The Outlast Trials has what it takes to be one of the best multiplayer horror titles of the year
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It’s been six years since we last fell victim to the dangerous whims of the Murkoff Corporation, and in survival tests, his inhumane experiments have only gotten more extreme. After playing an investigative journalist who uncovers Murkoff’s plans at Mount Massive Asylum and uncovering corruption in the Arizona desert as a cameraman, we’re one of Murkoff’s sleeper agents in The Outlast Trials.
The Outlast Trials is still undeniably Outlast; her night vision camera is her best friend, hiding is often better than retaliating, and ultimately it’s all deeply unsettling. Batteries and weapons are scarce, and the risk of poisoning with psychosis is high. What does psychosis do to your character? Well, I think you’d better wait and see, but know that you may not believe your eyes. Literally.
Drawing inspiration from films like Saw 2, Cube, and 31, along with The Stanford Prison Experiment, The Manchurian Candidate, and more, The Outlast Trials is equal parts gore and psychological horror; Not only is it, so far, a horrifying experience that will chill you to the bone, but it’s also a genuinely fascinating narrative to slowly unravel.
Maybe I’m biased as a psychology hound, but The Outlast Trials mostly touches on the concept of MKUltra and sleeper agents; two things that will fascinate any conspiracy theory fan for a lifetime of him. When you wake up inside a secret Murkoff facility, fellow inmates cowering around you, and doctors peering at you through glass, it’s immediately clear that whatever’s going on here isn’t morally right.
You, supposedly kidnapped by Murkoff to involuntarily participate in this series of experiments, become the company’s guinea pig, forced to face the cruelest tests in a bid for freedom. However, what that freedom actually entails (and whether it is freedom at all) remains unknown.
As one of Murkoff’s pawns, completely at the whim of his doctors, The Outlast Trials feels closer to the original game than the sequel, which was a relief to me. That said, there’s a much bigger focus on cooperative play here than ever before; Rather than progress through a linear story, the narrative here consists of shows and trials. Playing solo makes The Outlast Trials even scarier, but with a team on board things feel a lot more manageable: friends become a buffer from the sheer terror in the game, even if enemies are more powerful as a result. .
There are also equipment and medicines that can be unlocked later in the game, with the goal of helping you and your squad through these treacherous trials. You’ll need to have completed a fair amount of “therapy” to access these, though, which gives The Outlast Trials a bit of a Fallout vibe you didn’t expect to see. This isn’t the only time you’ve seen Red Barrels implement inspiration from other media, and it’s so nice to notice amidst all the blood-splattered hallways, guttural screams, and death traps.
Each show takes part in a different area of Murkoff’s secret facility, each essentially a movie set of dummies, traps, and hideous abominations that want nothing more than to bash your skull in. These programs are made up of those eponymous trials. ; different objectives that you or your team must complete to pass the test and proceed to the next sadistic experiment. You’ll be awarded points and cash for successful completion, and you’ll be one step closer to your escape. Whether he will have the mental strength to make it out alive, or sane, is the main question here.
And that’s because The Outlast Trials, in my brief experience with it, is genuinely terrifying. The Outlast series has always been brutal, and Outlast (2013) was one of the first games I had to repeatedly turn off and back on because I just got too scared. This doesn’t happen often. The Outlast Trials is more brutal than ever; with enemies reminiscent of Resident Evil 4’s Ganados and Berserker-like enemies we’ve seen before in multiple horror games, you’d think taking on enemies and navigating the trials would be easy enough. Unfortunately, these enemies really do catch you off guard, especially if you’re walking past some seemingly unattended desk, or desperately trying to find a locker to hide only to discover it’s already taken. Let’s not forget that your own friends could also end up stabbing you in the back…
The Outlast Trials has certainly come a long way since its beta period back in October. While there are some folds that still need to be ironed out, Red Barrels has not only brought the Outlast series back to shape with the brutality, scares and riveting subject matter of The Outlast Trials, but has reinvigorated the series with its ‘trials’ format. and also branching out into a cooperative. So, it’s good to see that the game lives up to its name.
I have high hopes that The Outlast Trials will be one of the best multiplayer horror titles of the year. There’s an attention to detail here that you don’t often see in co-op horror, and I think The Outlast Trials will really scare its players, just as the series’ 2013 debut did.
Outlast trials will launch on Steam on May 18, 2023. This game was previewed on PC, with code provided by the publisher.
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