Outlast II

Outlast 2 is a terrifying sequel that builds upon the scares of the 2013 original.

Outlast 2's scripted chases can grow frustrating, but its gripping atmosphere and unnerving sound design deliver unparalleled tension.

A wobbly first-person horror whose moments of splendid unease are spoiled by clunky stealth, casual misogyny and warmed-over scares.

Stealth and pursuit haven't changed much in Outlast 2, but it excels as a beautiful, brutal journey through extreme spiritual anxieties.

Outlast 2 made me feel terrible, but that's by design

Horrific in completely the wrong way, Outlast 2 is a night-vision journey into frustration. An intriguing story just can't save the infuriating misery that awaits.

Outlast 2 successfully builds on the foundations of the original, leaning more toward captivating, mind-bending horror

Shock tactics so persistently silly that they become the equivalent of a flaming bag of poo on a doorstep. I will always defend the right of horror fiction to be horrible, but never excuse it for being so dull in its depravity.

Outlast 2 is harrowing. It is a horror game that will make you want to take a shower after you're done with it. It's a horror game that will make you want to hold your loved ones just a little tighter next time you embrace them. It's a horror game that will scare you in the moment with shock and gore, then haunt you in the middle of the night with its ideas. And isn't that what the best of horror strives for?

Outlast II significantly ups the ante in the production values stakes, but its biggest sin is relying a little too heavily on trial and error in the gameplay department. There's an unsettling story here that wanders into some quite shocking territory, but the writing doesn't always sing from the same hymn sheet, and some murderous moments are delivered a little too frantically for the fiction to fully marinate. Despite that, there's more than enough good on offer here to tempt you back to church. Pull up a pew and prepare for a psychological onslaught.