The Outlast Trials Review (Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 & PC)

If I had a cent for every bed I’ve had to cower under or locker I’ve had to stuff myself inside of, I’d probably have just enough to rival Red Barrels’ Outlast series and spin a yarn of my own. In the world of horror, partaking in such cat-and-mouse chases and other nail-biting shenanigans is practically commonplace, as is the need to tiptoe between tasks whilst under the watchful gaze of a sadistic stalker. Well, not a whole lot is different in The Outlast Trials; there’s hiding, tiptoeing, and—if you can believe it—a series of sadistic stalkers who share a common goal of wanting to tear the gizzards from your throat for, you know, reasons.

The Outlast Trials, while not a traditional Outlast game at heart, encompasses just about every signature aspect that fleshed out its single-player predecessors: an unsettling atmosphere, sociopathic patients, and a network of ominous corridors that feature a wealth of environmental puzzles and other challenges. The only real difference here, of course, is its inclusion of a four-player co-op campaign—an episodic tale that sees you and several other unfortunate souls going toe-to-teeth with experimental drugs and the patients that unwillingly consume them. This is, in short, The Outlast Trials, in a nutshell — and it’s got Red Barrels’ flare all over it.

In the few shorts hours I was able to pour into the latest batch of trials, I was not only able to come to terms with Red Barrels’ prominence in the horror genre, but also unleash some inner demons that, quite frankly, I never initially believed to have existed. But I’m getting ahead of myself — so let’s go ahead and turn the dial and take it back to the root.

The Same Old Tricks

The Outlast Trials doesn’t possess all that much of a story; on the contrary, it opts for something a little more barebones and less complex — a route that, when compared to the previous entries in the saga, steers clear of any earth-shattering lore or dramatic consequences. The idea is simple: you, along with a series of other “volunteers”, are invited to take part in several trials—sporadic journeys that see you plunging deep into a nexus of creepy underground locations, and working as a unit to complete various puzzles that range from flicking switches, collecting items, and unlocking certain areas to progress even further into the seemingly bottomless abyss of a facility.

For the record, there is, albeit a small and occasionally forgettable one, a storyline here: Murkoff Corporation—an advanced scientific organization known for producing revolutionary brainwashing technology—has established an underground research laboratory that serves as the center stage for human guinea pigs. As one of said ill-fated guinea pigs, you must dare to brave the obstacles and courses that the organization has coughed up, if not for the sake of advancing the cause, then for the sake of locating the breaking point nested deep within the human psyche. Surprise surprise, this is where you come in — bound for the network, and glued to a headset that’ll transport you to the root of all evil.

Aside from the odd document that sheds a small glimmer of light on the lore of Outlast, there isn’t a great deal more to wrap your head around. There is, however, an opening, and an ending — but that’s about it, and therefore if you are looking for something a little more story-driven, then you’re probably going to be a little disappointed with what’s available here.

Take Me to the Trials

There are five trials to sift through in total, all of which come preloaded with their admirable share of horrors, antagonists, and AI-generated curveballs. As the patient, you must delve into one of said trials, either alone (yes, that’s also an option, for better or for worse), or with three other like-minded patients who share a survivalist mentality, and take to a corridor of relatively generic puzzles in order to, well, escape. Once that’s done, it’s merely the case of pouring certain assets into one of several upgrades, be it a Prescription, which allows you to heal allies and boost your inventory space; Rigs, which provide you with the opportunity to build stun traps and other useful defensive weapons; and Amps, which allow you to increase a lot of your core stats and abilities to then utilize in trials.

In order to progress in The Outlast Trials, you need only rerun the same five stages several times over, and gradually work towards boosting your stats and acquiring better gear, after which you’ll be able to tackle tougher obstacles and opponents, and essentially locate even more lore to help shed light on Murkoff Corporation’s questionable tendencies and brainwashing tactics. It’s a simple loop, and one that has the power to keep you invested for a handful of hours — more so if you’re running each round with a slew of other players, too. But, given the fact that the whole game is only four or five hours, it does beg the question: is there enough to keep you coming back for more bloodshed?

I’ll admit, there isn’t a great deal of variety here, as each of the five levels can begin to grate after several attempts — doubly so if you’ve already swept the slate clean of all its lore and hidden secrets.

Thrill Me, Oh Sadistic One

So, is The Outlast Trials scary — like, brick-your-pants kind of scary, or is it barely a footnote in Red Barrels’ earlier chapters? Meh, it’s a bit of both, to be fair. But I will say this: where it often fails to get a rise out of your inner cowardice and send you fleeting for the hills, it does, weirdly enough, find a way to produce enough material to conjure a belly laugh or two. It isn’t a comedy by any means, but it does, weirdly enough, produce a lot of laughable dialogue and gimmicky features to make what should be unnerving encounters, oddly entertaining for all the wrong reasons.

The Outlast Trials' five stages see you participating in quite the banquet of objectives, I’ll say that much. For example, there’s a level that requires you to push a cart full of “naughty” children through a carnival ride; a courthouse-themed stage that tasks you with murdering witnesses and destroying valuable traces of evidence in acid; electrocuting a snitch; and brainwashing a slew of tainted orphans. Suffice it to say that, as far as original ideas travel, Red Barrels clearly has the creativity to spin a compelling yarn. But is it enough to warrant multiple attempts? In short, yes — but only if you’re a sucker for running a lot of the same challenges several times over with minuscule payouts.

What truly makes The Outlast Trials shine is its web of unique antagonists—characters that range from a dental surgeon with a drill puppet for a hand, a morally bankrupt former sergeant with violent tendencies, and of course, a psychotic scientist whose only purpose is to exploit the human psyche. Sure enough, there’s no shortage of great characters here, which is always a pleasant sight for Outlast die-hards.

Verdict

Whilst I did enjoy a solid portion of The Outlast Trials’ balls-to-the-wall blood sports, I did struggle to find the muse to carve even deeper into the game’s lore and strive to unlock all of the bells and whistles on the docket. Don't get me wrong, it was great in short bursts, for sure, but after spending a few hours scraping the barrel of the same five chapters and unraveling every fragment of the script and the antagonists’ traits, progression did eventually grind to a halt and leave me itching for a little more. The upgrades were clearly plentiful, but hardly mandatory assets that needed to be implemented into my arsenal to keep me marching forward.

Like a lot of horror games that adopt a multiplayer mode, The Outlast Trials is far better with a team, as it not only keeps things fresh, but also prevents a lot of the same gameplay loops from running out of material to spew up, too. It's just that, when all's said and done, there aren't all that many reasons to keep rekindling the wick once it has already been set alight a few dozen times. Sure, you can enjoy drawing a few moths to the flame (or in this case, oblivious friends who haven't the slightest idea about Outlast, much less its online co-op counterpart), but in reality, there are only so many times you can run the same gauntlet before you succumb to fatigue and sheer boredom.

To cut a long story short, yes, The Outlast Trials is worth playing. Granted, there isn't a huge amount of story-related content to sink your teeth into, but if you're happy to settle for the opportunity to go galivanting about in the depths of a horrifying nexus, then you'll no doubt find your Shangri-La here.