The Most Misunderstood Horror Game
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- Опубліковано 19 сер 2023
- After covering the first Outlast game I wanted to take a look at what was initially my least favorite entry into the franchise: Outlast 2. But after some research and getting a better understanding of the story, I was surprised by the psychological insanity that takes place in in this game. Blake Langerman slowly loses his mind until he can no longer tell what is real and what's in his head and at the center of it all lies something that happened to him many years ago in catholic elementary school.
Instagram: / hitstart.yt - Ігри
26:06 You may have been aware of this already, but right here you can see that while the Protagonist's hands cast a shadow, the baby does not. This corrovorates Lynne's statement that "There's nothing there", further demonstrating that the baby does not exist and is all in his mind.
I heard about the baby not casting a shadow, and I was looking for it but couldn’t find it 😅… Now I can see exactly where it is.
Her comment may also allude to the void emptiness of death, as opposed to Christianity’s perspective on the afterlife
It’s a phantom pregnancy
**corroborate
I'm sure it was a typo, I was just wanting people to know the real word
@@jimmyjon9970 I know. I couldn't correct it after the comment got pinned. It bothers me endlessly 🥲
Not only does Blake not overcome his trauma, but the Morphogenic Engine screws him up so much that he ends up in a catatonic state, and is found by Murkoff and taken away to presumably be subjected to more brutal tests.
Blake’s suffering is far from over.
i think that’s kinda the trend of the outlast games, miles becomes the Wallrider and the protagonist of trials becomes a silent solider
@@duck705 And Waylon has to go into hiding at the end of Whistleblower.
Waylon is the only one with *some* semblance of getting away free... that is if he was able to go into witness protection successfully or even with his family... which Murkoff would be after...
What else does Murkoff have, though? Mount Massive was almost completely destroyed, the chairman was killed, Walrider transfered from Miles to an ant colony and destroyed the radio towers. What else do they have?
@@shemage5932 knowing how big murkoff is they probably have tons of other small facilities, underground labs, there are some different offices referenced in both the comics and the files found
Ive been saying this for years. People focused so hard on dunking on the uneffective jumpscares that they missed the visual story telling and otherworldly feeling of the story itself.
The game honestly doesn't even have many jump scares. So many people who play horror games just play them for the jump scares, which is stupid. I mean, the original had better jump scares, sure, but it did not rely heavily on them either. It was still more about atmosphere and dread. This is a difficult to fully understand game that intentionally makes you feel lost, has an unreliable narrator, and is designed to make you feel negative feelings. It is a demanding game that is trying to force you to engage with it, which forces you to grapple with some really dark topics. Most mainstream players are going to be turned off by that because they just want some mindless fun (Call of Duty sells as well as it does for a reason).
Agreed!
Not only are the ineffective jump scares are the problem, but also the way the game handled its story! It kept on transitioning from present to past to present again! A lot of times I just felt annoyed like are we really doing this now? I'm not in the mood for another backstory! That's exactly how my immersion in the game completely broke. Outlast 2 is so annoying that I'm not scared nor interested in the story anymore. That's why people, including me, prefer the predecessor and whistleblower forever and ever. Yes I've completed outlast 2, I honestly thought it was overall ok, but I don't see any reason to replay it unlike outlast 1 and whistleblower.
There's an interesting detail that changes the ending of the game slightly. In the school section after the priest sent you home and you're walking out, depending on how you react to Jessica's screams makes a difference. If you try to run away or take too long to save your friend, in the ending prayer scene she has noose marks and pale skin. But if you react immediately and run fast to save her, in the ending prayer scene she looks normal.
It's not about how fast you run back, finding all the collectables is the thing that makes the difference.
@@FunkyGhostHDThat's a myth. I never collected all collectibles in any of my playthroughs, I have yet to get achievements for those, but I did have the "good" ending. I did later check what triggers the condition and running immediately to save Jessica seems to be the only requirement.
@@gnolex86Yep, accurate. I got the rare ending the first time, because I ran to her immediately. Like, why wouldn't you? You understand what's going on well enough to know you need to get her away from Loutermilch.
This lead me to believe that Blake feels less guilty about Jessica's death. In this "good" ending scenario, he actually tried saving her immediately when he hears her cry of scream but he was just a kid. He couldn't do anything.
@@FunkyGhostHD not so funk of you lmao
This monster used to be the most terrifying thing in horror games, but when you look at it, seems so goofy while running and rubbing hands.
It’s always scarier when you don’t see it… the fear of the unknown is the most powerful.
He’s milly rocking
the monster is actually masturbating if you look close, no joke
@@HitStartYT exactly and also no way of defending yourself just a camera like c mon
@@spiridonrobert16what you mean?
it really only just clicked for me after this video that Blake truly never overcame any of the trauma and guilt of Jessica’s death as you pointed out in this video, he was hearing her voice BEFORE the morphogenic engine radio tower blast hit them. being that the morphogenic engine, according to the first game, works best on subjects who have been exposed to severe trauma, Blake was unfortunately the perfect candidate to stumble into Temple Gate
bruh i love this series
Yeah never listen to popular opinion about games or games journalism. This game is awesome.
This game fucked me up. No lie, those school parts gave me insomnia. There's just something about it that triggered my brain in a way no other horror game has. Call me what you will, but I never finished it.
