Before Outlast 2 released, developer Red Barrels had to cut some content to ensure that the game received a ‘Mature’ rating instead of ‘Adults Only.’ In terms of game ratings, ‘Adults Only’ can be a kiss of death, ensuring that most major retailers don’t sell the title similar to the NC-17 rating on movies.
But now that Outlast 2 has been out for a while, Red Barrels is adding the cut content via a patch on Steam. It’s unclear if the same patch is set to release on consoles, especially since it is content that was removed in order to receive a certain rating. Re-releasing the game as an “unrated cut” is one thing, but updating the current version with removed content is another.
Given how strict the ESRB can be with its ratings process, it is possible that Red Barrels simply doesn’t believe the cut content is too mature for the M-rated audience. Moreover, the developer may have tweaked the content to fit the Mature rating, either by toning down the violence/language or re-animating some portions.
The new Story Mode of Outlast 2 allows players to experience the game with minimal challenges, fewer enemy encounters and more breathing room to fully immerse yourself in the universe.
It is still possible to die, but we’ve decreased the number of enemies and have lowered their speed, damage and perception.
We’ve also made tweaks to the pacing of the game to make more room for exploration, instead of chases.
Also, we’ve taken the opportunity to reinsert some of the things we had to remove from the original game in order to get an M rating. These changes are not drastic in our opinion and do not impact gameplay, but they had to be made to avoid an Adult Only rating.
That’s it. Hope you enjoy!
- the team at Red Barrels
Alongside the cut content, Outlast 2 is also getting a new story mode that promises to be more exploration-focused. Red Barrels claims that the mode will feature fewer enemies with lower perception, so that players can spend more time digesting the world of Outlast 2 and less time running from baddies.
While not a major criticism of Outlast 2 (read our review), some players did say that the design of the game favored running through the environments rather than spending any time exploring them. Some would argue that is part of Outlast 2’s appeal – the constant threat of enemies and the feeling that no place is safe – but it did discourage players from finding details that would flesh out the story. Some players want to collect things in the game, and one could argue the design was counterintuitive to that style of play.
No matter where players fall on the debate of whether an “easier” story mode is worth adding, a design that encourages exploration is never a bad thing. Red Barrels clearly put a lot of effort into its game, so an opportunity to see everything on offer is a positive. On top of that, now players will be able to see what content can get a developer an Adults Only rating, which is sure to generate its own debates.