Outlast
Hooks you right away
What the data shows
- 93% of first-hour reviews are positive — about the same as players with 5+ hours (98%).
- The opening is criticised less than in 95% of games we track.
- 51% of players who start reach the ending.
- The biggest drop-off is between “ILLUMINATED” (Restore power to the Administrative Block) and “FLUSHED” (Drain the Sewers): from 100% to 78% of starters.
- Only 50% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 140,920 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 299 reviews: 6h for positive, 3.6h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (49.6% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- ILLUMINATED Restore power to the Administrative Block 100%
- FLUSHED Drain the Sewers Most players quit here 78% −22
- SOAKED Activate the sprinklers in the Male Ward 62% −16
- EMANCIPATED Collect the key in the Female Ward 54% −7
- PUNISHED Finish the game 51% −3
story milestone ending biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (14)
story milestone ending side
- ILLUMINATED Restore power to the Administrative Block 100%
- FLUSHED Drain the Sewers 78%
- SOAKED Activate the sprinklers in the Male Ward 62%
- EMANCIPATED Collect the key in the Female Ward 54%
- PUNISHED Finish the game 51%
- GAS LEAKER Turn off the gas 27%
- SHOCKER Turn off the electricity 26%
- WHISTLEBLOWER Finish the Whistleblower DLC 24%
- EDUCATED Collect 15 documents and complete 15 recordings 24%
- ARCHIVIST Collect all documents 6.5%
- PULITZER Collect all documents and complete all recordings 6.2%
- LEGACY Complete all recordings 5.8%
- LUNATIC Finish the game in Insane mode 5.8%
- BOWELWHISTLER Finish the DLC in Insane mode 5.6%