Its completely fine, thats the purpose of the game. Many people are desensitised at these things nowdays, which isnt exactly something good.
i played it multiple times😂
Yeah same, everytime i saw the teacher my skin crawled and this feeling that I cant help Jessica even tho it's a game, but when you know shit like this happens i feelt so fucking sick and had problems sleeping at night.
@@GurghankottIt's a sickening topic. It should make you feel sick. I am glad the developers were able to, in some small way, make us feel the trauma so many go through IRL (even though it is nowhere close to the level of the real life trauma).
The contrast, going back and forth...
Defo feel like Outlast 2 is slept on, probably due to its lackluster second part and being confusing as hell, but I feel like now that its been a while and I understand it’s position within the Outlast universe I can understand much better and appreciate it for the story it tells. Great video!
Thank you. I didn’t understand it either the first time(s) I played it. It was really only after I did quite a bit of research that I was able get a better understanding of it.
I actually think Outlast 2's second half is far better than the first one
I think the pacing really screws with players as well. At several points, you're being chased in Temple Gate, the cultist town, when you suddenly make a sharp turn or hide somewhere and as soon as you blink, you open your eyes in the school, silently looking around. The pacing is erratic and jarring, which makes perfect sense for a dream, but dreams don't make a ton of sense, so the pacing feels unnatural for the telling of a story.
Add to this that, to make the most of the lore of Outlast 2, you need to go really far out of your way to understand it, like using recording and editing software to decipher the school recording audios, or the fact that so many notes hidden throughout Temple Gate are hidden. You might think you got a lot of them, but if you go watch a walkthrough of where to find some of these notes, you'll be flabbergasted by how many you missed and how elaborately hidden they all are.
By contrast, Outlast 1 and the Whistleblower DLC have notes hidden everywhere, none of them are written as cryptic religious messages, they're written as plain clinical documents that outline exactly what it is that you're up against, and, most importantly of all, none of the messages in Outlast 1 or the Whistleblower DLC are mandatory to understand what's going on. The "subplot" is the main plot, the entire reason you're even in Mount Massive Asylum. You want to know why the asylum is committing unethical human experiments, and as you attempt to escape the nightmarish hellscape, you find out that the experiments were meant to "create" a ghost out of the trauma of a psychotic individual, hence all the torture being done to psychiatric patients in a mental institution. Outlast 2 has two plots. The real world plot of Blake's attempts to rescue his wife, Lynn, and his reliving of his childhood trauma surrounding Jessica's death. Both plots are easy to understand at a surface level, but the flashing light, Lynn's death, the baby, and the ambiguous ending don't give a satisfying conclusion to the real world story, and the hallucinations have absolutely nothing to do with what's going on in Temple Gate, except that they're loosely tied together by the radio station. Everyone at Temple Gate is being flashbanged and forced to experience hallucinations of past personal traumas, including Blake and his wife.
The main thing that ties the separate plots in Outlast 2 together is a throwaway document in Outlast 1. The document explains that women are not viable test subjects for the Wallrider experiment, because the experiment gives them the hallucination that they're pregnant when they're not. The hallucinations progress to the point that the woman will mistakenly give birth to her own vital organs and die horrifically, instead of inducing the Wallrider ghost, making women completely unviable for the Wallrider experiment. This is what happens to the missing girl at the beginning of Outlast 2, and it's what happens to Lynn at the end. But you'd have to play Outlast 1, find this document, read it (instead of quickly collecting it as a disposable collectible for the achievement), understand the document, remember this while playing Outlast 2, *_AND_* make the connection that this is what's happening at Temple Gate.
the story is amazing, if only they would have executed it well enough to make everyone understand. if you don’t have any memory of the files in part 1 and don’t find one well hidden crucial note in outlast 2, unfortunately you are gonna struggle to understand what the game is about. i think that’s the only mistake they did with the game, they provided very little actual storytelling about what’s going on and how once again Murkoff has their hands in everything. most people who complain about this game didn’t even read any notes or files.
Leuitermilch absolutely makes me sick to the core, especially if you look into his cut dialogue which is literally him forcing himself on Jessica.
I think Lynn was just gravely injured and her "giving birth" was probably her being in so much pain. After the bby was born (in Blake's head) Lynn just couldn't take it anymore and drew her last breath.
This is just incorrect. She suffered from a phantom pregnancy, which is a real thing, by the Morphogenic Engine. The body reacts as if it were pregnant but there is no fetus in the belly. She was also gravely injured, but she also was experiencing a rapid false pregnancy.This is not something the game made up, this really exists. Women get all the mental and physical symptons of pregnancy, but there is no baby. Female dogs also easily get false pregnancies, in real life.
There was a comic that explains this actually! The reason why there's no women at mount massive is because the morphogenic engine kept giving female staff and inmates symptoms of phantom pregnancy, so they were all moved to different facilities, Blake imagines the babies there because he's been constantly exposed to the morphogenic engine. Whilst Lynn was only exposed once before being taken to the mines, meaning that Blake was a lot more messed up!
I remember watching someone play Outlast 2 and the person I was playing was super confused because in Outlast , there was a logical explanation for what was happening. In Outlast 2, there is also a logical explanation but if you blink, you miss the note you can find that pretty much explains what's going on.
