, separate project related to Outlast before Outlast 3. This project was named The Outlast Trials.
The Outlast Trials was made available in early access for Windows on May 18, 2023. It serves as a prequel to both Outlast and Outlast 2. The story follows unwilling test subjects in a secret Cold War experiment organized by the Murkoff Corporation to study brainwashing and mind control. Players must complete a series of "trials" and complete tasks while avoiding enemies.
Unlike previous games in the series, The Outlast Trials can be played either alone or with another player in a cooperative game.