Outlast, the horror game, can still provoke powerful emotions in professional players, developer Phillipe Morin has said. This deep psychological impact is one of the things that make the game so different from run-of-the-mill horror clichés, and which keeps it highly relevant in the genre. So if you're interested in getting that extra shiver down your spine, Outlast might deliver.
Developer Phillipe Morin shares stories of intense tester reactions
Red Barrels, the studio behind Outlast, made a first person survival horror game focused more on atmosphere and the feeling of helplessness than combat. And now, major player in the studio, Morin, has opened up about how internal playtesters reacted to the game, and the stories give us a glimpse of the kind of work that must go into maintaining the scary nature of the game.
Morin described an experience when, during one playtest, someone ended up so affected by what they had seen they had to get out of the studio to have a cry. The whole thing happened after only a few hours of play. He also had one female playtester not want to come back to the office after a playtest, suggesting they didn't like the experience. Then there was one employee who left the company after just four days, as he had his own personal prejudices towards religion and the cruelty and violence of the game didn't sit well.
Outlast as a franchise continues to expand with new heights in concurrent players on Steam being reached recently by The Outlast Trials. This shows that the core design choices for the game are still very much relevant, and it's a testament to the popularity of the games. The fact that the developer can maintain such high player counts shows that the initial idea is still alive and relevant to the modern player.
Source: IXBT
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