The thing I love about outlast is how all 3 games (not outlast trials) happen in the same time
You'd love the Saw series then lmaooo
then what 3 games? you mean 1 the dlc and 2?
@@ninoninononinoni8795 yeah
But the warehouse the trials are in can be seen in outlast 2 by the lake
@@Leannbby the outlast trials take place somewhere during the cold war.
At 26:06 it's funny cause there is no shadow of the baby, we only see the shadow of the hands of the protagonist.
I believe that Blake perceives his journey throughout Temple Gate as a final attempt at redemption for staying silent all those years ago. Deep down he feels that by saving Lynn he’ll atone for his supposed ‘sins’ during his religious upbringing… As the game progresses however he undergoes a change in mentality and states that ‘he was only a child’ when said events took place, which points to him finally releasing himself of the guilt he’d carried for so long. The morphogenic engine’s effect on him however eventually overwhelm his senses and drive him insane (slowly but surely), but even then he holds on to his one true objective, which is saving the life of the person he loves; even though towards the end of the game he now believes to be saving Jessica instead of Lynn, regressing into an almost childlike point of view, which is supported by the recordings where he states that ‘they’ll find a grown up and tell them what happened’.
Blake’s journey in Outlast 2 is almost comparable to that of demonic possession, in the sense that the morphogenic engine grabs ahold of his psyche in such a manner that it twists his grasp on reality, identity and self recognition. The hallucinations which were initially limited to the villagers end up being shared towards the end of the game, which also aims to confuse the player into whether what’s happening is mere delusion or the actual apocalypse brought upon the world by the birth of the Antichrist, Lynn and Blake’s supposed baby, who is by all means a transgression on the laws of nature, just like described by the cultists themselves.
Jessica’s appearance at the end of the game also varies depending on whether the player chooses to pursue her as soon as she starts screaming after encountering Loutermilch. If Blake doesn’t hesitate in coming back then her model will seem alive and well during the final scene, as opposed to being pale with rope marks around her neck. In this sense, while her phrase ‘you never let me go’ may allude to Blake’s trauma, in the end it can be interpreted as him never letting go of her memory, which now serves as his only safe haven after losing his sanity to Murkoff’s experiment. Just like the flashbacks are presented to the player in reverse, so does Blake’s psyche reverse to a childlike state (one of innocence and bliss) as stated before, in what may be a defense mechanism against the horrors of Temple Gate and the insidious effects of the engine.
The game ends with a prayer asking God for the virtue to be ‘gentle’, which is precisely the opposite of everything the game has shown until this point, further materializing the idea that Blake (though rendered insane) still remains a pure and kind hearted soul, which I believe is their way of expressing that he remained true to his religious principles even after everything he went through; his faith unshaken like that of a true believer, almost like a martyr.
In the end I believe that Outlast 2 ‘s story is about the resilience of the ordinary man’s faith being put to the test through extreme means, as well as how religion can shape one’s perspective on reality, themselves and their true purpose in the world. 10/10 horror game for me.
When it comes to psychological horror, this game is a masterpiece. The constant tension you feel while playing is just on a different level. Really a shame that the game is a trial and error festival and you have to look up what happened afterwards
no bro, it isn’t trial and error anymore. they re-balanced the game fairly good. And even before it wasn’t trail and error for me at least. if you are aware of your environment, you almost always will find the right way and don’t get into a dead end.
You need to immerse yourself fully into the game and play it as you are in a life-threatening situation! Then you know when to run and when to hide 😊
Look here, look listen.
Fun story from my own Catholic-tinged childhood - I grew up with an unstable parental figure who would blame everything from bad weather to her suicidal thoughts on me. I had a "complicated" encounter with a much older boy when I was six, then when I was 12 I was molested by a neighbour, and this lasted for 3 years. I fell pregnant, then my abuser set me up in a lose-lose scenario where I was told if I did the right things, I'd be left in peace wth my daughter, but of course that was never an option and he beat me so badly that I miscarried the next day at school. Throughout all of this I was told that one was or another it was my fault, it was my lot in life, it was God's plan for me, etc. and around the time I turned 16 I became convinced that I my lot was as the scapegoat, Catholic style. See a scapegoat was a kind of sacrificial offering, you put all of your sins onto the scapegoat and then kill it to kill the sins. Jesus was a scapegoat. And I became convinced that I was too, and that it was my job to take all of the abuse from every local nonce I could find so that other girls wouldn't have to. I'm not gonna talk about the things that happened to me after that (because I was looking for trouble) but suffice to say it was a very dangerous and unhealthy place for my mind to be.
I'm 34 now, and doing fine, but suffice to say I'm an atheist.
Hello fellow atheist scapegoat
I'm glad to read you're doing better these days and just wanted to drop in to let you know that my circumstances aren't the same as yours, but you aren't alone
@@brookehansen6973 why thank you
@@bearhugzfam649 Its nice to hear that you are doing well after all of that. I hope it stays that way and you have a happy life.
After reading through what you went through in life. I am in tears. I'm so sorry you had to go through all this suffering. And for these kinds of reasons, all the suffering any person would undergo despite not doing anything wrong or doing anything to deserve such things that I am mostly an atheist. This is exactly my question to every religion. What is your god or gods doing about all of this? Why is this allowed to happen? My answer after years of observing the world, is that even if god or gods exist they are not choosing to do anything about that or maybe there is no such deity or deities that exist.
