Outlast
Outlast is a PC action game developed by Red Barrels. It centers on platform movement and landing judgment, enemy and hazard responses, and stage objectives, with controls and information arranged around keyboard and mouse, with a controller where the game supports one.
- AI score · out of 10
- 8.2 / 10
About this game
Outlast is a PC action game centered on platform movement and landing judgment, enemy and hazard responses, and stage objectives. Stages build pressure through routes, enemy patterns, and changing objectives, with progress divided into stages, tasks, matches, or growth milestones that make immediate goals understandable. Its value depends on whether these rules continue to create judgment and room for mastery rather than on length, sales, or series recognition. Short campaigns are judged by repeat-challenge value, while longer ones are judged by variety, pacing, and recovery after failure. Animation, hits, camera behavior, and readable hazards determine whether feedback remains dependable, while resolution, graphics settings, frame rate, aspect ratio, audio, text scaling, and hardware performance need to preserve action, state, and text readability together. The genre-specific limitation is that camera behavior, collision rules, input mapping, and repeated ground after failure can raise the entry barrier. Platform conditions also include OS and hardware requirements, installation media, patches, drivers, DRM and launchers, key binding and controller support, save locations, mod compatibility, servers, and era-specific OS compatibility affect the current release. This description covers only this platform release and does not import features or conveniences from remasters, emulators, or other console editions.
Collected in series
Outlast makes survival feel precarious through first-person escapes, pursuit and disturbing human experiments. Its lone investigations emphasize running and hiding, while The Outlast Trials turns that vulnerability into a shared ordeal that can also be faced alone.
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Windows PC
AI review
AI reviews are subjective assessments, not player ratings. See each review for its evidence and limitations.Published date:
Helplessness, night vision and pursuit deliver powerful horror, with repetitive tasks and some interaction friction.
Outlast turns survival into decisions about hiding, moving and risking exposure, because the protagonist cannot fight back. The night-vision camera connects visibility with the search for batteries, while encounters force quick changes from careful observation to desperate escape. Visible hands when peeking and anxious breathing while hiding make vulnerability feel physical. Repeated key hunts and machinery objectives weaken the middle stretch once their structure becomes familiar, although later changes of setting restore momentum. On PC, clicking and holding the mouse button produce different door interactions, and closing doors during a chase can be awkward. Frequent checkpoints soften the cost of failure. This assessment concerns the original 2013 PC campaign and its contemporary technical observations, excluding the expansion and any claim of fresh testing on modern hardware.
Strengths
- Helplessness shapes effective pursuit
- Embodied animation and sound
Weaknesses
- Repetitive middle-section objectives
- Awkward doors during escapes
Who it is for: Horror players who enjoy evasion, stealth and intense pursuit.
Play notes: Strong gore and jump scares; no active combat. Original base campaign only.
View scoring basis
| Dimension | Review state | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimension Even a short campaign contains repetition that weakens later scares. | Reviewed | 7.5 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension The inability to fight effectively structures its pursuit horror. | Reviewed | 8.4 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Embodied details and sound create a strongly oppressive atmosphere. | Reviewed | 8.9 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Frequent checkpoints support recovery, while door interaction can obstruct urgent escapes. | Reviewed | 8.0 / 10 | Not provided |
Review sources
Not provided
Core information
- Developer
- Red Barrels
- Publisher
- Red Barrels
- Release date
- 2013
- Platforms
- Windows PC
- Content kind
- Game
- Release state
- Released
- Region
- Worldwide
- Official website
- Not provided
- Offline minimum players
- Not provided
- Offline maximum players
- Not provided
- Online minimum players
- Not provided
- Online maximum players
- Not provided
- Categories
- Action · Primary genreAdventure
- Tags
- DodgeReal-time CombatPlatforming3D GraphicsSolo-friendlyLinear LevelsFast-pacedThird PersonMain Story Under 10 HoursReplayable
- Supported game languages
- Not provided
- Requires base game
- Not provided
- Standalone
- Not provided
- Age ratings
- Not provided
- Play modes
- Not provided
- Perspectives
- Not provided
Release editions
- Windows PCWorldwide2013
Game gallery
Sources
Not provided