6 Games Like Outlast [Recommendations]

INTRODUCTION / OPENING PARAGRAPH

The reality of being locked in a place filled with crazed lunatics is a scary notion. Outlast makes that fear come to fruition by having your playable character Miles Upshur deal with just that. Armed with nothing but a camera, Miles must navigate an unfamiliar place that seeks to instill into him the very essence of horror. In any horror game, the ability to fight back means you have a means of surviving the hellish creatures that are about to attack. Removing that means your only means of surviving is to run for your life. If you’re someone who wants more of that in a game then you’ll be happy to know we here at Honey’s Anime have delved into the world of horror to present 6 games like Outlast.

Outlast is at heart a first person survival horror game. The idea is meant to experience something from your own eyes increasing the feeling of fear and tension as you peek around corners and doors. The following games on this list give the player a similar experience but with different story elements and themes. How would it feel to see through the eyes of a child or to see your own history come to literally haunt you? If you loved Outlast’s overall gameplay and story elements, we’re sure that this list will have a game that while you may shiver in fear, you’ll have a fun time doing so. That being said, let us dive head long into some of the most terrifying games around that mimic the beauty and horror that is Outlast, shall we?


Similar Games to Outlast

1. Layers of Fear

  • System/Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One
  • Publisher: Aspyr
  • Developer: Bloober Team
  • Release Date: Feb 16th, 2016

The mind of an artist can be a deadly amalgamation of desires. In Layers of Fear, you play as an artist who has found himself back in his old home. There he enters his artistic studio but finds that odd things begin to happen in the home. Rooms lead to places they never use to connect to and past memories begin forming in front of him. Has the artist begun to lose his mind because of his own failures? Layers of Fear will make you explore a reality that might be anything but real.

Fear is a subjective concept. While Outlast focuses on using enemies that have physical, and sometimes ghost like form to make you run for the hills, Layers of Fear has horror in a different form. Relying on making players fear subtle changes in the environment or sometimes quite large ones, Layers of Fear pushes the perception of reality to cause panic and tension in the player. Layers of Fear is an extremely scary game that allows for multiple playthroughs as the player can achieve one of several endings based on finding items in the game. If you loved Outlast’s tension filled gameplay you will find Layers of Fear an equally enjoyable game.

Layers of Fear- Launch Trailer (ESRB) (Official Trailer)


2. Anna- Extended Edition

  • System/Platform: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox one
  • Publisher: Kalypso Media Digital
  • Developer: Dreampainters
  • Release Date: Apr 13th, 2013

Suffering amnesia, a man keeps having a dream of a strange sawmill in the mountains. Deciding this location may hold a secret to his lost memory, he ventures to this seemingly beautiful location in search of answers. However upon arrival the once beautiful location shows that hidden behind a peaceful veil is actually a place of nightmares. Now the man must deal with solving odd puzzles to find and collect pieces of his past as well as deal with a seemingly haunted home. Who is Anna, why can he hear her voice and is his past something he really wants to remember? If you dare, enter developer Dreampainter’s game titled Anna- Extended Edition.

Boasting great graphics, several endings based on players reaction during some events and a very interesting story, it’s hard not to love Anna Extended Edition. Rarely do horror stories allow for a very vibrant setting to be so terrifying. While a lot of horror stories tell you what is the answer or gives large hints, Anna Extended Edition tends to allow the player to base the story on notes found and reactions from various events in game. Outlast and Anna- Extended Edition scare their players without heavily relying on jump scares, a tactic that most horror games try to use in mass. That being said, we highly recommend Anna Extended Edition if you want a story that allows for a lot interpretation that will make you want to play multiple times just to see if maybe your thoughts were slightly incorrect.

Anna Extended Edition- Official Trailer (ESRB) (Official Trailer)


3. Alien: Isolation

  • System/Platform: PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC
  • Publisher: SEGA of Europe
  • Developer: Creative Assembly
  • Release Date: Oct 7th, 2014

We here at Honey’s Anime have heard space allows no sound to be heard. Well we’d like to say we hope so, this way people won’t hear us scream as we play Alien: Isolation. Following the famous movie Aliens, fifteen years have passed since Ripley has disappeared into space. Following Amanda Ripley, her daughter, players are tasked to explore the Nostromo, the last location of Amanda’s mother. Amanda will soon discover the secrets to her mother’s disappearance as well as the reality of what happened to the crew. Amanda will realize that besides the robots on the ship being corrupted into killing anyone on site, there is one more threat that aims to kill her and it obviously isn’t human.

While Outlast doesn’t give the players weapons to avoid them having any strength over the inmates of the Mount Massive Asylum, Alien: Isolation may allow weapons but they won’t do much for the player. The main threats of Alien: Isolation come from robots who have become deranged and obviously the Xenomorphs, the alien creatures famous from the several Alien movies that exist. Despite being armed with several weapons, players still must rely on using their weapons as a means of escaping or distracting their threats, as most weapons in Alien: Isolation are ineffective against most enemies. That’s why similar to Outlast, you as the player will find it more useful to hide than just run. If you’re a fan of the Alien movies or just want a horror game that deals scares using creatures not of this world, you’ll find extreme enjoyment in Alien: Isolation.

