Outlast: Bundle of Terror Review

In 2014 a new psychological survival horror game hit the market that created much buzz amongst the gaming community. Outlast was shown as the front runner for horror games at the time and pushed the limits of our imagination. Now that its 2018 how does it hold up in the survival horror genre?
SPECS
I will be playing Outlast: Bundle of Terror on the Xbox One. This bundle includes Outlast and its Whistleblower DLC. In the Microsoft Store the game was originally $24.99, but I had bought the game on sale for $6.66. Through xbox rewards though I had received a $5 gift card and ultimately paid $1.66 for the game.
STORY
Outlast opens to your character Miles Upshur driving deep in the Colorado mountains along a forest trail up to the less than comforting Mount Massive Asylum. Your job as a journalist is to investigate the building since you have received an anonymous email about some grim happenings at the mental institution. Breaking into the place was the easy part, but trying to find a way out is cause for concern. All that Miles has equipped is his trusty video camera and nerves of steel as he faces tons of psychos and unnatural beings through the course of his time spent in Mount Massive. In the Whistleblower DLC you play as Waylon Park who is the anonymous source that sent Miles the email in the main game. This software engineer turned asylum patient braves Mount Massive as its patients run rampide. The only tool at his disposal is a video camera and determination to come home to his family.
PRAISE
At first glance Outlast was absolutely stunning. The graphics were realistic and each location had an overall broken and dark ambiance. Every step of the way there was pattern of decay and despair which added to the great horror element of the game. Many corridors and rooms I maneuvered kept me on edge and at a high stress level. The many main characters throughout the game were thought through and had distinct characteristics among them. Each one I felt belonged and had a place to progress the story. The collectibles also had a place in story progression with each one giving more background to the plot and characters. The DLC was no different with its visuals, since it looked beautiful. It kept the overall vibe of the main game all the while adding new areas to explore. The DLC has the same collectibles as the first and they act in the same respect as a guiding hand for the player through the story.
CRITICS
Outlast however was not perfect in all aspects. A lot of the gameplay was repetitive with it all entailing find an item and/or running away. There’s only so many times to do the same action before it becomes overplayed and stale. Within doing the same objectives I felt as if there was nothing for me to lose. I knew I would always grab the item and that if I died I would simply respawn at one of the multiple save points with the item still in hand. It gave me this invincible complex opposed to feeling vulnerable. Another issue I have with the game was that during the main game every time I loaded my save all my recordings and documents were gone as if I never collected them. This was extremely frustrating since I could never see my progress or look back on important details. Speaking of loading, the times in which the game needed to load were thrown in the middle of gameplay without warning. This I felt took away from the feel of the game as it was very disruptive. I have a lot of these similar problems in the DLC except that my recordings and documents were actually saved. Some different issues I encountered were that towards the end of the game I glitched while climbing up a stack of boxes as I was running away from an enemy. This caused me to have to restart the game. I also felt as if the DLC was dragged on in the end as the last psycho that I faced felt endless and unnecessary. The main enemy’s of the DLC also felt very disconnected and didn’t have any purpose of being there for the story other than as crazy mental patients.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall this game is quite enjoyable and is great if you want a few hours of horror and tense gameplay. The price I purchased this game at was very worth it and I recommend playing this game if you find it on sale, but its $24.99 original price point I feel is to much for the game with the amount of issues I encountered. I would highly suggest buying the bundle opposed to just the main game since it doesn’t feel complete or satisfying without the DLC.

Thanks for reading!!

Remember always be adventurous!

Sincerely,
Alexa