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The Murkoff Account comics (and Outlast 2 by extension) have absolutely no relevance to the original story of Outlast

and here’s why:

Content Warning

I am, of course, mainly going to discuss Trager’s storyline here, but it does also raise questions about the overall structure and timeline of Outlast as well.

My issue begins here

There’s a lot of information packed into this little paragraph.

First, it acknowledges that Trager has been apparently having “blood dreams.” In a different document, we are given information that suggests these dreams are Rick experiencing “Psychopathological Proximity Stress Disorder (PPSD).”

It’s my belief that this is referring to proximity to the morphogenic engine and/or it’s patients, rather than patients in general, since the psychosomatic pregnancies prove that the engine can affect people by proximity alone.

Secondly, Billy incriminates Trager by suggesting that the “blood dreams” are were he learned classified information. (This also explains that the morphogenic engine can connect people’s minds which is SUPER cool)

Thirdly, the last sentence expresses Murkoff’s newfound distrust for Rick. “(Note: the only Trager on company records, one Richard Trager, is an executive from M.R.D.) All orderlies and security personnel must be questioned and video security improved to include analytical biometrics.”

We all know what happens when you fuck with Murkoff secrets, cue the Trager email:

I may be biased, but to me, this all obviously points to Rick being admitted to Mount Massive because Murkoff knew that he either leaked information to Billy or was experiencing the engine’s negative effects, making him a liability either way. Murkoff’s no tolerance style would prove even more callous, tossing their own “brass” executive into the engine to protect their secrets.

That is simply the back story that was laid out for us, what comes next is the inconsistencies, the good part. I could go on for days about how Rick and Jeremy in the comics are NOTHING like Rick and Jeremy on the games as far as characters go, but I digress. Let’s talk about the obvious one:

This email proves that Rick and Jeremy (as well as Murkoff as a whole) were aware of the psychosomatic pregnancies before the events of the game (2010 and after). This starkly opposes the comics, which depict the company becoming aware of these pregnancies in 2012. This also implies that both Rick and Jeremy hadn’t been working at the Mount Massive location for very long, a maximum of 3 years, probably less. This means the “blood dreams” would have been new for Trager as he was only recently exposed to the morphogenic engine.

Yet again, in a separate document, a lawsuit over termination of female employees in 2010 is described:

Here it is, clear as day, “Female employees were

moved to higher floors in the facility, then to

other buildings, and eventually entirely off of

the Mount Massive facility.” IN 2010!!!

At the time of Trager’s depictions in The Murkoff Account, Murkoff should have been WELL aware of the psychosomatic pregnancies and all female employees should have been OUT of the Mount Massive facility. The events, at the very least for Trager’s chapter, in the comics should not have even been possible in the Outlast universe.

The events of the comics as a whole, dare I say, are not where the story of Outlast was originally intended to go, the foreshadowing makes that clear. This story could have been deep and emotional, and showed a real reason for Rick to seek revenge against the other Murkoff executives, but it was twisted and cheapened somewhere along the line.

The morphogenic engine was supposed to draw out and magnify the darker parts of Rick’s personality (AKA his unexplored medical curiosities), manifesting as dreams where he likely experimented on patients and other employees in a very gruesome way. It would have been so investing to see his decent into madness and watch how the dynamic between he and Jeremy changed along the way, until he was ultimately admitted, in an actual cruel and unjust way. Betrayed by the company that he was committed to. (I explore some of this in my fic ;))

This one of many examples, but this is who Trager is supposed to be! As Redbarrels has said before, he’s witty, cunning, and calculated. He might talk like a business school douchebag, but he is far from stupid or impulsive.

Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the way The Black Frog designed pre-engine Rick’s appearance

It’s fitting and charming, yet it still subverts your expectations, showing just how much Mount Massive and the engine really fucked him up.

But the story writing? Garbage. Inconsistent. Tasteless.

In short, what Outlast has become is not what Outlast was supposed to be or what it should have been.

Personally, I really believe the story was altered in an effort to make it as shocking and appalling as possible; I understand that this is an Outlast “thing,” but I also believe that the shock and disgust factor shouldn’t be the only thing you have. It has to WORK and lately I feel that it hasn’t been working in Outlast. After a certain point (lord they’re gonna tear me apart for this one) sole reliance on shock factor just starts to feel lazy. I want a horror game to be suspenseful and terrifying, not to repeatedly make me ask, “Wow, they really put THAT in the game???” Keep in mind that I LOVE Outlast and Redbarrels, this is just what I feel has happened to the series personally. I would have loved to see it unfold with more depth, but hey, it’s not my story to write.

I understand that some people like the retconned story better and that’s FINE. Not everything is made to be enjoyed by everyone and just because I don’t like something, doesn’t mean that you can’t. I just personally feel like I’m not much of an Outlast fan anymore, I’m just a fan of some characters they created.

That’s is why I don’t even pay mind to the comics. Thanks for the cool character design, I’ll be leaving now.

If you want me to discuss my opinions on how clumsily serious topics such as date r*pe we’re handled in the comics (happens a lot in Outlast actually), let me know. I didn’t want to include that here because I feel like it requires a better warning and I don’t want to do it if people don’t want it.

#here we are #go ahead #eat me alive #outlast #richard trager #rick trager #team rick #outlast whistleblower #outlast trinity #redbarrels #jeremy blaire #the murkoff account #murkoff #mount massive asylum