Anyway, I'm very sad for what you went through, and I'm relieved and so happy that you are fine now. I wish you happiness, good health, fortune and good luck to you.
@@bensonabernathy4664I'm sorry for this lady suffering and others like her.
Now for your question, I'm not sure if it's rhetorical or not but in Islam, God create human to worship Him. He sent Adam, from him, come other humans, to Earth to rule it according to His commandment, not according to our whims and greeds.
There are no scapegoat for other sins to be push onto one person. Everyone responsible for their own sins, a son/daughter do not inherit his father/mother sin.
Every good will be rewarded by God, every sins will be punished in the afterlif. The right to enter Paradise is solely held by God.
The life on this world is a test for every human.
I'm sorry if this came as preaching, I didn't meant it that way. I just want to introduce you to a glimpse of Islam.
As someone who’s always been a pretty big fan of Outlast 2, it was great and kind of cathartic to hear you express publicly a lot of thoughts that I’ve had about the greater themes of the game. I even learned some new stuff too. It’s not a perfect game by any means, but I’ve always thought it was a lot better than most people gave it credit for. Thank you for making this video, and I’ll be sure to check out your follow up video as well.
I constantly return to Outlast 2. I think its story is really underrated. I like the way the writing weaves the temple gate cult and the school sections together. Blake’s “catholic guilt” and the priest that abused Jessica overlaps with Knoth and all the perverse religious zealotry in Arizona. Super underrated. Would love to pick the brains of the writer(s)
I think the genius of the Outlast franchise is its encouragement of emulating investigative journalism. The Outlast franchise is, by very nature, an investigative journalism affair: You play as investigative journalists (or her cameraman) in both of the main entries. Just like in real life, the stories, should you choose to only experience them at face value, appear as absolute insanity and horrific chaos: shock value for the sake of shock value. Only upon applying your investigative journalism skills, and observing the world around you with great care, do you truly get to the bottom of understanding the true horror, story, and messaging.
Outlast 2 was instantly one of my favorite games. On the outside, it appears as nothing but cruel and unnecessary perverseness and violence. Upon closer examination, it reveals its relevance to real-world events and topics, and the feeling of discovery that comes with that investigation is incredible. The genre of Horror, as a metaphor for real-world horrors, is an excellent medium to explore the topics Outlast 2 does, including dangers of blind faith, worshipping the cult of personality, the lies we tell ourselves, hiding sins and cruelty behind the face of religion, and using religion/belief as a totem of morality.
7:09 bro was hitting a crazy milly rock on the main character.🗿 I would run too.
Hardest comment. Needs more likes
This game makes you feel like you’re going insane with the protagonist, which is why it makes it so terrifying to me
I liked how if you read the religious writings,which often cryptically tell you what is about to happen,then its like your character starts falling into the same mass hysteria that everyone else is experiencing and aiming to become a self fulfilling prophecy
I love the amount of time and effort you put into each video. Please keep posting I find your videos really really enjoyable compared to other youtubers
Outlast 2 is extremely underrated in my opinion. I think it's almost the perfect horror game.
The problem is that they are trying to tell so much...like too much.
Silent Hill 2 have, what? 1 Big history and 2 sub. They are shorts, and they are explain in very diferents parts and moments. The big history is always the center part, and every time you go to that subplot, the end is "Yeah, but my wife"
Outlast 2 is over the place. You have a Crash, oh, Yeah, lets tal about school now. Then Crash again, the school, now pregnant, now crash, now ending...
@@runig006 fr, it just gets cluttered and confusing.
Not just underrated but overhated. And I really don't think the main storyline is that confusing. Blake is going through hell and it brings up memories of the most traumatic memories of his childhood.
I think alien isolation is the perfect game tbh. Outlast 2 is great but the best parts are the school segments IMO. Everything else is meh.
@@watchmehope6560 Not really, 2nd half of the game ruins it
As someone with religious trauma, this is one of my favorite games ever. I loved it from the first play through
Perfect explanation of this game and especially the ending. The video is well put together and I love the darker tone of it all. The parts where you talk with the camera are also fitting. Honestly really good job and thanks👍🏻
Thanks!! I’m glad you liked it
The way me and my buddies played the outlast games is sit shoulder to shoulder and pass the controller when one of us died it made the game even more fun each of us having different reaction to a jump-scare or chase scene
Yesss!! That was my friend and me but when Marta chased me I’d hide and not wanna come out so my friend would get irritated with me 😂 I’m like I feel perfectly fine right here thank you
glad your back been looking forward to the videos this is 100% my number 1 horror channel keep up the content but please bring back the old channel background music loved it
it’s nice to have u back man!! ur one of my favorites for sure
Ohh, finally, a Hitstart video! Been waiting for it for quite some time but it was worth it. Really cool vid as usually, Adrian!
Outlast II deserves more love, I'm really sad people overlook the actual good the game does, rather just heavily critiquing the bad.
It's a flawed ass game, but there's quite a bit of substance and lore to dig your fingers into after some searching and researching
Temple Gate especially has a surprising amount of lore to it, tangible history and events you can piece together to learn what kind of fucked up things happened before Blake just stumbled into the town by pure accident.
