💎 PREMIUM: Id/maydscrd - High Quality

Let me start this review off by mentionning I mostly loved everything about the first game. The atmosphere was on point, the sound design was terrifying and the gameplay was fine. This is not the case for Outlast 2. I do not believe I have ever been more disappointed by a sequel.

Story:
The story is completely devoid of coherent plot points. It's basically this: wake up, run somewhere, run somewhere else, run some more, find side character in different state you left them in 7 hours ago, end of the game. The game lacks any kind of character development apart from Knoth's (who only gets basic character development in the last minutes of the game through a badly executed redemption arc). There are a ton of plot holes that could only be explained if you are an Outlast lore expert (and even then it is a reach in some cases). The game basically blames the radio towers for everyone and everything being so nonsensical through the game.The dumbest plot line is the one with Lynn and the psychosomatic pregnancy she goes through. Why? The plot is already pointless if you have read "Miscarried Profits" in Outlast: Whistleblower. This is a reoccuring theme with Outlast 2's story; a lot of references are made to already known information and when they are trying to create "new" lore, it just ends up being terrible because it directly contradicts with the lore already established in Outlast 1 and Whistleblower. The including of the scenes in the school are dont serve to move the story forward and are probably to bring you past the point you can refund the game.

Gameplay:
The handling of your character in this game feels like it has improved since the last game (or is it just that you are constantly moving in large, open spaces unlike in the first game where almost every map is cramped and tightly packed). The world design is bland repetitive. Adding meat hooks and piles of dead bodies to fill up a space gets old fast, especially when it's overdone. There are two things this game does better than its predecessor; chase scenes and the behaviour of roaming AI. Chase scenes in this game can be good (as long as you don't take the wrong turn, run out of batteries for your camcorder or simply get deleted from reality by an enemy teleporting in front of you). The roaming AI in this game is so much better than in the first one (but not for larger bosses, they are somehow more braindead than the first game's). One of the main problems with the player character is the size of his hitbox, it is too large and enemies will be able to get to you even though you are not within arms reach of them (and sometimes through objects).

Other criticism:
This game feels like it was written by a an edgy teenager going through a weird phase. The enemy's vision is 20/20 in all conditions even with a combination blinding storms, thick fog or even objects (basically wallhacks by moments). If you are a dark souls 3 player, this game will bring back memories when you get stunlocked (which is pretty much everytime an enemy gets within anywhere near you). There are simply too many chases. The camcorder in this game is an absolute pain in the ass to use, it is always taking the focus away from the game to remember you that you haven't fed it it's 9 battery in the last 5 minutes and that you need to go back and look for more batteries.

Conclusion:
Outlast 2 is not a good sequel. You should stay away from if you are a fan of the Outlast franchise. The story is bland at best and will bore about an hour into the game. The game features repetitive level design and feels like a walking simulator. The dark setting of the game quickly becomes tedious because the environments are too dark. The only improvements were made in the chase scenes department (which get repetitive after the 5th one in the first 20 minutes of playing). Some of the NPC models are slightly better than in the first one (which shouldnt even be an argument for a game released 4 years later). Definetely not worth the 30$ price tag.