Outlast 2: The Definitive Guide to Crawling Through Cornfields and Questioning Your Life Choices

This time around, you’re Blake Langermann, an investigative journalist who makes even worse life choices than Miles Upshur from the first game. You and your wife, Lynn, are out here in the desert to investigate a mysterious murder, because nothing says “romantic getaway” like documenting death in the middle of nowhere. But surprise, your helicopter crashes! Now Lynn is missing, and you’ve stumbled into a cult that believes your unborn child is the Antichrist.

So yeah, good luck with that.

If you thought the controls in Outlast were simple, Outlast 2 says, “Hold my camcorder.” Don’t worry, running, hiding, and crying are still the primary mechanics, but this time you’re in wide, open spaces. Lucky you!

WASD/Left Stick: To move your terrified self through various flavors of Hell, from dilapidated villages to creepy cornfields.

Shift/Right Trigger: Sprint. You’ll be doing this roughly 98% of the time.

Crawl Button: NEW FEATURE! Because sometimes running isn’t enough, now you can crawl through the mud like a horror-stricken earthworm. This is especially useful when you’re hiding from cultists, or when you just want to feel closer to the ground before you die.

Camera Button: Once again, you’ve got a trusty camcorder. Except now it has a microphone, so you can hear all the horrible things sneaking up on you. Yay, technology!

Peek Button: You can peek around corners to see if you’re about to be killed. Spoiler: You are.

Remember the claustrophobic asylum of the first game? Forget it. Outlast 2 throws you into the great outdoors, because nothing says “I’m safe” like open, desolate landscapes filled with homicidal cult members.

Let’s break down the main attractions:

Creepy Villages: Full of abandoned shacks, chickens (they’re not helpful), and plenty of maniacs with pitchforks. This is where you'll often run headfirst into a murderous local while muttering "I hate it here" under your breath.

Cornfields: Ah, yes. Nothing like navigating a cornfield at night while being chased by people who want to skin you alive. Hope you enjoy the feeling of corn brushing against your face while you hold back a panic attack!

The Scary School: Blake’s traumatic Catholic school past likes to make surprise guest appearances, pulling you into disturbing flashbacks filled with locker slamming, ghostly visions of your classmate Jessica, and existential dread. It’s like being stuck in an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark, but way worse.

In Outlast 2, running is not just a suggestion—it’s a way of life. Sure, you can try to sneak around or crawl through fields, but let’s be real: you’ll spend most of your time in full-on Usain Bolt mode, trying to escape the many, many people who want to murder you.

Here’s a breakdown of your options:

Run through the woods: Watch out for branches and conveniently placed rocks that will trip you up at the worst possible moment. Blake is basically a magnet for face-planting.

Run through the cornfields: It’s like being in a maze, except the prize at the end is survival. Maybe.

Run through the village: Pro tip: All doors are either locked, barricaded, or lead straight to someone with an axe. Choose wisely.

Once again, your camera’s night vision is powered by batteries that die faster than your hope of escaping this nightmare. Batteries in Outlast 2 are about as scarce as happy moments, so be frugal. This means scavenging every disgusting nook and cranny, often leading you into areas where you’ll regret going.

Battery Management 2.0:

Use night vision only when it’s pitch black or you can’t see your own hand. Otherwise, fumble around in the dark and pray.

The microphone drains battery life too, but sometimes you need it to figure out if that rustling sound is just wind or a psycho with a machete.

Don’t be that person who recharges the battery when it’s at 99%. You’ll regret wasting it.

Who lives in this charming rural community? Oh, just a bunch of religious fanatics who think you and your wife are the key to bringing about the apocalypse. Here are a few key residents:

Sullivan Knoth: The leader of the cult who looks like a sweaty mix between a bad televangelist and an evil Santa Claus. He’s obsessed with preventing the Antichrist, and spoiler: he thinks your wife’s unborn baby is the devil.

Marta: She’s a seven-foot-tall woman with a cross-shaped pickaxe who chases you around while screaming Bible verses. Think of her as Outlast 2’s version of the Grim Reaper, but with worse social skills.

The Heretics: A rival cult that’s even creepier than the main cult. They live in caves, smear mud on themselves, and believe that the Antichrist should be born. It’s like they took the phrase "getting dirty" way too literally.

Flashback Jessica: Blake’s childhood friend who keeps showing up in his terrifying school flashbacks. She’s kind of the heart of the psychological horror, reminding Blake of that one time in Catholic school that will haunt him forever. Spoiler: It ends badly.

Unlike Outlast, where you often had walls to hide behind, Outlast 2 offers the thrill of crouching in cornfields, ducking in tall grass, or diving into rivers to evade your enemies. But be careful, because nothing screams “I’m right here” like the sound of panicked breathing and the rustling of corn stalks.

Here are some prime stealth spots:

Tunnels and crawl spaces: You’ll feel safe for about 10 seconds, and then something will crawl in after you.

Tall grass: It’s not just for Pokémon. You’ll spend a lot of time crouching here, praying that nobody sees you. Spoiler: They always see you.

Water: You can hold your breath and hide underwater, but eventually, you’ll need to come up for air...right when someone’s standing over you with a weapon.

Progressing through Outlast 2 means moving through a lot of dark, creepy areas, all while constantly asking yourself, “Why did I agree to play this?” The trick is to never stop moving. If you stop to admire the scenery, you’ll probably get an axe to the face.

The School Flashbacks: You’ll switch between the real world and Blake’s horrible school memories, which are full of confusing puzzles and ghostly jumpscares. They’re like a time-out from the cult, but also a time-in for psychological trauma.

The Mines: You’ll eventually find yourself in these claustrophobic, spider-infested mines. You know, because things weren’t stressful enough.

Without spoiling anything, let’s just say the ending of Outlast 2 leaves you with more questions than answers. It’s a whirlwind of religious horror, hallucinations, and a general sense of “what the hell just happened?” But don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to process it all in therapy.

If you’ve made it to the end of Outlast 2, congrats! You’re officially traumatized, emotionally drained, and possibly still clutching your controller in fear. You’ve crawled through cornfields, escaped from pickaxe-wielding maniacs, and probably developed a permanent fear of flashlights and religious hymns.

But hey, you survived, right? So go ahead, take a deep breath, maybe play a nice, relaxing game of Animal Crossing to calm your nerves. Because after this, you deserve all the virtual island vacations you can get.

Good luck out there!