Stuff like why Val goes against Papa Knoth's teachings after a massive child murder-spree the town goes on due to Knoth's insane ramblings (which with the whole heavy hallucination aspect, it really makes me sympathize with the people here, even Knoth to an extent despite the terrible shit he's done) regardless, Val ran an orphanage or something which was destroyed, leading them to defect and create a counter-cult in order to go against Knoth's directly, leading to the warring factions.
The game has its issues, especially from the rushed development cycle, and a severe lack of proper character interactions
There's actually quite a lot of cut content in the game, my highlights are voicelines for a better Val/Marta death, and Knoth accidentally broadcasting him complaining about needing syphilis medication over some of the intercoms.
Stuff like this would have really added to the characterization these characters so desperately needed in order to be more interesting.
Trials adds some more lore to Knoth, which is nice.
I do hope Red Barrels considers doing something with Outlast II, maybe some of the early ideas could get reused for Outlast III? They've expressed an interest in making it, and with Trials' stellar gameplay, I think they could pull off something truly special.
well red barrels had to cut out a lot of stuff throughout the patches of the game... i think they removed the Val chase scene as the finalised version but im not sure plus Martas death in the beta stages was much different compared to the finalised one where Val actually comes in to kill Marta... Val and her cult r3pe scene was cut throughout the patches im pretty sure... in the beta stages you wouldve heard more of Loutermilch preying on Jessica as well as actually having dialogue with Jessica... don't Google if you can't take those types of stuff, its very horrible and there's multiple and its long but that's the game that Red Barrels wanted to present but they neutered it down but i think it played into the games favor on whats real and what's not since you might initially think that the priest r3ped Jessica but at the same time Blake gets confused by it and his guilt didn't want to acknowledge that she got actually r3ped since Loutermilch twisted his way of thinking that she actually died by hanging
Val, my beloved
For some odd reason they cut a lot of Val content! Val was supposed to straddle a woman, have voicelines with Marta ["Papa loved me best"], they were supposed to chase you for way longer...like...Val was the best antagonist and yet they have no content lmfao. It sucks.
Especially since Val's entire existence was essentially a trigger for Blake. A religious figure around children who turned into some sexual predator? Uh, yeah. Major antagonist. Yet you see them only a couple of times.
@@godzillazfriction It is implied that Marta comes into the mines after Blake is assaulted and kills Val, hence why there was cut voicelines of Val taunting and sexually harassing Marta. Have no idea why RB cut it, tbh
Thank you for the in-depth look into this game. I didn't really understand it at first and did believe it was the least scary of the Outlast experiences, but seeing your video opened my eyes to what Red Barrel was trying to do with Outlast 2, and what so many people, including myself, missed out on in the way they told the story and what can only be described as another masterpiece of theirs in the Outlast universe. Keep making great content, please, and thank you for opening my mind to an experience I once considered mediocre, now turned grateful.
Amazing review. I love this half hour long format.
Such an interesting story, but I cant help but feel like it should have been the focus of its own game. Both the hallucinations and the cult of Noth are fascinating from a storytelling perspective, but the two have to fight for space in the available playtime of the game.
ummm so it worked? i dont get you.
Trying to tell all of these stories in one game and one go creates a painful chokehold over the gameplay so I can't help but to agree. You mostly just run the other way, no tactical diversions, door locking or proper hiding places with intricately designed levels. While hopping from one "reality" to another seamlessly is impressive on a technical standpoint, not only creates a weirdly numbing pace but like I've said doesn't really offer room for level design as each segment just come and go in a blistring pace. So once again while I indeed agree your opinion about the storylines not getting enough time to flourish, I have to say gameplay suffers the most in my opinion.
I was terrified playing this😂 idk if I was more terrified playing this than the first though
Bruh I was just annoyed my 1st play through. Story wise, I fucks with it personally lol.
@@cielinteri5673SAME ITS not scary its more annoying
@@user-is2mj2ig4voh yeah for sure it’s more annoying but I was still scared😂
This is an incredible analysis. Very deep, yet very clear. I'm pleased to know your channel!
Outlast 2 ending makes me feel depressed not gonna lie. I hope more people will find red barrel is the gem of the horror instead of feeling "offended". That is what a horror game or plot should have. Nasty, disgusting, cruel, that is why its R18. I hope people just stop booing at this team and let them go wild with their plot and design. 😢
You should talk about the Silent Hill franchise next, especially the second game
My favorite will always be Silent Hill 4: The Room. I 100% agree with you though!
Pretty sure the priest blackmailed young Blake into perpetuating the sui*de lie with the threat of blaming him for the murder, and that’s what he feels all the guilt over.
I also think he (Blake) loved Jessica but ended up with Lyn instead because of what happened.
Outlast 2 gets way too much shit. It's a solid, interesting and engaging horror experience, and is smarter than most people give credit for. I will always defend this game for what it gets right.
It gets shit because it's twists are cliche and it's attempts at shock value are laughable. I still like it but it's story is not some grand intriguing mystery.
