Outlast survival-horror experience is ‘basically a stealth game’

Red Barrels, the Montreal-based indie developer working on Outlast, has revealed more information about the survival-horror game for PC.

"The core experience is basically a stealth game," studio cofounder Philippe Morin told Eurogamer. "But instead of it turning into a shoot-out when you get spotted by the enemy, it turns into a chase."

Morin has worked as a game designer on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Assassin's Creed, and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. He said Outlast is a mostly linear game divided into open "puzzle hubs."

He said, "You're going to have to explore and figure out what you need to do and in what order you need to do it, and while you're doing that there's going to be enemies doing their own stuff. They mostly become obstacles between you and your objective."

Journalist Mile Upshur is a lithe character, and his abilities allow him to better interact with the environment. They also make the chase scenes when running away from enemies "as exciting as possible."

Morin said they're still considering giving the player weapons, but it won't be part of the core experience.

"If players feel empowered then the stress — the fear — is not as high," he said. "Our main goal is to scare the s*** out of players."

If you die, you'll have to deal with altered scenarios after you respawn — not exactly randomized, but it is a chance for things to happen a different way.

The PC version is slated for a Q3 2013 release. Red Barrels would like the game to come out for even more platforms, if possible.

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