With the handful of changes and additions apparent from its opening hour, Outlast 2

Loading

Loading

Loading

While the first Outlast was set within the grimy confines of a psychiatric hospital, Outlast 2 sets you loose in a rural Arizona desert overrun by a dangerous cult. The fact that you cover more ground than you did in Mount Massive Asylum gives the illusion of being on a long journey. I say illusion because, at least in the opening hour, that journey still feels relatively linear. I never had to backtrack or problem-solve my way out of a tough spot, since the story kept propelling me onward.In a run-and-hide horror game like Outlast, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A higher quantity of key story moments prevented the pace from feeling sluggish, including a couple mysterious flashbacks set in a high school. Outlast 2 is also a gorgeous looking game and its new rural setting pairs nicely with the eerie green tint of your camcorder’s night vision.Of course, the use of a camcorder makes a faithful return in the sequel, but this time it has a handful of interesting new features. Most notable in my demo was an audio detection system that lets you pick up distant sounds, which I found most useful during a frantic chase sequence through a cornfield. Being able to record key moments for later viewing was also a nice way to sneak in occasional exposition. And of course, you still need to rely on night vision to see in the darkness, which means constantly searching for replacement batteries.Your character also has an additional handicap: glasses. I played two separate scenes where his glasses get knocked off, leaving the world a blur until he could find them again. There’s a moment in the first Outlast where you get separated from your camera, and I anticipate a few similarly nerve-wracking moments of vulnerability in Outlast 2.The actual horror of Outlast 2 is more complicated. It’s easy to say it’s exchanged one cliche for another in its transition from spooky hospital horror to rural religious horror, but there’s also an uncanny psychological element that kept me from completely shrugging off its setting.After my demo, the developers told me that while the first Outlast sought to take away players’ “physical integrity,” Outlast 2 is all about stealing your “mental integrity.” I don’t quite know what’s in store for the rest of Outlast 2, but it’s certainly true that despite some of its more overplayed tropes, things aren’t quite what they seem.

Chloi Rad is an Associate Editor for IGN. Follow her on Twitter at @_chloi