Top notch explanation, really goes in to depth about what outlast 2 is really about. I know many don’t like this game but me personally, I find it quite enjoyable when you understand what’s going on.
i would love to watch longer videos from you. im sorry you dont get the number of views you deserve. amazing job explainng
I think they should have made the story clearer to people. The documents answer a lot of questions, and because of this, many people are left confused and disappointed. Even for me, I didn't fully understand Murkoff's involvement until I found the document on the beach. Not only that, but Lynn's "pregnancy" was explained in a document in the first game and I highly doubt anyone remembers or even found this document.
Edit: I also believe it would have been helpful if they added a DLC, like in the first game.
Good work dude, keep it up!
I love the idea of the whol franchise's central theme being abuse of power. From a gameplay perspective, the series is famous for rendering the player completely powerless, meaning the central theme is a perfect match to the gameplay.
Finally some Outlast 2 appreciation.
Crazy story. I didn't know about Outlast, but now I'm interested in Outlast Trials which I just found on Steam
Great video man always good to see some outlast 2 love
This is what I love about outlast 2 because the 1 outlast focused on body horror but outlast 2 focused on mental horror makes you question what is real and not.
Great video essay for a great game! I honestly really love the threads that the game leaves to piece together the ending without fully giving it away. My first play through I didn’t find all of the collectibles including the recording of the microwave towers so I was very confused 😂
Worth mentioning that taking your own life is seen as a sin in Catholicism and badically damns you to hell in the afterlife
they guilt people for having mental illness pretty much 😂
Same thing with islam
That isn't entirely true. Some modern Catholic scholars, teachers, and even priests will not treat or view sucide the same way many in the church viewed it, say, 30 years ago.
What I love about outlast is that people think or some people think it’s just a gore game, and nothing else but the stories that both games tell are so good, once you look under the gore, it’s a very damn good story
I played this game with my niece on a big screen and the school parts freaked us out so much we sometimes had to stop😂 My niece had pain in her neck for 3 days because she was so tensed during playing. We both loved this game
Really well made analysis. I never completed this game because it didn’t grip me like the first one. I like your interpretation and it actually makes me want to give the game another chance. Well done!
NEW HITSTART OUTLAST VIDEO LETS GOOOOOOOO
I was always fascinated by this game, due to the grisly nature and visuals, and that constant fear of never being safe. The school hallucinations were also a good touch of "liminal space" sort of horror. I still think this is one of the best horror games to this day, imo.
Your video has really made me change the way I see Outlast 2. I was also one of the many people who hated the game at launch for how confusing it was, but it clearly wanted players to pay close attention and dig deeper for the message like the Silent Hill games. I’m definitely gonna give Outlast 2 another playthrough without hating on it blindly
Used to think the hand monster was so creepy but that shot of him jiving towards the camera had me rolling
The Murkoff Corp. working from the background malforming minds into monsters as the enemies is just the perfect realm. They should just work on the run away gameplay mechanic a little
Waiting for the saw game review part 3. Sooo exited for the new movie
Man… this vid made me completely change my mind about how I felt about Outlast 2. I see how it all works and comes together and just… makes sense, rather than all the confusion beforehand about everything that happened
26:05 The baby has no shadow
I wish there was a dlc for this game the dlc for outlast 1 was one of the best dlcs ive ever played it felt like you were in a movie while playing it
i went on a catholic school as a kid and personally know someone who was abused by a teacher this hit too close to home
Subbed. Enjoyed the video! Hope u do Outlast trials. Maybe the comics.
Nah cause let's be honest the story line is so sad and f up, he went through all that and at the very end still believes in those lies. this one really made me feel so sad for Blake and Jessica i just can't really comprehend at the same time.
I’m so happy you made this video, outlast 2 is criminally underrated, not only is the store absolutely fucked up like you said, in a good scary way, but also kind of sad. But the setting is unmatched, the creepy old broken down wooden town was done so perfectly, yeah gameplay wise you can get lost but that also adds to the terror being lost in a place as fucked up as that. Anyways amazing game
Very nice. This is what I like to see. Good video
When Lynn says there's nothing there, the baby has no shadow
I'm so glad you do games. I personally loved Outlast 2, it really hit me on a level the first one didn't and it went much deeper. It captured my attention really quick. I see no faults with it. Thats just my personal opinion of the game though. I absolutely LOVE the scene transitioning.
This is one of my favourite games, and it’s immensely scary
I've been fangirling over this jewel since its release in 2017 and I swear, there had never been a game I've loved so much and for such a long time in my life and that says a lot 😁 I mean, I admit the presence of its flaws, but this doesn't stop me from loving it with all of myself and the fact that there are still people talking about it makes me seriously emotional, not gonna lie 🥰 And the proof of my intense love towards this game derives from the fact that I've been planning a fanfic about it from 5 long years (and no, this is not a joke!) and I have zero regrets about it 😁
7:08 that boy came through Milly rockin 💀
There's so many things i could say about this game, yet i don't want to waste hours for that, so... This game is acutally great: visuals is great, setting is great, soundtrack and sound design overall is AWESOME, just phenomenal and the main aspect - story is also great with some flaws, let me explain what went wrong...
