Parents' Guide to Outlast II

Trial-and-error play resulting in a sense of powerlessness and frustration keeps this survival game from reaching its full potential. Outlast II works hard to create a sense of terror and impending doom by limiting your vision through the inky blackness of its night landscapes and by stubbornly refusing to let Blake fight back against his aggressors, even when potential weapons lay all around him. And while its deeply distorted Christian themes aren't likely to have a very profound impact on nonreligious players, those with strong Christian backgrounds will almost certainly feel their skin begin to crawl while listening to the chilling, abominable monologues of the cult's followers and reading their deranged notes and letters. This is all in service of creating a sense of tension and unease in players, and it works pretty well -- except when it gets sabotaged by the way the game handles encounters.

Not being able to fully see the world certainly makes exploration harder (and often scarier), but it also denies a fair chance of avoiding a grisly end. Most encounters are pure trial and error, with players forced to feel their way around a dangerous environment crowded with enemies while looking for a way to progress or escape -- and typically dying multiple times in the process because they can't properly see (or sometimes hear) enemies or defend themselves once they're spotted. With each grisly death, the action becomes less intense and more frustrating; it ends up as less immersive and more an exercise in figuring out where the designers intend for the player to go. Forced mechanics -- such as disposable batteries needed to power your camera's night vision that last less time than it takes to read this review (yes, it's that kind of game) – serve to increase our aggravation rather than heighten our fear. Outlast II is undeniably shocking and gory and blasphemous and at times terrifying, but it ends up cheating its way to most of these objectives. Gamers enjoy a good challenge but also possess a keen awareness of what's fair. And they won't find much fairness in Outlast II.