Whew! I completed it!… Yes, after spending two years working up the courage to play “Outlast” (2013), I then decided – whilst I still had the courage I’d built up – to play its 2014 DLC “Outlast: Whistleblower” too. To my astonishment, I actually completed it!
I was sort of on the fence about getting this DLC – since it was on special offer on GOG at the time – but, when I decided to watch a random “let’s play” video of it on Youtube to see what it was like, I immediately noticed the presenters looking visibly mortified by the events of the previous video in their series. When I checked that video, I found that it was censored. Many of the comments below it nervously tried to describe the horrors within and actually… praised… the channel for censoring the video.
A sensible person would take all of this as a warning sign but, like when I saw noticeably shocked viewers leaving the cinema after a screening of “Martyrs” (2008) at a horror film festival, edgy morbid curiosity kicked in and I just had to see it for myself. And, like “Martyrs”, it was definitely more horrifying than I initially expected it to be. I’m mentioning all of this now to warn you that, even compared to the main game, this add-on isn’t for the easily-shocked! It is the sort of thing that both traditional “18+” ratings and modern-style content warnings were invented for…
But, it was either that or play another “morbid curiosity” horror game I bought during the sale on GOG called “Simulacra” (2017), which is themed around *shudder* smartphones and social media…. So, in the words of Metallica, “Welcome home… Sanatorium“.
And, yes, “Outlast: Whistleblower” (2014) is a traditional add-on which requires the main game to run. Even though it is technically a prequel to the main game, it is well-worth playing the main game first – both in order to understand some of the references to it during the add-on, but also to build up enough courage to even play the add-on. If you can get through the main game, then you might stand a chance at getting through “Whistleblower”….
Anyway, let’s take a look at “Outlast: Whistleblower”. This review may contain SPOILERS.
Beginning shortly before the events of the main game, you play as Waylon Park, an employee of the nefarious Murkoff Corporation.
After the things he has witnessed in the company’s secret laboratories, he decides to blow the whistle and send an e-mail to a certain journalist. However, his boss catches him shortly afterwards and decides to use him as a test subject for the corporation’s evil experiments.
And, yes, any corporation where the boss not only looks like Patrick Bateman but also has armed henchmen too, probably isn’t a good one…
Twelve hours later, these experiments – as they always do in horror games – go horribly wrong. The lab is thrown into chaos as an angry ghost called the Walrider rampages through it, and the other test subjects get gruesome revenge on the staff… and on each other.
Sensing an opportunity, Waylon grabs a nearby camcorder and decides to record evidence of Murkoff’s misdeeds whilst making his escape from the lab and the prison-like mental hospital above it.
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One of the first things that I will say about this DLC is, as mentioned earlier, that it is noticeably edgier and more intense than the main game. Still, in terms of the actual gameplay, it’s more of the same – which isn’t really a bad thing. However I personally found that, whilst it was better in terms of art design, the level design could be mildly confusing at times.
Still, I should probably start by talking about the game’s horror elements. As well as the usual ultra-intense suspense, ultra-gruesome gory horror, cruelty, jump scares, creepy characters, medical/scientific horror etc… you’d expect from the main game, this add-on turns things “up to eleven” by adding a ridiculously edgy mixture of taboo-based horror, body horror and sexual horror/menace too. The main game seems almost joyous and innocent compared to some of the dark places that this add-on will take you. Again, it isn’t for the easily-shocked!
And, if this screenshot looks creepy, be aware that it is actually a brief moment of… safety… after something much creepier.
Not only does this expansion contain some viscerally grim and menacing set-pieces, but both of the new recurring villains you have to encounter here make the main game’s villains – almost all of whom also make cameo appearances – look like friendly saints by comparison. Even one of the new side-villains, who you only encounter during a simple puzzle involving an electric fence, is first introduced in a short scene which is edgier than the entire main game.