Story, characters and other details:
Outlast games always had interesting antagonists - Chris Walker, Tragger, Billy Hope (Wallrider), Dr.Wernicke, Martin (Priest), Brothers in original Outlast game - you remember them, because they have at least some background and was in different situations throughout the whole game, they're simply memorable... Same with Outlast: Whistleblower characters - Frank Manera(Cannibal), Jeremy Blaire (Supervisor), Eddie Gluskin and even 2nd characters like Dennis(the guy with multiple personalities) - all of them also really memorable.
And with Outlast 2 there's actually some problems...
Let's start with great antagonists
Marta - probably the best antagonist in the village, really memorable character
Laird & Nick - is also great but their problem is they're not that "big" character throughout the whole "Scalled" chapter, yet there are a little problem with them gameplay wise also...
Val - is a cool character but there's a feeling like developers cut some content from the mines so to me it has that incomplete feeling
Sullivan Knoth - to me is the weakest antagonist, idk how it would work if he was "playable" but there probably should be more cutscenes with him, because his appearance right at the end of the game feels really off...
There's some 2nd characters like Ethan, Corgan or Mary who's also a bit memorable(which is great) and overall hillbillies and Heretics too...
And the main antagonist for me is Father Loutermilch of course, he's the best one even thought his appearances and chases sometimes feels too much.
Main protagonist(s) is okay, there's 0 flaws to them imo.
When the game was released it was a mess.. Developers thought it was a good idea to put chases everywhere, you had to run almost all the time you played the game and dying every 5 minutes makes players angry, they're starting to feel frustrated (and i can easily understand them), so that worked against both: game and it's story, because story itself is not that clear and kinda leave you some space to think about some aspects by yourself, but who really want to think about great story if you're dying every 5 minutes? right, no one.
That's what was the biggest problem at it's release, but now some chases was cut leaving you some time to take a breath and think about experiences you survived, yet there's another problem - players.
Some players can be scared, some players just don't care and some are really stupid... All 3 of them still have similar thing: dying because they dont know where to go even when there's the only clear option and the game is literally linear(corridor'ish) it is the same as it was in both: original game and dlc but with a different environment, there's no literal walls but there are trees, rocks, etc. yet players won't treat that as a "wall".
If we're coming back to the release version - there was some level design issues like no hints where to go(lights, blood or anything else what would attract players attention)
I know it's sounds stupid, but it really works, these type of hints (lights especially) gives you visual that attract your attention yet some players are just stupid and will end up dying for 20 minutes straight until they're ragequit/someone will help them/or they'll find it by yourself.
So, in conclusion Outlast 2 is not perfect even right now, because it's not as simple as it was before, it's more mysterious and more think-about-it-by-yourself type of game in terms of story, and that's also the reason why some antagonists feel incomplete, there are "background" to everything, but you have to be really interested in this to understand how great full story actually is and what it's trying to tell.
P.S.
I still forgot to mention that Outlast: Whistleblower is the best game in series and it's also the reason why Outlast 2 was a mess at release because it's intense, like really intense - this game is made out of chases(almost every 5 minutes) and it works, because you can finish it in 1-2 hours...
But when your game is 6 hours long(at least) it will end up a mess.
On a Sunday afternoon? Guess I need a little disturbance and lack of sanity, at least until football season starts.
awesome description/explanation
it was a really interesting video !
Now, i want to play the game, you made me very curious
I was honestly surprised people didnt like 2 as much as I did. I'm glad some people are revisiting it again and changing their thoughts. Is it a perfect game? No, it isn't. But when I first played it I loved the connections to the Morphenic Engine from Outlast 1 and how Murkoff still exists and running experiments. I also loved the parallel of the Temple Gate cult to the real Heaven's Gate cult. There was so much I loved about this game, and still do.
I really enjoyed outlast 2 when I first played it, it was absolutely horrifying and I loved it. But after many replays and even going as far as earning the messiah achivement that required me to play through the whole story on one battery and with one life the game got more... annoying rather than scary. The unskippable cutscenes, annoying AI and what seemed like random unreliable RNG in various enemy encounters, but what really ended up annoying me the most wasn't the weird and at first glance complicated story but something that a lot of people were complaining about from the very beggining- the sole game construcion. The fact that there's a chase scene one after another is a really dumb decision made by the creators (at least in my opinion). I've always thought that the better solution would've been relying on stealth, and making the chase scenes more of a punishment for the player for not being cautious enough. I think that would've made the game less hated already. It's funny to think that if the gameplay would be even a little bit diffrent from what it ended up like, the game would not be as despised by players.
Honestly man, you just put this whole video game series completely into perspective. The whole theme of "blindly following someone's authority because there is no other choice or that your brain has been coerced into following that authority" is the point of the whole franchise. THAT is the functional reason why the protagonist that we play as, in any of the games, cannot defend themselves and has to run away, because Murkhoff(or whatever substitute authority) told us to, and their mind-control knows no bounds.
Also the monstruous louterlmich form ressembles a lot the skinnerman, linking murkoff doingd even more
the fact that the game took 6 years to figure out its story shows that its way of telling it was convoluted. great video and thanks for finally making me understand this nonsense of a game XD
As a catholic, I can confirm this. I constantly feel bad for accidentally cussing, and my mom and dad drive a point where if you keep doing this, you will go to hell. And the guilt is horrible to feel as a catholic. Know I dont hate my religion, I want to be a good person, its just that I wish the guilt wasnt as bad as it is. Awesome video by the way
The novels tie all these loose ends up very neatly.
