Did The Outlast Trials Change My Mind On Outlast?
Well actually, yes. It did.
Developer/publisher: Red Barrels
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Price: $19.99 until December 4, otherwise, $39.99.
The Outlast Trials, a prequel to Outlast 1 and developed by Red Barrel, is a first-person horror game where you can play with up to three people and complete trials, which are stages filled with grotesques tasks and puzzles, as you seek to reach the passage to escape, and rebirth.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article on my distaste for the Hide and Seek gameplay found on some horror games, and I specifically singled out Outlast 2. Let me tell you, I will eat my words because I have been thoroughly enjoying The Outlast Trials.
But this game does change the Outlast formula a bit, at least, enough for me to enjoy it. While the other Outlast games had me crouching and hiding everywhere, The Outlast Trials allows me to speed through it with the help of gadgets and buffs I receive. I’ve spent more time sprinting in this game than crouching. What I think this game does poorly is how it provides its story. I am not a fan of having to go through levels to look for documents that spawn in random locations to understand the setting, characters, and everything.
The Premise
It’s the 60s, and The Murkoff Corp. Charitable Outreach, also known as the Murkoff Corporation from Outlast 1, is promising vulnerable people another chance at life. Regardless of your financial standing or emotional and mental health, they will help anyone get back on their feet.
The game starts with a rat eating medicine in an alley, then it pans to a lamppost that has a couple of flyers, the one that caught my attention is the first one that reads BRAINWASHED, and of course, the main one that falls into the hand of a homeless person, and it reads,
You, the homeless person, are then kidnapped, witness a man get beaten to death, and then many other horrifying things until you end up getting night vision goggles drilled into your head.
Then, your process of rebirth begins. You’re forced to shred all your private and public information, starting from a clean, and committing to your therapy, whether you like it or not.
The Gist O.T.
It’s Tennis. It does take some strategy, a lot of timing, and reaction. Lobbing the ball will send it upwards while hitting a direct will send it forward. If you have some good timing, you can cheese people by tapping it when the ball is on your side, guaranteeing a point, though it’s risky, and hard to execute. 5/10, needs pong customization.
I’ve never been good at chess, but I at least know what every piece does. So, I give it a 2/10 because it’s hard to win.
I’m not bad at this test. I’m really good at this, trust me. 1/10, will not elaborate.
Amazing game. It’s truly a peak game, and I wish I could be able to customize my hand, maybe put some gloves with fire on them, and add some confetti every time I win, which is often. Honestly, online matchmaking would’ve been good, with some ranked, pre-made teams, and its own battle pass. 10/10 would smack the table as people wrestle.
Oh, And There’s Also The Trials.
Trials make me feel like I am playing a SAW game, in which I have to complete a horrifying task to obtain my freedom. Only in Outlast Trials, I can do it with my friends, and I have a chance to actually finish them. No pause.
As I write this, there are a total of six Core Trials, which are the main mission stories, each having a unique mechanic that makes every level feel fresh.
There are also weekly therapy levels, which are nine levels that get rotated. Some are from the Core Therapy, others are unique. I’ve played a few and they’re very enjoyable and create tons of hype for me in the future.
Lastly, there’s Escalation therapy, which is an endurance test. Trial till you drop.
Each trial will be riddle with traps, experimental population (the one’s you’re hiding from), that has kept me surprised, and engaged.
After each level is completed, you get currency that you can spend on useful things, such as Rigs, which are gadgets you’re able to use during Trials with different effects, such as healing, stunning, x-ray, and more; prescriptions, which are useful enhancements, such as faster stamina recovery, increased running speed or breaking free faster for traps; and of course, customize your character and room.
WE. ARE. LIVE!
To address the elephant in the room, The Outlast Trials is one of those Live Service Games, so expect the battle pass, the premium battle pass, and the season/event battle pass functioning how you’d expect. Do you want that cool shirt? FOMO. Want that cool outfit? Premium Battle Pass. I haven’t had a problem with it, as it’s all cosmetics (except for that cool bed), but I know that not everyone is okay with that.
While the game is fun, and I am having a blast alone and with friends, it doesn’t have that many levels, and if you’re not a person who would love to speedrun levels or be as optimal as possible, the game will get tiring and stale fairly quickly. It's been an enjoyable experience learning how to quickly go through the levels, though the RNG aspect of the game also interferes a bit when it comes to learning it, as it changes corpse placement, generator placement, and so forth. It doesn’t make the level feel new, but new enough to be upsetting.
Thankfully, I believe the game is doing well, so it could be safe to assume that more levels will be released later on. I also hope they add more to the rebirth level because that has been my favorite part of the game, as you get minimal direction and plenty of tasks, and I hope an equivalent gets made for co-op.
The first time you play a level, it’s a unique experience, filling the player with horror as they see the boundary that the game is willing to push in terms of obscenity, gruesomeness, and gore.
But because it’s a live service game, its horror elements will take the backseat as the focus then turn into scoring a higher-grade score to get better rewards or grinding to be able to get the cool wallpaper or bed.
Co-Op Horror Is Still Horror
This will be something I dive into the future, but for me, as a person who enjoys horror and plays with a friend who is scared of horror games and one who enjoys horror to an extent, I’ve noticed that it’s subjective what’s scary or not.
I believe that it’s nearly impossible to make a co-op horror game scary, so what matters is if it follows its elements well and if it’s enjoyable. By this I mean, horror is known for its suspension, tension, how it takes on certain themes, imagery, villains or creatures, the gore (sometimes), just to name a few.
While I play this the same way I would play Brink, I’ve seen people crouching everywhere and hiding in lockers. But in co-op, it has created tense moments because I depend on my teammates and because I want them to live. I believe that a way co-op horror can become truly terrifying is by putting your life in the hands of your teammate. Then again, may not be entirely true, or MOBA would be considered horror games, but just a thought.
I got high hopes for this game. Really looking forward to how this game develops, but I can’t really give a score, but I can say that I:
Recommend:
To those for looking for a quick horror game that can be played with friends, and isn’t played at a slow pace. Of course, you can’t mind the heavy gore, the very sexual themes, and how it depicts religion.
Do you think you’d play this game? Is Co-op horror an easier gateway to horror gaming? Let me know!
Loved the first two, might give this one a shot