Meet Red Barrels’ Outlast, One Of 2013′s Most Promising Indie Games

Red Barrels Games is an independent studio based in Montreal. They’re an exciting group in the indie scene because their team consists of industry veterans from some of the biggest gaming franchises out there, namely Prince of Persia, Assassin’s Creed, Splinter Cell and Uncharted.

The studio is focused on single-player downloadable games, and their vision is to create “interactive experiences in which the player goes on an emotional and unforgettable journey”.

Sometime this year they’ll release their first game titled Outlast, a PC exclusive survival horror game. The studio has said that it’s a “true survival-horror experience which aims to show that the most terrifying monsters of all come from the human mind.”

According to the developers, the core experience of the game is: ”You’re a normal human being who has to survive a terrifying journey. You can’t fight the horrors waiting for you in the Asylum, so you’ll have to act smart to avoid getting killed… or worse.”

If you’re disappointed that the game is only for PC, there may be hope as the developers have said: ”We’re focusing on the PC for now, but our goal is to make Outlast available to anyone who wants to play it. It’s just a matter of time and resources.

For more detailed insight into the game, here is information from the press release:

In the remote mountains of Colorado, horrors wait inside Mount Massive Asylum. A long-abandoned home for the mentally ill, recently re-opened by the “research and charity” branch of the transnational Murkoff Corporation, has been operating in strict secrecy… until now.

Acting on a tip from an inside source, independent journalist Miles Upshur breaks into the facility, and what he discovers walks a terrifying line being science and religion, nature and something else entirely. Once inside, his only hope of escape lies with the terrible truth at the heart of Mount Massive.

The studio co-founders also shared a few words about the project.

“There are already a lot of great games out there about terrifying monsters that eat brains; we want Outlast’s to be scary because you’ll know the enemies you face still have them,” said Philippe Morin, co-founder of Red Barrels.

“Our team has a lot of previous experience creating big, blockbuster games,” said co-founder David Chateauneuf. “We’re all really excited to see what kind of fear-based emotional rollercoaster we can build on our own!”

Outlast is certainly looking like a really high quality game, and given the pedigree of the developers it’s definitely one of the most exciting and promising indie titles this year. But don’t let me tell you that. Give the four minute gameplay trailer up above a watch, and decide for yourself.