Outlast 2 is a terrifying mishmash of horror tropes and crotch stabbing

Outlast 2

To play Outlast 2 at PAX East, you're first ushered into a creepy house and sat among black curtains. There's a camera above the monitor, mocking you, waiting to capture your screams so they can put you in their next trailer. I refused to become an infrared marketing clip.

Outlast 2 is scary, though, for sure. It's got all the horror pastiches we know and love: a night vision video camera, inverted crosses, a creepy music box, a cornfield, a little kid, tricycles. It's a toybox of horror tropes rattled around until a monster jumps in your face. I let out a "hah, uh," at one point, I think. But no scream. Not me.

I left the black curtains more uncomfortable than on edge, really, because the final scene gave me a nice first person look at what it might be like to be stabbed through the crotch. What the hell, Outlast 2?

After my demo, I spoke to Red Barrels co-founder Philippe Morin (I didn't scream or ask him 'what the hell?' but maybe I should've) about the horrors we can expect in the full game. Watch the interview above, and look for Outlast 2 to release later this year.

Tyler Wilde
Executive Editor

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the rise of personal computers, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on the early PCs his parents brought home. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, Bushido Blade (yeah, he had Bleem!), and all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now. In 2006, Tyler wrote his first professional review of a videogame: Super Dragon Ball Z for the PS2. He thought it was OK. In 2011, he joined PC Gamer, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.