Outlast
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Time to get scared: Outlast next week, says PlayStation Blogcast
Just a quickie here, since it was all but confirmed: The institutionalized scares of Outlast are freaking out the PS4 next week, according to this week's Blogcast. PlayStation Europe already had Red Barrels' horror lined up for next week, but Sony's podcast confirms the same for North America, barring the PS Blog's formalities that "PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice." Cling onto that formality while you still can. Outlast left us wanting to stop playing it over and over when it hit PC last year, with Joystiq's normally unflinching Jess Conditt saying, "Those moments when the stress of running and hiding and worrying about every single little sound become too much, and the paranoia eats away at your sanity until you feel trapped. You want to quit – to escape – but you can't, because you have to get out of the asylum, to see it through to the end." Outlast will be available free to PS Plus subscribers as part of next month's line-up: North America also get Metro: Last Light, Modnation Racers: Road Trip, Street Fighter X Tekken (on Vita), Remember Me, and Payday 2. Europe swaps out those last three for BioShock Infinite and Dynasty Warriors Next.
PS Plus in February: Outlast, Metro: Last Light, Payday 2
It's memories, robberies, and underground monstrosities for PlayStation Plus subscribers next month, with February's line-up featuring Remember Me, Payday 2, and Metro: Last Light. As for Vita, it's the cutesy karts of Modnation Racers: Road Trip, and the less cutesy cross-beats of Street Fighter X Tekken. No, Plus hasn't forgotten about the PS4, silly billy. Sony's newest console is getting asylum horror Outlast on Plus next month, but we already knew that. The real question is when: PlayStation UK's website says next week on February 5, so going by PSN traditions that'd mean a February 4 showing in North America. We'll find out for sure soon enough. Looking at the PS3 games specifically, we'd recommend checking out the "suffocating despair" of shooter sequel Metro: Last Light - no really, it's fun! - and the heist-em-up capers of Payday 2 if you haven't already have. As for Remember Me? Well, if you like neo-action games full of neo-jargon, then sure - but maybe read Ludwig's neo-review first.
Yes, Conan O'Brien's 'Clueless Gamer' skit offers exposure for cash
Conan O'Brien is a beloved TV personality, former Simpsons writer and an abnormally tall redhead, but most importantly, he's a beloved TV personality with a large audience, and therefore frequently receives compensation to feature certain consumer goods on his show. Goods like video games. It's a common marketing gimmick that nonetheless has caught the attention of a Recode report, which claims that "about a quarter" of the games highlighted on O'Brien's "Clueless Gamer" skit appear there due to monetary compensation. An episode from last October prominently features Red Barrels' indie horror release Outlast. Stephanie Palermo, a senior account executive at Outlast representatives TriplePoint PR, has revealed that O'Brien's production team received $35,000 for the game's appearance, but adds that positive commentary wasn't a requirement of the deal. In fact, says Palermo, O'Brien is under no obligation to praise any of the games that pay to appear on his show. Though this practice seems to be common, it's not a hard, fast rule. Representatives from Mojang claim to have paid nothing for Minecraft's appearance on Clueless Gamer. As Recode notes though, O'Brien's "review" of Minecraft was largely negative, particularly when compared to his praise for Outlast. This news immediately follows the controversy over Microsoft paying YouTube users to include the Xbox One in their videos. As in that case, the reality of paid endorsements is being conflated with the more salacious concept of "pay for play." O'Brien's show accepting cash to feature games is no more shady than your favorite sitcom earning extra money every time a can of Coke is displayed on screen. That said, O'Brien's show does not mention these endorsement deals in its credits or elsewhere, claiming instead that it's understood that a comedian riffing on a game is not a proper critical review.
PS Plus Europe in February: Outlast, Metro: Last Light, BioShock Infinite
February. The month of Valentine's Day. It conjures images of chocolate, flowers, Hallmark cards and, if you're a PlayStation Plus member living in Europe, a lot of pants-wetting terror. Sony has revealed the February freebies for Europe's PS Plus members, and if it's scares and depression you're looking for on V-Day - and really, who isn't - Sony has you covered. PS3 owners have two paths toward depression: They can take to the skies and visit 1912's most famous flying city, Columbia, in BioShock Infinite, or hop aboard the monster-ridden metro in Metro: Last Light. Vita owners have a decidedly more light-hearted journey ahead, as they'll have both Dynasty Warriors Next and ModNation Racers: Road Trip available to play. Lastly, PS4 owners will get their chance to explore Mount Massive Asylum as journalist and all-around unlucky fellow Miles Upshur in Outlast. It should be noted however that Outlast will not be available in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, India or Turkey, and the game is still awaiting classification by German and Australian ratings boards.
Outlast free on PS4 in February for Plus users, buy extra batteries now
The PS4 version of Outlast, the insane asylum horror game from indie developer Red Barrels, will be free in February for PS Plus members. Red Barrels announced the freebie on Facebook, ahead of the official PS Plus February rundown. Outlast hit PC in September and we found it to be a "perfect nightmare." The story has players take on the role of an investigative journalist – complete with night-vision camera – following a hot tip that Mount Massive Asylum is filled with horrific government secrets and all manner of violent inhumanity. Spoilers: It totally is.