Alien: Isolation- Launch Trailer (Official Trailer)



Any Games Like Outlast ?

4. Among the Sleep

  • System/Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One
  • Publisher: Krillbite Studio
  • Developer: Krillbite Studio
  • Release Date: May 29th, 2014

In most horror games you usually play as an adult, capable of running or fighting adversity. However, in Among the Sleep you don’t play an adult or even a teenager, instead you’re in the body of a toddler. Armed with nothing more than your trust Teddy Bear, players will face a new world of nightmares. Simple obstacles such as doors and closets that usually are simple to open, need puzzle solving to allow the toddler access to handles to enter a room or exit one. Making matters worse, the toddler finds himself being hunted by a large feminine monster. Despite being so young a large dark world lies ahead of you, can you survive?

Among the Sleep seems to have a concept that doesn’t sound terrifying at first, but the reality is anything but. We as players tend to forget how simple certain gameplay mechanics are in most games. In Outlast if you need to hide all you have to do is run to a nearby locker or closet, in Among the Sleep however running isn’t easy seeing as how you can barely walk and most of the time you’ll find yourself having to crawl to have a chance at escaping threats. Among the Sleep takes the player out of their usual comfort zone and interestingly enough it mirrors Outlast because you would think both games wouldn’t be as scary as they end up being. We dare you to play Among the Sleep, trust us you’ll probably want to leave the nightlight on before you go to bed.

Among the Sleep- Release Trailer (Official Trailer)


5. Slender: The Arrival

  • System/Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii U
  • Publisher: Blue Isle Studios, Majesco Entertainment
  • Developer: Blue Isle Studios, Parsec Productions
  • Release Date: Mar 26th, 2013

Lauren is about to discover a horror that many could never imagine. Upon arriving at Kate’s home she notices scribbles that elude to Kate losing her mind and soon Lauren will understand why. Enter Slenderman, a humanoid being who is now after Lauren. Armed with only a flashlight, Lauren must run if she wishes to live. Lauren can’t hide, she can’t fight all she can do is flee. However, is Lauren heading further into safety, or further towards her own demise? Slender: The Arrival gives you one choice to make, run and don’t look back.

Slenderman has evolved in Slender: The Arrival. Unlike Slenderman: The Eight Pages, players are given more of a story to follow and more gameplay elements than just collecting eight pages. Similar to Outlast, Slender: The Arrival focuses on giving the player as little to rely on as possible, flight is a constant means of making it further in terms of story progression. Also similar to Outlast, Slender: The Arrival has players dealing with only a small variety of enemies but in terms of scares that’s plenty. While there are a bountiful amount of jump scares in Slender: The Arrival, the game doesn’t rely on it instead placing them around each level just enough to make every gameplay feel a bit different. Slender: The Arrival may boast a simple gameplay mechanic and might not be as robust as Outlast, but in terms of enjoyment and entertainment, you can’t beat it.


6. Amnesia: The Dark Descent

  • System/Platform: PS4, PC
  • Publisher: Frictional Games
  • Developer: Frictional Games
  • Release Date: Sept 8th, 2010

Daniel has found himself in a grim situation. Awakening in a strange like place, Daniel barely remembers his name or his past. He knows his name, he’s aware of his home address and Daniel knows that he is being chased by something. Daniel must explore this strange castle in search of clues to why he’s there. Yet as Daniel will soon realize the thing he knows is hunting him is also in the castle with him. Descend into madness to learn Daniels past if you dare.

We here at Honey’s Anime knew the perfect game to end this list on and that is Amnesia: The Dark Descent. We can all agree, Amnesia: The Dark Descent has become famous for being truly one of the most terrifying games of recent history. The more Daniel’s character is scared, the more the game alters the world settings such as making odd objects appear or twisting the very area that seemed normal a moment ago. Unlike most games death doesn’t come from just getting killed but also from literally getting a heart attack in game. Great graphics, deep lore and interesting gameplay mechanics all are similar to Outlast and we aren’t complaining about that. If you want true fear, you must play Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent- Teaser


Final Thoughts

Seeing horror as a bystander is terrifying, but experiencing from your own eyes is pure horror. Our list all have horror games like Outlast that pit both the player and the character they control in situations where survival isn’t easy. If we’ve learned anything from this list, running seems like a good bet if dealing with ghosts or crazed men. There are hundreds of horror games out there and we at Honey’s Anime may have missed one as we hid dealing with this one. Let us know in the comments down below and please keep your eyes peeled on Honey’s Anime for more great recommendation lists.

Outlast-game-300x376 6 Games Like Outlast [Recommendations]

Writer

Author: Aaron

Hey everyone I’m Aaron Curbelo or Blade as I’m called by my YouTube Subscribers. I’ve been an anime/manga fan since I was a young kid. In terms of anime I have watched nearly a thousand shows and have read hundreds of manga series. I love writing and honestly was so happy to join Honey’s Anime to get a shot to write articles for such a wonderful site. I’m a firm believer in respect in the anime community being the most important embodiment we should all have. We all love anime and we have varying opinions of series but we should respect one another for those differences! Life is too precious to spend it making needless arguments in a community that should be the shining example of loving an amazing medium. I hope as a writer for Honey’s Anime I can bring you folks some amazing articles to read and enjoy!

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