‘Outlast 2’ release date: Why the delay was worth the wait

Outlast 2 by Red Barrels — A scene from Outlast 2 trailer from Red Barrels. Red Barrels/YouTube

Independent game developer Red Barrels Studio has released “Outlast 2” for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Mac. Its first hours of gameplay indicate how horrifying the sequel to the 2013 horror game is. Compared to its predecessor, the sequel features a new setting, new features and new ways of scaring the players.

The first minutes of the game introduces Blake, the main protagonist of the game, and Lynn, his wife. Spoiler Alert! After the helicopter crashes and Lynn goes missing, the game teaches the players some of Blake’s limited abilities.

The game will teach players how to crawl, jump while approaching a gap, get through ledges, hide in barrels, grasses and under the beds, and, what could be the coolest one yet, record important events. These are the mechanics players have to utilise to survive the game as they only have three options: run, hide or die.

Although the first minutes of the game include the tutorial, developers have added bits of jump scares to prepare players on what is coming. One instance include a simple crow coming out of a window after the players open it. After going through the basic mechanics of the game, players will be faced with a different atmosphere as they dive into the main story.

Players will have to use the skills they learned during the tutorial to hide or run away from enemies. There is a new feature where they can use the camera to listen if there are enemies or people on the other side of a wall.

'Outlast 2': New camera uses

Developers have increased the use and importance of the protagonist’s camera. This will ensure that players will strive to find more batteries to sustain the device's life since the setting itself is dark and spooky.

Red Barrels Studio also added plenty of scary props. Some of these are baby dolls, crosses, corpses and a bunch of unexplained blood trails. These assure that players will not have any breathing room in the game. Even popular and veteran YouTubers such as PewDiePie and jacksepticeye, who are used to playing horror games, find it scary. It just goes to show that the delay for “Outlast 2” was worth it.