Mind games

Outlast may have been set in an asylum, but it’s Outlast II that places the greater focus on psychological wellbeing. The creatures encountered in the demo might be supernatural horrors, or could just as easily be manifestations of Langermann’s mind – a possibility leant further weight by the demo’s clever ending and the apparent interdimensional jumps we find ourselves making as we explore. One particular highlight sees us being attacked in the school by a burly, knife-wielding man, who grabs us by the throat and then shoves us backwards. As we fall, we suddenly realise that we’re no longer in an educational building, and instead tumbling down some wooden stairs into a farmhouse basement.