Best of the Rest: Jess' picks of 2013
Team Joystiq is barging into 2014 with a celebration of last year's best games. Keep reading throughout the week to see our assembly of ingenious indies and triple-A triumphs. Skulls of the Shogun I have a pre-existing penchant for human skulls as decoration, so maybe that's why Skulls of the Shogun still resonates so deeply with me, despite it launching way back at the beginning of the year – before GDC, before E3, before Gamescom, before the reveals and launches of two next-gen consoles, before the holiday madness. Through all of that, Skulls of the Shogun remains a purely joyful, fun strategy game, complete with morbid humor, accessible mechanics and a lovely Saturday-morning cartoon style. Developer 17-Bit has a precise hand, and the team's attention to detail and flow makes Skulls of the Shogun sing across platforms: Xbox 360, Windows 8, Windows Phone, Steam and iOS. Skulls of the Shogun started the year off in the right way for me, so it's fitting to give it another nod at the end of 2013. Cheers, skull-chewers.
Outlast on sale for Halloween, new Whistleblower DLC is already scary
So there's good news and bad news: Outlast, the terrifying asylum game from Red Barrels, is 33 percent off right now, making it just $13. That's the good news. The bad news is that there's also a new expansion for Outlast coming up, and this means we're going to play more Outlast. The first round was almost too much terror for one lifetime. The expansion is titled Whistleblower and it tells the tale of Miles Upshur, the man who sent that tip about the horrors of Mount Massive Asylum to the journalist starring in the full game. Miles discovers first-hand (and finger, if the teaser image is anything to go by) the torture and experiments conducted on the patients of Mount Massive, and he gets involved in the slaughter preceding Outlast's main story. Anyone interested in more Outlast, hands up! ... Ew, hands down.
Watch Conan O'Brien play scary video games in the dark
We'd expect chat show hosts to be trotting out the next-gen consoles around this time, but Conan 'Clueless Gamer' O'Brien went down the Halloween route with an eclectic variety of PC horror games. He's not too fond of Slender: The Eight Pages, and Amnesia: The Dark Descent fares only slightly better, but asylum misadventure Outlast proves a big hit.
Outlast review: Fraught in the dark
Outlast begins in an SUV. This is notable for two reasons: First, the name Outlast exists in a vacuum in my mind, making it impossible for me to relate that name to this horror game from the ex-Ubisoft team at Red Barrels. I suspect this is because every time I hear "Outlast" I think of the Subaru Outback SUV instead, which is an extremely non-threatening, sterile object and the complete antithesis of everything Outlast aims to be. Second, every moment spent outside of that SUV in the first minutes of Outlast, I yearned to be back inside of it, doors closed, lights on, press badge swaying from the rearview mirror as I drove far, far away from Mount Massive Asylum. I had feverish dreams of sitting in the driver's seat again, checking my video camera for the first time and reading over the hot tip that described nefarious activities at the asylum – and then deciding that this story wasn't worth my time. I dreamed of not getting out of the car. I dreamed of not playing this game anymore. But I was playing it and I couldn't stop. Outlast is the perfect nightmare.
Outlast promises new demo at PAX, doesn't promise to clean your pants
Outlast was placed front and center as part of the PS4's love letter to indie games, and as we mentioned when we saw it at E3, it's pretty damn creepy. But perhaps you're made of sterner stuff. Perhaps you consider yourself unshakeable. Unscareable. Just that damn brave. Well, challenge accepted, says developer Red Barrels, who's giving you a few different options for testing your mettle against the frightening confines of Outlast's abandoned Mount Massive Asylum. First, they'd like to bribe you with a discount. Starting today and stretching through the game's PC launch on September 4, you can snip 20% off the $19.99 asking price if you pre-order on Steam. If that's not enough to entice you, you could attend the "Guide to Survival Horror" panel at PAX Prime next week, where Outlast developer David Chateauneuf will explain how he goes about trying to get players to wet their pants. That option has Joystiq's own Susan Arendt (that's me!) thrown in as an extra bonus. (I'm also on that panel.) If neither of those are enough to sway you - well, frankly, my feelings will be a little hurt that you don't want to come see me - Red Barrels will also have a brand new Outlast demo on hand. If it's anything like the last one, it will make you yelp like a small dog and question the life choices that brought you to that booth.
Outlast spooks PCs in September
Indie horror Outlast opens its nightmarish doors to PC players on September 4, admission price $20. Red Barrels' debut game, set in an abandoned asylum and seen through the lens of a reporter's digital camera, is also coming to the PS4, but when that may be remains TBA. Brave Mike Schramm went hands-on with Outlast at E3, the experience leaving him (even more) disturbed. Said he, "the camera's digital artifacts and heads-up display help sell the excellent graphics, and the whole experience found my scaredy-cat brain constantly having to remind myself that what I was seeing wasn't real." Check out more of his scaredy-cat thoughts here.
