Outlast Trailer Unveils Asylum Horrors

[Andy Chalk]

Outlast Trailer Unveils Asylum Horrors

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The first project from new indie studio Red Barrels looks very promising, and very scary.

The new Montreal-based indie studio Red Barrels was formed by industry veterans Phillipe Morin, David Chateauneuf and Hugo Dallaire, who between them have high-level credits on Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Assassin's Creed, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Splinter Cell: Conviction and Army of Two. But their debut title will be a slightly smaller-scale project: a first-person horror game entitled Outlast.

Outlast is set in Mount Massive, an abandoned, dilapidated insane asylum that's recently been reopened by the multinational Murkoff Corporation. Acting on a tip that all is not as it appears, journalist Miles Upshur breaks in but quickly realizes that might not have been a great idea, as he's trapped inside with something "that walks a terrifying line between science and religion, nature and something else entirely." His only way out is through, to the "terrible truth at the heart of Mount Massive."

I can't help but wonder if the whole indie first-person horror thing is at risk of becoming a little overdone. Outlast sounds more than a little Amnesia-like, after all, and the "haunted Asylum" thing is just about pure cliche. But Morin suggested that the enemies in Outlast will be far more intelligent and dogged in their pursuit of players than Alexander's sad, horrific creations, and there's no denying that this trailer looks good. It looks really good.

I suppose there's room in my life for another game like this. I just wish I could figure out why I keep inflicting them upon myself. Outlast is currently slated for a PC-only digital release sometime in 2013. To find out more, check out redbarrelsgames.com [http://redbarrelsgames.com/index.html].


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[VanQ]

If there's one thing that the indie scene has given us, it's absolutely amazing horror games. They don't shun skin crawling, carnal experiences for mass appeal and quite often have writing that far exceeds their AAA counterparts.

The setting is enough to make me interested, this is the first I've heard of it but I'm already looking forward to it. There was a game I heard of that was set in some Italian saw mill that I've been meaning to getting around to playing but I forgot the name of it, that one looked pretty damn good too.

 

[Legion]

PC only? Bah.

It looks cool so far, but my PC probably wouldn't be good enough to handle any game out next year.

 

[Draxz]

"Summer 2013"

 

[Skeleon]

Looks good, especially considering it doesn't seem to be combat-focused. I'm just a bit worried this might turn out to be little more than a shock-effect horror game, where things just pop up and yell at you rather than building an actual atmosphere. I guess only time will tell.

 

[Earthmonger]

If there's one thing Indie games have taught me, it's that I should wait for reviews before opening my wallet. Yeah, the premise interests me, and I dig horror games, but, too many times have I found myself at the end of a game after just four or five hours of play and thought, "Well, what was the point of that. Pfft."

 

[Nihlus2]

So on one hand... we have got the big time companies, dishing out Resident Evil 6, Silent Hill: Book of Memories, and Dead Space 3 as the "Survival Horror" paragons, with co-op systems, jump scares, companions and love interests, and weapon arsenals that puts even some military organisations to shame.

On the other hand we have got Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Outlast, and possibly Among the Sleep, where it seems your own mind is your only companion (and your worst enemy), no means of defending yourself, and the sense of dread and atmosphere.

Hmmm... decisions decisions.

 

[RobfromtheGulag]

A Machine for Pigs, Among the Sleep, and perhaps OutLast

Sacrilegium might be horror too. Can't really tell. Initially I had it earmarked as such, but the website now makes it look more like a cross between Van Helsing and Alan Wake.

Looks good, especially considering it doesn't seem to be combat-focused. I'm just a bit worried this might turn out to be little more than a shock-effect horror game, where things just pop up and yell at you rather than building an actual atmosphere. I guess only time will tell.

This is a good point. My knee-jerk reaction was to be awed by the graphics, but this could very easily become the equivalent of a bad straight to video (there are some good ones) horror flick.

The way the guy got through that hole in the wall so quickly reminded me a bit of Mirror's Edge however. Parkour + Horror = Opportunity?