Character Chronicle: Chris Walker

Content Warning: Outlast is graphic, as are some of the images of it I’m using in this article.

So, as some of you may know, I’m plagued with a sizable backlog of unfinished video games. Red Barrels’ Outlast was stricken from that list fairly recently, and I wanted to discuss a member of its unkempt cast in commemoration of that.

But let’s first thank everyone who braved its dangerous facility with me:

Wolfman for, as always, helping with edits and offering valuable commentary.

As Outlast’s primary antagonist, it’s usually Walker who’s depicted in promotional art for the game. Curiously, said pieces sometimes use an earlier version of his model. (Image: Red Barrels)

Set in the dilapidated, dimly-lit Mount Massive Asylum, Outlast tells a grim, bleak story. You’re informed from the get-go that its protagonist, Miles Upshur, is a journalist, not a fighter, leaving him only three options to deal with his aggressors: “run, hide, or die.” And of all of Outlast’s violent inmates, one stands above the rest in his resolve to end Miles’ life.

Chris Walker’s History

Chris Walker is Mount Massive Asylum’s grotesque patrolman, a self-appointed position he takes zealously. His mission is to prevent the Walrider – the seemingly omnipresent presence the building is haunted by – from escaping, and his strategy to ensure that happens is by killing anyone he sees with fervor. Walker isn’t the architect behind the sinister events that inspired the construction of the asylum, but he’s nevertheless the most recurring antagonist in Outlast, making him Miles’ personal nemesis. Among all of the disfigured inmates – callously labeled “Variants” by Murkoff personnel – inhabiting the building, Walker is the undisputed strongest. He even repurposed the library into his personal trophy room, storing the decapitated heads of his victims along its shelving.

Our preliminary glance at Walker. His distinctive eye condition was retained in his final look. (Image: Red Barrels)

Interestingly, Walker’s appearance changed significantly throughout Outlast’s development; Walker could be seen hunting Miles throughout its first trailer, bearing a figure more in line with the standard Variants than the tank we grew acquainted with. Once Marc-Antoine Senecal, Outlast’s principal character modeler, joined the project, he underwent the intricate procedure of redesigning Walker. Initially, Outlast’s mascot bore disfigurements born out of harlequin baby disease and fibro dysplasia, evolving afterwards to emphasise his tenure as a soldier before gaining his potbelly. Chains were also added per the request of Red Barrels’ audio team, as players would need something to quickly alert them if Walker was nearby.

We meet Walker early in the game, when the colossus startles Miles as he’s trying to squeeze between a tight passageway. Subsequently, Walker grabs and tosses Miles – “little pig,” he dubs him – down several floors, seemingly killing the misfortunate reporter. It doesn’t, however, and when Walker learns of this, he takes it upon himself to locate the intruder. As Miles wanders throughout establishment, Walker is always (somehow) lurking just around the corner, confronting Miles on multiple occasions. Walker’s final scare occurs near Outlast’s climax, in the facility’s underground lab. Walker grabs a preoccupied Miles, threateningly telling the journalist that there is no escape, until the Walrider – the entity Miles was attempting to flee – effortlessly dispatches the ogre. Miles, despite everything he’s endured, is sympathetic to Walker in his death.

Voiced by Chimwemwe Miller, Walker sometimes spoke in complete sentences. More frequently, he would emit grunts and fragments. (Image: Red Barrels)

While much of Walker’s history isn’t directly communicated in-game, Outlast’s collectible documents flesh him out, discussing the Afghanistan veteran’s anxiety-provoked self-mutilation and “manic exaggeration of military security protocol.” Set concurrently with and expanding upon the base game’s events, Walker also appears in the Outlast: Whistleblower DLC campaign, briefly antagonizing its protagonist, Waylon Park. Moreover, Walker’s backstory, including his fixation on pigs and the onset of his homicidal tendencies, is explored in the six-issue Outlast: The Murkoff Account comic book series.

So, what’re my thoughts on Walker?

It’s not uncommon for horror-themed games to posit their protagonists against hulking colossuses, with Resident Evil’s Nemesis perhaps the most emblematic example. Works in other mediums likewise harbor their own sizable antagonists, such as Halloween’s Michael Myers, whose intimidating aura Senecal was hoping to channel through Walker.

Chris Walker tossing Miles Outlast Chapter 1

As Miles begins to lament his decision to come, Walker attacks him, setting the tone for their relationship. And speaking of tone, get used to Walker’s theme song. (Image: Red Barrels)

Walker is not a heroic figure; his methods fall short of adhering to any elementary facsimile of decency, nor does he exert any charismatic or admirable qualities. Yet, underneath his violent, uncouth protocol and thinning sanity, he had a legitimate concern, a genuine motivation fueling his actions: Walker attempted – and failed – to prevent the Walrider from escaping. In his own demented perspective, Walker presumably thought he was performing a commendable public service as he went about doing his deeds.

Outlast, by design, is intended to instill anxiety by making Miles physically helpless and without access to any weapons, so anything and everything poses a threat. While Outlast’s shtick – and, by extension, Walker’s – grew very tiring as the game continued, I do believe its most visible character was a fairly effective fixture within its framework (at least until you learn to abuse his horrid AI). Walker’s presence dutifully instilled unease early on, and players likely suffered many deaths at his hands. Consequently, helplessly witnessing the Walrider dispatch Walker with as much ease as Walker had when he decapitated us effectively set the stage for Outlast’s final act.

Just as Walker finishes uttering this sentence, the Walrider pounces on him. (Image: Red Barrels)

While Outlast itself certainly has a future, Walker likely does not. As the series hasn’t outright dealt with the supernatural, it’s unlikely Walker will ever be revived in any fashion. However, he will live on through spiritual successors, as Outlast 2 has an analogous terror who functions similarly to him. Conversely, a prequel that delved into the character’s backstory would be superfluous and unneeded. Chris Walker is gone, but he left behind a bold legacy, guaranteeing he will be remembered by all who’ve braved Mount Massive Asylum.

Congratulations, Chris! I did not mourn your death.

Walker, as with all of the inmates, suffered through horrific, dehumanizing experiments that irreparably damaged him physically and mentally. Nevertheless, he kind of had his death coming. (Image: Red Barrels)

Outlast’s world is certainly an interesting one, and we’ll tackle one of its surviving ghouls another time. However, while I am rather intrigued with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I’m not quite ready to revisit Smash’s universe just yet either. We’ll instead take a journey to a wonderland next time, a domain that’s far more colorful and cheerful than Mount Massive Asylum. Until then, goodnight, friends!

Next time, the dream starts here. Prepare to fly!

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Cart Boy

Cart Boy wants to be the very best, like no one ever was. When the stars align properly, he also writes articles, edits his peers' work, and helps run Source Gaming's social media.

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