Outlast carries a camera into the dark on PS4
It's easy to see, right away, why Sony went after former Ubisoft developers Red Barrels to get their indie game, Outlast, on the PlayStation 4. Not only is the horror/exploration game atmospheric and frightening, but it's a great showcase for the hardware. In Outlast, you play a reporter who brings a video camera to an old abandoned asylum, in search of a story. The game is seen through your digital camera's lens, both as you wander through the empty hallways and when you flip on the terrifying black-and-white night vision filter. Through the eyes of that camera, the whole game looks like a recovered snuff film of sorts, where you serve as both cameraman and victim. The motion and style of the game are both realistic, and sometimes (or often, depending on your tolerance for such things) disturbingly so. The camera's digital artifacts and heads-up display help sell the excellent graphics, and the whole experience found my scaredy-cat brain constantly having to remind myself that what I was seeing wasn't real.%Gallery-191382%
Outlast, indie horror from Red Barrels, coming to PlayStation 4
The Unreal-powered, first-person indie horror title Outlast from developer Red Barrels is coming to the PlayStation 4. Outlast was first announced as a PC title in October 2012. Montreal-based Red Barrels, which is composed of Ubisoft and Naughty Dog veterans, told Joystiq in October that the game would focus on stealth gameplay, an element inspired by Amnesia: The Dark Descent. "The core of the game is pretty much like a stealth game, so you have to avoid enemies, hide from enemies and run away from enemies. But the action comes into play when you have to run from them, so this is where we are using our experience making games like Prince of Persia and Assassin's Creed. To try and make the chases as exciting as possible," studio co-founder Philippe Morin told Joystiq.
What's in a Name: Red Barrels
David Chateauneuf and Philippe Morin are both ex-Ubisoft guys who always wanted to make a horror game but couldn't while employed by the French publisher. Now the two have struck out on their own to form Red Barrels, an independent studio currently working on the Unreal-powered Outlast. We asked them how they could possibly come up with such an original name as Red Barrels."Actually, coming up with the name was one of the hardest things. Doing the trailer was pretty easy and straightforward, but agreeing upon the name was harder than we expected. We had to do lists and votes and stuff like that. Eventually it just came down to what everybody was cool with. And also I guess we thought that it would give us an opportunity to do something cool visually. So it was basically going through a list, voting and what everyone felt comfortable with, we went with that."In response to that, I asked if Red Barrels was a democratic studio – a decision by committee kind of outfit."We have a pretty flat structure – I wouldn't say it's democratic, but pretty close to it." Outlast is launching sometime in 2013 on PC (Steam) through an agreement with Valve. Like this feature? Be sure to check out the What's in a Name Archives.
Outlast draws inspiration from Amnesia, blends stealth and horror
Red Barrels is an entirely new studio hard at work on its first game, Outlast. So far we've only seen a brief teaser, suggesting a spooky setting in a derelict asylum full of deranged individuals. Today we get an extended glimpse at Outlast courtesy of the video above.Outlast is a first-person horror game built in Unreal, with some survival-horror mixed in with exploratory elements, chase sequences and some action segments. When I asked Red Barrels co-founders Philippe Morin and David Chateauneuf for a bit more specificity, they told me that Outlast will focus on stealth – and that it is influenced in some part by Amnesia.
Outlast is a new survival-horror game from industry vets at Red Barrels
Outlast is a survival-horror game built on Unreal Engine coming from new studio Red Barrels. The Montreal-based studio was founded by industry veterans from Ubisoft and Naughty Dog, with Outlast being the newly formed outfit's first game. Outlast is set to debut in 2013 for the PC through digital distribution channels.Outlast stars journalist Miles Upshur, who breaks into Mount Massive Asylum, located in the isolated mountains of Colorado. The long-abandoned asylum has been recently re-opened by the "research and charity" branch of the Murkoff Corporation and, acting on a tip, Upshur breaks in to ascertain exactly what the corporation is up to. If there's one thing we're certain of, it's that Upshur will probably come to regret that decision.
Encrypted Text: Controlling tempo in PvP
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Encrypted Text for assassination, combat and subtlety rogues. Chase Christian will be your guide to the world of shadows every Wednesday. Please email me with any topic requests or questions you have! PvP is hard to discuss in writing. (I'm not talking about how to properly 4-gate your opponent on Shakuras Plateau, but rather about WoW's player-vs-player content.) It's a relatively easy task to distill a PvE encounter into a list of salient points, but that's because raid bosses aren't random. Magmaw is going to do the same thing against every single raid group that encounters him, and so our strategies for countering him are fairly unilateral. We're playing rock-paper-scissors with the developers, except that we know they're going to throw paper ahead of time. All we have to do is successfully become scissors, and the raid bosses will fall over and explode with purples -- they're just loot piñatas. PvP, meanwhile, is impossible to condense into a single strategy. In a raid setting, most classes use less than a dozen simple abilities on any given encounter. In an arena or battleground, players will be drawing from the deepest, darkest pages of their spellbooks to gain any advantage. I can't tell you what that warrior on the opposing team is going to do, because he can literally do anything. Instead of trying to make some sort of overly complicated flowchart in an attempt to remove all decision-making from PvP, you have to adjust and react on the fly. The key to surviving in this volatile environment is to maintain control of the tempo -- you need to fight on your terms.
