We’ve all had childhood nightmares where we were chased by a demon and we couldn’t do anything about it, right? (I know I’m not the only one.) Outlast 2 is very interesting, and the main gimmick of this game bumps up the horror factor tenfold. It's extremely dark, and you can easily get nightmares due to how realistic the events of the game feel. The darkness will terrify you, as you can’t see what’s friend from foe. This game challenges the mental state of the player. Now that’s what I call a truly horrifying experience.

​Caution is advised.
You follow the story of Blake Langgerman, a cameraman working with his wife, Lynn. The two of you are investigating a case no one wants to touch (for obvious reasons). The case is related to the murder of Jane Doe, a pregnant woman who had gone missing. This has led you deep within the deserts of Arizona, where it’s so dark that you’d forget that light even existed. You start to lose your mind in a place like this. Corruption seeps through your veins every second.
​(Yikes, that got to hurt)
You two travel through the Arizona deserts by plane due to the terrain being inaccessible for land vehicles. Unexplainable  circumstances cause the plane to crash, seemingly killing everyone on board. You wake up from the plane crash questioning how you even survived. The plane that crashed bursts into flames while you are still trying to figure out where you are. You head down a cliff and the first thing you see are the pilots: killed gruesomely, skinned alive, and hanged like a prized possession. Blake’s will to find Lynn and leave is the only thing that is keeping him from going insane.
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Within the first 20 minutes of the game you are introduced to the horrors that are to come within Outlast 2. 
This game is first person, which means you get to experience Outlast up close and personal. The game has 5 difficulties: Easy (boring), Normal (great for beginners), Hard (now we are getting somewhere), Nightmare ( alright, you’re starting to get out of hand), and Insane( this is basically real life).  The controls of the game are quite simple. You can sprint, crouch, interact with things, and use your camera. You see, Blake has no experience when it comes to combat, so fighting your way out of situations is impossible. Your only options are either running or hiding. The enemies are also quite interesting, as their AI is actually very smart. They consist of these crazy villagers that attack you using Sickles, Knives, Hoes, or flaming arrows. The environment is very green, as this game takes place within a rural part of Arizona. You aren’t given a map, so getting lost within the environment is very easy. 
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​You are given the option to use a camera, which is a mandatory tool in this game. With this, you can listen for extremely quiet noises that the enemies make that you couldn’t normally hear. You are also able to see in the dark; however, the camera has a battery life. You can collect batteries to keep your camera active, but use it sparingly. You also can collect bandages to heal, but there’s a limited amount of them, so don’t get slashed by the tons of villagers chasing you.
​Throughout the game, you experience these flashbacks that give you details on Blake's childhood. There, you see a young Blake, a young Lynn, and a new character named Jessica. Chronologically before the events of the game transpire, you learn that Jessica commited suicide. You learn a lot about her and your guys' relationship seems to flourish; however, this character that goes by the name of Loutermilch changes all of that. 

​He is the antagonist of the game as he currently haunts the player through these flashbacks as you start to learn more about the story as a whole. You learn about the truth behind the suicide of Jessica and the story of Outlast 2. 
This is the scariest game that you will ever play. The game perfectly sets the tone of emptiness and hopelessness in the player. You don’t have any weapons or anything to protect you from the endless amount of villagers. You cannot kill or even fight back at all. You truly feel like you’re being hunted, which you are. This game is also very symbolic; the death of Jessica could represent what happens when your innocence and your mind get stripped away from you. Nearly every enemy speaks about your death as a way of repenting in the name of God, which is ludicrous. Blake re-experiences these traumatic events as they start to catch up with them. He hasn’t moved on from what happened at school with Jessica, and the game truly captures that aspect from within the flashbacks. The flashbacks are filled with innocence, but the mood of the rest of the game is filled with nothing but despair. 
​This game captures horrors in ways that most horror games fail at. They make the player feel defenseless, like a turtle flipped on its shell. You truly get to feel like you’re actually Blake in this game. This game takes about 7 hours for average players and 13 hours for completionists. This game can be played on both Xbox and Playstation for $30.

​Overall, I give this game a 9/10. This game does an amazing job with giving the player a true horror experience. I do, however, only advise players who are more comfortable with horror to play this game.

Earnest Thomas