Outlast

Outlast is a first-person survival horror game developed and published by Red Barrels, an independent studio based in Montreal. It was released for Windows on September 4, 2013, followed by versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2014. The game was Red Barrels’ debut title. Its story takes place at Mount Massive Asylum, a remote psychiatric hospital in the mountains of Colorado, where investigative journalist Miles Upshur enters after receiving an anonymous tip about disturbing activity inside.

Miles carries no firearm and cannot fight the asylum’s inmates. His main tool is a camcorder with night vision, which lets him see in dark corridors but uses batteries that must be found and conserved. This limitation shapes the game: players must hide, run, and find routes through the building rather than defeat enemies. Miles can squeeze into lockers or under beds, though hiding is not always enough if an enemy sees him enter. The camcorder also records events, and Miles’s notes provide his perspective on what he encounters.

The asylum is controlled by the Murkoff Corporation, whose experiments have left many patients violent and the facility in disorder. Among the people Miles meets are Chris Walker, a hulking former military police officer who hunts him through the building, and Father Martin, a patient who has formed a religious following around the events at Mount Massive. Martin believes Miles has a role to play in the asylum’s unfolding crisis. The game’s later revelations connect the violence to Murkoff’s experimental work and the Walrider, a supernatural presence associated with the facility.

Outlast’s setting draws on recognizable features of institutional horror: locked wards, medical records, surveillance, and evidence of abuse. Documents and recordings found throughout the asylum add context to the corporation’s work and to the people trapped there. The game builds its scares around restricted visibility and pursuit, making the player’s inability to fight central to its design rather than a temporary obstacle.

Red Barrels released a downloadable story expansion, Whistleblower, in 2014. It follows software engineer Waylon Park, whose attempt to expose Murkoff’s activities helps bring Miles to Mount Massive. The expansion overlaps with the main game’s events and shows the asylum’s collapse from another character’s perspective.

Outlast became a prominent independent horror release and helped establish Red Barrels as a studio focused on survival horror. Its direct sequel, Outlast 2, was released in 2017 and introduced a different setting and cast while retaining the series’ emphasis on evasion, vulnerability, and documentary-style storytelling.