Outlast: Whistleblower
Developed by Red Barrels
Published by Red Barrels
” Sorry if I scared you but my darling Bride needs a Bridesmaid ”
The Story:
Outlast Whistleblower is set just before the events of the main game and puts you in the role of Waylon Park; A Software engineer working at Mount Massive Asylum who sends the anonymous email to Outlast Protagonist; Miles Upshur. When Waylon is caught sending the email to Miles; He is subjected to torture by the head of Mount Massive Asylum. Now armed with nothing but a Camcorder and his gut instinct, Waylon will have to escape from this nightmare asylum once and for all but with the Murkoff Corporation, A Cannibal & A Serial Killer trying to hunt him down; Will he make it out alive?
The Gameplay:
Much like the original game; Outlast: Whistleblower is a first person survival horror title in which you mainly have to rely on Stealth and running for dear life. One of the many features of Outlast Whistleblower like the actual game is the fact that the game does not feature actual combat thus you cannot attack your pursuers which adds to the difficulty of the game aswell as the horror aspect since you know immediately that there is no way you can fend for yourself and that its essentially survival of the fastest. Another slightly useful item in the game is the camcorder which also features Night vision so you can locate your enemies in dark spaces however if your batteries run out you have to search every small crevice for a battery otherwise you have to brave the game in the pitch black darkness which just makes the game all that more scary. All in all, the gameplay is identical to Outlast and is perfect for that reason.
The Sound:
Outlast: Whistleblower has some great sound effects but remains silent through most parts of the game which adds to the horror element since it puts you on edge so that when you hear the slightest sound you jump to high heaven. The soundtrack features a composure of some of the creepiest music to grace a video game in a long time. The little bit of voice acting that is in the game is decent but nothing to memorable.
The Graphics:
Outlast: Whistleblower has fantastic graphics which showcases the dark and brutal world of Outlast with excessive amounts of gore all beautifully showcased with PlayStation 4’s graphical capabilities.The enemies and inmates of the game look truly horrifying with different disfigurements such as stitched up mouths, certain body parts missing, etc… and they sometimes look like creatures from the Silent Hill series. One scene in particular in Whistleblower had me (as a man) cringing like I have never cringed at a game before and showcases just how crazy the people inside the asylum are.
Lasting Appeal:
Outlast Whistleblower like the original game has documents and notes which the player can collect by finding files or recording certain locations/people in the asylum respectively. Other than this however the only other reason to return to the game is the higher difficulties and if you play on the highest to start with then there isn’t really much else in way of replayability.
Final Thoughts:
All in all,Outlast: Whistleblower is a great expansion with some terrifying moments and great suspenseful gameplay however there is no replayability factor and the voice acting isn’t exactly memorable which lets the title down.
My Score – 8/10
The Good
- Great Story
- Familiar and Suspenseful gameplay
- Creepy Background Music
- Brilliant Graphics
The Bad
- Voice Acting Isn’t Too Memorable
- Not Much in Terms of Re playability
Outlast: Whistleblower is available now for PC, PS4 & Xbox One. Thanks go to Red Barrels for supplying the game and assets used in this review. Be sure to let me know what you thought of the review in the comments section below and be sure to stay tuned to UGNN for all your gaming news and reviews and remember to follow us on WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Reddit & YouTube.
Review by Matt McNamee