It’s the sort of game where the mildest and least-scary new recurring villain (who you encounter first) is literally a buzzsaw-wielding cannibal. Again, he is the mildest and the least disturbing recurring villain in the game….
And that’s one of the problems about reviewing “Outlast: Whistleblower”. In order to fully get across the sheer intensity of this add-on, I’d have to describe it in graphic detail. But I’m pretty sure that doing this on the modern internet would probably result in nothing but trouble.
It’s definitely one of those games which will leave you feeling… grim… afterwards, and memories of it may also suddenly appear in your mind at unexpected times. It is a horror game in the very truest sense of the word.
Again, this is another one of the “safe and peaceful” moments during the game….
As for the gameplay, it is the type of “run and hide” gameplay – with an emphasis on “RUN!!!!” – you’d expect from the main game.
Like in that game, you also have a camcorder with night-vision, which uses limited batteries that you have to search for and carefully conserve.
Again, like in the main game, this is somehow scarier than absolute darkness…
The level design is, like the main game, fairly linear too – but I found it to be a bit less well-designed some of the time. “Outlast” (2013) is one of the few games where highly linear level design actually works, because of the frantic fast-paced chase sequences and the way that the game alternates between “safe” and “dangerous” areas. The streamlined level design in the main game allows the player to make frantic split-second decisions whilst being pursued by angry villains. And… most of the time… this add-on sticks to this philosophy.
However, there was at least one part where I got completely “stuck” whilst being chased by a villain. I literally had to run around in circles for ages, and I still couldn’t figure out where I was supposed to go. When I checked a video walkthrough online, the solution was ridiculously counter-intuitive. You had to jump/climb over a locked door. This sort of thing, in the main game, is usually clearly signposted via crates for the player to climb on. But, here, it just looks like an ordinary locked door. And, if I wasn’t being chased by an angry horror villain, I’d have probably been able to figure it out quickly. Still, these annoying moments are relatively few and far between.
On the plus side, one cool thing about the level design is the way that this add-on combines new and familiar areas. In essence, this is something of a reverse tour through the path that the main game takes. You start where the main game ends, and finish where the main game begins.
Seriously, it’s weird to see actual living people in this area of the game. And the walls look so… pristine… too. Eerie!
However, although you’ll see some familiar faces and places on your journey, the designers also seamlessly added some brilliantly creepy new areas (like an attic/workshop area) in order to catch fans of the main game off-guard, and it works brilliantly 🙂
Like this gloriously creepy “attic” area….
In terms of visuals, this add-on is better than the main game 🙂 Not only is there a slightly greater level of visual variety – including some wonderfully ominous fog at one point – but the game’s lighting design is sometimes even better than the excellent lighting design in the main game too 🙂
In my restless dreams, I see… Oops! Wrong game! This is “Outlast: Whistleblower” (2014).
In terms of music and voice-acting, this add-on also excels itself too. In addition to suitably evil-sounding villains, you’ll sometimes hear random background conversations – such as the ones used to build suspense before the second new recurring villain appears. Likewise, the game includes exactly the kind of scary orchestral music that you’d expect from an intense modern horror game (including dynamic music whenever a villain spots you). It’s all really atmospheric.
As for length, this is an add-on. It’s shorter than the main game, but it didn’t feel too short. It is maybe 2-4 hours long. Given the wider variety of places you’ll visit in a shorter amount of time and the sheer intensity of some of this add-on’s horror elements, it feels like it is as long as it should be. It’s long enough to give you a sense of accomplishment for finishing it, but short enough to keep a lot of its dramatic power.
All in all, this add-on is the edgiest of edgy horror games. In terms of sheer transgressive shock value, the only thing that is even maybe close to it is “The Cat Lady” (2012). Although the level design isn’t always as good or intuitive as the main game, it still somehow manages to surpass that game in terms of sheer horror. Even if you’re an experienced horror genre fan, approach this add-on with caution. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to re-play a nice relaxing classic “Resident Evil” or “Silent Hill” game to recover from this one….
If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would just about get a five.
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