Dead Space 2 vs Outlast
Dead Space 2 is a horror survival game from Visceral Games (2011) while Outlast is a horror survival game from Red Barrels (2013).
Quick answer: Outlast rates higher, 8.3 to 8.2 on the GamingPickz Score, and Outlast is the cheaper at $14.99.
What each one is
Dead Space 2 is filed under Horror and Survival. In contrast, Outlast under Horror and Survival.
Three years after the Necromorph infestation aboard the USS Ishimura, Isaac Clarke awakens from a coma, confused, disoriented, and on a space station called The Sprawl. Explore this world and its zero-g environments to discover the truth about the Unitology and its role in the Necromorph epidemic.
Hell is an experiment you can't survive in Outlast, a first-person survival horror game developed by veterans of some of the biggest game franchises in history. As investigative journalist Miles Upshur, explore Mount Massive Asylum and try to survive long enough to discover its terrible secret... if you dare.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Setting and characters Dead Space 2 takes place in the year 2511, three years after the events of Dead Space . The action takes place on the Sprawl, a space station built by the Earth Government (EarthGov) in the remains of Saturn 's moon Titan in a period where humanity survived near-extinction due to resource depletion by mining other planets. During the previous game's events on the planet Aegis VII, an artifact called the Red Marker−copied from an… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Dead Space 2 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, while the Xbox 360 version received "universal acclaim", according to review aggregator website Metacritic . Reviews gave general praise to the game for its atmosphere and design, with several critics calling it an improvement over the original. Both Thierry Nguyen of 1Up. (Wikipedia)
Plot
A freelance investigative journalist named Miles Upshur receives an anonymous email about inhumane experiments at Mount Massive Asylum, a remote psychiatric hospital owned by the notoriously unethical Murkoff Corporation. Upon entering, Miles is shocked to discover its halls ransacked and littered with the staff's mutilated corpses. He is informed by a dying officer of Murkoff's private military unit that the hospital's deranged inmates, known as… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Outlast received generally positive reviews from critics. The review aggregation website Metacritic gave the Xbox One version a score of 80/100 based on 6 reviews, the Microsoft Windows version 80/100 based on 59 reviews, and the PlayStation 4 version 78/100 based on 33 reviews. It received numerous accolades and awards at E3 2013 , including the "Most Likely to Make you Faint" honour, and one of "Best of E3". (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Dead Space 2 | Outlast | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.2/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (94%, 29,751) | Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 138,407) |
| Critic aggregate | 87/100 | 80/100 |
| Price | $19.99 | $14.99 |
| Install size | — | 5 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2011 | 2013 |
| Developer | Visceral Games | Red Barrels |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Dead Space 2 vs Outlast, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Dead Space 2Horror survival gameOutlastHorror survival gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Dead Space 2Horror, Survival Horror, Third-Person ShooterOutlastHorror, First-Person, Survival HorrorThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Dead Space 2Score 8.2 · 94% on Steam · 87 criticOutlast ✓Score 8.3 · 96% on Steam · 80 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Dead Space 229,751 reviewsOutlast138,407 reviews · 1 add-on · 5 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Dead Space 2$19.99Outlast ✓$14.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Dead Space 2PlayableOutlastPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Outlast takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueDead Space 2 and Outlast on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Outlast (GamingPickz Score 8.3)
- The cheaper right now: Outlast ($14.99)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Outlast (138,407 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
HorrorSurvival HorrorSurvivalActionSci-fiAtmosphericSingleplayerMultiplayer
Where they differ
Third-Person ShooterShooterThird PersonStory RichSpaceAliens
First-PersonPsychological HorrorDarkIndieStealthNudity
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Dead Space 2 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Outlast is demanding, for players who want a challenge.
System requirements, side by side
| Dead Space 2 | Outlast | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | 512 MB NVIDIA GeForce 9800GTX / ATI Radeon HD 3xxx series |
| Minimum CPU | — | 2.2 GHz Dual Core CPU |
| Minimum RAM | — | 2 GB |
| Install size | — | 5 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Dead Space 2 · Outlast.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Dead Space 2 and 1 for Outlast. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Dead Space 2 and Outlast in scope?
Dead Space 2 has drawn 29,751 Steam reviews. Outlast has drawn 138,407 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 5 GB.
Is Dead Space 2 or Outlast better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Outlast rates higher (8.3 to 8.2). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Dead Space 2 or Outlast?
Outlast is cheaper right now at $14.99, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Dead Space 2 or Outlast?
Outlast rates higher, 8.3 to 8.2 on the GamingPickz Score, and Outlast is the cheaper at $14.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.