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The next 'Outlast' game is a Cold War co-op fight for survival
'The Outlast Trials' shakes up the series' formula by focusing on co-op survival.
Survival horror sequel Outlast 2 in development
Independent developer Red Barrels delivers terrifying news just in time for Halloween, announcing that it is developing a sequel to its first-person survival horror game Outlast. "After shipping the [Xbox One] version of Outlast, we took some time to analyze our situation and we quickly realized we had at least another horror game in us," Red Barrels co-founder Philippe Morin told horror-themed news site Bloody Disgusting. "So, yes, we are working on Outlast 2." Morin notes that Outlast 2 will shift its setting and inflict the series' trademark cruelty on a new cast of characters. "The game will be a survival horror experience and it will take place in the same universe as Outlast, but it will have different characters and a different setting," he said. "We might go back to Mount Massive Asylum one day, but for now we have new ideas and themes we'd like to explore and we think we're cooking up something special. "We're still a small indie studio (12 people), so we'll need a little bit of time to ship our next game, but hopefully it will be worth it." Outlast premiered for PC platforms in 2013, and later hit the PlayStation 4 as a free download for PlayStation Plus subscribers. A release date and target platforms for Outlast 2 were not announced. [Image: Red Barrels]
Xbox One seeks asylum, Outlast available now with DLC
Xbox One players can book some time at the Mount Massive Asylum, now that Outlast has made the jump from PS4 and PC to the Microsoft system. Red Barrels' mentally ill horror is $20/£16 on the Xbox One store, while its Whistleblower DLC is also available for $9/£7.19. As our review explains, Outlast's DLC picks up where the main game left off, i.e. with your heartbeat pounding. "Everything in Whistleblower is turned up to 11," Joystiq's Jess Conditt screamed as she sprinted down the hallway, "the blood, the twisting layout of the building, the number of bodies hanging from the rafters, the nudity and the sexual exploits of the patients of Mount Massive Asylum." If you yet to complete the game, you really should. After all, nice guys finish Outlast*. [Image: Microsoft] *we regret nothing
Outlast's Whistleblower DLC creeps into next month
The new Whistleblower DLC for Outlast slipped from April to May, but don't think you'll be safe for too long. The PC and PS4 asylum horror admits its first piece of additional content on May 6, although PS4 users in Europe get an extra day of sanctuary until May 7. The unfortunate soul you play in Whisteblower is Waylon Park, a software engineer who's contracted to work at the Mount Massive Asylum prior to the events of the game. After seeing what unscrupulous things the staff's getting up to, Park feels compelled to expose the establishment to the press. If you've played Outlast, you of course know that his plan went perfectly and everybody lived happily ever after. Especially this (probably NSFW) guy. [Image: Red Barrels]
Outlast reopens its gates with Whistleblower DLC in April
Outlast receives its first DLC in April both on Windows PC and PS4, obliterating any hope that you'd escaped the Mount Massive Asylum for good. The first-person survival horror features reporter Miles Upshur investigating the creepy hospital, and the "Whistleblower" DLC details the events that led him to the asylum's foreboding gates. Whistleblower stars Waylon Park, a software engineer working for the Murkoff Corporation, which owns and runs Mount Massive. After spending two weeks at the asylum, Park felt he had to email Upshur and other journalists to spill the beans on the secret horrors of the asylum - probably not the best idea from a self-preservation point-of-view, but there we are. Whistleblower doesn't just chronicle these events, though, with developer Red Barrels noting "it will actually stretch past the events of the first game to show the final chapter in Mount Massive Asylum's story." The above image is from the main game rather than the DLC, but we'll let you decide for yourself if you want to see the gruesome screenshot Red Barrels published alongside this week's news. Really, who drinks soda just before dinner? Revolting. [Image: Red Barrels]
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.
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.
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.
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, 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.
