31 Days of Horror Games: Outlast

In celebration of Halloween, we’re counting down the days with some of the greatest horror games ever made -- 31 of our favorites! Every day, we’ll take a look back at a horror game that gave us goosebumps, made our controllers tremble, and chased us out of our living rooms. Long live the horror game! And make sure to check out our full list of 31 Great Horror Games To Play In October!

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Outlastis a game where nightmares are made. The first-person survival horror experience revolves around a journalist named Miles Upshur, who must investigate some shady undertakings at a decrepit mental institution. Miles is armed with nothing but his journal and a camcorder, and the disturbing events and dismaying atmosphere only escalate from there. Personally, I would probably classify Outlastas the scariest game I’ve ever played.

I first played Outlaston PC in late 2013 for Den of Geek’s official game review, and barely made it through the twisted journey with my sanity intact. But perhaps even more fun than playing Outlastyourself, is introducing the game to others after your initial shock and heart palpitations have worn off.

That’s exactly what I did a few months later, when I coerced my girlfriend and fellow Den of Geek editor John Saavedra to enter the wonderful world of Outlastfor the first time: lights off, sound turned all the way up. They both literally ran screaming from the room at the game’s first big jump scare, and that was the end of that. Yes, that is how scary Outlastis.

So what makes the game so downright unnerving?

For one thing, you have nothing to defend yourself with. That means that if the monsters hiding in the underbelly of the insane asylum catch you, you're absolutely dead. The entire environment is regularly engulfed in darkness, forcing your camcorder’s night vision mode to cast the game in an eerie and very realistic green glow. And of course, hiding under beds or inside lockers from your twisted pursuers, hearing your own terrified breathing as you wait, and constantly scrounging for batteries for your flashlight are all part of Outlast’s sadistic charm.

As if the game wasn’t already terrifying, sickening, disturbing, and any other number of adjectives for “crap your pants," Red Barrels released a prequel DLC earlier this year called Whistleblower, which managed to magnify the Outlastexperience by tenfold. Whistleblower features more of the same heart-pounding minimalist gameplay, but this time coupled with more breathless chase sequences and one of the single most unsettling moments I’ve ever experienced in a video game to date.

If Outlastserves as any indication of what the survival horror genre will mutate into beyond 2014, then we’re all going to need to start stocking up on clean underwear now. Outlast is modern survival horror at its finest.

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