Outlast 2 Australian classification “controversy” finally explained
If you have been following the wonderfully weird story of the Australian board first refusing classification for Outlast 2, which meant that it could not be sold in this country, and then, out of the blue, granting it an R18+ rating, you might be interested as to why all of this happened. This answer is, as is usually the case, deceptively simple.
Red Barrels, the developer, have come out with an explanation. It turned out that the initial build that was provided to the board had a little extra, a piece of footage that was not meant to end up in the final product. The statement said that: “The original submission of Outlast 2 sent to the Australian Classification Branch contained the final game code and a video file for reference taken from an Alpha version of the game. This video file should not have been sent along with the game code, as its content was not representative of the final game.”
If you do not remember which video they are referring to, here is a quote from the board’s initial ban:
In one cut-scene in the game … a female creature prepares Blake for a ritual. She says, “I want to see your true face. Your seed will burn this world.” Shortly afterwards, he objects to having psycho-active dust blown into his face, yelling, “Nope! Nope!” before he stumbles into a forest clearing.
His vision blurring, he witnesses what appears to a ritualistic orgy. His wife, Lynn, calls out for his help, saying, “It hurts! Oh god!,” as she hangs from chains on a raised platform at the front of the clearing. Humanoid creatures, their skin grey, spattered with blood and scarred, implicity have sex as others pray, or chant, or gesticulate.
One creature has another bent over a rock, thrusting as they implicitly have rear-entry sex, another sits astride the pelvic region of a creature prone on the ground, moving their hips rhythmically as they too implicitly have sex. Two other pairs of creatures in the clearing are also implicitly having sex.
As Blake yells for the creatures to “Get away from her!” a female creature, her greyish breasts bared, pushes him onto his back, holds his arms to the ground and repeatedly thrusts her crotch against him. As Blake protests, saying “No! Stop that!” the creature thrusts again, before placing its face over his midsection and then sitting up and wiping its mouth.
Horror fans out there might cry foul, but Red Barrels remain adamant that the video will not appear in any version of the game, because it was supposedly never meant to make the final cut. Outlast 2 will be out on April 25, as a stand-alone game, as well as a part of Outlast Trinity package, with the original Outlast and its Whistleblower DLC.