They're a great read and are available for free, with a quick search.
Do you refer to the comics over on the Red Barrels' site? As far as I know there aren't any actual books like novels about Outlast other than the comics.
@@FunkyGhostHD I guess
I know a lot of people hate that this game is hard to understand, but it's one of my favourite things about the game. It's so fun to watch video essays like this one and find out that it's even more of an in depth masterpiece than I originally thought, I also really loved being confused and not knowing what was going, especially when it comes to the ending, it's just so fascinating and well done
Outlast 2 was the first one of the trio i played, and it was truly an amazing experience. horrifying as well
Do you ever play these live? I'd watch
I got here because I wanted to know how to beat all the saw games. I stayed cus this content is top notch!
On a first playthrough I could understand why people would hate on this game, but if you delve into the lore and play the game again it is a banging game
You can see Merkoff symbol beneath the static of the school footages
9 months late but this story becomes so sad and so does the story of outlast 1 when you learn a lot more about murkoff
Would you mind adding sub-titles when showing in game videos? Some of those whete pretty hard to understand for a non native speaker
Great video!
Outlast 2, I think, didn't entirely work because its bathroom hallucinations run counterproductively against the rest of the game.
This is why people didn't like it.
The themes don't carry over.
In the original Peter Pan Disney classic, the epic rivalry between Pan and Hook serve to show the Darling kids "this is what happens when you don't grow up". Pan is symbolically what they think they want to be, and Hook is what they will become if they don't stop now - and the crocodile with the clock serve as a kindly reminder that death is around the corner for Hook, so use your time wisely. These themes connect back to the Darling nursery where Wendy sits upon the precipice of growing up. It works.
But then in the recent live action remake, the symbolism takes a back seat to Pan and Hook having some age old bitter argument about betrayal and "growing up wrong" and Hook missing his mother as a child. It has nothing to do with the original established theme. It doesn't make sense. The writer's thought it would be cool to make Hook sympathetic, and it didn't work. Rather, this is the perfect example of a stories written theming "done wrong".
Outlast 2's narrative structuring more closely fits the second example. Blake's hallucinations at the school - while creepy, cool and downright terrifying - do little to add to the over-aching story.
The B-Story must be in service of the A-Story.
Had Father Loutermilch from Blake's memories been the same priest from the present, the story could have maybe worked. Had the story more closely tied itself to Outlast 1, rather than the lore being a single note near a lake somewhere, it also could have somewhat worked. In summary, Blake doesn't experience any post-traumatic growth... or growth in general. Nothing changes. It's like the game need not happened at all. There's no emotional catharsis for the player.
In all, I do enjoy the game. It IS a lot of fun. I prefer its horror over Outlast 1, but Outlast 1 is definitely the better game.
i love how you saw that recent video of someone talking about sympathetic villain back stories don't always work and now you're trying to still talk down on the game just because in your head, you had the power and self gratitude to present your idea... tf are you smoking buddy.
like i dont know if you realised this but your argument of the Peter Pan sh1t doesn't really work when the themes or the B-story still collides within the main story as well as its character throughout the whole game... hell you can even make it the whole story as it still collides with the main but the school part is still the main part of the story with the present timeline...
i have no idea on what you're on about 'Had Father Loutermilch from Blake's memories been the same priest from the present' like i dont understand how that would even work giving the games context... it doesn't need it at all... you really expect Loutermilch to be right there physically and to be really there in the present timeline... you're completely missing the point... you're off the spectrum...
why does the 2nd game absolutely NEED to be so so so tied with the 1st game.... this isn't a case with a game like Manhunt 2 where there's barely any connections with the 1st manhunt and that's fine but you're failing to realise that Outlast 2 is still very very tied within the games universe that Outlast 1 presented.
and wdym by "it also could have somewhat worked" - like what, you failed to even give an example and im and others that will read this comment will go confused with the implication to something...
how does Blake not even experience growth and why does he even need to so the game can be considered 'good' to you... whatever
@@godzillazfriction Clearly you feel very strongly about what I had to say.
And it was just my random thoughts.
No need to get angry or ask what I'm smoking lololol
@@DJTS1991 wow nice comeback or lack thereof... you really had nothing to say.
You can notice that the baby doesn't have a shadow when Blake is holding the baby in the delivery cutscene. It could be that the entity of baby doesn't project a shadow due to the game engine but if not then this proves that it was a hallucination right.
It‘s kinda funny that many people completely miss that shadow at 25:24 and the completely missing shadow of the baby xD
The only character in outlast to have a somewhat happy ending is Waylon park. Since he did managed to escape murkoff alive and exposed their corruption. The only reason it ain’t completely happy is because he paints a target on himself doing it but still he did win and actually defeated the true villains murkoff
Miles died, Waylon got away and Blake continue to suffer.
Love the optimism that the death stopped him from doing the ultimate sin but I think it’s fairly obvious that he’s done and been doing it to poor Jessica
outlast 2 didn’t make any sense to me until i found out there are outlast comic books that explain the lore
The Psycological Insanity of Outlast 2
The Psychological Insanity of Outlast 2
The Psychological Insanity of Outlast 2@@magnificmango336
The Psychological Insanity of Outlast 2