When The Outlast Trials was first revealed, fans were understandably skeptical. After all, the Outlast games had strictly been single-player experiences up to that point, and throwing co-op in the mix threatened to throw everything off-balance. The Outlast Trials is now available in early access, and while the jury is still out on whether it can be a sustainable multiplayer game with longevity, it functions just fine as a single-player experience.
The Outlast Trials is a prequel to the other games in the series, with players taking on the role of unlucky test subjects that find themselves at the mercy of the villainous Murkoff Corporation. Players create their own character and hang out in a barracks area that doubles as the game's hub. Here they can make changes to their character, interact with various employees, customize their loadout, and more.
When they're ready, The Outlast Trials players can then jump into one of the game's Trials. These Trials play out like more open-ended versions of past Outlast stages, with players having to solve puzzles and avoid grotesque enemies that they are basically defenseless against. If players are unlucky enough to be found by one of the enemies prowling the Trial, their only option is to run away, hide, and pray that they don't get caught.
Whereas previous Outlast games were sometimes linear to a fault, The Outlast Trials offers larger stages that give players a lot more freedom. Players have numerous options when it comes to tackling any given obstacle they come across, and the larger levels means more opportunities to explore and loot for helpful items. The result is that The Outlast Trials has far more engaging minute-to-minute gameplay than any other game in the series.
Not only is The Outlast Trials the most impressive game in the series from a gameplay standpoint, even in its current early access state, but it could very well be one of the scariest. Even the tutorial mission is horrifying. Players are bombarded with jump scares, gut-wrenching gore, and the sinking feeling that something awful is hiding around every corner. The game's audio does the heavy lifting when it comes to leaving players on edge, with inhuman grunts, heavy footsteps, and chilling musical stings coming together to create the kind of suffocating atmosphere that one wants from a truly scary horror game.
The Outlast Trials is terrifying when playing solo, but it's possible that will be alleviated somewhat when playing in a group. Unfortunately, we were unable to test The Outlast Trials' co-op mode, but pure horror enthusiasts can rest assured that the game's single-player experience is high quality enough that even if co-op is a bust, it should still be very much worth checking out.
One key tool The Outlast Trials uses to keep players scared is by making sure they are as immersed as they possibly can be at all times. Actions that may have been relegated to menus or loading screens in other games are instead fully playable in The Outlast Trials, giving players little respite from this horrifying world once they're strapped in. To start one of the game's Trials, players have to physically go to a machine in the middle of the barracks area, then step into a tube-like device. This spins into a room where players have to sit and get strapped into chairs as they're presumably transported to the location of their next Trial. In other games, this would all happen in menus and potentially break player immersion.
Completing trials in The Outlast Trials rewards players with XP that levels them up and grants them various goodies. After leveling up the first time, The Outlast Trials players can choose between different "rigs" that essentially give their character a special ability that will in turn make other runs through the Trials a touch easier. The rig itself can be upgraded to make it even more useful. For example, one of the rigs acts as a healing device that heals the person using it and anyone in the nearby radius. By leveling up, players can increase the device's radius. Figuring out the best team compositions for the healing rig and others may be key to success in The Outlast Trials, so horror fans will want to communicate with their teammates to ensure that they have the best possible builds for each situation.
It was a risky idea on paper, and it remains to be seen if it has longevity, but The Outlast Trials seems like it has all the makings of a genuine horror hit. It's basically souped-up, superior version of its predecessors with co-op and a progression system added for good measure. It's a breath of fresh air for not just The Outlast series, but multiplayer horror games in general. The vast majority of multiplayer horror games seem to be of the asymmetrical nature, so it's nice to have something that's a purely cooperative experience, and it will be interesting to see how it works in practice.
The Outlast Trials is available in early access on PC. Game Rant was provided with a Steam code for this preview.