Explaining the Ending to Outlast 2
For many gamers, mere mention of the word ‘outlast’ is enough to generate goosebumps. The first person survival series is often talked about as one of the scariest video game franchises of the last decade. It has a (deserving) reputation for shock, gore and brutal storytelling. The first release – Outlast – also happens to be one of the most popular games made by an independent studio in recent years. It’s no surprise then that’s its follow up – Outlast 2 – was another mega success. Just don’t ask what’s going on with the plot. It’s a little…complicated. Truthfully, one of the great things about Outlast 2 is you don’t need to pick up on every twist in the story to have a satisfying experience. It’s fortunate because keeping track of this doom filled narrative can be tricky.
If you’ve completed this game, you’ll know the full story behind its events is hidden in a seemingly endless series of collectible notes. Some can be hard to find, so we’ve put together this guide to the plot to help you get to grips with the Outlast 2 ending.
Understanding the Present Day Timeline
The events that occur in Blake Langerman’s present day timeline (in Arizona) are more than a little bizarre. So, let’s take a closer look. At the end of the game, Blake isn’t looking so hot. He’s plagued by flashbacks of his time in Catholic school and appears close to losing his mind completely. He finally locates his wife Lynn but, uh oh, she’s heavily pregnant. Strange, considering she wasn’t pregnant when the couple crash landed right at the start. So far, so creepy. The couple attempt to escape together but Lynn goes into labor. And no, it’s not a normal birth. The implication is that Lynn’s child is the Anti-Christ. After she dies during the delivery, Blake talks to preacher Sullivan Knoth who demands he murder the baby right away. Knoth then commits suicide. Blake decides to ignore his warnings and leaves with the new baby. In the last scene, we see the beginning of the promised apocalypse.
Or, do we?
This is what appears to happen if you don’t read the collectible notes. The notes suggest something very different. They imply that Blake has hallucinated much of the game’s ending after being experimented on by agents from the Murkoff Corporation (yes, the very same tricksy devils from the first Outlast). In typical horror game style, it’s not clear where reality ends and the hallucinations begin. However, it would make more sense for Lynn’s super speedy pregnancy to be a hallucination, right? Perhaps she was never really pregnant, didn’t give birth to a demon and actually succumbed to her wounds after the helicopter crash.
What we do know is Blake and the crazies intent on killing him are all victims of Murkoff’s dastardly mind control machine. It’s also responsible for bringing Blake and Lynn’s helicopter down in the first place. Whether Blake’s wanderings through the desert, reunion with Lynn and apparent death of the sun are real or imagined, well…that’s for you to decide.
Getting to Grips with the Catholic School Flashbacks
There are, of course, two stories occurring in Outlast 2 and both have an ending (of sorts). Aside from the present day timeline, we also see Blake as a student at Catholic school. Together with his friend Jessica, he confronts a different kind of evil in the form of Father Loutermilch, one of the priests in charge. Keep up with the flashbacks and you’ll see Jessica committed suicide after a severe beating from Father Loutermilch. This might sound like a bit of an overreaction until you realize what the game is quietly implying. There are some compelling clues to suggest Loutermilch may have sexually abused Jessica. We see the priest prepare to punish her and, as he sends Blake away, Jessica begins to scream.
Blake later finds Jessica badly wounded with a broken neck. One possibility is that she killed herself as a result of the abuse. However, it’s also possible Father Loutermilch murdered Jessica and made it look like a suicide. If this is the case, it is likely Blake stayed silent about what he saw on that day. This explains the intense regret he feels throughout the game. Curiously, there’s a brief scene in the present day timeline in which Blake has a conversation with Jessica. We’ve got to assume this is another hallucination caused by the Murkoff mind machine though, right? However she died, the game seems to make it pretty clear that she’s gone. Guess it’s up to you to make the final judgement on tragic Jessica’s last moments.