Outlast is a horror game that was released in 2013 by Red Barrels game studio. The title was critically acclaimed for being psychologically disturbing and was described as the "perfect nightmare" by many critics. Both Outlast and its DLC Whistleblower currently boast 10/10 ratings and rave user reviews on Steam.
Seeing its popularity, Red Barrels announced that the game would be getting a sequel in April 2017. Now, it appears that the highly anticipated Outlast 2 has been banned in Australia due to depiction of implied sexual violence.
Kotaku Australia reports that Outlast 2 was refused certification by the regional classification board on grounds that it contains scenes which imply sexual violence. The site has also obtained a document which described a scene which the Australian Classification Board (ACB) found objectionable, but before proceeding to read excerpts from the report, please be wary that it contains potential spoilers and adult themes.
The ACB has listed the following scene as containing depiction of implied sexual violence:
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, implicitly 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.
It is important to note that the board has accepted that most of the sexual violence is implied and is obscured, it has still refused to award the game with the maximum R18+ rating - which was granted to the demo of Outlast 2 for portraying gore and intense themes.
That said, the ACB has also clarified that the aforementioned cut-scene is not the only instance due to which the game has been refused a classification. As a result, Outlast 2 has been banned in Australia, and will not see a release in the country similar to Hotline Miami 2 unless it is modified to remove objectionable content - which is what had to be done to release South Park: The Stick of Truth in Australia. Unless Outlast 2 is censored and resubmitted for classification by Red Barrels, gamers interested in the title will likely have to resort to unofficial sources to obtain it. Outlast 2 lands on April 25, 2017 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Source: Kotaku Australia | Image via Red Barrels
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